Guide to Hiring a Lawn Service: 7 Things to Look For
There are so many lawn service companies to choose from. To help you narrow down your choices, here are 7 things to look for…
- A license, if required by your state. If he does have a license, take down the numbers and call your local state or local licensing board to verify it.
- Liability Insurance. This protects your home and property in case the contractor or his employees cause damage. (There was an incident where a commercial mower went right through a customer’s French doors into their Living Room. How did this happen? The worker thought he left his mower in neutral when he walked a few feet away to move a garden hose.)
- Workman’s Compensation Insurance. Without it, you can be held responsible if someone is injured while doing work on your property. (There was a landscaper, whose worker had a heart condition and died on someone’s property. The worker’s family sued the landscaper and the customer because there was not a Workman’s Compensation Policy. The court case is still going on 5 years later.)
- Check the Better Business Bureau or Consumer Protection for complaints. A red flag would be a large volume of complaints. Note whether there is pattern to the complaints. If there is one or two, keep an open mind because the customer is not always right.
- Pesticide License, if you expect a weed free lawn. Almost every state requires a pesticide license to spray for weeds, insects or fungus. The Department of Environmental Protection regulates licensing. Big lawn chemical companies, like TruGreen, are reputable. Make sure you sign up for a free price quote online with their Free Lawn Analysis.
- References from neighbors and local friends. Asking a company for its own references is useless. He would never give you an unbiased reference.
- An estimate in writing. Discrepancies do happen. If it ends up in small claims court, your claim is backed up by what was given in writing.
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