How Green Lawn Fertilizing focuses on quality

Green Lawn Fertilizing’s QA team evaluates the performance of services provided. (Photo: Green Lawn Fertilizing)

Green Lawn Fertilizing in West Chester, Pa., No. 118 on the 2022 LM150 list, experienced a 27 percent growth in revenue from 2020 to 2021. The operation grew by 25.4 percent from 2021 to 2022. 

The company attributed some of that revenue growth to the addition of two quality assurance (QA) managers. Ryan Petitti, director of technical operations and quality assurance at Green Lawn Fertilizing, says the company emphasizes offering an exceptional customer experience, so quality assurance was a natural extension of that mission.

“The addition of a quality assurance team was not about merely finding problems, it was about adding team members that could build relationships, identify the areas of opportunity, and constructively develop our technician teams by building on trust,” he says.

Petitti looked for adaptable candidates with strong self-awareness and relationship management skills. The quality assurance managers work directly with technicians and interface with customers in specific territories.

What do they do?

Ryan Petitti

Green Lawn Fertilizing’s two quality assurance managers evaluate the performance of services provided by technicians. The managers coach and develop the technicians.

Topics include vehicle and driver safety, communication with customers, scouting and treating pests, best practices, equipment maintenance and calibration, regulatory and environmental compliance and more.

Green Lawn sees the QA team as another step in fostering client trust. The managers also work with the customer service and operations team to address customer concerns.

“Depending on the customers’ needs, the quality assurance managers will evaluate the property, diagnose concerns, share actions that can be taken to maximize service results, reset expectations if necessary and communicate next steps,” he says.

Positive experience

Petitti says there haven’t been any issues with technicians having their work double-checked by the QA team. In fact, technicians often seek extra training or information from the quality assurance managers. Customers have noticed, Petitti says. 

“(They’re) often amazed that the company has a dedicated position focused on the quality of the service being delivered to their properties,” he says.

Keep in mind

Petitti stresses that operations considering adding a quality assurance manager or team should not tie the position to production. Don’t apply the performance metrics of technicians to the QA team.

Field visits with technicians are an entire day for Green Lawn’s quality assurance manager. Petitti says this is intentional to encourage relationship building and quality coaching.

“If the position is tied to revenue, the daily demands of the business will dictate where time is spent because of immediate needs,” he says. “This will impact the long-term influence of the position.”

Don’t expect an immediate return on investment either. Green Lawn sees the quality assurance team as a long-term investment. 

“Such impacts will be seen in technician retention, customer retention, a reduction in service calls, improved product management (savings on wasted product and labor time) and a competitive advantage that sets the business apart from others,” he says.