Briefcase-Medium: Northern Niche

Kevin Vogeler says spraying a heavy blanket of chemicals on every customer’s lawn – whether it needs it or not – isn’t quality turf care. And it certainly isn’t customer service.

Providing personalized, environmentally friendly turf care solutions to every customer is, and that’s what Vogeler has focused on since founding Turf Care Enterprises in Barrington, Ill., in 1986.

“I was dissatisfied with the way most lawn care companies did things,” Vogeler says. “They did not customize programs for individual lawns. They used large tanker trucks, applying the same products to everyone’s lawns.”

Plus, he says, companies overused chemicals and failed to keep promises that they made to customers.

“I loved working with plants and I loved helping solve clients’ problems, but I grew tired of the way people in the industry went about their business,” he says. “I knew there were consumers who were tired of the same things, so I decided to start my own business.”

Vogeler’s goal was to raise the bar on customer service, and he’s done just that by focusing on customer needs and specializing in plant health care for lawns, trees and shrubs. By building his business upon tenets that he says were lacking from the industry, Vogeler’s company has steadily grown for more than 20 years – despite heavy competition from the large corporate lawn care companies in the area, all of whom are after the same, high-end northwest Chicago residential market.

A NEW KIND OF GREEN

Turf Care Enterprises’ focus on the environment differentiates it from other companies in the area. “The first (lawn care) company I worked for had no concern for all the chemicals that they used,” Vogeler says. “Their policy was if a customer in your route had insects, we sprayed everyone’s lawns with insecticide, with no concern for what these chemicals were doing to beneficial insects. These chemicals were not natural to the environment and I questioned what they were doing to the billions of microorganisms in the soil.”

So Vogeler left that company and went to another one that used primarily organic lawn treatments. “This new company eased my concerns with regard to the environment, but they did not provide the results customers were looking for,” Vogeler explains. “So I combined the best of both approaches to my lawn care programs.”

Turf Care Enterprises keeps chemical pesticide use to less than 3 percent of all materials they apply, instead relying on mostly natural and organic fertilizers and products. Necessary chemical pesticides are applied only when and where they are needed. “We lived by integrated pest management principles before it was the thing to do,” Vogeler says.
 
Yet he doesn’t always promote the 100-percent organic programs that his company offers. “Too many people find they don’t get the results they’re looking for (from organic programs),” Vogeler says. “What people want out there is safety. They want to make sure what they’re doing is safe for their families and pets. We can do that without going 100-percent organic.”

In addition to its focus on turf care, Vogeler’s company also boasts a professional tree and shrub division, which employs full-time ISA-certified arborists. Turf Care Enterprises’ goal is to protect, prevent and correct problems with insects, diseases and environmental conditions that may be damaging customers’ shrubs and trees.

It’s an approach that sets the company apart, according to Dave Berndt, John Deer Landscapes branch manager and Turf Care Services equipment supplier. “They’re one of the companies out there that not only does a good job with lawn care, but they also have an excellent tree and shrub division,” Berndt says. “They’re more multi-faceted than most of the medium-size companies.”

CUSTOMERS FIRST

Vogeler’s focus on proper education is part of the reason the company has succeeded. In its first year, Turf Care Enterprises posted revenue of about $40,000. Today, that has increased to $1.5 million.

“We provide weekly training and regularly send our employees to seminars, university classes and workshops,” Vogeler says. “We currently have a higher ratio of certified landscape professionals than any of our competitors.”

This knowledge is then passed on to homeowners.

“We give them instructional information on how to adjust their mowers and water, and when we come out for applications we reinforce that,” Vogeler says. “It’s mostly education, pointing out that we do use the best products, but it means nothing if customers don’t do their part. They’re pretty open to that – they want their nice, thick golf course lawns.”

And it’s evident when customers listen. In neighborhoods where Turf Care Enterprises handles most of the lawn care, Vogeler says some lawns looks dramatically different than others. “They’re on a similar program. It’s just how customers care, water and mow. If the customer fails to follow the proper practices like mowing or watering, we will not achieve our goal.”

Educating customers is just one part of a large-scale customer service strategy that generates results.

“We place the customer above anything else,” Vogeler adds. “I constantly preach to my employees that the customer is the most important person in our organization.”

That dedication to the customer shows. Vogeler’s says his employees are always out to do the right thing for the customer and are looking for ways to differentiate themselves from the norm.

“They definitely do things with the customer in mind. Everybody watches the bottom line, but in hard times they don’t cut the corners just to make the bottom line. They also look at things from a customer’s perspective.”

TAKING CARE OF BUSINESS

Some 20 years ago, Vogeler focused on direct customer contact for generating new business by going door to door in residential areas. Today, his company still drums up business by using similar methods.
 
Employees work to exceed expectations so that current customers refer friends and neighbors. And they even knock on potential clients’ doors.

Although the economy has slowed, Vogeler says there’s still a market for his company’s services. Enough of a market, in fact, that Turf Care Enterprises typically charges 5 to 10 percent more than competitors due to its level of service and its emphasis on the environment. But from the time Vogeler started his business, he guaranteed customers that if they used his service and did the necessary maintenance between treatments, he would improve their yards by the end of the year.

“If I couldn’t, I would give them their money back,” Vogeler says. “We would take a picture of their lawn with an imprint of the date before we started service and a picture at the end of the year. I never had to refund anyone’s money, as I made certain to improve their lawn.”

The company’s focus on making customers’ lawns the envy of their neighborhoods will never change. But Vogeler and his team are working to make their operations more efficient.

“We’re looking to cut out waste and control expenses,” he explains. “We can’t control what’s going to happen with the economy, but we can control our company.”

That’s why Vogeler says his company is focusing on trimming fat from its operations, reducing waste and keeping costs down.

But of course, these cuts won’t come at the expense of the environment or the customer. That’s exactly what sets Turf Care Enterprises apart.