You know that you need help with your lawn and need professional lawn care. But how do you begin the process of choosing a lawn care company? You have a plethora of options here in Northern Virginia.
The last thing that you want is to get ripped off or have to babysit your lawn care provider to make sure they’re doing a good job. You ought to be able to hire a reliable, honest, and effective lawn care company that’s going to deliver on its promises.
Knowing how to compare lawn care companies, spot red flags, and set reasonable expectations is important when choosing lawn care companies.
As you consider your options for professional lawn care, you might be asking yourself, Is this really worth paying for?
Obviously, we feel strongly that the answer is yes.
While it’s true that you can buy fertilizer and weed control at the hardware store, if you care about getting the best results, then it makes sense to invest in professional lawn care.
A pro will have access to commercial-grade products that deliver the best results. They’re also going to be trained to know exactly how to apply these products.
Plus, you have to consider the fact that your time is valuable. You probably don’t want to spend your free time working on your lawn. When you hire a pro, all of that is handled for you. For many busy homeowners, that alone makes professional lawn care worth it.
There are so many options when it comes to choosing lawn care in our region. But what sets apart the cream of the crop? Here are a few key differentiators.
There are many companies that will treat your weeds and fertilize your lawn, but not as many that offer a full spectrum of services.
Services like aeration and overseeding, soil testing, powerseeding, sod installation, and more can ensure that you’re getting anything your lawn needs. But many companies really just stick to the basics.
Lawn care companies in Northern Virginia that offer only a limited range of services may not be able to fully meet all your needs.
As you’re going through the process of comparing lawn care companies, you’ll find that many companies either offer lawn care services OR landscaping services.
While lawn care includes tasks such as fertilization, weed control, and grub control, landscaping includes services such as weekly mowing, flower bed care, and mulching. Most homeowners want (and need) both lawn care and landscaping, and it’s so much more convenient and streamlined to have all of their needs met by a single company.
It’s a huge value-add if a company can offer both and perform them both well. It’s unnecessarily complicated to have to hire two different companies just to meet your property’s needs.
Every company says they offer great customer service, but when you read reviews, it doesn’t align with what they’re claiming. Simple things like failing to return a call or not showing up when they say they will can quickly derail your experience with a lawn care company.
At Kingstowne Lawn & Landscape, we take the customer experience incredibly seriously. We have a dedicated client care team, separate from our field technicians, whose sole focus is the customer experience.
Whether adjusting a schedule, asking a question about a treatment or raising a concern about a particular program, our customers have a real point of contact who knows their account. Our goal is to make sure you won't get bounced around or left waiting.
Often, you can spot red flags before you’ve even hired a company.
As you’re researching potential lawn care companies, pay attention to these potential lawn care red flags.
What is the company’s response time like? When lawn care companies in Northern Virginia fail to respond quickly from the get-go, when you’re just trying to give them your business, you have to wonder what they’ll be like once they start working for you.
How a company presents itself before you even hire them also matters. Do they wear a uniform? Do they drive a branded vehicle? Or do they pull up in a beat-up pick-up truck wearing jeans and a t-shirt?
If it’s the latter, then it may start to make you question whether they’re qualified to perform the work—or if they even have the important licenses that may be needed.
Lawn care companies that don’t know their stuff should raise an immediate red flag. If you’re asking questions about your lawn and they’re struggling to answer, they may not have the experience or know-how that you really want in a company taking care of your property.
Move along to a company that truly understands the services they’re offering and can properly answer your questions. Similarly, it should also raise a red flag if the lawn care company you’re looking into doesn’t offer much information about their services or programs—or other details about their company, for that matter.
Testimonials and reviews about a lawn service can be helpful tools for finding out what to expect from a particular company.
However, if the lawn care company you’re considering has no reviews (or very few), it may not have been around long.
While this might sound appealing to some, it can be a red flag if one bid is significantly lower than the rest. Do you really want to hire the cheapest service in town? You shouldn’t because “cheap” almost always means cutting corners.
There is a cost of doing business the right way, and that includes paying for insurance, credentials, and for good people (in the form of a good salary). If a company brags about being cheap, they’re probably not running the best business.
That means they’re probably not going to deliver the best results, either.
While it’s true that everyone has to get started somewhere, it can also be worrisome if a company hasn’t been around long.
They may not know what they’re doing when it comes to certain lawn care services. Although they may be offering a better price, you have to ask if it’s worth the risk. They could wind up making a mistake on your property that will leave you with extra costs to fix it. Or, they could be “here one day, gone the next.”
Unfortunately, this is something we see a lot of in the lawn care industry, and it’s more likely to happen with a company that has only been in business a short time.
We are fortunate to have many reputable lawn care companies in our region. But there are always scams out there that customers have to be wary of. Some potential lawn care scams to watch for include the following:
Fortunately, for the most part, a lot of these situations are limited. It’s usually the “one-man-and-a-truck” kind of scenario that turns out to be a potential scam. When you’re spending your hard-earned money on professional lawn care, you want to make sure you’re choosing a reputable company.
But there are definitely “gimmicks” out there that we hate to see people fall for. These even happen with some reputable companies that are using gimmicky marketing to attract your business. Just pay attention to what you’re getting into and always read the fine print. As we always tell people, if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is!
First and foremost, we’d urge you to avoid getting caught up in the "number of visits.” You should know that many games are played during visits and treatments. Since lawn care companies know that most homeowners don’t really know how many lawn applications are necessary, they take advantage of this fact to try to make their program seem more enticing than it really is.
Most commonly in the Northern Virginia area, we find that big franchises will push the fewest lawn care visits on unsuspecting homeowners, just to make their package price appear low and get customers in the door. But they know full well that there won't be enough treatments and that the results will fall short—so they’ll plan to upsell more services later on. This falls under the “lawn care scams” we talked about.
The most important aspect of a lawn care plan is that it includes the right lawn care treatments and that they are performed appropriately, including their timing. The important treatments include a series of professional weed control, lawn insect control, and fertilization treatments, timed with the proper season.
Taking the leap to hire a lawn care service absolutely requires some research on your part. You should be careful about hiring the first company you come across; instead, take some time to explore these companies further. It can be time-consuming, but it’s worth it to avoid being disappointed with your choice.
Although choosing a lawn service may feel a bit stressful, hopefully, knowing some red flags to look for will help you narrow down your choices. We’re also here to help you.
You can count on us to be honest with you about what your lawn needs—and what it doesn’t. By choosing wisely, you can build a long-term relationship with a company that truly cares about your needs and delivers the results you desire. You’ll be able to hand over your lawn services with confidence.
Are you ready to have the best-looking lawn in your neighborhood without the worries or the work? Request your quote, enroll in our lawn care program, and relax as you get the royal treatment.