Yes, service matters

We see it at every turn, businesses claiming to provide full-service solutions. Companies of every type make the claim, from car washes and movers to cleaners and print shops. No matter where we see the phrase or who is making the claim, it likely conjures something different in each of our minds.

So, what is full service and does service even matter? For an irrigation system, does attention to service ultimately impact our ability to maximize efficiency?

You have likely seen images of gas station attendants of the 1950s and 1960s. Uniform-clad employees scrambled to greet customers pulling up to gas pumps. While filling each car’s gas tank, the attendant would simultaneously lift the hood of the car to check the engine oil and other fluids, clean the windshield, check tire air pressure, then use a rag to assure that not a single drop of gasoline spilled onto the automobile as the fuel nozzle was lifted from the car’s tank.

By the 1970s, we began to bid farewell to these full-service attendants and the traditional “service station” as newly coined “gas station” emerged. Gone were the attendants providing personal service and basic mechanical maintenance each time our tank was filled.

This full-service philosophy had a profound impact on my vision of what a service provider should be. Many irrigation professionals share my commitment to carry out this mission of providing honest and ethical full-service solutions to every sector of our industry.

Unfortunately, with tough markets, high inputs and low commodity prices, the importance of service is often one of the first items to be overlooked by clients. This ultimately leads to reduced efficiencies in a system. I have long stated that when conditions in our industries are at their worst, it is the most critical time to prioritize service. As famed basketball coach Jim Wooden once stated, “It’s the little details that are vital. Little things make big things happen.”

Contributing factors to optimizing distribution uniformity such as clean water, proper filtration, pressures, flows and overall system function are paramount. Maintaining these efficiency factors in irrigation systems correlates closely with maximizing return on investment. Yes, service matters. So, if routine service is not initiated by management, the responsibility often falls to independent service providers.

Service at the point of sale is merely the beginning of this story. Water quality can change greatly over time, especially among ag water sources. Emission devices become compromised, restricting or halting flow completely. These deviations from desired flow rates can affect the uniformity of the entire system, negatively impacting plants. This is certainly detrimental to turf and landscapes but elevates to another level when it occurs on production acres where the yield and quality from each tree and plant are imperative to maximizing profitability, harkening back to the issue of ROI.

But service comes at a cost. This reminds me of a meeting that I had more than a dozen years ago with the purchasing agent for one of the world’s largest berry producers. He had been a client for several years, and I knew his notorious nature of calling for low bids from various suppliers of drip tape. It was a reoccurring race to the bottom for these biannual million-dollar contracts.

We both knew that my competitors could not provide the needed in-field service component, so I simply asked him a few key questions during our meeting. “Do you need in-field service?” He replied, “yes.” I followed with, “Do you value the in-field service that we provide?” Again, he responded with a clear “yes.”

I explained that I could not afford to provide service to a product that had virtually zero margin, let alone carry the financial burden of that nonrevenue-generating sale. This inability to sustain a fair margin would force me to walk away from his business. After all, if I could not receive a reasonable return, not only was it impossible for me to service this sale, but how could I sustain my service-oriented business at all?

Either way, he would not receive that valued service component that he admittedly needed and desired. Ultimately, we shook hands and agreed that we depended upon one another. I would continue to provide him with quality products and services at a fair price, helping him maximize efficiency and profits, while he would not force me to be the low bidder to capture his sales. It was a win-win situation.

I have seen these scenarios routinely unfold over the years, especially when new irrigation projects include a call for competitive bids. Many of these projects are completed through a process of securing the lowest bid. However, that low bid may not always be the best proposal.

When comparing these multiple quotes, cost differentials can often be attributed to variations in design such as pipe size, pressure rating, quality of components, filtration systems, water quality and so much more. No wonder one system may be much cheaper than another, as these quotes can often be far from an apples-to-apples comparison.

These system differences may seem inconsequential at first glance, but the variances do greatly impact the uniformity, viability and longevity of an irrigation system. Yet, it is not uncommon for changes in ag water quality and quantity to compromise these systems over time when there has been no sustained maintenance or service.

Additionally, clientele often begin their journey into the realm of irrigation committed to maintaining their own systems. However, this fervor for self-care commonly fades with time. Growers, homeowners and HOAs alike often become overwhelmed with other time-robbing activities, and system maintenance quickly falls by the wayside. Rather than diagnosing root causes when faced with uniformity issues and the like, users often extend their irrigation sets. They think, “If I simply irrigate longer, that will take care of my dry spots.” However, this is often not a solution and just a Band-Aid, simply exacerbating the issues at hand. What they really need is a professional who will routinely help them monitor, maintain and adjust their irrigation system holistically.

Too often, I have walked an almond orchard or other crop only to discover emitters of varying flow rates scattered throughout the system, far from the original design. As drippers become compromised, those emitters are often indiscriminately replaced with unlike flow devices. I’ve even seen instances where an irrigator installed high output microsprays wherever low-volume drip emitters were plugged. Although this temporarily overcame a particular dry spot, it merely masked the real issue and compromised the designed system flow even further.

Ultimately, service is a long-term key to maximizing efficiency in your system. For me, I want to choose a reputable and honest dealer to take care of my needs. I want that company to take service very seriously. I want them to shake my hand and look me in the eye when we come to an agreement. I want and need them to care about my success as much as their own. And most certainly, I want them to supply what I truly need, rather than what they truly wish to sell. All in all, these sales should be dependent upon their value-added service proposition, as service really does matter.

Doug Larson is the president of Ag Water Chemical.