Wouldn’t it be great if you could trust every business or contractor to be honest and truthful? Wouldn’t it also be great if there were real consequences for those people or businesses that misrepresent who they are, what they do, their affiliations and their certifications? I sure do!
I just logged into my Twitter account (@nightscenes) and noticed an additional follower who is a new local outdoor lighting provider. Of course, I couldn’t resist going to their website to get a better idea of who this fresh competition is, just like any business owner would. I was quite surprised to see their claim to be a member in good standing in the Association of Outdoor Lighting Professionals and to have earned their “Fundamentals of Lighting Certification.”
Since I have served on the Board of Directors for the AOLP for almost 10 years, I have a very good grasp of the membership. Every membership application is screened by a committee first, and then the Board has to approve. So, of course, I questioned the membership claim in case I had missed them or forgotten. But no – sure enough, as of this date there is no record of this company being an AOLP member.
The AOLP offers two certifications. The Certified Low Voltage Lighting Technician (CLVLT) and the Certified Outdoor Lighting Designer (COLD). These are both extensive and comprehensive courses of study, requiring time and financial commitment. It would be interesting to know exactly where the “Fundamentals of Lighting Certification” comes from. A little research on the internet turned up some educational opportunities, but no other certifications specific to this industry. There are some lighting fixture manufacturers that will give a participation certificate when you go through their half-day sales seminar, but the AOLP is the only national association that offers any landscape lighting certifications as far as I know.
There are only a few AOLP member companies in the Austin area. There is Texas Outdoor Lighting, Plantscape Solutions, and NightScenes Landscape Lighting Professionals. In this group of members, only NightScenes actually has AOLP certified technicians on staff — and we have two of them.
As a reputable business working in Austin and the central Texas hill country, we always encourage consumers to take a little time for research and to verify claims made by people or companies providing services, especially prior to a major purchase. You can easily verify AOLP members by going to www.aolponline.org; look under the Membership tab to search by state.
You have to ask yourself: If a company will misrepresent themselves about matters like this – their education and certification — can they really be trusted to deliver the products and services they are advertising? After a little research I discovered that the owner of the lighting company also has a lawn care service called Sublime Lawn and you can find his reviews on Yelp. OUCH!
Please Contact us here if you would like to have an AOLP certified technician take care of your outdoor lighting needs.
