Half eight and the phone is ringing
The crew arrives at a new job in a cul-de-sac. The crew leader rings the office: where are the drawings, what level is the patio meant to be, which side of the drive can the skip go on, is the customer in. The office does not know half of it. The owner, who did the site visit, is at another job and does not answer. So the crew start on what they can, which is not quite what the customer agreed.
The customer mentioned at the site visit that their neighbour is sensitive about the shared fence and that the dog must not get out of the side gate. Nobody told the crew.
Where the job details go missing
A landscaping job collects information from the moment of the first enquiry: the site visit, the quote, design drawings, customer messages, variations and delivery bookings. Each piece lands in a different place. The crew leader, who needs all of it, gets whatever someone remembers to forward.
- Site visit notes stay in the owner's notebook.
- Drawings are emailed to some people and printed for others.
- Customer preferences and warnings, like the dog or the neighbour, are said, not written.
- Access details, like gate codes, parking and where to put the skip, are passed on verbally.
- Changes agreed by phone after the quote do not reach the crew.
What the missing details cost
Every call to the office is time on site with the crew waiting. Work started on the wrong assumption is redone. Customers feel they are repeating themselves to each new person. And worst, something important gets missed, such as a service cable the owner spotted at the site visit, a fragile boundary wall, or the dog that got out.
The job pack we build
- Every job has one record that collects site visit notes, photos, the accepted quote, approved drawings, and variations as they happen.
- The owner or designer adds the notes the crew need at handover, using a short checklist so nothing is forgotten: access, parking, skip position, services spotted, neighbours, pets, customer preferences.
- The crew leader's phone shows the job pack for today's job: scope, drawings, levels, materials due and when, and the notes, with photos of the site as it was surveyed.
- Messages from the customer about the job appear in the pack, so the crew see changes the office has agreed.
- The crew can add their own notes and photos, which stay with the job for aftercare and future work.
- Anything the crew leader marks as unclear goes to the office as a question, rather than a call.
| Crew needs | In the pack |
|---|---|
| What are we building? | Scope and approved drawings |
| What level, what falls? | Survey notes and drawings |
| How do we get in? | Access, parking, gate codes |
| What is arriving today? | Deliveries due by date |
| Anything to watch for? | Services, neighbours, pets, preferences |
A calmer first morning
Crews arrive knowing the job. The office gets fewer calls, and those it does get are real questions. Customers do not have to repeat themselves. The owner's site visit knowledge reaches the people doing the work, even when the owner is somewhere else. And the notes the crew add become part of the record for the next time you work in that garden.
Signs your crews are missing information
- Crew leaders ring the office at the start of most new jobs.
- Work has been done differently from what the customer agreed.
- Customers complain that they told someone about something already.
- Drawings exist in several versions across inboxes and vans.
- The owner is the only person who knows what was said at the site visit.