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Comment by Alba Trees on March 18, 2011 at 13:50

I was at a Forest Research update yesterday and they talked about P lateralis in Lawson cypress.  This is a new, serious disease that threatens Lawson and Yew in this country, spread by containerised plants.  For comparison, P ramorum has destroyed the Japanese Larch trade within one season and led to thousands being felled.  P Lateralis is regarded with extreme gravity within forestry, but what about in horticulture as a whole?  This disease will cause much more damage to people's gardens than to forests - please spread the word, we need a central body to act now!  They showed footage of a Dutch lorry trying door-to-door sales of trees - where is the control and tracability there?

PRO Member Comment by Phil Voice on December 8, 2010 at 9:07

Thanks for your input Gary

It's fair to say that a lot has happened since this group started and many changes have been implemented by the associations - I feel we've reached a point where we can move on and focus purely on Landscape Juice and its members.

"The posting format within a group makes it so much harder to follow because you can't add to the post you're referring to."

Agreed...it's always been an issue and it's not ideal.

"Why not let the customer be the judge?"

Whole heartedly agree but I have to say, I'm not a fan of vetting in the sense that the criteria is established an implemented by a small group and nobody knows what goes on behind closed doors.

It's my view that the contractor should be honest, open and transparent about their abilities, skills and experience and place themselves in a position where they are open for scrutiny - it's then for the client to preview their business profile and make their decision based on the available information.

Continuous professional and personal development is one method I'd like to see expanded and used as a way of benchmarking.

Vetting is like an MOT...fine on the day it's carried out but out of day almost straight away.

PRO Member Comment by Phil Voice on December 7, 2010 at 20:24

Thanks to all who've joined today - let's keep the momentum and get as many as possible.

PRO Member Comment by Phil Voice on December 7, 2010 at 13:16

Hi Graham

I think the important word within your statement is 'trust'.

LJN isn't about setting a benchmark but it has always encouraged every single member business to be honest about where they sit in the market place.

It has always been my view that there is no better judge of a business than its owner and there is no better judge of the quality of their work than the most recent client.

By being a member of LJN, I would hope that each member is working to strengthen their position in the marketplace: we're open, transparent and available to everyone.

Comment by Alba Trees on December 7, 2010 at 13:08

I agree - if more than two bodies are trying to demonstrate comeptance of the company, then it becomes confusing for everyone. But if we were to set up a LJN association, how do we demonstrate to our customers that this is the logo to look for? This is surely the pivotal question.

PRO Member Comment by Graham Parker on December 7, 2010 at 12:54

The only association I know that regularly checks their members is Marshalls.

B.A.L.I. Did a very good check on us when we joined but we have had nothing since.

If I wanted to I could probably join 20 different organisations today just by going on the interenet without any checks. This can not be in our customers best interest.

I feel at the most there should be only 2 organisations covering our industry until then how can the customer have any faith in the various organisations signs we put on our vehicles or headed note paper.

PRO Member Comment by Gardens4u.co.uk on February 24, 2010 at 20:20

note the GREEN TICK !

PRO Member Comment by Gardens4u.co.uk on February 24, 2010 at 19:23

https://www.traderregister.org.uk/search_results.php

if this works ? i am at the job at the moment above green thumb !

Comment by laara copley-smith on February 24, 2010 at 17:47

Yes I agree much with this .
Something else that links to this is the last couple of years i and my associates have been in situations where others have put in such a low price you just cannot compete with . prices that obviously would not do the job and certainly not to a high or even good standard.
Also on some occasions it looks as if it is a price just to pay a wage.

we also had a situation recently where we lost an ongoing maintenance job/contract / where a new maintenaince guy ( Young , newly set-up) offered to do the work for a price which was so ridiculous. His month price was equivilant to a day !

Comment by The Perfumed Garden on February 24, 2010 at 17:19

The usp that LJN has, compared to other horticultural associations, is the ability to communicate directly with the majority of the public.

If the public are educated to understand what they should be paying for and,as a rule of thumb, of how much they should consider paying, it would add value to the industry.

This in turn will enable the public to indentify 'the cowboys' and make an imformed decision as to whether to employ them or not. There will always be people who want a cheap job and The Perfumed Garden for one, does not want to deal with that type of client.

I know Phil has put out numerous articles about what a customer should look for when employing a 'gardening trade' and I'm sure many people read them and take note.

Maybe this is the way the LJN 'association' should go. Target the consumer and educate them. This should give members more work at the right price, keep standards and hopefully increase revenue for the site.

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