I got a call today from a panicked plantscaper. A job she had for 3 years was being undercut by 50%. All she could say was that she gave the client "quality" service. Upon further questioning it became clear that ,indeed, she was giving super service. She was there twice a week, had agreed to care for 25 4" plants in addition to the other floor plants, was remossing every week, and doing way too much. How, she asked, could she continue to provide "quality" service at a 50% reduction

 THE PROBLEM
The ’scaper had made the fatal error of assuming that the client wanted all this extra work when in fact,all the client wanted was good looking, healthy plants AT A COMPETITIVE PRICE. The ’scaper also thought that she was being evaluated based on the amount of time spent on the job, hence the twice a week visits. Again, a fatal error. The client wanted the end result of good looking plants and really didn’t care how much time was spent. So, here was the problem. The client didn’t want to pay for all that extra work and time and the ’scaper thought she had to do all that to be the "quality" company. Plus, she had to deal with problem size, ’scaper unfriendly, plants

WHAT TO DO?
 First of all, address the "problem" plants. Plants that are too small or are heavy water users such as Spathiphyllum need to be deep sixed or placed in subirrigation containers. Figure out ways to get rid of a problem. Next, look at the time really needed. Do the plants really need to have every leaf washed down every week? Of course not. There is a happy medium between too much and too little. Find it. Next, look at the maintenance frequency. Once the problem plants have been corrected, can this account be seen every other week? Every 10 days? Look at Blooming Programs. What kind of blooming plants are used onthe job? Would a switch to bromeliads give the ’scaper lower costs for product and care? And, might the inclusion of one stragecially place orchid give the perception of a higher end look without a lot of cost cost to you. The bottom line is to plan on making these cost engineering changes and base a new price quote on utilizing them. Now, where should your fee be? A lot closer to the 50% less I’ll bet. So, if you go back to the client and show them a 47% reduction what do you think will happen?

BET YOU KEEP THE JOB
The good news is that not only will you probably keep the job, but you will probably keep the same profit %. And, on top of that, you and the client are on the same page as to what the client wants and is willing to pay for

 BOTTOM LINE
 Sometimes a competitor will just come in and quote a ridiculously low price and if we are already doing a good job in the most efficient manner, we have no where to go and have to make some hard decisions. However, often, we have left our selves vulnerable and have set up jobs that give competitors opportunities to figure out ways to do the job faster or cheaper and have left ourselves open to attack. Whenever this occurs and, even before you are compromised, look at your accounts from every perspective and don’t leave yourself vulnerable. At Topsiders we encounter this all the time. Sometimes cusomers will tell us about another rectangular planter that is a few bucks cheaper. Or is it??? When you realize that TOPsiders come with capillary mat at no charge and that the mat allows you to get TWO WEEKS between waterings, you realize that the TOPsider is not just a decorative container but a maintenance vehicle that will save you at least 40% on maintance labor year after year after year. Now that;s a heck of a lot more than a few dollars! Why would you ever use anything else? TOPsiders pay for themselves. TOPsiders, open plan planters that work.