I'm not in the habit of writing scathing reviews however, in this particular instance I must put this in print. I will first point out that most of my contact with Dan of blueberry hill was voice mail and I I will distinguish this for continuity.
I first contacted Dan in early April, possibly late March to get an estimate for both cedar and hardwood mulch, edging and, spring cleaning. During this intial contact I indicated that we were interested in having this work done as he had come highly recommended, however we needed to wait for tax return money. Nothing in his return call to me indicated that this would be a problem. I asked Dan to stop by and give us an estimate for the work and, since we were waiting on the money there was no hurry. About 2 or 3 weeks after call #2 was to inquire as to when he would be stopping by, so that we could be sure to set that money aside. He left me a voicemail indicating that he would in fact stop by in the next day or so, which he did. He left me a voicemail with detailed breakdown of prices. My call #3, I indicated the way we wanted to go. Call #4 to ask for that in writing, I had forgotten to make that request on call #3. Are you getting the picture, almost all of our conversations were done on voicemail. When you speak to someone on the phone often times questions will arise and can be answered during that conversation.
I received a voicemail with the breakdown of prices once again at this point I noticed some irritation in his voice, that should have rang a bell. However, once again since he came so highly recommended I overlooked the warning signs. Call #5 was to let him know the money was available and to set a date. Dan promptly called me back and we discussed dates, however at that time I indicated my husband need to seed the lawn and didn't want to have any work done until the new grass had taken hold. That meant we wouldn't be able to get the work done until mid May. Dan indicated at the time that it shouldn't be a problem although he was very busy and had mowing jobs he would be able to squeeze us in on a weekend. The date of May 13 was agreed upon as well as method of payment. Call #6 was to confirm the work to be done on the 13th. I did get him on the line which was very surprising and he had said to me "thanks for reminding me" and, weather permitting the job would be done. Call #7 on May 11 was to resign myself to the fact that the weather predicted for Saturday the 13th would most likely prevent the work. Also to inquire if he could he possibly squeeze us in on Wednesday, Thursday or Friday of next week as I didn't want to put this off much longer. Dan promptly called me back and left me another voicemail. At the time I couldn't take the call as I was on an important call on another line. I really wish I had picked up the phone. His voicemail message to me in an iterated voice was, I must quote this one, " I can't predict the weather" he further rambled on regarding his many mowing jobs and that our job was becoming problematic for him and he wasn't going to do it and I should find someone else. I see clearly now that this entire job for him was something he really didn't want to do and that the professional thing to have done was to not take it in the first place. He could've also mentioned that, if this was in fact the case, the timing wasn't good and, that jobs of this nature are done earlier in the season. Now I'm stuck with having to start all over again and finding someone to do the work this late in the season will make spring cleanup more difficult to accomplish.
I wouldn't give Dan or Blueberry Hill any stars at all, however, to write this review I had to give him at least 1. So if you're looking for a landscaper he's probably too busy for you read more