I was looking to hire a quality landscaping contractor, growing to help my successful design building company.
My first impression of Kevin was that he reminded me of an upbeat version of the character “Pig Pen” from the Charlie Brown comic strips. I was a little hesitant about how our meeting would go.
The market was reliable, local nurseries, and I couldn’t afford to get the run-around or lousy service from anyone. I needed a great homeowner, builder, quick service and contractor, seeds. Kevin produced a portfolio and references, all of which checked out, and ever since, Kevin and I have been good business associates. He even had references from 4 landscaping contractors.
It’s kind of like going on a first date, you’re a little shy to hold hands right at first, and you have a ton of questions.
Let’s start with some quality questions first to weed out all the bad. It’s essential to get this information upfront .
Are you licensed? Can you provide proof (i.e., Physical License or License #)Are you bonded and insured? (Again, require proof of this and call any phone number listed to verify the policies & bonds are current)
How many employees do you have? (This is a two-part question. You’re going to find out if this is a fly-by-night operation or if they are dedicated to this. The second part is, you need proof that they have Worker’s Compensation Insurance. The last thing you need is a claim against your insurance because someone got hurt on your job.)
How many have you done landscaping? How many years have you been in business?
If all of this information checks out satisfactorily for you and you feel comfortable speaking with them over the phone, then it’s time to set up the face-to-face meeting. Ask the landscaping contractor to bring a portfolio of pictures, tell them you want to see before and after photos, also let them know that you’re interested in pictures that show a variety of items, such as, etc., not just dirt they laid, on.
Also, ask them to provide at least three good references and then throw them a curveball, ask to speak with an unhappy customer. We all know you can’t make the whole world happy all the time, but between 3 suitable references and one lousy reference, you can gain a greater perspective into what to expect.
