The path to smart growth

 Fast growth demands efficiency at Go Green Lawn & Tree Care, where the goal is to service new clients within 48 hours of a sale. Now entering its fifth season, the company has nine trucks servicing 3,870 accounts in Michigan’s Oakland and Livingston counties. The company provides a core service of lawn care, but also tree and shrub services and insect and disease control.

Owner Gary Kott uses what he calls a day-to-day system to assign stops to his fleet, meaning that he creates routes for the day each morning.

Using a star pattern, meaning that there are five distinct sections in a service area, he’s able to make sure his trucks are reaching all of his nearly 4,000 accounts in Oakland and Livingston counties within two days.

“That way if any new sales come in, I’ll know within two days I can get that truck out there. It’s not going to put him out of his way to be able to get back to that area,” he says. “We’re growing so quickly that it’s important to get out there right away to get that sale produced.”

Kott overloads his routes on purpose to account for possible cancellations. “If you’ve got people that are cutting grass, or the sprinklers are on or someone is working on the landscaping, guys aren’t able to produce that day,” he says.

If technicians are unable to service a property, the clients go back into the hopper and Kott will route them for the next day. “So the routes always stay nice, tight, crisp,” he says.

Improved customer service and productivity, and reduced drive time for workers means money saved for Gary Kott, owner for Go Green Lawn Care, based in Walled Lake, Mich. With routing and mapping software, he's able to do all three.

“We’re saving money on labor and essentially, we’re more productive all the way around,” he says.

All of his nine service trucks are equipped with tablets so that drivers can hear step by step instructions on their route, which promotes safe driving. “It’s driving you to every stop,” he says. “The guys aren’t looking at a map while they’re driving. They keep two hands on the wheel.”

And it helps with customer service as well. Kott is able to keep the same technicians on the same route every season, making sure that clients see a friendly face.

“They build a rapport with the customer; they know the customer’s wants and needs, and they’re able to see the progress and/or regress on a customer’s lawn,” Kott says. “And the biggest is the rapport with the customer. I’ve got guys that have been here since day one. They build that rapport, so their recommendations go a long way. That way, they’re seeing problems that arise and the customer is going to feel good about it.”