GAMBINO LANDSCAPE LIGHTING MAY NOT BE THE RIGHT Landscape lighting Designer Builder FOR YOU….

GAMBINO LANDSCAPE LIGHTING MAY NOT BE THE RIGHT Landscape lighting Designer Builder FOR YOU….

By Mike Gambino

WHAT!!!   Yes I said it, Gambino Landscape Lighting is not for everyone. In fact our services and products are not appropriate or compatible with most buyers seeking some kind of outdoor and landscape lighting for their properties.

Maybe we are not meant for each other,  Thank you for the opportunity. Let me explain.

We get calls all the time from those who don’t know us, don’t know what we do, have never spent 1 minute viewing our website or Facebook pages to get a feel for the type of lighting we do and if it is what they are looking for and more importantly have budgeted for. To give you an idea of what I’m talking about please read on……

This is a composite I have put together of the type of conversation between myself and a prospective buyer of our landscape lighting services who has contacted me and asked me to provide an estimate for over the years.  I will recap the conversation for you, which is similar to many conversations I have had over the years with these type of landscape lighting prospects that we have no interest in working with.

Buyer:  I’d like someone to come out and give us some ideas and an estimate to install some landscape lighting. We don’t want to spend too much money can you give me an idea of what this will cost. How much is your cost for fixture?

When cost is the first and foremost consideration in a prospects mind and not quality durability and beautiful nighttime effects then this is definitely not a client we are interested in working with however we keep an open mind and continue with the conversation and give the caller the benefit of the doubt.

Me: Thank you for contacting me. Can you tell me how you found me and why you are calling today.

Buyer: Well I saw your truck somewhere and we just need someone to give us a price. Our lights are all broken and don’t work anymore. Its dark out there.

Me: Are you familiar with our work, have you seen any of our jobs or photos on our website or Facebook pages of completed projects?

Buyer; No I haven’t, I don’t have time for that- when can you come out?

Me: First I’d need to know what your timeline is, when you’d like to have the project completed, and what you have budgeted for this project. If it sounds like a reasonable budget that we could work with we would need to meet with you and whomever is making decisions on this project at your site. Speak to you about how you use the property,  where you will be viewing the lighting from, what are your lighting ideas, requirements and expectations. Then I would spend a short amount of time walking around the property  and put pen to paper while you look through a book of our projects to get ideas and hopefully inspired to hire us to do your lighting. Once we have all of our design ideas on paper we can then walk through the project and I will show you exactly what I have in mind and your feedback is encouraged. Then I will show you actual fixture samples which I bring along with me so you will see the quality and durability of the best product that is available in the industry. If all goes well we will go inside I will sit down and figure out the cost to complete the project and present the price right there and then all in a no pressure to buy atmosphere. If you agree on the spot to move forward with us you will receive the very best possible price and a space in our construction schedule. If you don’t make a decision to buy at this meeting then we collect a design consultation fee check for $100 which is credited to work that is accepted within 7 days of our meeting. Does this sound like something of interest to you?

Buyer: Well I don’t know about paying if we don’t buy I have to check with my wife (or husband), estimates are usually free.  I’m not sure what our budget is but I know we don’t want to spend too much we just finished other projects and we’ve spent so much already. We just want a few lights. We are not in any hurry whenever to have them installed . We are not even sure we want anything it’s going to depend upon price. Otherwise we can just have our gardener or handyman do it.

Me:  I’m sorry but we don’t work this way and this doesn’t sound at all like a project that we would be interested in working on maybe it is best to have your gardener or handyman do it.

Buyer: Oh ok bye.

I wanted to share why we are not fit for every project or every prospective landscape lighting buyer.  Our company takes great pride in the final outcome of every project. All of our new jobs come from previous successfully completed projects and satisfied clients.  If a prospective buyer binds our hands and has their own ideas how they want us to work on their project that is totally 180 degrees opposite of how we work than we will not engage that prospect and not enter into that project.

When thinking of hiring a landscape lighting designer builder for your next project just remember we are not all created equal.

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 28 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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