Design Consultation
A design Consultation meeting includes:
Opposite of popular belief all design meetings must take place during daylight hours and we do not need to see your property at night in order to design an effective landscape lighting system.
For consults within our normal service area. A nominal travel fee from $75-$150 ( dependent on travel distance) is payable by cash or check at end of meeting. If purchase is made at this meeting the fee shall be credited to your final invoice due when your project is completed. Please inquire about our fees for out of area, state or country projects.
Meeting with property owners and ALL decision makers (must be present) to discuss general budget, desires, requirements, expectations and scope of the lighting project. Meetings generally take between 1 1/2-2 1/2 hours of time so Please only schedule a meeting time when we will not be rushed and all parties will have at least up to 2 1/2 hours on site.
All concerned parties will walk the project and specific effects will be described and supported if needed with pictorial review of past projects that are similar to what we propose.
Actual Lighting Equipment that will be used on your project will be available so you will be able to hold in your hand and inspect to see the heft and high quality of the products.
For most meetings a written proposal/Agreement with exact cost of work can be drawn up on site. There will be no pressure to buy however the best deals are always had at our first and only meeting. You will be given the opportunity to take action and reserve a space in our construction schedule.
How can You prepare for a design consultation with Gambino landscape Lighting
In order to get the most out of our time together and have a successful meeting please do some preplanning.
If you will be meeting and interviewing other candidates please do so before scheduling to meet with us.
Read the information on our website, facebook page and blog. We have spent a lot of time and effort to educate the consumer and hopefully optimize our time together by not having to provide answers to questions that are easily found on our website
Please have in mind a general budget for your project and share that with us. Please also be flexible and prepared to either expand the budget if it becomes evident that you cannot get the desired scope or look you desire or be open to lessening the scope of the project to fit your budget. In other words it may become apparent that the number you had in mind will only cover the front and not the back or vice versa but not both together. This is not an uncommon scenario and most owners will move ahead now with the smaller scope of work and plan for the balance to be completed later when the budget permits.
If you have a certain look in mind, bookmark specific photos of our projects from the photo gallery of our website or other websites you may find appealing so we can get a better idea of exactly what you like. High quality prints are also helpful.
Please read the page that discusses general costs of a custom Gambino LED High Performance landscape lighting system.
What a Design Consultation is Not
1-A meeting for me to convince you or spouse that a landscape lighting system is a must have for your property. You should have come to that conclusion on your own beforehand and it be just a matter of who , what and when but not why.
2-A meeting to pick my brain for design ideas that can be shopped to other service providers or for work to be done yourself. If you are considering doing the job yourself or hiring a handyman or other non specialized trade to do the work then please do not schedule a consultation.
3-An opportunity to receive a conceptual drawing of your proposed lighting scheme or a detailed proposal with breakouts of the cost of each individual product that can be put out to bid. We do not make drawings or sketches for the buyer to retain (Our artwork is displayed in your yard at night and not on a piece of paper). We provide lump sum quotations where our products are listed with qty’s and general description of scope of work with a bottom line all inclusive cost.
Gambino Landscape lighting is a very small company and all work is designed installed and maintained by myself and my skilled team. Please understand our clients come first and We are in the field Mon-Saturday from 7am- 3pm which leaves select early evenings and Sunday morning appointments generally reserved for meeting new prospective clients.
Please do not request an onsite meeting if you do not agree with our philosophies or practices and are not ready to buy Now.
Please also note that if you are saying to yourself gee this guy has a lot of rules and I don’t like how they are presented here and I am turned off then it is a good indicator that we would probably not work well together anyway.
On the other hand if you are saying to yourself gee this guy is a straight shooter with no BS , is serious about giving me the best end result and I appreciate his honesty then I highly encourage you to follow through with me as I know we will work together real well.
Please fill out our design questionnaire completely and to the best of your ability. Also attach photos if you can. This will give us a valuable head start on conceptualizing your project before meeting with you. I very much look forward to meeting and working with you on your project.