Dec 18, 2009

Pleasant View Strives for Higher Level of ExcellenceSource: Pleasant View Gardens

Long known for exceptional plants, Pleasant View Gardens is taking quality focus to new heights with their employee-run Quality Council. The 12-person team, with one representative from every department in the company, is charged with raising the bar on quality at Pleasant View, which is no small task given the company’s consistent 99 percent quality rating from customers.

Pleasant View’s Quality Council meets bimonthly to strategize on quality improvement from the inside out, making department- and product-specific recommendations.

“We’re constantly looking at how to do it better and have a positive impact on our customers,” said Pleasant View President Henry Huntington. “The Quality Council is just one way we do that: They’re looking at how we bill, how we ship, how we stick. Nothing is sacred; they’re raising quality awareness throughout the company as a whole.”

The Quality Council empowers employees at all levels in every area to impact the finished product and better serve customers. “Our entire company knows, from our accounting department to our shipping department, that we are all accountable for the quality of our plants. It is up to us to keep raising the bar internally on quality,” says Quality Council member Valerie Rollins.

Most recently, the group helped intensify the company’s already-stringent liner specs: By the Council’s recommendation, complete variety-specific reference books with specifications and pictures reside in every greenhouse and are available to employees in every department.

“The philosophy of the council is that quality must be a consideration at every level of the organization and at every step in the process,” says Huntington. “Listening to our customers and the employees who interact with them each day is a priority for the council and is ultimately what ensures quality results.”

For more information, visit Pleasant View Gardens’ website or call (603) 435-8361.