When Steve Quillen says Grass Roots Inc. is a mowing company first, he means it. Each week, mowing crews tackle 470 properties in and around their home base of Wilmington, Delaware. The company, which targets high-end homeowners, gets the job done efficiently and effectively with a fleet of nine vehicles, seven Walker Mowers, and 14 full- and part-time employees.
But mowing is not the entire story, adds Steve, who, with brother Dave and partner Jim Whittaker, started the business 14 years ago. In his words, “Grass Roots will do whatever it takes to keep a customer satisfied.” What does that mean? Simply this, he relates. “If customers want their lawns fertilized, we plug them into our lawn care team member. If customers want a new landscape design, we bring in our design member.”
Both Dave and Steve say the team concept has worked beautifully from the very beginning. It allows them to focus on what they do best, providing mowing and maintenance services, while, at the same, giving customers that all important one-stop shopping.
This unique way of generating business and providing services is the brainchild of Larry Iorii, owner of Down to Earth Inc., also of Wilmington. In business 28 years, Larry provides full-service landscaping to a base of 500 customers, 200 of whom he considers to be “regulars.”
“Just about the time Grass Roots was getting into business, I realized I couldn’t continue to maintain the level of quality I wanted to maintain,” says Larry. “I was trying to be everything to everybody. Ironically, it was when Grass Roots assumed one of my mowing accounts that it dawned on me how a team approach might work.”
Larry said that because of his relationship with the Professional Grounds Management Society (PGMS) he already knew companies had their strengths. Some specialized in mowing; others in lawn care; and others in design and installation. If he could form a team comprised of companies with specific strengths, he would have a leg up on competition, and continue to grow his business without sacrificing quality.
Teaming Up
When Larry approached Grass Roots about the idea, the three partners jumped at the opportunity to instantly grow their new business. Larry gave them the opportunity to assume all of his mowing accounts, and the team, as they say, was underway. Today, Grass Roots generates more than $100,000 of its annual revenue working with the team.
“Grass Roots makes a little less on a team job than working alone,” Larry notes. “But in return, it is guaranteed payment and job security as long as they want to maintain the property.” The same approach applies to lawn care and the other team member, Jason Hoferer, owner of Absolute Lawn Care in nearby Warwick, Maryland. Larry talked with Jason about the team concept while on a ski trip nine years ago. Jason has been a member of the team ever since.
“One of the things that makes us successful is the fact that we communicate with each other on a daily basis,” says Jason, who generates approximately 15% of his business on team projects. “I know Grass Roots’ mowing schedule, and make sure properties are fertilized at the right time. I also get to store some of my equipment at its shop, and I benefit from referrals.”
In fact, in addition to teaming up on “community” projects, all members benefit from referring each other to jobs. “If I have a customer who is looking for a mowing contractor, I send them to Grass Roots,” says Jason. “It works that way for all of us.”
The other thing that makes the arrangement successful is trust, adds Dave. “We trust each other implicitly. We know we’re not going to try to steal an account from one another. And we’re also pretty open with our books and financials. If one of us needs a little extra money to get through a slow period, a team member will provide a low-interest loan if he is in a better financial situation.”
Another benefit? Team members not only divvy up the service offering on a property, they share responsibility. Dave tells, “One of us is on a team property almost every day. If we see a developing problem, we alert the team member whose responsibility it is, and the problem is fixed before the customer even knows it existed.”
Silent Member
There’s a fourth team member, according to Steve. It doesn’t talk and it doesn’t attend meetings. But it is just as important, he emphasizes. That member is the Walker Mower. Grass Roots has been using the mower since 1989 when it purchased a 16-hp GHS model. Today, that machine is joined by six others, all either 20- or 25-hp units with 42- or 48-inch GHS decks. The company also operates two 62-inch side-discharge decks.
“We know there are faster mowers on the market, but pure speed is not high on our priority list,” says Steve. “The mowers are dependable, we can use them on nearly all of our properties, and they’re versatile. Best of all, nothing compares to their cut. Our customers are pretty picky, and we can’t afford to operate a mower that doesn’t deliver a consistently good cut. We’ve tried others, and nothing comes close.”
Dave, who is the resident company technician, agrees, noting that from changing the oil to replacing the starter, the Walker is an easy machine to work on. In fact, he says he “enjoys” maintaining them. Even more enjoyable, he says, is operating them during leaf pickup season.
“One of the reasons we purchased the Walker originally was the way it handles leaves,” Dave recalls. “It does three jobs at once. It cuts the grass, picks it up along with the leaves, and it stripes. When used in combination with our three truck loaders, leaf pickup has been a breeze.”
Grass Roots takes leaves and grass clippings to an area farm and, in the course of a year, literally fills up a five-acre field. The farmer turns the material with a tractor loader and uses it for fertilizing fields. “We like the arrangement,” Steve adds. “We like the fact that we’re recycling our clippings, and it is not as expensive as dumping in our local landfill.”
According to Steve and Dave, the Walker Mower provides a big point of difference for their operation. Customers also appreciate their overall dependability as a company, not to mention their attention to detail.
“It may seem hard to believe, but our customer retention rate has been well above 90% for the last four years,” says Steve. “We won’t lose customers because we won’t give them a reason to leave. The fact that we can offer full service with other team members works to keep competition off their properties, too. It all adds up.”
Three-Way Split
When the Grass Roots partners started their company, friends and family both told them it wouldn’t work because they wouldn’t be able to agree on important business decisions. They proved them wrong. All three came from different backgrounds, and each brought a different strength to the table. Jim was a teacher and maintains the books and scheduling. Dave worked for Dupont for 10 years and now handles the repairs and manages the mowing crew. Steve was in retail for 18 years and is in charge of the detail crews that prune, mulch, weed, and install flowers and shrubs.
Both Steve and Jim are active past presidents of the Delaware branch of PGMS, and also are members of the Delaware Association of Nurserymen. Of course, the partners don’t always agree all the time, but they usually find a way to compromise and come to a mutually agreeable decision. Says Steve, “We all have one thing in common, too. We have a passion for our work.
“We’ve also been very fortunate to have some loyal employees. Four of them are brothers who have been with us for years. They understand our system and our expectations of them.”
Steve goes on to say that the company pays its employees a good wage, and sees itself about half way up the price pecking order. “We’re not the most expensive company in town, but we’re not the cheapest, either. Our minimum price for mowing any property is $30. And, as a rule, we strive to get $35 per employee per hour, depending on the job.”
Half of the company’s customers are on yearly or eight-month contracts; the others pay when service is rendered. Each year, Steve says they push to convert more to contracts. “Contracts are a win-win situation for both the customer and us,” he emphasizes. “It gives them an opportunity to budget for the year, and helps maintain cash flow for us.”
What does the future hold for Grass Roots? For starters, Steve says they’re trying to build on current customers rather than seeking new business. “Again, our focus is really to be able to provide any service within reason that our customers want,” he emphasizes. “We can do that within the confines of the team, or we can add to our own service offering. For example, we’ve recently installed a couple of irrigation systems and plan to do more. Larry has also suggested that we develop a niche, to become an expert in a particular aspect of lawn maintenance, such as drainage. This, in addition to the work we do as team members, should help ensure our future.”
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