I usually do not get upset enough to do a negative review. I realize people/companies have bad days, employees call in sick, etc. In the case of Azteca, I met with the owner Frankie and told him of my past disappointment with people that call themselves landscapers. The last person I had was just a laborer and did not understand that a Lady Banks Rose was a vine and not a bush and he trimmed it like a bush. I lost several years of vine growth. I wanted Frankie to know I wanted a true landscaper, not a laborer.
I wanted to make sure Frankie understood what plants I had and how they would need to be trimmed to look like they were supposed to. Frankie assured me he knew about the plants I had. I ordered some new plants from him that need replacing and needed them to do a general clean up, check the drip system, trim my palm trees, palo verde, evergreen elm and one Texas Ebony which Frankie said was his favorite tree.
After rescheduling at least five times they finally came to do the work. When I came home at the end of the day the crew had left and I was surprised to see all the palm fronds, and husks all over my back and side yards. Normally a landscaper would take away the debris the day they create it. We can have a windy day anytime that would blow the debris around. I had to take my time to clean up my yard after they left.
They did not trim the Texas sage the way you normally see them even after I mentioned it to Frankie and shockingly they left suckers coming off the bottom of several trees. What landscaper does not know to get rid of the suckers off the bottom of a tree? They did not touch the Evergreen Elm and the Texas Ebony looks butchered, (see picture). I may have to buy a new tree to replace it and that size is expensive. They did not plant any new plants and did not touch the drip system. I called and talked to Petra and told her all the debris was still there, no plantings were done, the Evergreen Elm was not touched and about the suckers. She was surprised and thought the guys were done. She said trimming the suckers off was not on the list. I told her that it should not have to be said that you trim the suckers off they are destructive to a tree to have them. After a couple minutes going back and forth I realized I was talking to a brick wall.
I told her I wanted to meet with Frankie to make sure we were on the same page. After several more attempts to come meet with me, they did not come to. I sent them a very detailed email with all the issues and told them that unless they were prepared to do the job correctly that they did not need to come back. They assured me that Frankie would be here to make sure his guys would do the job correctly.
They showed up this morning, actually earlier than they said so I hurried back from the gym to meet with Frankie and walked him around. I could tell they immediately had cut some of the suckers off some but not all of the trees before I came. Frankie asked me to show his guys where the plants go before he and I walked around. I ordered two red, two rainbow gold and three purple bougainvilleas,. Instead of 3 purple bougs they brought two Texas sage because apparently they had purple blooms on them. I guess they thought all I wanted was something that had a purple bloom on it.
I walked Frankie around to show him that the drip system was not serviced because there were plants with no water next to ones that were working. I showed him for the second time the Evergreen Elm that was not trimmed. He told me in all of his time I was the most detailed guy he had ever worked with. I found that strange because I am not a landscaper, just a homeowner that knows what plants he has and what they are supposed to look like.
We walked around the house to find one of the workers was putting a red boug in the ground. He had made the hole exactly the same size as the five gallon bucket. I had mentioned in the email that they need to bring some mulch/compost to put in the appropriate sized holes. I said to Frankie did they not bring any mulch and he asked why. I said the hole needed to be bigger and deeper than the plant size and he flipped out and said that is it and he is leaving. He said they do plantings all day long. He took his plants left a mess in the front of the house and left. Just google how to plant a new plant and any site tells you to make sure the hole twice as big as the original plant.
It is clear that Azteca is trying to do too many things, they are not landscapers and need to have job details in writing. My experience is similar to other reviewers which I had mentioned to them in the email that I had read on Yelp and it does not seem to make any difference to them. I now have to hire someone to get rid of their debris and finish the job. I am going to make sure I have a real landscaper. I doubt that based on this review and the many others that Frankie will realize that he is NOT a landscaper. read more