We just filed a complaint with the California State License Board against Gary and are in process of filing a complaint with the Temecula Valley Better Business Bureau. Working with Gary has turned into a nightmare you can't wake up from. Based on the other poor reviews and our experience, his modus operandi is missed meetings, underbidding contracts, and coming back to the homeowners for more money when they are vulnerable. We thought we were dealing with A-1 Landscape & Design.  However, Gary signed the $53K contract in October 2018 as Creatiscape Inc using the license number assigned to A-1 Landscape, a sole proprietorship.  The crew came in and demoed the existing patio, leaving all the concrete rubble.  Gary then requested a meeting at which time he claimed he had made a huge mistake in the bid. He was financially under water and could not pay his crew unless we added $5K to the contract price and pay it to him that day.  He blamed the mistake on Santiago being out when he estimated the job. We thought this strange as Gary is the owner, carries the license and should know how to bid a job.  We felt very uncomfortable with this but felt compelled to agree in order to get the broken concrete removed and the workers back on the job.  Gary never provided a change order. He assured us he had reviewed the contract and there would be no more surprises.   The workers came back to work and proceeded to rip out the existing electrical runs when working the bobcat.  Gary took no responsibility for the repairs needed.   We still hadn't even gotten to the first progress payment when Gary came back a second time telling us he couldn't complete the job for lack of funds. He practically begged us to let him complete the work up to the first progress payment but would not commit to finishing the rest of the job for the contracted price.  We refused and insisted he complete the job as contracted and work with us on fixing the electrical issues.  Instead, he and Santiago came back, packed up their tools and left leaving the backyard a mess with unsafe holes and trenches and no power.  We contacted a lawyer who advised us that Gary is not allowed to use the contractor's license for A-1 to engage in a contract under Creatiscape Inc.  A call to the insurance company confirmed that Gary carried worker's compensation under A-1 Landscape, but nothing under the corporation he signed the contract under.  We weren't covered if there had been an incident. Even under A-1 he had a gap of insurance coverage for over three months in 2018. read more

A-1 Landscape & Design - Debris left in yard - Landscape Architects or Designers Near Me

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If there were 10 stars I would give them to A1. It seems odd that a LOT of 5 star reviews are hidden by Yelp. Shame on Yelp. Gary and crew were on time each day and worked ALL day. I made a lot of changes and Gary made me aware all along of any additional $$ charges or trade-offs (more rock and less mulch). The plant selection was great. Gary has an artfull eye and envisions the finished project long before they started. I would highly recommend A1 and am proud to show off the masterpiece they created. Call Gary and ask him to see the work. read more

A-1 Landscape & Design - Outstanding design work by Gary of A1. - Landscape Architects or Designers Near Me

We had A1 Landscaping re-working our back yard. It was a nightmare! I never realized how bad a contractor could be until this. Don't make the same mistake as me. Before you hire them, check out their BBB rating (it's D- ) and their license status at https://www2.cslb.ca.gov/OnlineServices/CheckLicenseII/CheckLicense.aspx. A1 Landscaping talked a good game and referred to a large project they were doing at March Air-force Base, so it sounded bona fide. The owner was very reluctant to get the required permits for the work. First he tried to talk me out of getting permits at all. When I insisted on permits he wanted me to pull the permits as an owner-builder. I talked to the city permit department about that and learned the extent of the risk involved to do that. They recommended an electrician, who it turned out was not a licensed. He wanted me to pay the electrician directly, telling me that would be cheaper for me. Stupidly, I believed him. In fact, it allowed them to side-step responsibility for the electrical work being correct and to code. It later came to light that this guy was planning to wire a 15 amp receptacle to a 50 amp breaker, which would have been a death-trap, literally. At this point I checked their credentials online a CSLB. I learned that he had no workers compensation insurance. He had filed an affidavit with the CSLB that he had no employees. I learned that he paid his crew cash "under the table" and calls them independent contractors. That is illegal. Furthermore, if one of the workers got hurt on my property I could be a target for a law suit. I checked with my home-owners insurance and learned that I wouldn't have a leg to stand on and I wouldn't have insurance coverage for that. I stopped the project and demanded that he provide proof of both workers comp and liability insurance. That took over a week. He more or less begged to be allowed to continue the project. With a pile of dirt in my drive, a big hole in my yard, and a sprinkler system that they had destroyed, it was easier for me to continue using them than to find some one new to complete the job. So, I allowed him to resume work. They did get the permits, then had to re-do some of the work (retaining wall footings) because the work didn't satisfy the building inspector. That was because they had not met the requirements, but tried to skimp and do the least possible. The contract called for full soil amendment, which they had not done when they were starting to plant. My wife called the owner. He said that he forgot about that step! Come on! He's a landscape contractor and he forgot about the soil amendment! Would you believe that? Then he told his workers to just add the amendment around the plants. When selling the project the owner assured us that he only runs one project at a time and he is always on site. In fact, he was hardly ever onsite, leaving his workers unsupervised. He showed up about 7:00 am, was gone by 8:00, and that's the last we saw of him most days. The job was supposed to take about three weeks, but actually took over 10. And, the owner was annoying. He continually whined for stage-payments before he had completed the work, saying he had no money to pay his men. The owner kept losing his copy of the contract with his scope of work defined. I gave him three replacement copies. Amazingly, he never lost track of the payment schedule! On 12/11/12 the owner suggested a "cash settlement" if I would remove a previous review. Now, that sums up his business ethics better than anything else could. He later got that review removed by Yelp because i included his full name. Once you know his name, you can Google him and learn of his record. read more

A-1 has done an excellent job of design and installation. The owner, Gary, and his team have always been prompt, courteous, and go out of their way to ensure customer satisfaction. The scope of our project has changed several times, and he has offered flexible solutions which fit into our budget constraints and changing needs. He shows a true interest and knowledge in the xeriscaping concept, as opposed to just landscaping and planting items that don't work in a specified environment. I will not hesitate to use or recommend Gary to those I know. I hope to work with him on more projects in the future. read more

No masks. If you have a simple job, maybe he will do a fair job. It took Gary four months to complete a simple plan. He lacks skill to engineer a simple water feature. It still does not function well. I'll have to hire someone else to make it work well. Work was at best fair, needing constant questioning and prodding to get him to pay attention. He lacks focus and appears to have difficulty processing information. He was gone frequently and workers did not show up. Even though he says he'll honor his work, he is yet to fulfill that promise. If you hire him, don't go by his pay schedule. Hold back half till he finishes work. He tends to be childish when confronted. Not very mature. I could say a lot more but it won't add to what others have said already. Very frustrated. read more

My husband and I were having a hard time deciding exactly what we wanted done in our backyard. Our house is 30 years old, we have a large lot and even though it was professionally landscaped many years ago, it needed a complete overhaul. Gary came out and gave us an initial estimate for the work we thought we were going to want to have done. We had had a few other estimates, but no one else really had new ideas for us. Gary really has an artistic eye for design, and showed us some computer drawings of what he thought could be done with it. We decided to use A-1 for our backyard project. His crew was there every morning six days a week, were so knowledgeable about each step of the project, and really did amazing work. As the project progressed, we would talk with Gary about where we were at, if we wanted to change anything, and what the costs would be. We ended up doing more work than we thought we were going to have done, but we wouldn't change a thing. Our yard is absolutely gorgeous! They put all new fences on our property, a shed, a stacked retaining wall, steps, outdoor lighting, a patio and cover, raised fire pit, new sprinklers, sod and some boulders and landscaping. We never imagined our backyard could be this inviting and beautiful. Thank you Gary and Enrique for having the vision and the ability to create this oasis for us! Our family will be enjoying it for many years and creating a lot of wonderful memories here. read more

My review is strictly on his customer service. Missed appointments, no shows, no return calls/emails. Very unprofessional. Looking at other reviews I'm glad I didn't commit to a project with this business. read more

I would not consider his work quality. missed appts. no shows when you plan your day around his appt. 7-10 day job took 7 weeks cracks in newly poured cement refused to fix cracks and scratchs in expensive custom cement seating concrete color not mixed well. streaks of color in cemented backyard asked for payment before job was complete constant interruption of my work with problems repeated phone calls to report fountain not working constant blaming of others for his mistakes daily clean up of mess and trash they left promised everything to get us to hire him said he would be on the job daily, not true The only good thing about this job is that his workers were nice and the only true talent in the company and for that he gets a one star for hiring them read more

Had our first meeting with Gary this last weekend. Customer service was fantastic, prices were great. So far so good. We will be back with a follow up review once the work is completed. read more

Gary has an immense talent for taking an empty landscape of just dirt and filling it with beauty. His ideas were original, blended well with the design of my house and were more beautiful than I could have imagined. I used Gary to design and install landscaping and hardscaping for my property and am very excited with the results. His partner, Susan, was instrumental in helping me to choose plants that were both native to our environment, beautiful and drought tolerant. I highly recommend this company. I was impressed with high level of customer service, on-time delivery of work and overall artistic mastery of their combined concepts. read more

For our most recent landscaping assignment we hired A-1 (Gary Gunia) and we were simply thrilled with the outcome. My wife is very particular, to say the least, and we found Gary to be very reliable in his costs estimates, the time frame for the job, and the end result. He showed a lot of patience and understanding in allowing us to do it "our way". It's rare to find someone in his line of work with a creative, artistic vision, who also has the business savvy and a way with the materials and workers to realize that vision. He exhibited a very professional, but also a warm, friendly demeanor throughout. He seems to have a real enthusiasm for what he does. His knowledge of flowers, plants, and trees is also extensive. As well as their care and feeding. We would be happy to recommend Gary to anyone, and in fact we've already done so with one of my wife's associates who just bought a fixer in the Hollywood Hills. I'm sure you'll like him, too. read more

We hired Gary to resod our backyard on two occasions- we had half done at a time so our dogs could still play on the other half. Gary was very quick to get the job done and helped us with some extra things (planting some shrubs and sprinklers) all for a great price! Thanks for your work Gary read more

Don't let these bad reviews scare you away! My wife and I hired Gary and A-1 landscaping to do a job and we are so glad we did. My wife found some pictures on Houzz.com when looking for ideas for our backyard... turned out the pictures she liked were from A-1 Landscaping. I then googled the company and was sad to see such bad yelp reviews. But, I also noticed the 15 reviews below that "are not currently" recommended are much better. So are his Houzz reviews. I was still concerned, so I called A-1 and asked for a list of references. Gary quickly responded and I spoke to around 4 or 5 people, that were all very satisfied and had even posted pictures of the work online. We ultimately gave Gary the job and were so glad we did. He and his crew worked my project and no other project until the work was done. His crew was on time, friendly, and did quality work. Gary did a great job helping us get just what we wanted while staying within our budget. Anytime something came up, or we expressed concern or dissatisfaction, Gary and his crew corrected the problem right away. Don't let these bad reviews turn you away. Call Gary and give him a chance. read more

I contracted A1 landscaping for a large sod job for my backyard. A1 had a great price, but also was timely and professional in the initial meetings. After we had agreed to move forward work began a few days later. I threw a few curveballs at them with adders to the project and personal requests for how to complete the work, and this wasn't at all an issue. The project completed 1 day after the initial estimate, but I was more concerned with the quality of work than anything else. I couldn't ask for a better final product, it is what I envisioned the backyard to look like. read more

A-1 Landscape & Design - Landscape Architects or Designers Near Me

We hired Gary (owner of this, well I wouldn't even call it a company) plain and simple, he is a scam artist. He low balled the estimate just to get his foot in the door so we would go with him. We were having him install 6 retaining walls in the front of our house. He did not have a active license as the other reviewer has already stated. He knowingly performed work with while it was suspended, which is illegal. He installed walls that were not up to code, he is completely ignorant and has no idea what he is doing. Two days in to the walls being installed he raised the contracted amount by $9,000!!! I am giving you fair warning, do not go with them! YOU WILL REGRET IT! We are pursuing a complaint with the CSLB. read more

Just finished the yard makeover, and we're thrilled. I hired A-1 Landscape & Design for their expertise with xeriscape and because they do both design and installation. Not only did Gary, the owner, understand my vision, he suggested ways to improve the design while staying in budget. A-1 did it all: a design that transitioned from natural to more formal areas, tree trimming and removal, demolition, concrete, complete irrigation, drainage systems, in-ground fire pit, and artistic plantings. They even constructed a Bocce Ball court for us! Gary's experienced crew was amazing--skilled, on-time, efficient, and friendly! A-1 Landscape exceeded our expectations. I'd definitely hire A-1 again. read more

I would not recommend this company. I called to schedule a appointment ; I spoke w/ Gary. We set a date & time,I gave him my name/address/phone #. He said he knew exactly where my area was & said he'll se me on the day of appointment & @ the scheduled time. On that date he was a no show & no phone call. We waited little over a hour. I would really say that company actually earns 0 *'s. read more

Gary quoted me a price to do some very simple work. It was close to other bids I had received so I told him to go ahead. He came with only one worker to do the job. He immediately said the work was more than he had quoted. As we had added one other thing, my wife agreed to $500 for the additional work. He was only on the job a few hours for both of the first two days. He was out buying "supplies" or doing something else. On the third day, his one worker came to finish the work. Gary did not come to do any work or even supervise his one worker. On the next day he sent me a email demanding another $500 for the additional day. This would have worked out to over $75 per hour for his one worker at 24 hours and no more than 4 hours of his time. He finally came by and said he could not do the one thing he had quoted because it was beyond his capabilities and was not what he quoted. Everything seemed beyond him. To call him incompetent would be kind. read more

The app requires you at least give a star, but if not for that reason I would give them no stars. I called to schedule an estimate on a Friday afternoon. Scheduled an appointment for the following Monday afternoon. I received a call from the owner on Monday 11 am that he's unable to make the 2pm and rescheduled for Tuesday morning. I rearrange my schedule and work hours to accommodate his schedule. Only to receive a text message on Tuesday morning 15 min before our scheduled time, letting me know that he is to busy and is unable to make the appointment. He apologizes for any inconvenience. Couldn't even take the time to call me and let me know he's unable to make it. I am sure he knew he was not going to make the appt. the day before, he could have called me and I could have made other arrangements. What poor regard for the customer. In hindsight, his cancelation works in my benefit. If he has this lack of respect for a customer who has budgeted $50k for a backyard project, I can only imagine what kind of lousy and poor quality work he has to offer. read more

Gary had his hands full after the designer we picked had drawn an awesome set of plans with many plants that weren't of the normal variety. Gary stayed the course and did eventually find all the plants and delivered a great rendition of what our designer had in mind. There were a few hiccups along the way but Gary made good on his promise to make his customer happy. Thanks Gary read more

I recently had the grass removed from my front yard and replaced with a drought tolerant garden. Gary of A-1 Landscape Design & Construction did a wonderful job of designing my garden. He took some of my ideas and came up with an amazing design. It was a pleasure working with him. His people who did the installation were professional and knowledgeable. They did a great job with the removal of the grass and installing the weed barrier, DG, irrigation, plants, and lighting. I would highly recommend Gary and A-1 Landscape Design & Construction for any of your landscape projects. read more