In Like A Lion!! or Like A Lamb??
Yes folks, this season is coming, but is it coming IN LIKE A LION or LIKE A LAMB, despite the rodents take on things, Spring is here and we are ready to roll...
Have you noticed the buds springing up in your gardens? if so then you probably have noticed many Landscapers now buzzing around starting their projects for the season. This is the time of year when we catch up on last season contracts and look to getting new business.
The other day i had a caller apologize for calling so early to book with snow on the ground. This is not early and you are going to be a late job if you do wait so pick up that phone, call us to book your free consultation and then Google your interests, look at pictures and gain ideas for what you would like to do in your project. If you cannot find ideas, simply wait for us to bring them to you...that is what we do.
Our owner/estimator will show up to your property on time, discuss your project and compile YOUR ideas. The likes and dislikes of an individual are a huge determining factor in your project. The style of the house will help in choosing materials unless you are decidedly changing the overall feel. We can make a formal home feel country or a country home feel modern by just changing the textures in the materials and shapes of the landscapes...it is all about your desired look and budget in the final, and you need to have a good grasp of that at our first meeting when doing a full design.
If you are just doing a clean up and want to repair or tidy up your existing but budget is a concern, often the product is in good condition and can be lifted and relaid for you instead of buying new materials. Or has your previous contractor cut corners and your product is not staying put? shifting? sinking? This is not a new thing for us to be called on to fix.
It is not a perfect industry and we do unfortunately have a lot of businesses out there who will just drop it in the ground for you, take the payment and pop up in a year under a new name, right when you need warranty....this is not how we work.
So, how can you protect yourselves? How do you hire the right contractor for the job? That is a hard one...is it wrong for a company to say it has been building for twenty years or has thirty years experience in the industry? Nope, it is not and many do. I can name quite a few businesses that have burned clients or have been in and out of business so many times it is mind boggling but fact is...buyer be aware and do your homework. If you google a company, google the owner name too and it may just surprise you to find other businesses they have been associated with. Or just ask the question so the answer is not so open...How long has TWG Landscaping and Property Maintenance Inc. been in business? Have you ever been another business? Why did you change names? (Our answer would be since 1993 and no, we have been around since inception and only added INC. to the end of our name in 2007 i think)
The unexpected questions will garner you the body language needed to know if you can trust the contractor...is the answers smooth and fluid or is the contractor digging for the truth. Did the company just move from Toronto, where the market is hot, money and projects are huge and plentiful...if so, why?
When you are spending money on a car or new television, you do research on line i am sure...this is money that will be well spent if you do your research up front.
The fact is that often i hear stories about companies that i assumed were legit and upstanding companies only to find out that they had previous bankruptcies, and lack the desire to do full service work OR use subcontractors to build every part of the job and they are just the manager or estimator of the project...the middle man if you will.
When you decide to start your project research, start at Landscape Ontario but do not stop there...search Homestars reviews for your area, and google the company, their site might be fancy but the history of the site is in the amount of history about the company.
Did you know that we have had to ask companies to remove our pictures from their marketing? It is surely a problem for many or repeat project pictures of the same job just different areas which give the impression of multiple jobs. We all have multiple pictures of jobs but, how many homes have one company serviced?
Do your homework and you will reap the benefits as there are many good and honest contractors out there among the many not so good or honest...you need to dig.
All the best in your search, and hopefully you can soon start enjoying your property in the beautiful Spring and Summer seasons that are just around the corner...
Tammy Gould, Owner/Partner of TWG Landscaping*
*TWG Landscaping & Property Maintenance Inc. 59011-728 Anderson St., North, Whitby, ON L1N 2A0 1-877-519-8543 tammy@twglandscaping.com www.twglandscaping.com
