Tips for effective maintenance and service calls from LM ‘s advisory board

What’s one tip for effective maintenance and service calls?

Landscape Professionals

Richard Bare
Arbor-Nomics Turf
Norcross, Ga.

“Make sure the people that go out know not only agronomically and horticulturally what they are talking about, but also know good customer service. Cancellations and service calls are intertwined.”

Paul Fraynd
Sun Valley Landscaping
Omaha, Neb.

“Set your team and clients up for success with comprehensive and preplanned service schedules and intervals. For example, a proactive summer irrigation check can find issues and allow you to adjust before they become a problem.”

Jerry McKay
McKay Landscape Lighting
Omaha, Neb.
“Have a point person to organize them based on priority and route. Sometimes service folks can bounce around without a plan.”

Bryan Stolz
Winterberry Landscape & Garden Center
Southington, Conn.
“Cross-train technicians and team members across your range of services. They don’t need to be able to fix everything. But if your people can identify a problem and effectively communicate with your team, it will save repeat visits and allow you to be more proactive.”

Industry Consultants

Neal Glatt
GrowTheBench
Boston, Mass.
“Remember that every interaction is an opportunity for a sale. Simply training crew members to ask, ‘Is there anything else we can do to help you, your property or someone you know?’ after every service can dramatically increase sales performance.”

Phil Harwood
Tamarisk Business Advisors
Grand Rapids, Mich.

“Use current technology to send wraparound communications (before, during and after) with the ultimate question in mind: ‘Would you recommend us to a friend?’”