Interview with professional landscape designer, Paul Corsetti, continued from Page 2. On this page, Paul finishes his answer to the question I had posed on Page 2, regarding his landscaping jobs after graduating from landscape design school.
A. From there I was given a job offer by an acquaintance at his stone and landscape supply yard. He ran a landscape contracting business as well, and I thought this would be a good job for me to begin building my business clientèle. I found myself working long hours and moving a lot of heavy stone. The job allowed me to gain a lot of product knowledge in stone and building supplies pertaining to landscaping work, as I worked in the sales end of the business.
My boss then asked me to try out sales work by selling his landscaping jobs with the other end of his company. This was where I was taught to price jobs in detail and present contracts to clients. I believe it was this job that taught me how to deal with customers on a one-on-one basis. My landscape design school program combined with my product knowledge and horticultural background made me able to suggest so many things and give the client a great understanding of the work.
I left that job because of the distance it was for me to travel and the long hours I worked. I joined up with a landscape maintenance company and did that job for a bit. They were getting involved with Home Depot Canada to provide landscaping installation services. I once again took on the role of a sales rep for one area. Again I found myself having to sell the job and build it for the company -- and work for a meager wage while doing so.
I had to sit down and ask myself, "Why did I spend 5 years in landscape design school to be doing this?" That was about the time I met up with Lawrence Winterburn at a fall show where we both participated (in separate display work). He liked my designs and he must have liked me, as he said we needed to talk! So we did. I decided after talking to him that it was time to start up my own business and join up with Garden Structure. With a bit of help and coaching from him, I have not looked back since!
Q. Discuss your typical interaction with a landscape designer (shopping for stone) during your work as a stone sales representative.
A. Usually this job was very straightforward. The stone products come in standard sizes and colours. Most landscape designers would just call up and see what you had available, then send the client or the contractor over to look at things and make an order if it was what was needed or preferred.
On the odd occasion, a landscape designer or architect would walk in and really not know what they were looking for. I refer to this as the "cart before the horse" type of design. That is where a landscape designer puts an idea down on paper, sells that idea to the client, and the client falls in love with it. Then the landscape designer has to go look for a product that fits the idea. This ends up costing more money for time spent on research, and then having to redesign the idea because they cannot find a product.
I ran into that a couple of times in the stone yard. A landscape designer sold a Japanese client on an authentic Japanese garden design, but then could not find the right colour of stones! Knowing what was readily available in your local area, before you set out to design something that requires you to ship stone from Japan, would have helped immensely!
Q. What lessons did you learn from your employers that you now use in your work as a landscape designer?
A. Never to undersell myself and always ask for a deposit! Also, when a client calls me to inquire about my services and fees, they are essentially interviewing me. But at the same time, I will ask them important questions that will help me determine if they will really need me as a landscape designer. I am interviewing them in return so that both the client and myself do not waste each other’s time and money.
Q. What kind of individual makes for a top-flight landscape designer?
A. A top-flight landscape designer listens to the client and knows the difficulties of construction. When you design with creativity and ignore those two factors, work will come slowly in your career. Also, a top-flight landscape designer will be confident and sure of themselves and will tell the client what they need to hear rather than what the client wants to hear. If a landscape designer just becomes a yes-man to the client for the sake of getting paid, the design will suffer!
Q. Give an example where the client felt the landscape designer failed to live up to the contract, and how the landscape designer deftly resolved this conflict, to everyone’s satisfaction.
A. I will just say that there was a time when a contractor I worked for failed to live up to his code of conduct and ethics. His crew cracked the edge of an asphalt driveway on a job where I was the landscape designer and sales rep for the job. It was a hassle for the client to deal with the contractor and get the driveway fixed to their liking. It got to a point that they were looking at me like they could not understand how I can work for someone like him. I was told to my face that if I wanted a reference for future work, no problem; but that the contractor would never get one!
I felt so bad for what these folks had to endure that I had to do something for them. During the design and budget stage of the project, they eliminated some plants to bring the prices down. One of them was a Japanese maple which I felt the yard really needed but was forced to work with the budget they gave me. So towards the end of the job, I went to the nursery and found a small Japanese maple, bartered for a good price on it and bought it with my own money. Then I went to the client’s home while they were at work, found a spot I felt it belonged in and planted it. They called me that evening to thank me for it and were very appreciative of what I had done for them.
On Page 4, I continue my interview with Paul Corsetti, professional landscape designer. Paul has more to say on what it takes to get the job done as a landscape designer....
