Speaking the Same Language

Most contractors will agree that quality can be increased when all parties are on the same page — speaking the same language regarding the project.

“Quality for us comes back to the customer,” explained Mark Stupcenski, director of operations, Russo Lawn & Landscape, Windsor Locks, Conn. “We make sure that they understand what we’re going to do and when we’re going to do it. We make sure that we understand their expectations and that we meet them.”

Stupcenski related that the majority of the company’s projects are commercial, so putting expectations into writing is very important. After the clients’ expectations are understood and agreed upon by the company, the project manager then will send the customer a detailed calendar of scheduled work for the year.

“As each season comes a long, we will also send a letter a few weeks ahead of time to remind them that we’ll be out to perform a certain service,” Stupcenski noted.

After expectations are agreed upon and understood, contractors should do their best to keep in constant contact with their clients.

Jon Essick, operations manager, New Garden Landscape Management, Greensboro, N.C., agreed that constant contact ensures quality on the job.

“I don’t want to bother my clients, but I don’t dare let anything slide by,” he emphasized. “We want them to consider us their personal gardener and they won’t if they aren’t completely satisfied with our work.”

After a project is completed, most companies utilize some kind of customer survey to assess the client’s overall satisfaction with the work. For example, Ed Reier, vice president of operations, Tecza Environmental Group, Elign, Ill., sends out an annual client survey to every customer, which asks general questions regarding quality and communication. The scores from the survey are tabulated and shared with each foreman. This year the company also made a client feedback form available on its Web site. That feedback is shared with the company twice a year, Reier said.

In addition to surveying clients, Reier also strives to get each of his Hispanic employees to learn English so they can communicate with the client on site. The company provides in-house English-as-a-Second-Language classes at no cost for their non-English speaking employees.

“We’re doing this so they can speak more English, but also to show them that we care about them,” he remarked. “This has indirectly improved our quality tremendously by allowing the customer to communicate directly with the men in the field.”

For more on improving on-the-job quality, see the January issue of Lawn & Landscape magazine.