Transcript When The Client Cancels

Who taught plantscapers to roll over and play dead?
When the going gets tough the tough get going …
So why is it that so many plantscapers when faced with a customer
cancelling a hire agreement just say, “Thank You”, and move their
planters out.
It is far cheaper to keep an existing customer than to find and
secure a new customer.
This is one of those times when “No” really does not mean no. Find
out why and then prepare your response from the customer’s
perspective. We know it’s all about you, but the customer needs
to feel it’s all about them.
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Your business headed paper
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

Mr ….

The Commissioner of ………

Queensland ………..

BRISBANE Qld


My business, NIPA Indoor Garden Hire, supplies your Service
with indoor plants. I have been the owner-manager of nipa
Indoor Garden Hire since 19.. as well as being an active
member of my industry’s professional association, the National
Interior Plantscape Association (NIPA) since 19 ,,.

NASA scientific research as early as the 1970’s shows that
living green and flowering indoor plants clean pollutants from the
air. Research also shows that the majority of Queensland
Government employees spend about 90 per cent of their time
indoors and internationally acknowledged agencies such as the
United States Environmental Protection Agency rate indoor air
pollution among the Top 5 of the World’s environmental health
risks. Reputable
Australian agencies such as the Green Building Council, the
Commonwealth Government’s Horticulture Australia Limited,
industry associations such as NIPA and its research arms
including the University of Technology Sydney, are all working
together to reverse any trend to cut administration costs by
removing live indoor plants at the expense of employee’s health
and well being.
Administrators perceive that green building costs are higher
than they actually are. The difference is not the cost of plant
hire but this cost less the savings incurred through increased
staff productivity and improved health and well being. Is it worth
that extra money in your budget? Research shows your
employees could be performing 20% better in your current
green environment.
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Indoor potted plants are acknowledged world wide as the
most energy efficient air cleaning device. Air conditioners
and other man made devices merely recirculate the air –
only indoor plants truly clean the air. Plants decrease the
concentrations of indoor air pollution caused by the
furnishings in your buildings, your vehicles and just the
outside air coming inside. Q…’ indoor plants decrease
nitrogen oxides by over 30 per cent, reduce dust levels,
refresh the air, stabilise temperature and humidity levels,
reduce noise levels and raise the level of your employees
well-being and productivity.

The CSIRO and National Health and Medical Research
Council of Australia found that 80 per cent of our buildings
have carcinogenic chlorinated hydrocarbon pesticides in
them. The species of potted indoor plants my business
provides to the Queensland ……… are species tested as
the most “eco-friendly”, i.e. the potted plants in your
buildings purify and revitalise the air. Even taking
Queensland’s water restrictions into consideration, each
plant consumes as little as one litre of water per week.
Dear …………,
Based on my experience and knowledge, I would like to present
a strong case to you to maintain the presence of indoor plants in
the Q… offices because of the increased indoor environmental
quality their presence provides.

2
31st January 2008
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

/2 …
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I urge you to retain the presence of potted indoor plants in
Q…. buildings. I would be only too pleased to meet with
you or you nominated representative to speak on this
matter in person.


I await your advice.


Sincerely yours,


Name
OWNER MANAGER

NIPA INDOOR GARDEN HIRE

 Research done by Dr. Roger Ulrich of Texas A & M
University, Helen Russell of England's Surrey University
and Dr. Virginia Lohr of Washington State University has
shown that plants significantly lower workplace stress
and enhance productivity. In Lohr's study, subjects were
found to be 12% more productive and less stressed than
individuals who worked in an environment with no plants.
 Another study found that workers who spend at least 4
hours a day on a computer show a significant improvement
in efficiency and concentration when plants are present.

 Research indicates that plant-filled rooms contain 50% to 60% fewer airborne
molds and bacteria than rooms without plants.
 Dr. Bill Wolverton spent nearly 20 years at the Environmental Research
Laboratory at John C. Stennis Space Center testing this. He found that plants
suck chemicals out of the air, absorb the office pollutants into their leaves and
transmit the toxins to their roots, where they are transformed into a source of
food for the plant. Based on those findings, Dr. Wolverton recommends that
everyone have a plant on his or her desk within what he calls the "personal
breathing zone." This is the area of six to eight cubic feet where employees
spend most of their working days. Only one plant per 100 sq. ft. will do the
job! Just 15 to 20 plants are enough to clean the air in a 1,500 sq. ft. area.
 A 1996 Norwegian study by Professor Tove Tjeld of the Agricultural University
in Oslo, Norway found that health symptoms dropped by 23% when plants
were present. Symptoms of fatigue, headache, dizziness, and concentration
problems fell by 30%, cough symptoms fell by 40%, while hoarseness & dry
throats were reduced by 30%.
Two Dutch studies revealed that a considerable proportion of sick leave can be
attributed to building related health complaints. Research published by Bio-Safe
Incorporated confirms that offices are often 10 times more polluted than the air
outside. Office environments can lead to a marked increase in employee illnesses
from poor indoor air quality. Workers were found to be absent 3.6 days.
 By absorbing office pollutants into their leaves and emitting clean oxygen,
interior plants can cut down on sick leave expenses considerably.
 Studies by Roger Ulrich (1993, 1984) have consistently found stress reducing and
health promoting outcomes associated with passive viewing of nature stimuli through
windows.
 R. Kaplan (1992) reports similar results in a field study of office workers. Kaplan found
that workers who had window views of nature felt less frustrated and more patient,
and reported more overall life satisfaction and better health than workers who did not
have visual access to the outdoors or whose view consisted of built elements only.
Viewing nature and garden scenes were found to reduce stress within 3 to 5 minutes.
The positive effects of nature may also extend to the immune system, thereby directly
affecting human physical health (Parsons, 1991)

 Studies by Dr. Ulrich and Dr. David Vizell from Oxford
University verify the positive effect plants have on
employee perception and disposition. In the final
analysis, marketing research (Krome
Communications, 2000) confirms that employee
attitude and retention are top incentives for
corporations to continue interior landscape contracts.
Employees with positive perceptions of their
workplace are less likely to seek employment
elsewhere.
 One plant per 30 sq. metres = 334% return on
investment (ROI).
 Here's how we calculate the ROI:
¤ The average wage earnings for a worker is currently
$36,140 per year.
¤ They're absent 3.6% of the time costing $1301 per year.
¤ With at least one plant per employee, studies prove
absenteeism can be reduced by 14%. That amounts to
$182.14 ($1301 x 14%).
¤ The cost of a plant program providing 1 plant per
employee is about $42 a year per employee ($3.50 a month).
¤ The investment in a plant program will return
$140.14 per employee ($182.14 minus $42) or a 334%
return on your investment of $42!
Hello Mr …….,


My business, NIPA Indoor Plants, is one of Queensland’s biggest indoor
plant hire companies. I have been the owner-manager of NIPA Indoor
Plants since 1996 as well as being a Board member of the National
Interior Plantscape Association and a member of the Green Building
Council. Based on my experience and knowledge, I would like to
present a strong case to you to re-introduce the presence of indoor
plants into your newly transformed reception areas and restaurants
because of the increased indoor environmental quality their presence
provides.
Indoor potted plants are acknowledged world wide as the most energy
efficient air cleaning device. Air conditioners and other man made
devices merely recirculate the air – only indoor plants truly clean the air.
Plants decrease the concentrations of indoor air pollution caused by the
furnishings in your hotel, your vehicles and just the outside air coming
inside. Indoor plants decrease nitrogen oxides by over 30 per cent,
reduce dust levels, refresh the air, stabilise temperature and humidity
levels, reduce noise levels and raise the level of your employees wellbeing and productivity. The CSIRO and National Health and Medical
Research Council of Australia found that 80 per cent of our buildings
have carcinogenic chlorinated hydrocarbon pesticides in them.


As early as the 1970’s, NASA scientific research shows that living green
and flowering indoor plants clean pollutants from the air. Research also
shows that the majority of hotel guests and employees spend about 90
per cent of their time indoors. Internationally acknowledged agencies,
such as the United States Environmental Protection Agency, rate indoor
air pollution among the Top 5 of the World’s environmental health risks.
Also reputable Australian agencies such as the Green Building Council,
the Commonwealth Government’s Horticulture Australia Limited,
industry associations such as NIPA and its research arms including the
University of Technology Sydney, are all working together to reverse any
trend to remove live indoor plants at the expense of residents and
employee’s health and well being.
The species of potted indoor plants my business provides are species
tested as the most “eco-friendly”, i.e. to purify and revitalise the air.
Even taking Queensland’s water restrictions into consideration, each
plant consumes as little as one litre of water per week.

I hope I have provided you with a compelling argument to introduce live
green plants into the Sofitel Hotel. As your advertising purports, your
Hotel provides the “perfect setting for relaxing and socialising”. I would
be only too pleased to meet with you or you nominated representative to
speak about increasing that level of perfection through the introduction
of living plants.

I will contact you in the next few days with a view to arranging a
personal meeting. Do not hesitate to contact me at any time in the
interim.


Managers perceive that green building costs are higher than they
actually are. The difference is not the cost of plant hire but this cost less
the savings incurred through increased staff productivity and improved
health and well being of hotel guests and employees. Research shows
your employees could be performing 20% better in a “green”
environment.


Sincerely yours,


NIPA Indoor Plants Owner Name

OWNER MANAGER

NIPA INDOOR PLANTS

Senator the Hon Kim Carr
Minister for Innovation, Industry, Science and Research
4 Treasury Place
East Melbourne
MELBOURNE 3022


Dear Minister Carr,
I am an elected member of the Board of the National Interior
Plantscape Association and an Australian interior plantscape
business operator who today received an email from Enterprise
Connect (Brisbane Technology Park) advising of a directive by the
National Office that all plants must be removed from their offices.
The benefits of indoor plants to human health and well being have
been globally documented most recently by Australian scientists
funded by the Australian Government. Indoor plants clean toxins out
of the air and increase employee productivity. Productivity savings
alone make indoor plant installation a cost effective measure.
Removing live indoor plants from government buildings is a false
economy that will affect the health and productivity of workers as well
as set an extremely negative example to business and industry
generally that could destroy Australia’s indoor plant industry.
The aim of Enterprise Connect given by the government at its launch
in May last year “is to help Australian firms develop the skills, tools
and knowledge needed to improve their competitiveness and
productivity and to maximise their growth potential”. Further, the
Department of Innovation, Industry, Science and Research’s
published key priority is to encourage the sustainable growth of
Australian industries by developing a national innovation system that
drives knowledge creation, cutting edge science and research.



The benefits of indoor plants are based on innovative
cutting edge science. If your portfolio commits to a
directive to eliminate all indoor plants in government
buildings, cancelling contractor agreements nationally,
what hope does industry have?

Like many others, I took notice when you said in your first
speech to the Senate that you had a longstanding belief to
maintain a strong, innovative and diverse industry base in
Australia.



2.
On behalf of my business and, more importantly, the
Australian interior plantscape industry which is made up of
small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), I ask that
this decision to remove live plants from Enterprise
Connect be reassessed in light of the flow on adverse
effects.


Yours sincerely,



Name
Business Name

Member - , National Interior Plantscape Association

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29th July 2010
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
The Hon. John Brumby, MLA,
Premier of Victoria.



Dear Mr Brumby,


The Australian indoor plant industry is concerned that cuts in
government spending may include cancellation of indoor plant hire to
the detriment of both the health and wellbeing of building occupants
and plant hire businesses. (Herald Sun: “Taxpayers shelling out
hundreds of thousands of dollars for plant hire” – July 24th.)

If this happens in the current economic crisis, many micro and small
businesses will collapse.

Indoor plants in government buildings are there for the health and
wellbeing of workers and also the general public. They are not just
about aesthetic appeal.

Australia leads the way in global research showing that live indoor
plants help to improve air quality and contribute to the health and well
being of people. Indoor air quality is important as we spend 90 percent
of our time indoors and 30 percent of that is in the work place.

The indoor plant microcosm, made up of: the plant and roots, the soil
and the microbes (that are supported by a healthy plant) clean the air of
Volatile Organic Compounds; these are the things that can cause sick
building syndrome.

In hospitals it has been proven patients recover quicker in the presence
of plants, and in offices with plants there are less sick days and attrition
rates are lower. It is easy to justify the cost of indoor plants when
calculating the savings on less sick days and attrition alone. The cost
saved by not needing to employ one new staff member, will pay for
many plants in a year. Refer www.nipa.asn.au
The National Interior Plantscape Association is asking you to put the
well being of Australians both in health and financially, before any
determination to cut government spending on indoor plants during this
economic crisis. Victorian members of the National Interior Plantscape
Association would be happy to meet with you or your representative/s
to discuss this matter in greater detail.


Yours sincerely,




P. Dolley
President

29th July 2010



The Hon. David Davis, M.L.A.,

Parliament of Victoria.


Dear Mr Davis,

The Australian indoor plant industry is concerned that cuts in
government spending may include cancellation of indoor plant
hire to the detriment of both the health and wellbeing of
building occupants and plant hire businesses. (Herald Sun:
“Taxpayers shelling out hundreds of thousands of dollars for plant
hire” – July 24th.)

If this happens in the current economic crisis, many micro and
small businesses will collapse.

Indoor plants in government buildings are there for the health
and wellbeing of workers and also the general public. They are
not just about aesthetic appeal.

Australia leads the way in global research showing that live
indoor plants help to improve air quality and contribute to the
health and well being of people. Indoor air quality is important
as we spend 90 percent of our time indoors and 30 percent of
that is in the work place.





The indoor plant microcosm, made up of: the plant and roots,
the soil and the microbes (that are supported by a healthy plant)
clean the air of Volatile Organic Compounds; these are the things
that can cause sick building syndrome.
In hospitals it has been proven patients recover quicker in the
presence of plants, and in offices with plants there are less sick
days and attrition rates are lower. It is easy to justify the cost of
indoor plants when calculating the savings on less sick days and
attrition alone. The cost saved by not needing to employ one
new staff member, will pay for many plants in a year. Refer
www.nipa.asn.au
The National Interior Plantscape Association is asking you to put
the well being of Australians both in health and financially,
before bringing pressure to cut government spending on indoor
plants during this economic crisis. Victorian members of the
National Interior Plantscape Association would be happy to
meet with you or your representative/s to discuss this matter in
greater detail.


Yours sincerely,




P. Dolley
President

20th October 2008
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CUTS IN PUBLIC SECTOR SPENDING MAY ADVERSELY AFFECT AUSTRALIA’S SMALL BUSINESS SECTOR
While the Prime Minister is boosting the economy through the creation of consumer spending, there is concern that public
sector and business belt tightening may only look at the bottom line and not consider the bigger picture.
Industry groups are concerned that cuts in government spending such as cancellation of indoor plant hire contracts may have
a detrimental effect both on the health and wellbeing of building occupants and on plant hire businesses nationally.
National Interior Plantscape Association (NIPA) President, Peter Dolley, said, “The last time the public sector started belt
tightening, private sector contracts were the first to go. If this happens in the current economic crisis, many micro and small
businesses may collapse.”
“Indoor plants in government buildings are there for the health and wellbeing of workers and also the general public. They
are not just about aesthetic appeal,” he said.
Mr Dolley urged the government to look at more than the bottom line when cutting public sector spending. “There is little
point in Mr Rudd depositing funds into the economy with one hand, and Government Departments withdrawing spending in
the private sector with the other.
“Small business is the backbone of Australia,” Peter said, “and family businesses are the key to our social structure and our
chances of surviving the looming crisis.”
The NIPA Board made the point that even when the economy was booming the Commonwealth Bank has made a design
decision, that there is no place for indoor plants in new and renovated branches. “International research has long shown that
while live indoor plants help to improve air quality and contribute to the health and well being of people, plastic (silk) plants do
the reverse – they pollute. Indoor air quality is important as we spend 90 percent of our time indoors and 30 percent of that is
in the work place.
The NIPA Board has called on government and big business to put the well being of Australians both in health and
financially, before their determination to maintain high profit margins during this economic crisis.
FOR FURTHER MEDIA INFORMATION CONTACT PETER DOLLEY, PRESIDENT, NATIONAL INTERIOR PLANTSCAPE
ASSOCIATION (Australia) ON TELEPHONE (07) 3880 2293
 Concerning “Taxpayers shelling out hundreds of thousands of dollars
for plant hire” by Lucie van den Berg – July 24th:
 Australia leads the way in global scientific research showing the health
benefits and increased productivity benefits to employees of working
in environments with indoor plants. While it is not easy to put a direct
cost saving on improved health, improved productivity means labour
cost savings. Labour is the biggest expense of business and
government. Live indoor plants clean toxins out of the air. Employee
and public health should not be compromised in a hair trigger
response to one ill informed news article. Government is urged to hear
the scientific arguments for maintaining indoor live plants in buildings
before setting in motion any plan that will affect the health of workers
as well as set an example to big business that could destroy Australia’s
indoor plant industry.
P. Dolley
President
National Interior plant Association