New Year’s Resolutions…

Well corny as it may sound we have made a statement of intent at Japanese Knotweed Solutions Ltd (JKSL) to continue to offer the best service within the invasive weed industry. It’s an easy thing to say …but a lot harder to continue to offer this type of commitment in the doing eat dog world in which we live.

I have never been interested in offering a cheap poor quality service. Here at JKSL we have a receptionist, we have an admin team, an accounts team, a customer focused enquiry team and surveyors who manage their own region of the country. We write, we blog, we Facebook and we Tweet about all things relevant to our industry. We have a seminar every year where we discuss the critical issues of the year and welcome open comment on where the invasive non-native species market is heading. We do this to give something back to the clients that use us and to ensure that we are the number one source of all pertinent information.

The rest of the world seems intent on eating itself in some sort of parody of the snake eating its own tail. The faster we go, the more we need – so we go faster and need more… in a hamster wheel of stress. There are more and more companies offering to deal with your invasive weed issues and everywhere I go I see vans with adverts offering to treat your Japanese knotweed problems (even if half the time they offer to treat your knotWOOD not knotweed).

Lots of competition means fewer projects which in turn means that companies are fighting for work. The desperate companies offer cheaper and cheaper prices meaning that margins aren’t adhered to and the work no longer becomes profitable or sustainable so companies cease to trade.

PLEASE be careful who you chose to tackle your invasive plant problems as I believe 2017 will see a clear out of the lesser qualified companies. Look for companies who are members of INNSA (The Invasive Non-Native Specialists Association) – look for companies that adhere the Invasives Code and the New Code of Practice as issued by INNSA.

PLEASE make your resolution to use companies that are qualified and competent – and don’t just go for the cheapest price you can get.

PLEASE be aware – treating invasive species is not a one hit wonder – if your chosen company ceases to trade then your project will not get completed and your invasive plants will return.

When we all have to be qualified and insured to the same degree then the cost differences will be minimal and the difference in service level will be marginal.

When a company offers you a ridiculously cheap price (as often happens within this industry) it means they do not know what they are doing and will cause you greater problems in the long term …

Lets have an even playing field in 2017.

Mike C