Pursuing Perfection: Quality Control

Since time is always money, as the cliché goes, ensuring high quality on a maintenance job every time can be a real challenge for contractors. With constant pressure to get as much done as quickly as possible, quality often competes with quantity on a daily basis. Contractors are always walking this fine line, according to Michael Malleck, owner and area manager, Clintar Groundskeeping Services, London, Ontario. "Quality control is a balancing act," he observed.

QUALITY DEFINED. Before quality control can be ensured in a maintenance program, the concept of "quality" must clearly be defined. Defining quality for your employees and finding out how customers determine a quality job is essential. For Carl Rantzow, owner, Selkirk Lawn & Landscape, Spokane, Wash., a good job has three key components. "Quality is a job that meets my customer’s expectations, my expectations and, at the same time, is profitable," he observed, adding that quality control is always a proactive, rather than reactive, measure.

Micheaux Brandau, president, Timely Lawn Care, Baltimore, Md., sees quality as an aesthetic issue. For Brandau, a quality job is one that "makes a good first impression and looks pleasing to the eye, where everything looks top notch and nothing is out of place."

George Moore, president, Green Acres Services, Saint George, S.C., agreed. A quality job has "good curb appeal with a well-groomed lawn, weedless beds and healthy and thriving plants," he described.

To make sure customer expectations are being met, however, contractors should know exactly how their customers define quality. "Get customer expectations first," advised Pat Strohman, general manager, CLS Landscape Management, Chino, Calif. "Our expectations matter, but our clients may have different expectations."

Get to know customers’ likes and dislikes. Lambert Landscaping Company, Dallas, Texas, for example, employs full-time "garden managers" whose only responsibility is to serve as customer advocates, making sure their every desire and need is addressed, according to Sue Allen, Lambert’s training and recruiting coordinator. These managers visit their assigned properties on a regular basis and get to know absolutely everything the client wants – from how the shrubs should be pruned to where the flower pots should be placed, Allen said. While having garden managers on staff is an additional expense, this extra management layer is well worth it for Lambert, helping the company provide a consistent level of quality service to its high-end residential clients, she noted.

And lastly, always keep an open line of communication with customers to make sure they’re satisfied with their service. "Keep in constant contact with the customer," advised Brandau, who said he’s always trying to "get into his customers’ heads" so he can serve them better. "If you don’t, your competition will."

CREW CONSIDERATIONS. Properly training employees is a critical aspect of quality control. Lambert Landscaping, for one, has an ongoing training program that includes weekly classroom sessions on maintaining quality as well as in-the-field, hands-on training on clients’ properties, according to Allen. The company tries to instill a sense of ownership into employees, conveying to them that "this is your garden and the quality of the product you’re producing is one you should be proud of," she related.

Since Akehurst Landscape Service, Joppa, Md., has a number of Hispanic employees, the company often will use visual aids such as pictures or equipment demonstrations to make sure the staff understands how to do the best job possible. The company also will provide one-on-one, on-site instruction if certain employees need extra guidance. "We’ll go out to a job and work with the individual to get the problem area corrected," said Brian Akehurst, the company’s vice president and grounds maintenance division manager.

As part of his training approach, Rantzow relies on written protocol (see "Setting Standards" below) for all the services his company offers – from mowing and refuse removal to weeding and bed maintenance. This series of quality control guidelines, which are short, easy to understand and outline service goals, serve as "an anchor to hold employees accountable," Rantzow said. He noted that the slower winter months are the perfect time to put together these checklists and review them with staff members.

Maintaining ongoing communication with employees is another essential quality control tool. Having staff meetings on a regular basis is a good way to do this, many contractors have found. Selkirk Lawn and Landscape has informal gatherings once a week to keep an open line of communication with staff and discuss areas that need improvement. During these meetings, Rantzow relies on a written agenda, filled with notes made throughout the week identifying problem areas he encountered during property inspections. He even leaves voicemails to himself to make sure even the smallest quality control issue isn’t overlooked, he admitted.

Similarly, during weekly Thursday morning meetings, CLS Landscape Management addresses quality issues that have surfaced throughout the past week that foremen and management have made note of, according to Strohman.

These meetings don’t always have to happen at the office. Since weekly gatherings sometimes can be tough to schedule, Malleck relies on "bumper chats" between jobs to let his crew members know what they’re doing right and what needs improvement, he said.

ENSURING THE BEST. Beyond effective employee training, contractors have a range of innovative, ongoing ways to control maintenance job quality. In addition to having a crew strictly devoted to detail work such as weeding and watering, Akehurst, for example, has a full-time troubleshooter on staff to take care of any quality control emergencies that might surface. With the title of "enhancement supervisor," he keeps the company’s high-end residential customers happy and in turn, saves the company money by keeping foremen and crew members on their production schedule. "Every once in a while, a crew member might run over a sprinkler head and our enhancement supervisor will go back to fix it," said Akehurst, adding that the fact that the troubleshooter is a "people person" helps smooth out any problems that might occur. "We can get the biggest complaint and he can handle it."

Frequent property inspections are another invaluable quality control tool. Moore learned this from his years of experience. "If you expect and you don’t inspect, then don’t expect," he advised, noting that he constantly conveys this point to his management team.

Akehurst also realizes how vital inspections are and often will use other crews to inspect maintenance jobs, to bring "another set of eyes" to the property, he said. "Someone not on the job can often more readily pick out problem areas, since maintenance guys can get into the routine and not notice things."

Maintenance crews also are carefully supervised, "to make sure every thing is being done the way it’s supposed to be done," Akehurst said. Supervisors are sure to let crew members know where the higher priority areas are. "When we’re behind the eight ball, we try to impress the importance of high visibility areas, like making sure entranceways are picture perfect," he noted.

Inspection frequency depends on the property size. Larger jobs might be inspected weekly, while smaller ones might be evaluated every other week or just once a month – it all depends, Akehurst said. "If there’s a day we’re caught up, supervisors might take a foreman out and drive through the job and point out problems," he noted, adding that they periodically walk through jobs with property managers to ensure that expectations are being met.

And rather than just doing a drive-by inspection, Brandau advised contractors to get a good, up-front look at a property. Otherwise, unpleasant surprises can lurk in the background. "Some jobs can look great from far away. But you get close up and notice that someone scalped the lawn," he said.

Rantzow agreed with the importance of walking a property during an inspection. "A drive-by isn’t as good as when you get out on the property. You’re always really surprised at how much you see when you’re out there," he said.