There are several things to examine when choosing a landscape contractor to install the landscape design that you had commissioned and believe it or not, price should not be your first and foremost consideration. Price of the job should be secondary to reputation, experience and referrals from other satisfied clients. For example, if all other aspects of the construction bids were equal (which is rarely the case) then sure, price then becomes the foremost and obvious criteria in the selection of your installation firm. But because there are other factors to consider and because some of these factors are weighted more heavily in the favor of certain firms then it pays to do your homework and examine what these differences between firms may happen to be. Reputation, experience and referrals from other satisfied clients, while vital and extremely valuable in your consideration process, should not be the only criteria in which you decide which contractor to hire. The reccommendation of a professional landscape designer and their opinion should count just as equally.This is where it is vital to lean heavily on the opinions and recommendations of the landscape designer that just finished your landscape design. Many times, certain landscape designers work with a selected few landscape contractors and artisans that have installed many of their designs before and they have learned that over the years certain contractors have the best interests of their clients and the design at heart. This alone could be worth a few extra dollars simply because the overall impact of the design and project mean just as much to the contractor as it does to you, the client. The quality of the installation is usually superior as well. The contractor has valuable reputation points at stake, from both the designer and you, and this usually means better care and an attention to detail to your particular project that is hard to put a price on. Thus, while it may sound cliché, it is a win/win situation for all concerned. With the designer's reputation at stake and the contractor's reputation at stake it is the client that ultimately benefits in the long run. This is the way it should be!
Now it is fair to say that these are just particular generalities. Each and every project is different so there are no hard and fast rules as to how to select a particular contractor. One of the first steps I usually take in determining which contractor I want to recommend to a client is in examining the complexity of the design, particularly the main type of hardscape material that is being used in the design.
An example might be a landscape design that calls out a good deal of stamped and stained concrete. Some landscape contractors sub-out (hire a subcontractor) for all their concrete work and do none of their own installs, while other firms are truly great in working with concrete and thus are truly artistic in concrete installation. Having this simple criteria available to me as a designer is instrumental in helping me make my recommendation to the client and this generally becomes a recommendation I can take great confidence in. A phone book ad, or even a referral from another client can't possibly reveal these subtle differences quite as well as a recommendation that a knowledgeable and well informed landscape designer can provide.
