Lawn Services - 'complete program'
We had a hard time getting these guys to come early enough last year for the application to be effective so we requested a full refund in early June. They refused our request for a refund of any sort. I mentioned escalating matters to the Better Business Bureau but that did noot faze them, rather they came in the next week for one visit to perform: aeration; overseeding; organic weed control; spring fertilizer; patio control (all on June 20). I tried reasonign with them but got th sense they were good at this kind of thing so decided not to pursue. They came by one more time, on August 2 for Summer fertilizer; organic weed control and IPM surface insect control. They never did come by for the final application, it was supposd to be Fall Fertilizer and organic weed control.
Fast forward to 2012... I came home from work today and, to my surprise, saw an invoice for my 2012 program. They decided to apply my 'early spring fertilizer' on March 21. I just sent them a note from their website confirming that we had cancelled the program last year and have no intention of paying this year. This time they do not have my money so we will see how it goes.
LESSON LEARNED - their prices are great but... you get what you pay for.
Good luck to all.
Alan
****In Response To Company's Response***
It was nice to see the company respond so quickly to my message, however their records are mistaken. I still have the original receipts showing dates of the two services. The only time they called in advance of application was in the spring of 2011 to advise they were coming next day for aeration, at which time we marked the sprinklers as required. The markers remained on our lawn for over a month while I called them requesting they come to perform the aeration/overseeding and early spring fertilizer. Their customer service person advised me they could not come for the aeration as they have a very large area and their machines were elsewhere in the GTA. One week after I removed the markers (it is time consuming to mow the lawn around the markers) they came by, unannounced, to do aeration.
I did not call their supervisor back after the June 20 application because I had already wasted many hours on the phone with others at Hometurf and all I wanted was a full refund PRIOR to any service being performed. I knew it was a lost cause once they performed that first service on June 20th so just cut my losses.
All I can say is Buyer Beware!!
Alan
note: they did not call prior to their first service this year. They do not have my money for 2012 Season nor will they get anything out of me this time around!!
- Approximate cost of services:
- $598.84
- What could this company do to improve their services?
- Integrity and honesty would go a long way.
- Any advice to offer fellow homeowners facing a similar project?
- They have great prices but... you get what you pay for.
- Company Response
Hi Mr. Thomson, I reviewed your account and have noticed some discrepancies. Here is the information that we have on file, we were out to the home May 27th to do the aeration and seeding treatment however the sprinkler heads were not marked so we left a note stating that we would return once they were marked. We did, like we always do, give you a call the day before so that the heads could be marked for us. The aeration and seeding treatment was then completed on June 16th NOT June 20th. The Late Spring Fertilizer/Weed Control was completed on June 20th. The summer application was completed on August 2nd then you received the Fall fertilizer and weed control September 16th and the Late Fall Fertilizer October 19th. All the services that you paid for were completed and furthermore a supervisor called and left a message with you on June 16th to resolve any issues that you were having but the message was never returned. We never heard anything from you past June, I would think that if you were not receiving your applications in the fall you would have called to let us know so that we could get them done for you. I am sorry that you were not happy with our service and wish you the best of luck.