Article provided in collaboration with First Choice Tree Service
To succeed in the full-service tree care business, Tony Valenti has relied on a strategy that focused on educating his employees, his customers and himself.
Today, First Choice Tree Service Inc. is one of the premier tree care firms in the Las Vegas area, specializing in installation, tree trimming, transplanting and plant health care for municipalities, resorts, hotels, casinos, golf courses, gated communities and homeowner associations. The company has 14 trimming crews, along with groups that specialize in tree transplanting, salvaging and plant health care. As the company has grown, Tony Valenti has put a great deal of emphasis on tree care equipment training and safety, ultimately achieving the prestigious TCIA accreditation.
“My philosophy is to train our own tree climbers rather than hire an experienced one,” he says. “To become a climber for First Choice, you have to work as a groundsman for a least six months and be nominated by a foreman or climber. You spend another six months working with a mentor (an advanced climber), and then you go into our weekend/evening training program. Once you pass all our tests, you become a climber.”
Valenti’s big investment in employee training continues with weekly safety talks, monthly safety committee meetings and ongoing in-house training.
Constantly educating customers
Over the years Valenti has developed a philosophy of consistent customer education. “When bidding a tree care job, we know we are going to do it correctly and safely, supported by superior training and the best equipment. Since others can underbid us, we need to constantly educate the customer on the benefits of working with a well-established, TCIA-accredited firm.”
At times, when price is the biggest issue, Valenti says his salespeople get disheartened when they lose a job. He tells them they will eventually get the job at the bid price and never lose it again. “That happens often,” he says, “especially when someone else damages a tree. At that point the client realizes the benefits of working with us. Those clients are back with us for life.”
Busy season
The large number of crews that Valenti can send into the field pays off during the palm tree care season. “Timing is crucial, and so is weather, ” he says. You have to remove seed pods early in the year, before they flower, otherwise the property will be covered with the messy and potentially hazardous material.”
One of those jobs is the Hughes Center, a 68-acre (27 ha) business center, where Valenti sent in five tree climbers and 15 groundsmen to trim 480 palm trees. “Historically it would take a company five to eight days to do the job — we did it in eight hours,” he says. “I place high value on safety, reliability and dealer support. Vermeer is tops in all those areas. That’s why I own 11 of the firm’s brush chippers and four of its stump cutters.”
In fact, Valenti believes his company slogan — “First Choice … Always Your BEST Choice” — can also be applied to Vermeer, which he considers to be the best choice in tree care equipment.