-v- 



EMBER PROFILE 



-?*• 



Nancy 



Carlisle 



interior 



Plantings 



Exploring 

 One Niche 



«You turn left at Blue Seal Feed and a mile down that road, turn In at an of- 

 fice park. The front faces the Merrimack and Concords municipal water treat- 

 ■? ment plant, but the office of Nancy Carlisle Interior Plantings (NCIP) Is in back, 

 6? facing a ravine, a fence, and Willeys Trucking. Business is everywhere in New 

 Hampshire, often in small towns or clustered in deceptively pastoral office 

 parks. But the state depends on image — rural, problem-free — and businesses 

 are finding image is important to them as well. These are the people NCIP ser- 

 vices and their numbers are once again growing. 



THE OFFICE/RECEPTION AREA is a series of white spaces, more pragmatic 

 than elegant. People are busy here. Behind this is a plant delivery/storage 

 area — 1000 square feet filled with plant material, containers, supplies. 



After graduating from the University of Massachusetts lAmhersti with a de- 

 gree in Plant and Soil Science. Nancy came to New Hampshire to work for 

 City Gardens, a Massachusetts firm still here, but now under the name of 

 Rentokil She worked in sales and employee management for five years, then 

 left to form her own company. She recalls the transition as being fairly easy: 

 she hired a lawyer and an accountant and continued doing essentially what 

 she had done before. At first, she worked out of her own home; her first cli- 

 ent was the Koala Inn In Manchester 



That was thirteen years ago "The eighties were very good, but the bank- 

 ing crisis ('88-'92) hurt as various corporations and financial institutions re- 

 duced or eliminated plant care programs. But we have low overhead and few 

 employees; we cut where needed and survived." Currently NCIP has about 

 200 customers, ranging from Robbins Auto Parts in Dover to Kleen Laundry 

 and Dry Cleaning Services in the Upper Valley. Many of these — First NH 

 Bank, for example, with 30 — have multiple sites. 



Some new business comes from multiple-site clients who want to simplify 

 operations by having one company handle plant maintenance in all branches, 

 but once again, business is expanding in New Hampshire and with it, the im- 

 portance of image Currently NCIP is adding two or three new clients each 

 month and the concern is to grow slowly enough to maintain quality and the 

 ability to delegate authority. 



There are now twenty employees — six of whom oversee various broad as- 

 pects of the operation. The other fourteen are field service technicians. Terri- 

 tory covered is divided into smaller, more local, routes; the plant installa- 

 tions on each are maintained by one of these technicians. Currently, there 

 are fourteen routes. When the number of installations on a route becomes 

 too large for one person to maintain properly (all clients are visited at least 

 once a week), it's split 



The new technician must be neat and quiet (they do their rounds during 

 business hours — although mall installations — particularly if you water with 

 hoses — may have to be done before opening): they must have reliable trans- 

 portation Ithey provide their own and are paid mileagel. 



The service manager gives the new field service technician a full day of 

 training. This includes an introduction to "in-house basics" and to plant main- 

 tenance in general, and then an opportunity to work with an account. Each 

 technician is given a maintenance kit — watering can. mister, pruners. etc.. and 

 uniforms — in winter, its burgundy sweatshirts and khaki pants; in summer. 

 polo shirts and shorts. 



DESIGNS ARE COLLABORATIVE — Nancy visits the prospective client and 

 listens to what they have in mind; she looks at the space, noting ceiling 



FEBRUARY ♦ MARCH 1996 



13 



