I hired Green Thumb to fill in a pond in my back yard. I thought the quote was fair and Mark (Green Thumb owner) quoted an option to raise an area next to the pond. Originally, I told Mark I wanted the other area filled in but prior to the start of the job I called the Green Thumb to cancel. I was out of town when the job was actually accomplished but when I came back all of these areas were filled in so this means Green Thumb ordered a ton more dirt than they needed to. While Mark acknowledged the mistake on his end, now I needed to sod a MUCH bigger area than I was planning on originally. Mark quoted $200 per pallet and 20 pallets needed (I have a large yard and it was destroyed in the front and side yard as well). Mark's guys performed the installation and did a great job but as part of the installation I told them to leave an open space where I want to plant trees in the future. I figure no reason to sod an area that I will dig up in the spring anyway and I'll save some money. After the sod project was completed, Mark presented the bill for $4000 even though they used less than 14 pallets of sod. I told Mark he didn't use 6 pallets so it should be $1200 less and then Mark said I was lying, it was $4000 for the job and he would never quote it as a price per pallet and the 20 pallets was just an estimate. This was the whole reason I told them not to sod the area I want to plant trees on! I even told Mark after he completed the job that he owed me a pallet for the area of the trees because now that it was $4000 for the job, I wanted that sod and he wanted to charge me for it. Additionally, Mark's been in the business for 35 years and he over-estimates the amount of sod by 40%? It really seems like he did this to get back at me for the dirt he over-ordered.
Another frustrating part was Mark got extremely upset and rude about me only giving him a 50% partial payment after the dirt project was completed. He wanted the full amount and I told him I would pay him the rest when it was done because at that time the yard was a disaster (especially in the front) and Mark lost it. "I've been in business for 35 years and nobody has ever withheld payment from me". Partial payment are COMPLETELY normal in all industries when the job is not done and insures you complete the work to the customer's satisfaction!
Overall, I would steer clear of Green Thumb for this type of landscaping project. The guys did a nice job and I think the pricing was fair initially for the dirt/labor but dealing with Mark on the back end with the sod left a sour taste in my mouth on the entire project. read more