As you know, our Brand Vision is 100% Client Retention. However, we’ve been blogging a lot about our big initiative for 2014: 100% Customer Satisfaction. You cannot have 100% Client Retention without 100% Customer Satisfaction. We talked about the importance of customer satisfaction as a low-overhead revenue generator for your business. And last week, we touched on how you can leverage your employees to reach your service goals, by discussing the all-important role of the Crew Leader.

Now, we want to examine the connection between employees and customers even further. And in doing so, we’re going to make a bold statement: 100% Customer Satisfaction = 100% Employee Retention.

If you think about it, it just makes sense. Your employees cannot deliver extraordinary customer service if they’re not happy at their jobs. We’ve said that before. If you want every customer experience to go above and beyond—if you want to be in the business of service, not grounds care—then every person who touches the customer must be part of that equation. We saw last week how the Crew Leader was actually a customer service position. What would happen if you started thinking of all your jobs as customer service positions?

For one thing, it would change the way you hire. Even a gardener needs to do more than just mow or edge. He should possess basic service skills, such as putting the client first, making sure he does the job right, responsiveness, and taking pride in his work.

In fact, everyone in your office should demonstrate these qualities. If a prospective office manager comes for an interview and doesn’t seem to care about improving communities or changing lives…that’s probably not the best service professional to hire. It doesn’t matter how organized he or she is, or how great at keeping the books. Truly caring about our clients is what sets U.S. Lawns apart. That’s service; not just business.

At this point, you might be asking, “How do I get a gardener or an office manager to care about my clients? How do I get them to see themselves in a service role?”

The answer is simple: 100% Employee Retention. In other words, it’s your job to both recruit and retain service-oriented employees at every level of your staff. Sometimes recruiting is easy; retention can be the hard part. Everybody struggles with coming to work day after day, especially physical laborers who may be toiling in the heat or humidity. So if you want happy employees who care about serving others, it’s your job to make sure their needs are taken care of.

Let’s be clear: everyone has to work. Your employees must do their jobs, and do them well. That is a principle of our Brand DNA that should never change. But we want our employees to enjoy their work—to be fulfilled by their work. And that can happen in several ways. Employee Retention is about listening to your staff when they come to you with suggestions or even complaints. It’s about making them feel part of a team, a community.

Employee Retention can be impacted positively by employee benefits, such as 401(k) and bonuses, rewards for meeting goals, a company culture that’s positive and engaging, team activities—basically, whatever helps your staff feel appreciated and compensated for going above and beyond.

But the most important part of retaining great employees is sharing your vision with them. Hang a poster of the U.S. Lawns Brand DNA in the shop, and live those Brand Values every day. Start your crews each morning by chanting our mantra: “Your Turf. Our Lawn.” Talk to your team at every level about the goal of 100% Customer Satisfaction, and maybe set up a game or reward system to help them reach it.

If 100% of your employees are satisfied with their jobs, you can begin to build a strong customer relations initiative. If even one disgruntled team member interacts with a client, it can mean the difference between keeping an account and losing it. That’s why great customer service begins internally. 100% Customer Satisfaction = 100% Employee Retention.

Last week we talked about Customer Satisfaction and why service is one of the most important business tools you possess. Now, we’re going to focus on another important (and closely related) advantage: the people who work a job site and make customer service happen.

It’s become something of a cliché in the business world that “people are the most important assets.” But it’s also profoundly true, especially in a service industry. If 100% customer satisfaction is your primary goal, you can’t get there without hiring and training the best staff.

Focusing on your employees is the first step in serving your customers. That’s why companies like Walmart, Starbucks and Google make such a big deal about being great places to work. It’s why the U.S. Lawns Home Office does the same. Employees can’t and won’t provide extraordinary service unless they’re happy with their jobs.

So, what does this mean for you? As a franchise owner, it’s different than a Fortune 500 company like Starbucks, or even our Home Office. The size of your staff will vary, depending on how long you’ve been in business. If your franchise is established, you’re probably responsible for an Operations Manager, an Office Manager, and perhaps even GMs for multiple territories. Newer franchisees are still focused on building their crews. All of these positions are important, but there’s one employee every franchisee has—one who serves as the ideal model for employee satisfaction and customer service. That person is your Crew Leader.

The Crew Leader position may not be the highest on the org chart, but we guarantee it’s the most important from a customer service perspective. So, if you want to achieve 100% customer satisfaction this year, start by taking a look at your Crew Leader.

We should all be familiar with the job duties of a Crew Leader. We have listings along with job descriptions posted on our local web pages, as we’re constantly looking to expand our crews. At a basic, operational level, the Crew Leader is responsible for managing the activities week-to-week on each job site and delivering quality work on time. This involves delegating tasks to the most capable members of the crew, supervising their activities and following up to ensure completion of these tasks. It also involves keeping schedules and punch lists of duties to be performed. The Crew Leader may also conduct safety tailgate meetings.

At this level, the Crew Leader’s role is focused on the grounds care staff. He is their manager, their coach and their mentor. When a new gardener comes on board, it’s the Crew Leader’s job to train him. It’s the Crew Leader’s job to enforce the rules for safety and performance. The Crew Leader reports back to the owner or manager on the performance of the team. Consequently, he is responsible for motivating the team and setting a positive example.

You can see how the Crew Leader plays a pivotal role in getting a job done. Customer satisfaction depends on the Crew Leader’s ability to lead. If someone on the crew isn’t properly trained, that’s the Crew Leader’s fault. If deadlines or important tasks get missed, the Crew Leader is responsible. In microcosm, the Crew Leader is your business; his hand is on the lever of customer satisfaction at all times. The Crew Leader must constantly manage the human capital of the crew. If a gardener has complaints about a job, the Crew Leader gets an earful. He works constantly to motivate his team, and keep them happy—so they, in turn, can serve your customers.

But there’s another dimension to the Crew Leader’s job: he also interacts directly with your clients. In this role, the Crew Leader does not so much represent the crew as the U.S. Lawns franchise itself. When discussing the progress of jobs with your customer, Crew Leaders must provide exemplary service at all times. They must be positive, responsive, and flexible to all clients’ needs. And they must follow up with the client to ensure that jobs have been satisfactorily completed.

As you can see, the Crew Leader’s function is to represent all aspects of the organization. If anyone is unhappy—you, the crew or the client—the Crew Leader is the one who must hear about it. His client is both internal and public, and his primary job is service. In fact, you might say a Crew Leader’s job description could be boiled down to three words: 100% Customer Satisfaction.

So, what’s important to learn from this? A few things:

• The Crew Leader is your “anchor” position if customer satisfaction is your goal. Make sure you’ve got the right people in that role.
• Train your Crew Leaders to be all-star players on your team. Encourage them, coach them and support them.
• Make sure everyone understands that Crew Leader is not a landscaping position; it’s a customer service job. That sets expectations right away for your team, including the Crew Leaders themselves.
• Rely on the Crew Leaders to take the lead on customer service, and take ownership of that aspect of grounds care. Crew morale will rise, and your service ratings will, too.
• Every single person in your organization is crucial to achieving 100% Client Satisfaction. You may never have thought about the Crew Leader before. Now think about the other roles in your organization. How is each person uniquely positioned to help your team generate revenue and stand out from the competition by providing unparalleled customer service?

It's hard to believe our next annual conference is just a few months away.

Last year in Baltimore, we made history. With record attendance and a dramatic rebranding, we launched a new era for U.S. Lawns. Most of us are still working to implement the details of the new brand today. But as we head into the 2014 conference season, it's important to reflect on how we've changed in the last nine months, and why.

It started with unprecedented growth. Over 270 locations...170 franchisees...market presence in 44 states. In franchising, this kind of reach has major implications. Every provider from Raleigh to Reno must deliver a consistent, replicable experience. Our franchisees must be unified by a single message.

Your Turf. Our Lawn.

In 2013, we realized it was time. Time to come together...time to show the world our strength. We'd seen the landscape industry crowded with amateurs since the recession began. Local businesses needed to see immediately, at a single glance, that U.S. Lawns was the #1 commercial grounds care franchise in the nation.

As the trucks rolled into the streets of Baltimore, bearing our new insignia, a drum corps wearing our crisp, new uniforms marched us into the sun. Few can forget that moment of excitement which defined the entire conference-or the rallying cry that soon rang out: Your Turf. Our Lawn.

Since that inspiring weekend, it's only gotten better. Those freshly wrapped trucks soon appeared on the streets in the Carolinas, Florida and Mississippi, where franchisees initiated a race to see who could rebrand fastest. Competitive camaraderie spread like wildfire, with many of you stepping up your internal operations. We saw franchisees cooperating across territory lines at an unprecedented level. And crew members also got in the game, starting their day with our newly-adopted company chant.

Everyone wants to feel like they're part of something big. We always knew U.S. Lawns was an incredible team, but now we've articulated our success in a bold, unapologetic way. And clients look at us differently, because of our updated appearance. Potential franchisees who once passed us over are coming back again.

As for us, we look at ourselves with renewed confidence in our ability to grow, succeed and meet the challenges of tomorrow. It's important to remember what we said at the conference: rebranding isn't change. Everything about our "new look" is simply a better expression of the values we've always held. Strength; professionalism; community; loyalty; trust...those of you who have been with U.S. Lawns for a long time can attest that these are truly at the heart of our DNA.

Last year we rebranded. We began a journey. The task of communicating our vision to the world will keep us engaged for years to come.

Let's get ready for Nashville...2014.

April 8, 2014 - U.S. Lawns franchisee Darrick Stirling shared his story of building a successful U.S. Lawns franchise. View full article

April 2014 - Read why U.S. Lawns is encouraging Franchises to use Greener Fuels. View full article

November 2013 – Read our article on winter preparation published by Retail Facility Business. View full article.

November 2013 - Read U.S. Lawns President Ken Hutcheson's 4 part article on irrigation system strategies in Facilities Net online. View full article

October 2013 - Read U.S. Lawns President Ken Hutcheson's article on mowing practices published by Facility Maintenance Decisions. View full article.

October 2013 - Read U.S. Lawns President Ken Hutcheson's article on managing winter weather in Hotel Executive. View full article

ORLANDO, FL (September 4, 2013) – U.S. Lawns President Ken Hutcheson unveiled the rebranding of U.S. Lawns to franchisees at their annual conference in Baltimore.

U.S. Lawns President Ken Hutcheson gave an energized presentation, unveiled the rebranding of U.S. Lawns to their franchisees at their annual conference. New colors, logo, uniforms, fleet design, collateral, website, newly defined brand DNA, and new direction were all welcomed with cheers, applaud and shout-outs of the new tag line "Your Turf. Our Lawn."

“Our conference theme ‘It’s Time’ was chosen carefully in preparation for this tightly-kept rebranding secret,” said Ken Hutcheson. “We wanted the unveiling to be a complete surprise to our franchisees. We hyped the conference for several weeks prior, with hints of change to come. We wanted anticipation. We wanted expectation. We wanted to energize them…and it worked.”

After Ken’s presentation, a solitary drummer led everyone outside, where trucks and a trailer rolled into view, bearing the new blue U.S. Lawns logo, as the drum corps, donned in the new blue uniforms, led the charge of franchisees into a new era for U.S. Lawns.

“Our original logo has stood strong since 1986,” Ken commented. “We changed the logo style only slightly, to make it crisp and stronger. We picked a color that denotes service and professionalism. Strong, bold, regal. We defined our brand DNA for Franchisor Operations, Franchisee Operations and Strategic Operations to have clear guidelines for our future. We have always utilized our phrase ‘National Strength, Local Commitment’ as part of what sets us apart from our competitors. Our new graphic map, reminiscent of airline destination maps, showing our locations nationwide, prompted us to add a third message to complete the refreshed phrase we use for the value we add. It is now, ‘National Strength, Local Commitment, and the Power of the Network.’ “

U.S. Lawns franchisees will roll out the new branding in their local markets throughout the upcoming months.

About U.S. Lawns

Founded in 1986, U.S. Lawns services commercial landscape customers through a network of over 260 locally owned franchise locations nationwide, providing customized commercial landscape management and snow & ice management services to corporate campuses, retail centers, industrial parks, multi-family residential communities and other commercial customers. U.S. Lawns also provides multi-location property managers and owners with centralized billing and one point of contact through Strategic Accounts. For more information, visit www.USLawns.com and www.USLawnsFranchise.com.