Lulu Pokinghorn - How to evaluate an interior designer

The measure of an interior landscape firm's competency should not be an elusive course in risk management for the client. To this day, far more time is taken to plan an environment than to consider and evaluate the firms available to install and maintain it. Furthermore, we, as interior landscapers, have often emphasized sizzle over steak, using enticing campaigns intended to land an account. While visually appealing, this fails to provide the client with opportunities that substantively allow for comparisons between firms.

In addition, our apparent inability to put teeth in our certification programs makes it imperative for us to provide the client with an assessment tool that enables him to sort "the wheat from the chaff" and compare apples to apples.

Then and Now

In 1979, Interior Plantscape Association President Harry Belin, Evermay Enterprises, Alexandria, VA, wrote in "Building/Operating/Management" that a client should first review a copy of "How To Select and Work with an Interior Plantscape Specialist" to make an intelligent design firm choice. Thereafter, the client should evaluate bids not from a cost standpoint alone but from clarity of presentation and quality of performance. He suggested private interviews with each firm to assure that "the chosen plant company should act aggressively on behalf of the client" to ensure a smooth installation done according to specification.

Belin also stressed the need for a qualified maintenance staff within the chosen firm. According to Belin, the maintenance staff evaluation should depend on "(a) a well- defined and documented training program..., (b) a printed maintenance manual.... (c) an aggressive check and balance system to ensure active and continual follow-up quality ... and finally (d) courteous and neatly dressed employees, trained in the art of communication and public relations." The article was a classic, and the points made are still important.

However, with the number of firms in the industry today, we need to move beyond these general recommendations and provide the client with specifics to look at, preferably in the form of a simple evaluation tool. The client needs to quickly ascertain, in a comparative form, the information necessary to make an "adequate" selection, minimizing the risk of losing a total environment or, at best, being left with one of substandard quality. Here, then, is what needs to be included in an evaluation tool.

The evaluation of an interior landscape firm is twofold: (1) an assessment of the company's general practices in 10 areas, all of which stress reliability, and (2) an investigation of client references supplied by the contractor (preferably involving references, whose projects/ contracts are in comparable pricing categories).

The 10 general practice areas that need to be evaluated are:

Employee manual. The manual according to an industry business manager, provides direction as well as professionalism, and (it) is what solidifies the firm's operation. It provides standard operating procedures and creates the fiber in which the company operates."

Many manuals are specific in the details of employee/owner expectations, service parameters, company standards (specific procedures) and industry standards. Many provide service continuity.

Given the current labor situation, the client should try to determine how well and how quickly a firm picks up the slack to fill vacancies when employees quit, go on vacation or have automobile troubles. The inter-relatedness of the firm's employees, their ability to step in and to handle the chores of various accounts, is worth a great deal. I have heard that a change in a technician on an account can result in unstable materials and resultant costs of $ 10,000 or more to a firm. Based on these kinds of dollar outlays, the client must try to determine if the interior landscaper can sustain these kinds of operating costs.

Storage facilities. Many clients expect a plant store operation to come as part of a normal interior landscape firm's operation. But this is the exception, not the rule.

Established firms usually have either warehouses equipped with appropriate lighting for holding plants or greenhouses that are stocked with inventories readily available for installations or replacements. The client should not be told he can't have a new plant for two months because there won't be another truck until then.

Most clients never see the contractor's facilities. Therefore, they do not ask specific questions about the contractor's capacity for operations and how it might affect such things as replacement turnaround time. Once again, it is steak, not sizzle, that counts.

Contracts. Contracts by the month, year or multiple-year periods are generally four to seven pages long without the attached inventory specification (taken after the installation is complete). They should cover the following:

Initial period of coverage.
Client's contact person.
Compensation terms.
A 30-day cancellation clause, to be supplied in writing, specifying the last day. Because sloppiness goes up when an interior landscaper knows that he will not be on the job after 60 days, I recommend 30 days.
What the service firm is responsible for.
What the client is responsible for
The guarantee and replacement policy, for both a new installation and a takeover account. The firm has the responsibility to adhere to standard industry practices in maintaining all plants during the exclusion period and to keep the client informed in writing of any problems that might result in the loss of significant materials.
The contract should spell out the cost of relocating plants, additional maintenance callbacks, unusual hours and add-on costs.
Binding proof of insurance.
Most important, the contract should spell out how the client removes himself from a contract in the event a firm is not performing its horticultural services in a satisfactory manner. Thirty days' written notice is sufficient for a firm to correct problems, and if a second notice is warranted, cancellation should immediately follow. Guarantees are usually suspended after 45 days. All of this is subject to regional and comparative differences.

Step One

Licensing, insurance and bonding. Besides pesticide application licenses, two basic types of licensing or certification exist: Landscape contracting licenses (required by law for exterior landscapers in many states and for interior landscapers in a few states) and voluntary certification by the National Council for Interior Horticultural Certification.

Insurance and bonding have become probably the second most talked about item in the industry, However, it is important for a client to make distinctions among the firms that are carrying substantial million dollar plus policies. Some firms may only carry such coverage because they service large risk-laden clients who require it. This is, as every client knows, an area with little leeway. A major policy should be required to protect the client from damage caused by such things as planter leaks, which can result in all types of harm from carpet stains to computer losses. The contractor should also be covered to protect the client against all the different types of negligence that can occur.

Local/national organization participation. Nationally, the Interior Plantscape division of the Associated Landscape Contractors of America (ACLA) is the major organization pressing for continual upgrading of the industry. It acts as an information resource to new and old interior landscape firms. The organization is heavily represented in the Midwest and on the East Coast.

In addition, CIPA, the California Interior Plantscape Association has developed a strong membership throughout the state, providing invaluable training and coordination of information between the industry growers, plantscape personnel, and on-going research in California's academic community.

A client should make it a point to examine a firm's association participation. Entering awards competitions, joining association boards or committees, and fostering workshops are all efforts that help focus a company's attention on national standards, and these endeavors all aid in the professional development of a firm. A client should give serious attention to contractors that become involved in these kinds of activities.

Step Two

The second area of evaluation is checking client references supplied by the contractor. It requires making a few phone calls. If the prospective client's needs are particularly stringent, site visits may be required to check the quality of maintenance. In conducting on-site visits, the client must always keep in mind the age of the account.

On-site evaluations are, of course, the best approach. But in today's world the phone is often the reference tool of choice.

In making these calls, the client must ask the contractor for more than just the names of references. First, the client must ask the contractor for references whose projects/contracts are in comparable price categories. Also, the client should find out specifically who to speak with, be it the purchasing agent, facilities director, or company president for each reference. A questionnaire may be helpful.

With that information in hand, the prospective client can then call the references to inquire about:

How many years of service have been rendered?
How is the service? What is the technician turnover? How fast are complaints handled?
What is the professional behavior of the technicians? Are they responsible, knowledgeable and friendly? Do they have the ability to facilitate interactions with management?
Is the firm thorough in its replacement guarantee? Is there continual upgrading? Is the original design emphasized and adhered to when plants are replaced?

Summing Up

In summary, the client should evaluate prospective contractors on such items as the firm's manuals, forms and contracts. The sales representatives of contractor candidates should be questioned about uniforms, equipment, checks and balances, daily documentation, continuity of service, facilities, licensing and insurance, and participation in industry organizations. (Better yet are the instances when salespeople volunteer this information to the client.)

Perhaps 15 minutes is involved in parsing the promotion materials to make a screening judgment. Thereafter, phone calls to client references should be made for the specific purpose of confirming contractor reliability.

The firm should be ethically sound and follow good business practices with strong commitments to written documentation, honoring terms of agreements and promoting good working relationships. "Visibility," due to aggressive advertising campaigns or well-placed facilities, are not requirements. But a reputation for quality is.

The capabilities of contractors who excel in the areas noted above should become evident to clients who evaluate prospective firms thoroughly. However, if a client is not aware of what constitutes professionalism or quality workmanship in this industry, the interiorscaper serves both the industry and the client by providing examples of standards and ethics that have been developed coast to coast over the last 30 years.

By encouraging prospective clients to take time to evaluate the various components of an interiorscape firm, understandings are promoted which serve everyone over an extended duration of the contract.