Oregon Landscaping Company Wins National Award

A landscaping company in Salem, Ore., is among this year's honorees for the Better Business Bureau's (BBB) National Torch Award for Marketplace Ethics. DeSantis Landscapes, Inc., was recognized Oct. 1, 2001 with honorable mention distinction in this year's competition.

"This is a pretty big award," declared owner Tony DeSantis. "It's something I would have never aspired to or dreamed we could be considered for."

The winners are chosen based on a host of factors, including how each company treats its customers and employees, and the role it plays in the community, says Holly Cherico, vice president, communications, Council of Better Business Bureaus.

In DeSantis' case, the judges were impressed on many levels.

"The company is very strong on encouraging employees and providing support for their training, certification and education," Cherico declared. "They have on staff nine of the 80 certified landscape technicians in the state and two of the 11 certified landscape professionals in Oregon; they offer an outstanding benefits package; and the owner is interested in recruiting and retaining Hispanics."

Other factors that are considered are the ratio of repeat and referred customers to new business and if the company has received awards from other organizations before, Cherico explained.

The key to promoting ethical business practices is to respect employees and customers and to cultivate personal relationships with them, DeSantis advised.

"Too often in business you hear the phrase, 'this is business,' which seems to give people freedom to do things that aren't ethical," DeSantis warned. "We feel it's important to treat our employees as fairly as possible and that example pays off when our employees treat our customers with respect. What goes around, comes around and if we operate our daily business with respect and fairness, we gain the respect of our customers as well."