I have been agonizing about whether I should leave a review for more than two months. I put it off because I was hoping things would turn around and because I really and truly like the owner, Daniel.
Pros: Daniel is honest, hardworking, knowledgeable, friendly, helpful, reasonable, and pleasant. Very nearly everything you could hope to have in a professional. Daniel's hourly rate is higher than the competition, but he's a veteran, carries liability and workers' compensation insurance. All these things are huge pluses.
Con: Daniel is incredibly unreliable.
I hope Daniel would agree I always treated him fairly. I was polite and paid him promptly. I saw that his invoicing company was taking a percentage of what I paid, and increased the payment to more than compensate. I was always willing to work around his schedule and availability.
I'm just a suburban homeowner. I understand he has to quote other jobs, may need to fit me in between other jobs and work sites, but I work from home, so I'm flexible. I had no problem when Daniel needed to bump me to the afternoon, fit me in on a different day, or whatever he needed.
When Daniel first came out what we needed more than anything was the weeds being tackled on the front and sides of the house. Daniel really wanted to work on the sprinklers before addressing the rest of the yard. I reminded him the yard, front, back, and sides were the priority, not the sprinklers. Daniel did the front, the back, ignored the sides, and then got to work on the sprinklers.
When he left on 6/9/2023 one sprinkler was leaking badly, sending a stream of water down the street - and it got worse over next few days. At this point I had a yard clean up and seed sprinkled on the front lawn and paid $300.
Now, before you read any further, I want to make it clear I am absolutely NOT holding Daniel responsible for a sprinkler system that was installed years before we even moved in. Roseville summers are hot and I wouldn't doubt the various valves and such were damaged with heat/sunlight/time. It's entirely possible, maybe even probable, Daniel did not cause these leaks.
Although Daniel was initially responsive, the next 19 days were a series of broken promises. I called and texted several times, but there was either no reply, a promise, an excuse, or he couldn't make it. After finally coming out, swapping out a few sprinkler heads, and a little yard work, Daniel pretty much stopped replying altogether. I paid these additional invoices promptly. I was out another $215 but... the sprinkler valves were still leaking.
From 7/11/2023 through 8/11/2023 I heard absolutely nothing from Daniel. The last message I had from him was "K". If he had replied to tell me he was too busy, he quit, he didn't like me, he felt I had mistreated him, anything, I would have understood.
I finally reached him last Friday (8/11/2023) just before 5pm. He said he was very busy, that he wasn't looking forward to coming out to Roseville to work at my place alone (his insurance only covers himself), he was getting paid much more for other work, and quoted me an hourly rate 70% higher than the above-market rate we had initially agreed to (from $50/hour to $85/hour).
Although I initially agreed to a higher rate, I thought better of it later and cancelled.
Honesty, hardworking, friendly, helpful: 5 stars
Reliability: 1 star
Again, I am *not* accusing Daniel of causing the problem. This could have happened to anyone, anywhere through no fault of Daniel's. My concern is he stopped showing up, didn't appear when promised, and became nearly impossible to reach. Whether it's $8.50/hour or $85/hour, as pleasant as he is, Daniel is too unreliable. read more