7 Obnoxious Things People Believe About Landscape Lighters (and contractors in general)

14 Sep 7 Obnoxious Things People Believe About Landscape Lighters (and contractors in general)

By Mike Gambino

Working in the landscape lighting industry is a fantastic gig – there’s no denying it. Something about being outdoors everyday in the fresh air and sun surrounded by plants and beautiful trees and being able to be creative yourself is just unbeatable. But sometimes, it’s obviously difficult for others to realize that a landscape lighter is a professional too and deserves professional respect. Here are a few common situations when that can be a little irritating for a landscape lighter.

Friends Will Work for Free

The ridiculousness of asking your accountant friend to do your tax return work for you for free is readily apparent to most people. So is getting your dentist friend to do a bit of free root canal work. For some reason, that doesn’t extend to landscape lighters. This one seems to be unique to landscape lighters too. Hey why don’t you bring your gear out on Sunday and set up a few lights at my house and I’ll supply the beer. Ah no thanks.

Insisting on a breakdown of itemized costs before agreeing to do work

When an artist presents a fantastic painting and places a five thousand dollar value on it to purchase, do you say, “Wow, you must have a great brush and paints! Can you tell me how much they cost you along with the canvas and frame and how long it took to complete the painting and your hourly rate” .When you go to a fine gourmet restaurant and you order the Filet Mignon and lobster tail do you ask the cost of each individually. This is a pet irritation of a lot of landscape lighters. If you really think that a service provider is not entitled to a fair profit, and you don’t trust that he/she has your best interests in mind then you need to look for someone else or consider doing the project yourself.

My husband Can install the landscape lighting

Well, your husband probably can install landscape lighting at your home just like he can prepare your income taxes too. Or he can fix your car. Of course if you want your car to keep rolling, or avoid getting audited by the IRS, then you might like to get a professional to look at your tax return and car. Just like you might like to check out some professional landscape lighters if you want good landscape lighting that lasts.

You are recommending too many lights to make more money. I don’t want this place lit up like Disneyland

 Understand that it requires probably many more lighting fixtures to effectively complete a landscape lighting project on your property than you would ever imagine. More fixtures do not always equate to more light. Aiming angles, in order to avoid glare, are typically acute which limits the spread of light as much of each light beam is confined to a small space. Dead spots or noticeably dark areas in the yard are as distracting as hot spots (bright lights on a surface) and can equally ruin an otherwise pleasing experience in the garden at night. Sometimes its best not to do a project at all if limitations are placed such that the end result is just not good at all.

My yard must be viewed at night before any work is done

 A talented lighting designer knows that getting a project right “in their mind” during daylight hours is the best way to end up with a great end result. Many are actually very good at it and get stunning vivid mental images before they get anywhere close to placing a lighting fixture on your property. That is what makes them good at their craft. That is why they study. That is why they practice. Most great lighting designers will not view their work until it’s all done. Then it’s just a matter of a tweak or two to get it just right.

They’ll Be Grateful for the Work and Work Cheap

This one again goes back to professional respect. You don’t ask your dentist for a discount. You don’t ask your child’s teacher to throw in Math and Science, but don’t charge you for geography. You don’t ask your waiter to throw in dessert for free. So don’t do this to a landscape lighter. If you cannot pay for the service, then don’t ask for it.

I Know a Guy Who Can Do It Much Cheaper

Yes, yes, everybody knows a friend of a friend who can do the landscape lighting job for a third of the cost. The fact is that a landscape lighting business is an expensive one to run and you get what you pay for. If you’re happy enough to risk your cheap operator, then go for it. Just don’t use it as a cheap bargaining ploy when you’re talking to a professional.

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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