30 Jun 6 reasons why your installer might not offer landscape lighting maintenance service
By Mike Gambino
I have spoken many times on this blog about the utmost importance of landscape lighting system maintenance service.
In fact I have also gone as far as to recommend to buyers that a company should be automatically disqualified as a candidate to install your low voltage landscape lighting project if they will not be the ones to maintain it.
In this article we will discuss the various reasons why a company will not maintain a lighting system they installed.
1- Not profitable enough and more trouble than its wortb: Landscape lighting maintenance is not the main profit source for any landscape lighting company. First of all to even do this work without losing money there needs to be a significant investment in stocked lamps, parts and a dedicated service vehicle and technician/s. Margins are slim and a second unpaid for trip back to the site because the part wasn’t on the truck or the task wasn’t completed properly will erase any profit that would have been originally made.
2- They know there may or will be issues: Problems with inferior fixtures don’t usually show up until after the first six months of operation. This is usually the time the system should have its first checkup. Premature failure of cheap light bulbs is also a fear for the installer who doesn’t want to be stuck with the replacement bill as bulbs carry no guarantee from the manufacturer to the installer. It is assumed by the homeowner that troubles which occur so soon after the completion date should be covered under some kind of quality guarantee at no cost to the owner. Although most legitimate manufacturers will back their products at the very least for a short amount of time. That warranty does not cover the cost of labor to remove, ship back product, new connections and or labor to re-install new equipment which will require at least two trips to the site by the service provider in order to accomplish. With the high cost of fuel and technical labor this is something most companies would like to avoid even at the cost of customer dissatisfaction or even losing a customer.
3- Dissatisfaction with levels of brightness or color rendition of lamps (bulbs): The client has had some time to view other low voltage landscape lighting systems and may question why theirs lacks brightness and color correctness. Problems such as this are not cheap or easy to correct and usually stems back to the fact that the installer didn’t provide proper operating voltage to the fixtures via poor wire engineering or used cheap inferior bulbs. Or perhaps the wrong bulb wattage or beam spreads were installed. Whatever the issue this problem is not cheap to correct.
4- Claims that no maintenance is required: I can tell you that such claims are 100% false even with LED low voltage landscape lighting systems. I was disappointed to recently read another landscape lighting company’s blog where they were claiming their LED systems do not require maintenance. LED light bulbs are rated and are supposed to last longer however there will come a day when they will need to be replaced. Plants will still continue to grow and they will need to be pruned away from fixtures. Fixtures may also need occasional repositioning with the growth of said plants. Lenses will also need to be regularly cleaned as they will never be immune to water stains and dirt accumulations LED or not. So any claims made regarding no need for maintenance are purely done because the installer doesn’t want to perform it.
5- Are not concerned with the long term satisfaction of their client: In today’s competitive business atmosphere it can be assumed or deduced that any installer that does not insure that the client’s system is operating as it should really doesn’t care if they do not take a proactive position in seeing to it that they are satisfied.
6- Installer lacks passion for the craft: And views the installation simply as a business transaction that ends when the final check clears. Any passionate landscape lighting designer/installer will tell you that they are dedicated to the lifetime satisfaction of their client and understands not only is it the right thing to stand behind and service their system but a solid business is built from keeping in touch and making sure client satisfaction is at the top of the list.
At Gambino Landscape Lighting we are proud to say that we offer maintenance service on every system we design and install and we stand by our products and make things right in the unlikely event of failure.
This landscape lighting blog is published by Mike Gambino of Gambino landscape lighting inc. all rights reserved. Mike is a professional landscape lighting system designer/ builder and has been designing, installing and maintaining landscape lighting systems for more than 20 years. Mike resides in the Los Angeles area with his wife and 2 sons. To visit his website go to www.gambinolighting.com . To inquire about hiring Mike please click here .
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