First of all, determine if your technician missed your location. For many of our calls of this sort we find that our technician was at your location, but they arrived a little off-schedule or when you were at lunch. On our larger accounts, technicians are required to get a signature or leave a note card when they visit your location on their regular rounds.
Also, many people assume that dry-looking soil means their plant did not get service. Not true. Our technicians might not water a plant if the bottom of the soil is wet already, depending on the needs of the plant. The technician may only dust or rotate the plant in these cases. If the plant looks fine, then it is fine. After all, you are paying us to have healthy looking plants, not wet soil.
If you determine your technician did miss a visit, do not worry. Your technician may be sick or delayed for some reason. You are welcome to call our office, and we will provide more information. Your technician may be there the following day, or the following scheduled day at their normal time. We may also send a supervisor as a substitute technician. Remember, all of your plants are guaranteed, and most plants can handle a missed visit with no problems.
We generally do not give credit for missed visits. We also do not charge extra for months which contain five visits.
We allow for the occasional missed visit by technicians for reasons such as vacations, holidays, jury duty, illnesses, or inclement weather. Whenever possible, your technician will make you aware of the missed visit in advance. Our plant guarantee remains in effect, and we will replace any plant that declines due to our absence.
As a guideline, a weekly-service client should expect approximately 49 to 50 visits per year by your technician, plus intermittent inspections by a supervisor or manager. A bi-weekly client should expect 24 to 25 visits per year, plus inspections.
Yes, but our goal is that you should never have to ask to have a plant replaced. Our technicians are trained to spot a plant in decline, and whenever possible, will have your plant replaced while it still is acceptable in appearance.
If you see a plant that is below average in appearance, inquire first with your technician if possible. It is likely that the plant is already scheduled to be replaced. If not, the technician will write up a replacement order immediately. If your technician is not available, or you need an answer sooner, then please call our office.
Once in a while, someone will ask for a replacement plant because they just don't like their current plant. Our guarantee does not apply to healthy plants, so in these cases we recommend that we switch plants with another within your location.
We ask that you please not move your plants without contacting us first. People often will move a plant into an area with a different amount of light, which can be harmful to a plant. Therefore, we do not guarantee plants which have been moved without our approval.
In most cases, we will allow plants to be moved around your offices with no problem. We may suggest appropriate places for the plants, or suggest new plants better suited for the new area. If you are moving to a new building, call us and we can move your plants in our heated trucks for a small fee. Many moving companies are not properly equipped to move live plants, especially in the cooler months.
We sometimes get a call from someone saying we are spraying insecticide in their office.
This is usually not the case. We rarely have need to spray any pesticides. Your technician is most likely spraying leaf shine on your plants. We use silicone-based leaf shine to bring out the lush, green appearance of the leaves, and to repel dust. It is an added service that we provide that most plant companies do not.
The leaf shine is not a pesticide and is not harmful to plants or people. We use leaf shine with care, since some types of leaves should not be shined. We will discontinue using leaf shine on your plants if you request it.
First, if you can, determine if the bug(s) came from the plants. Most insects which reside on plants are very small and almost invisible to the human eye, so larger insects such as houseflies, spiders, or ants are most likely not originating from the plants.
The most pesky insect you are likely to see is a fungus gnat. It looks like a very tiny black fly. These will get into your building when someone brings a plant from home, or in nice weather will fly in through an open door or window. They sometimes nest in the soil of your plants, where they may multiply. We periodically treat the soil as a preventative measure against fungus gnats.
Most people confuse these insects with fruit flies. They are similar, but fungus gnats are smaller. Please check for insects around old fruit or in trash bins. Throwing away old fruit will most likely solve your fruit fly problem.
Fungus gnats are an annoyance, but are not harmful. They do not buzz and do not bite humans. They live for about a week. They are attracted to the carbon dioxide in your breath, so they have an annoying habit of flying in front of your face.
If you determine that you saw a fungus gnat or some other type of insects coming from the plants, please either call our office or notify your technician so that we may address the problem.
(409) 840-5200
