So what is LandOpt and what does it mean to me?

Ok, so you may have noticed over the last several months the appearance of the "Powered by LandOpt" logo on our trucks, uniforms, business cards, and paperwork. Maybe you've noticed an increase in our level of service or communication. Or maybe you've noticed that our team members have been burning up the road between here and Pittsburgh attending professional training sessions. Maybe you haven't paid attention...or maybe you have questioned one of our team members. I have gotten questions such as "Is LandOpt a new type of software?" or "Did you guys get bought out?". The answer is neither.

LandOpt is a company comprised of business and industry professionals who have partnered with us to bring strength in the areas of Operations, Human Resources, Business Management, and Sales. We are the only landscape contractor in the state to have joined this premier network. You can tell that is the book answer...it is all true, but what does it mean to you as a customer or potential customer?

Let's back up and start with a little history. In the US, there are approximately 77,000 landscape contractors, which incidentally is about the same as the number of pizza places in the US. The majority are owner-operated, small companies, and as a rule offer a spotty reputation, poor career opportunities for employees, and are fully dependent on the owner to provide guidance and direction because they lack processes, systems, and scalability. Just like with pizza places, we have all seen multiple outfits go out of business through the years, for whatever reason...possibly poor management, lack of a sustainable client base, or a decision that the industry just "isn't for them". After all, what person in their right mind knowingly goes into a business where many of your daily decisions rely on the ever-changing weather and you spend many of your winter nights thanklessly clearing parking and pedestrian areas just so that people can walk across those areas in ill-advised and improper footwear?! (Just kidding...we love it.)

All that being said, it just goes to show you that historically the landscape service industry has largely been an informal, "cottage industry" that is underdeveloped and has not reached the level of business professionalism that some other industries have. So...short story long, our partnership with LandOpt aims to change that.

While all the intricacies of LandOpt and ProScape are beyond the scope of this post, suffice it to say that since April 2010, we have been undergoing LandOpt "transformation". By definition, transformation implies "a major change in form, nature, or function". It is not simply a flip of a switch or the installation of LandOpt logos on our company vehicles. What has been happening behind the scenes is the clarification of roles and empowering of ProScape team members, a change in the paradigm of how and why we do business, and the process by which we go about our daily business so that it is scalable and repeatable. In other words, we don't want one customer to get fantastic service because they have Crew A on their property and another customer to get lacklustre service because they have Crew B. We believe, like the leader in another industry, Whole Foods, that "Our customers are the most important stakeholders in our business... Customers are the lifeblood of our business and we are interdependent on each other".

So maybe you are still thinking..."I'm still not sure what's in it for me". I will boil it down to the following high-level points that we believe summarize some of our changes to date:

• A more efficient, systematic delivery of services, providing more seamless communications
• Improved-quality services through professional coaching and training
• The best of both worlds: the stability and resources of a national company with all the benefits of a small, hometown owned and operated company
• A stronger, more structured team and company that will continue to provide your outdoor enhancement and maintenance needs
• A terrific customer experience, dealing with a proactive, customer-driven business
• The advent of CARE calls, which stands for "Customer Assurance Review and Evaluation"

While there are many changes that we are still undergoing, we believe that due to the changes we have made, we have already raised the bar of professionalism in our industry and our market. For example, you may notice that if you call us regarding service, we won't just give you a "boilerplate bid". We will work first to really understand what your needs and desires are before we prescribe a service or packaged program. To quote the leadership writer and speaker John Maxwell, "People don't care how much you know until they know how much you care." In other words, if we don't understand what you want, how can we expect to exceed your expectations??

I believe I have only scratched the surface in this post to explain the changes we are undergoing, and the impact those changes will have to better our people, our company, and our community. Though we may have a few hiccups through our transformation, the changes are exciting, and they will position ProScape to serve our clients even better. More to come...