Why Cheaper Isn’t Always Better

Unlike residential properties, commercial properties have a unique need for landscape management. They often possess expansive lawns, many plant beds, and need to remain competitive in the market. Office parks must compete for new tenants, and retain their own. Retail centers must attract customers and foot traffic into their place of business in order to earn revenue. Overall, the landscape quality of a commercial property can be a determining factor in whether or not those battles are won. This means that you need a great landscaping company to keep your property in perfect condition. When sorting through bids it might be easiest to just take the cheapest options and cut down on some costs. However, here are some reasons why cheaper is not always better.

Lower Cost: Less Resources

When you end up paying less for landscaping services, there is usually a reason. The less you pay a landscaping company to manage your commercial property, the less overhead they are able to have. This means they have to cut costs somewhere, whether that be staffing, equipment, or plant material selection. They might have to subcontract out various services or skip out on some services entirely. These are all things you need to consider, as management of a commercial landscape requires adequate resources. This leads us to our next section.

Contracts, Cost, and Clarity

As we mentioned before, a cheap bid is probably skipping out somewhere. However, where exactly a landscaper is skipping out is likely to be hidden somewhere in the contract. Any reputable landscaping company should have a termed contract that clearly lays out all of the provided services, and how much they will cost. It will also provide details surrounding insurance, and what happens in case of a mistake. These are all things that need to be looked into during your due diligence, especially when a bid seems too low.

Scope of Work: Company Size

We never want to push you for or against any particular type or brand of landscaping company, as there are many great mom and pops, as there are nationwide landscapers. When it comes to commercial landscape management, there is a broad scale of work required. It could be a smaller property, with just one building, one lawn, and some plant material. Alternatively, it could be an HOA, or a large apartment complex. These properties require a certain amount of staff, and access to commercial-grade equipment in order for there to be any level of efficiency. Ensure that whoever is providing this “cheaper option” is even capable of doing the work that they promise.

Making Up for Credibility

Oftentimes, companies that provide cheap bids might actually be able to check all of the aforementioned boxes. Their reason for providing such a cheap bid could be because they have a lack of credibility. To make up for their lack of reviews or referenced clients, they must offer you a low price to get your business. This should be a red flag, and at the very least something, you deeply consider in making your decision. Inexperience can often lead to issues, so experience is a safer option. We have a combined eight decades of experience at Exscape, so you know where the experience is.

Exscape Designs is a full-service design/build company headquartered in Novelty, Ohio that serves the Greater Cleveland area and Northeast Ohio region. Give us a call today at (440) 729-0011, or email us at info@ExscapeDesigns.com for more information.