ComplaintsforMcMaster Lawn & Pest Services, LLC

• Initial Complaint

  06/07/2021

  Complaint Type:

  Customer Service Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  We decided to have our backyard sodded. All the landscape was to be removed, weeds gone, sprinkler heads replaced and re-positioned, railroad ties straightened out behind the pool and no mulch under the citrus trees. The day the job was completed, there were weeds coming up through the mulch all around the shed and citrus trees. Rotted railroad tied were reused instead of being replaced. Finally someone came out to replace the railroad tie leaving one rotted. He came without notifying me. I have 2 large dogs who go in and out of the dog door. Than God they didn't attack the guy or get loose. Aaron said he would place a herbicide for the weeds but never did, I discovered they damaged my vinyl fence and gate. They caulked it as if I wouldn't notice. Only when I sent a pre-job photo did he admit they did it. There are 2 palms and coming up as well as the bushes that weren't completely removed, trees around the shed and weeds. The owner said he got our money and to pay someone else to fix

  Business response

  06/24/2021

  Business Response /* (1000, 5, 2021/06/10) */ The original quote is attached to this response. It provides detail of the scope of work that was performed. The work was completed March 10, 2021. Replacement of railroad ties was not in the original scope of work. The only work regarding railroad ties is to arrange and straighten the existing ones. It was not agreed to replace them in the original scope of work. In an attempt to satisfy the customer after the job was complete, we agreed to install one new railroad tie at no charge to the customer. As soon as this was done the customer changed course and thought that we should replace more. Apparently, no good deed goes unpunished. It is also not in our scope of work to continuously apply herbicide which is an ongoing maintenance practice required to maintain a landscape. As a precaution, we also advised against applying herbicide directly under citrus trees. The trees and weeds mentioned in the complaint have grown from seeds after the job was completed. It must be noted that the picture of weeds in the complaint from the customer is a recent picture, nearly 90 days after the project was completed. There are visible sod runners growing into the mulch. Since sod comes in square pieces, it is evident these pictures were not taken the day after the job was complete, but instead months later. We are not responsible for maintaining what we installed. Weeds will always grow back and ongoing maintenance is required by the customer if a weed free landscape is desired. A crew member damaged the customer's fence, but management was not made aware. The crew member received a warning to reinforce that we are responsible for damages to a customer's property. A fence company was hired to professionally replace the damaged fence at no charge to the customer. In response to a customer complaint made weeks after the project was completed regarding irrigation issues, two irrigation valve solenoids were replaced at no cost to the customer. We thought that it was the appropriate thing to do after neglecting to inform the customer about the fence issue. Despite our efforts to provide a high level of service to this customer, our company has had to draw the line on what we can continue to do to satisfy the customer. The original job was completed as agreed and additional items were provided at no cost to the customer. We had all damages to the customer's property professionally repaired at no cost to the customer. Consumer Response /* (3000, 7, 2021/06/11) */ (The consumer indicated he/she DID NOT accept the response from the business.) I have attached the text messages between Aaron (General Manager) and myself. Clearly there are major discrepancies. In the text Aaron and I addressed the railroad ties. We knew there may be addition costs if the ties could not be used due to rot. Why was the rotted tie reused? My guess is lack of communication and supervision. You say you replaced it at no charge? Why did I receive an invoice for $50? I will pay it as per my text with Aaron after you correct the issues. You never placed a herbicide. You are trying to sell me a service. The property should have been properly prepped and weeds removed. The yard is so lumpy, uneven and a huge dip by the single gate. I chose to just deal with it hoping it would eventually level out. Clearly this is due to lack of supervision. You are correct the pictures submitted are current. It was to show the palm trees, weeds and shrubs that were not properly removed. . And why isn't there edging between the mulch and grass? Why wasn't this suggested or recommended? I trusted Aaron. I wish I had taken a picture today of the pink flowering bulbs coming up where the landscape was removed. Right in the middle of the yard. I have been addressing the weeds, trees around the shed. the flowering bulbs and the shrubs with Aaron since 3/11/2021. Please review the attached text messages. Aaron said in the text we will always have weeds that's why people hire a maintenance guy. Makes me think the weeds were not removed so you could sell us a maintenance service. Your crew damaged our fence and caulked it. Aaron said they told the office and no one told him. You say the crew received a warning for not notifying anyone. Which is it? Good thing I had a photo showing the line of sod. Because Aaron seemed to question me. Again all noted in the text messages. Aaron said they never touched the irrigation valves. Not true, they had to use it to address the sprinklers. The timer is in the garage. We paid $ 730.00 to have the sprinklers work properly. Should not have had to come out multiple times to address. Should not have areas where the sprinklers are covering. Per my text conversation with Aaron, there was not supposed to be mulch placed under the citrus trees, see the picture he drew and sent via text. In the text, Aaron said you would properly remove the trees and shrubs. Now you are refusing. Please take the time to review all the text messages. It's clear we have been trying to have resolution since 3/11/2021, the day after the job was done. When I spoke with the owner, he hung up on me. I called back. He said they no longer service my area and would not finish the job. He then said "We already got your money, go pay someone else to finish the job" and hung up on me. The owner said they can't dig 20 feet to remove everything. But flowering bulbs are not 20 feet deep. It's clear they didn't prep the yard for sod. We were charged $ 1375.00 for demo and prep the back yard for sod. To be honest, we're very disappointed. All we're asking is to have the trees, shrubs, flowering bulbs and weeds properly removed. This is what we paid for. We paid just shy of $11,000. And didn't hold the fund but paid right away in good faith. I would love to remove the negative posts and the complaint if they would just correct what we paid for. Thank you Business Response /* (4000, 9, 2021/06/14) */ I can not keep track of all the new things being discussed that were not part of the original quote. There are complaints about a lack of edging against the mulch now? That is not part of the quote. It clearly states edging is to be used "where rock meets turf." If edging is something the customer wanted in other places, the customer should have requested it to be added to the quote before work started. Weed mat was also never discussed in the original quote. The fence was professionally repaired and that complaint resolved, but it is still being discussed here. The work to the irrigation system in the amount of $730 is to trench and install pipe in order to move sprinklers and also for 16 new sprinklers in the back yard. Please see the original quote. We responded to your complaints about the irrigation in the front yard in addition to issues about coverage in the back. Minor adjustments were made to the new sprinklers in the back which resolved the minor coverage issues and we also reinstalled a wire to the clock and adjusted the head in the front. Seeds and tuberous root material can lay dormant in the soil for years. Our demolition and prep work may have brought some of this material closer to the surface and encouraged new growth. As I stated in response to a review left by the customer on another forum, "Short of excavating 2-3 feet of soil from your property, we cannot 100% remove every single dormant seed or palm root that may grow back." This is precisely why there are companies like ours that offer ongoing maintenance services to keep weeds controlled. It is a never ending task in any landscape. I am out of ways to try to help the customer understand this.

*Some consumers may elect to not publish the details of their complaints, some complaints may not meet BBB's standards for publication, or BBB may display a portion of complaints when a high volume is received for a particular business. ↩