Tradition has for many decades portrayed gardeners as horny-handed
sons and daughters of the soil; hardy perennials who would rather be outside
tending to this green and pleasant land with an ancient trug and a yard of
twine than ‘driving a desk’.
And while some proudly resist the trappings of modern
technology, most of us rely heavily on smartphones and electronic gadgetry to
help us run our businesses.
Using mobile technology is definitely a positive step in the
journey towards becoming carbon neutral.
We’re talking unnecessary journeys here; how many times have
you travelled miles on end to attend a pointless meeting, or just to spend ten
minutes showing a client round a site?
There are growing numbers of clients who ask for photographs
of work in progress or maintenance visits before they will consider making any
payments, so the next logical step is to use your preferred live video phone app (such as Facetime, Skype or Teams) to facilitate a virtual site tour. phone
app (such as Facetime, Skype or Teams) to facilitate a virtual site tour.
This of course works both ways; you can check that your
client is happy, or if you have a team on site, they can do the same for you.
At the time of writing, this corner of the world is still in
lockdown, with all but essential travel banned.
So, while conference calls are nothing new, one positive
that can be taken from the pandemic is that video meetings have streamlined the
way many of us work.
This - like the ever-decreasing number of High Street shops
- was always going to happen, COVID-19 has just accelerated it.
Embrace the tech, learn to use it to your advantage, and
impress your clients with your tech‑savvy nous.
However, if you’re not sure how it all works, you can always
ask your nine year old for some help!