Brian Bergmann 

How often do you ask yourself if you are getting the services, you asked for in your Request For Proposal (RFP)?  We see a lot of RFP’s and a lot of them have very detailed scopes of work. 

There is not a scope of work that will be a perfect fit for all properties.  The best thing is to have a conversation with a landscape professional and discuss your goals and expectations.  Ask for a calendar of the services in the contract.  The calendar will not be exact on dates due to the weather but it should be close enough so you know what should have been done already. 

There are several services you will see immediately such as applying mulch, installing annual flowers, pruning, mowing and leaf removal.  Some services such as Integrated Pest Management (IPM), spraying turf weeds and fertilizer, fertilizing shrubs, applying preemergent herbicides to beds and aerating and seeding may not be seen right away.  These services will take a while before it is noticeable that they were not done.  If you see weeds in the turf or beds it doesn’t automatically mean they were skipped but it does need to be watched.  The calendar will let you know when they should be done and the Account Manager should be able to give you exact dates for these when they are set in their schedule. 

To best way to make sure you are getting the services you have requested you need to meet with your landscape Account Manager and inspect the property together.  Point out concerns you have and ask if that is included in the maintenance agreement.  A maintenance agreement is set up to maintain the current landscape.  Any changes to plants or beds will be additional enhancement work and that is not included. 

This is a good time to ask for proposals for those changes.  Don’t forget to take pictures as you are discussing these issues.  Agree on a timeline to get the issues you have discussed to be fixed and revisit to make sure it is to your .  After your initial walk you might want to schedule monthly meetings with your Account Manager.  Hopefully your account Manager is already calling or talking with you more than once a month. 

After a few months both of you should be on the same page and if you are happy with the service you are receiving you can cut back on the amount of property inspections and just have a call.