Litchfield Magazines Readers Choice Awards were just released. For the second time since the awards were started, we did not make the list. That’s unfortunate. Designing Eden llc has made the Best of Litchfield County list multiple times for the category of Best Landscape Company. Last year, the magazine added a new category, the Best Landscape Architect. Designing Eden llc won first place in the inaugural year. This year, we didn’t make the top 3 in either category. That’s a little bit of a head scratcher. How can a company be voted the best Landscape Architect one year and not make a list of the top three the second year? Well, after 40 years in business and 30 years in Litchfield County, I’m pretty well connected in the business community in and around New Milford. Now that these awards have been around for 5 or so years, voting has become a frenzy for a lot of companies. When the voting is happening, I hear all kinds of stories of ballot stuffing, people trying to figure out digital work-arounds so an email can vote an unlimited amount of times. On Facebook, there are daily posts with companies asking for votes, businesses offering coupons for votes and my inbox is flooded with daily emails asking for votes.
There’s nothing more than I’d like than to be recognized as the best landscape company or the best landscape architect in Litchfield County, but the reality is, the awards are nothing more than a popularity contest. Designing Eden llc is a boutique landscape business with an overworked owner. I don’t have the time or energy to play the game. Now that I know the extremes companies go through to get votes, I’m amazed Designing Eden llc has ever been nominated for anything. We don’t give discounts in exchange for votes and I’m not on social media or sending emails asking for votes. In my opinion, a popularity contest is not how a ‘Best of’ award should happen. If I was looking for the best company for my project, I’d do a couple different things. How would I go about finding a service related company? Well, it wouldn’t be based on some ‘Best of’ award and it certainly wouldn’t be to ask my Facebook Town page. That’s probably the worst place to find anyone.
I will tell you how I would go about finding a service provider if I was looking for a good, reliable contractor. First, I’d ask friends or neighbors for recommendations. If there is a company’s name that keeps coming up, that would be a good start. Next, I would go to Google Reviews. You’re looking for companies that have some reviews but not too many. There are services out there, that businesses pay, that write favorable reviews. Google is known to come in every once in a while and delete reviews. One time, Google came in and removed more than half of the Designing Eden reviews in one day. These were legitimate reviews from clients. It’s interesting they decided to leave the 1 review which happens to be a 20 something that seems to be interested in souped up Honda Civics, tattoos and lives in another state. Not the typical Designing Eden client! Because of this, too many reviews could be a warning sign that a company is paying for reviews. The number of reviews you’re looking for is a couple to maybe 20. Next, I’d go to the company’s website or social media profile. How does the work look? Does it appeal to you? Have they had a history of successful projects? Sometimes, people will ask a company for references. Personally, I think this exercise is a waste of time. It shouldn’t be too hard for even a bad company to give you a small list of ‘happy clients’. If you ask for referrals, you’re not going to get the past customers that had a bad experience so what’s the point? If you want to go the referral route, maybe get some pictures and addresses and at least do some drive bys. When we built our house, it was the largest purchase in my life. I was new to town and didn’t know anyone. This was early in the internet and pre-Google, so I couldn’t search reviews. I interviewed two builders that were referred to us. I chose one but before hiring, I went to his current project and interviewed the homeowners in person. They loved the company. The mistake I made was he was rather new to self employment. He ended up taking a $50,000 deposit, disappeared for months and started the job with no money. It was a disaster throughout the construction process. He continually robbed Peter to pay Paul throughout the process and wasn’t even working full time on our project because he needed money. He was hired to frame the house and make it weathertight. After a year, I fired him. His contract was supposed to take 6 weeks. I thought I did everything right!
The moral of the story is don’t trust what you read and don’t trust the information you see on Facebook. You need to do your own due diligence. Friends and family first, then go online to stalk the company. How long have they been in business? Keep in mind that 50% of businesses fail within 5 years, 35% of businesses survive 10 years. What does their work look like and does it appeal to you? Have they completed projects of a similar scope and scale to your project? Lastly, have a face to face conversation. Can you get along with the person? Does their design philosophy meet your style?Ask about the payment schedule. It’s amazing to me how many companies I come across, even established companies, can’t seem to last more than a couple days without needing money. Does the person have good communication skills. This is important! If you follow this approach, you might eliminate some problems along the way. Good luck with your project.
