should i insure plants on this job?

[ohreallythanks]

ironing out a bed edging, plant install, mulch job...........this lady had another lco come out and draw up a plan, flag where the plants are going, and painted the bed edging........then she didn't go with their service, but kept their plans.........

ok....now i've quoted her a price for bed edging and installation ....and she's asking me will i warrenty the plants?

tomorrow i'm going to tell her that i'm only performing install of a existing plan and you are purchasing the plants, so therefore i'm not placing a warrenty on the plants........................

i have a strong feeling that she didn't pay the other lco for the design.........how do you prevent a customer from using your design and not paying for it??

[Seascape]

Is it a print?

[RRS]

how do you prevent a customer from using your design and not paying for it??

Offer a discount on the design if they use your company for the install. If the other company did the design for free then they get what they deserve for being stupid.

BTW, don't warrant plants you didn't purchase from a reputable nursery.

[ohreallythanks]

thanks Casey.....Mike..what u mean by print? forgive my ignorance

[MASTERMOWER]

Thats a HUGE problem everywhere! You could charge per design; however, not many people would purchase your design work unless your a stellar designer. What some companies here do is charge a deposit on the design, and once the client has it installed by their company, they will refund the deposit. Another I did an intern for last summer do not charge per design but have words on the design that essentially state the 'design is the property of X Company and cannot be reproduced nor installed by the client until the job is purchased from X Company....also states that legal action will be taken if this is infringed upon.' The last mentioned is the way Id go. It protects you from clients as you have mentioned and allows for legal action if they should just 'use you for a free plan.' Be sure to consult with an attorney about the legal wording though.

[MASTERMOWER]

Forgot to mention that I personally believe we as a whole should start charging per plan! Giving away free plans is a waste of company time even if it lands a $200,000 landscape job. If you charge a little something, people will assume you are more professional with your design work and are more reputable.

[ohreallythanks]

i agree with that mastermower.......who likes to work for free.....and don't even like free estimates

[MASTERMOWER]

On my personal website I posted long ago some of my landscape plans. http://gavinhampton.nstemp.com/photo4.html Ones like these involve countless hours to produce (even the CAD one). I wouldnt want to sell one like them for anything less than $200-300. Even that is crap pay for the time it takes! Now if you drew up a quick design, thats where you have to decide whether to charge or not. If you can design something real quick in less than 10 minutes for say some place like the back side of their house, then I just set a flat designing rate of say $30-50. Usually clients are not creative enough to come up with good deisgn ideas themselves and would gladly pay you to create a quick design for them.

[Seascape]

Is it a blue print?

[chriscampbell]

If she did not pay for the design make sure that there is no copyright marks on the document/blueprint. This happened to me a few weeks ago where a potential client tried to get me to do this design and I called the designer to see where to get the plants on the design. Then I found out that she never paid for the design. Then the designer said that if I proceeded with the design that he would take legal action.

As for the plants, there is no way I would insure the plants unless it is from a good grower. Then figure in some time to make sure the plants are watered and double the cost of the plants to cover the costs in case one or two die.

[Seascape]

Any reputable company will be pre paid on design work.

If you think she stiffed them,,, id think twice before i worked with her. If your going to insure plant material be sure theyre purchased through your account ,,, and go at least 2.5 X your cost.

[ohreallythanks]

i don't know any details concerning the other lco and her......she's doing all the leg work on purchasing the plants......i don't know of any print so far