It is important to know the difference between cost and value when you hire someone to do work on your property. Cost refers to the amount of money paid; value refers to worth of what was accomplished. I focus on long term value for our customers. My objective is not to "get in and get out," but to stay long enough to actually solve persistent problems. In most cases a few extra steps is all it takes to eliminate the need for another major future beautification effort.
Additional points that you might want to consider:
- I use power tools whenever I can and with them I can accomplish three times as much work as a man with hand tools.
- Because I use a powered wheel barrow to move debris, it takes me less time to get the cleanup accomplished.
- I know who to call to solve problems that come up on the landscape that I can not solve (i.e. stump grinding, large tree removal, drainage problems, etc.)
- I know how and when to cut bushes and trees (Landscape Management Certificate earned July, 2004 from Midlands Tech.)
- I maintain liability insurance in case I damage something on your property.
- I am a member of the Better Business Bureau.
- I will not work on another job until I have finished yours.
- I show up everyday and work fifty-five minute hours.
- I take time to use herbicide on the stumps of the things that you do not want to grow back. This gives you a longer lasting benefit from my service.
- I can coordinate a plan to move your property from "manicured" to "beautiful".
Finally, in one of my courses, the owner of GreenEarth, a large commercial grounds maintenance firm in Columbia, said that in order to get an average workman that he had to pay about ten dollars an hour. However, by the time he had paid for transportation to the job site, worker's comp insurance, equipment, and left enough for a small profit, that he had to charge the customer about twenty-five dollars an hour. He reminded us that that worker was trained to maintain areas that already looked good. That worker did not have the knowledge or ability to take something that was ugly and make it beautiful again. Since I have that ability, I charge at least ten dollars more per hour.