5 Tips that Will Keep You from Coming Back on Previous Paver Jobs

In the hardscape industry, your past work often is your best visiting card. In a business where word-to-mouth is still among the most efficient ways to build yourself a reputation, it is unfortunate to have to go back to a recent installation to make corrections or touch-ups on a job on which you had turned the page.

Unsatisfied customers are not only a threat to maintaining your company's good reputation, but they also lead to unexpected costs, both in terms of time and money.

In the following article, we asked experts in the fields of hardscape installation and exterior surface maintenance to share five tips that could help contractors to avoid returning on the premises of a recent job.

Here are their thoughts.

Keep a close eye on weather forecasts

As you may well know, any outdoor installation's success largely depends on the weather conditions in which you will need to maneuver. Therefore, it is important to always keep up with the latest weather forecast when planning your work.

This may seem pretty obvious, but poor application conditions still are one of the most common factors when explaining disappointing results in the days following the installation or maintenance of a driveway, patio, or walkway.

As a landscaping expert, your customers expect you to be familiar with the materials you work with and be aware of the optimal application conditions associated with each of them.

High humidity, unexpected showers, and hot temperatures can quickly compromise the results of your hard work. Nowadays, several mobile applications are available on both the App Store and Google Play Market, allowing you to get a quick glimpse of the latest weather forecasts directly on your smartphone, wherever you go.

Understand the expectations – and stay honest

Instructors of Techniseal's Technical Training Program always start their workshops by emphasizing the importance of landscaping contractors to fully understand their customers' expectations and remain honest and realistic about their ability to deliver on what's anticipated.

When you first meet a potential client, make sure to get a clear understanding of the results he's expecting from you. If necessary, give yourself a few days to make sure you've got all the necessary resources to meet your client's expectations, all the while maintaining a profit margin that is satisfying to your company.

It's always a good idea to keep handwritten notes of any exchange you have with clients. This will make things easier when the time comes to jot down a service quote on which you and your customer can mutually agree before kicking off the project.

Whenever you consider that a customer's expectations are out of proportion or doubt your ability to deliver on the desired results, it's always best to stay honest about the whole situation and put your cards on the table right from the beginning.

Remember that you're often better off turning down a contract than being forced to handle the frustrations of unsatisfied customers feeling that you let them down!

Build trusting relationships with renowned manufacturers

Success in today's business world often involves choosing the right partners to build strong and lasting relationships.

For example, choosing a paver manufacturer with whom to collaborate regularly will allow you to develop a better understanding and a deeper knowledge of the products you'll be working with, enabling you to have full confidence in both the quality and durability of the materials you install.

Since 1995, Belgard has been offering hardscapers a wide range of premium quality concrete products and paving materials for commercial, residential, and public landscaping projects. Thanks to its continuing dedication to research and development, Belgard has been setting industry standards and driving outdoor living trends for over 25 years.

Available nationwide, Belgard's pavers and hardscaping products enable landscape designers to bring their vision to life, delivering beautiful-looking and long-lasting outdoor living areas.

Remember that your business's success and growth often rely on the partners you choose to team up.

Choose (and stick with) the right installation and maintenance products

The market for hardscape installation and maintenance products is currently close to saturating. With the product offering constantly expanding, it can become hard for installers and applicators to choose the right product and stick with it.

Whether it's for regional availability reasons or simply wanting to benefit from the various seasonal pricing promotions, it can be tempting to alternate between manufacturers when choosing jointing sand, stain remover, or surface protector to carry out a job.

However, significant differences exist in the formulation of the same type of product by two distinct manufacturers. While the vast majority of providers promise high-end results, significant performance variations may appear, depending on the type of surface and environment you're working with.

For example, Techniseal's Nextgel polymeric sands are easier to spread, faster to activate, and cleaner to install than the vast majority of professional-grade jointing products currently available on the market. HP NextGel provides unmatched joint stabilization, even on steep-sloped terrain, in high-humidity environments, and in heavy-vehicular traffic areas. SmartSand is a great cost-effective alternative to Techniseal's higher-grade polymeric sand for lesser-solicited installations in residential or commercial pedestrian areas.

Whatever you decide, find products you're comfortable working with and consistently use them when carrying out your projects. You will quickly develop a better understanding of each product, thus knowing what to expect on each job you take on.

Go for a Specialized Approach

To maximize their teams' productivity, several landscaping contractors train their entire workforce so that everyone can perform any of the various tasks involved in the installation or maintenance of pavers and other outdoor surfaces. Even though versatility is never a bad thing in our business, our experts strongly recommend taking a more specialized approach to your field activities' work organization.

For example, the sand wetting process should ideally always be assigned to the same team member. This will allow him to develop expertise for this particular type of work, thus ensuring that it is always carried out optimally. What's more, by adopting a working process that relies on each member's specialization of a particular task, better complementarity will quickly develop within your team.

From excavation to compaction, wetting, and sweeping, every segment of the installation process will become standardized, ensuring consistency in both execution and final result appearances.

Good Reputation – A true key to success in the hardscape business

As previously mentioned, your reputation often is your best asset when working in the hardscape industry. Therefore, it is important that each of your projects runs as smoothly as possible and leaves the best possible impression on customers.

Not only is going back to a recent job threatening for your company's reputation, but it also involves considerable investment in both time and money, resources that could have otherwise been assigned to turning in more jobs.

High season passes by so fast; it's always to your advantage to work towards building new business relationships rather than trying to repair broken ones.