Q. Describe the most common types of jobs you do for your clients.
A. Lawnmowers that won't start, Lawncare and property preservation.
Q. What advice do you have for a customer looking to hire a provider like you?
A. Look for direct contact to or from the owner.Nobody sees or runs their business like their own. You are more than likely going to get the best customer service possible.
Q. If you were a customer, what do you wish you knew about your trade? Any inside secrets to share?
A. If I were a custome,r I wish I knew that I were a perfectionist. Because then I would know that the job would get done right everytime before wasting my time trying other places first.
Q. What important information should buyers have thought through before seeking you out?
A. When getting lawn service or snow removal, know the dimensions of the property you are getting serviced. It just makes things easier.
Q. Why does your work stand out from others who do what you do?
A. At TLC we are "The nice guys and girl". We strive to help people save money but still get the quality they expect. The service industry has changed dramatically in just a couple of decades. Do to hard economic times, people now flock to the lowest pricesto save a dollar and are not really getting the best service available. In a recent study it was discovered that 75% of people who received poor customer service at several leading discount retailers, stated that they would shop there again because of their low prices. At TLC we aim to provide excellent service and top notch customer service at a reasonable cost.
Q. What do you like most about your job?
A. That I am able to provide a service that has exceeded a customers expectations.
Q. What questions do customers most commonly ask you? What's your answer?
A. Customers often ask what does the "TLC" stand for. And I reply that "It is what we give to you, a little "Tender Loving Care"
Q. Do you have a favorite story from your work?
A. We picked up a mower for repair. It wouldn't start, it would crank and crank but not start. It was getting spark and fuel. As soon as we took the engine shroud off we saw a dead mouse in its nest. We took the head off the engine and noticed the valve sleeve came out of the head. So we did the math and realized what had happened. The mouse was in its nest when the owner went to start the mower probably in the beginning of the season. Before the mouse could escape he burned up in his nest and died. The nest was clogging up the cooling fins which allowed the engine to overheat. It expanded the head and parts inside and the valve sleeve slid out of place thus causing the mower not to start.
Very rare, but it happened. It is back together and running great.
Q. What do you wish customers knew about you or your profession?
A. I wish people knew how important preventive maintenance was. I get a lot of repairs or over growing lawns that cost people a lot of money that wouldn't cost so much or take a lot of time if preventive maintenance was performed.
Q. How did you decide to get in your line of work?
A. Our sister company, TLC Truck & Auto Services has a long history of working on cars and trucks. I have heard and experienced very bad customer service from lawn mower dealerships and repair shops. The dealers always want to sell you a new mower and make it so expensive to fix a mower to try to force you to buy a new one. And I have heard many horror stories of people putting their mowers in for repair and being without it all summer long. These shops don't even give the customers loaners or cut the grass for them. I felt it was my duty as a consumer to be of service to consumers.
Q. Do you do any sort of continuing education to stay up on the latest developments in your field?
A. I am always reading up on the latest news and innovations for my field.
Q. What are the latest developments in your field? Are there any exciting things coming in the next few years or decade that will change your line of business?
A. There are always products that are coming to improve the quality of someone's lawn, it's my job to choose the best products for my clients needs.
Q. If you have a complicated pricing system for your service, please give all the details here.
A. Our basic grass cutting jobs start at $25 per cut, but if we quote you a price and the job takes longer, we stick to the quoted price.....Hopefully they give a nice tip!
Q. If you were advising someone who wanted to get into your profession, what would you suggest?
A. As in any business, "Love what you do" because it can get tough sometimes but you will have to love it to stick with it.
