We hired LBT in spring to do an overhaul of our backyard. Engaging LBT is our biggest regret.
A design is a living and breathing blueprint that gets changed and fine-tuned over time, so there were naturally plenty of questions from our side throughout the engagement. The company's responses were always prompt, yet minimalist and a bit non-committal.
Numerous details were missed along the way. In the end, most of these can be chalked up to simple human error. However, what came next was truly the straw that broke the camel's back and WE URGE EVERY BUYER TO BEWARE.
When you confirm in writing the type of stone you would like for the project and reconfirm that many times over...and months go by - during which time you even receive a rendering of how your stone will look - it is by this point common knowledge just what stone you have selected. As a consumer, you trust the accuracy of your contractors. You also trust their honesty and fair dealing. So you rely on the most-current bid (on the dynamic, ever-changing bidsheet) and assume it reflects the RIGHT type of stone. Just two weeks from install (on the 4th of August) Emily wrote asking: "Is everything as we left it? Maybe review the bid and let me know if everything is still accurate?" This suggested to us LBT had prepared an accurate bid. We had no reason to second-guess their pricing. We confirmed in writing that the bid was accurate and reiterated our balance and how much we had paid down, just to have this on the record. Then, literally at the 11th hour, Emily wrote that she had failed to apply a per cubic foot up-charge for the stone we had selected...leading to a very steep last-minute price hike for us as consumers. Unfortunately, it was too late for us to pull away. All the stone was meanwhile sitting on pallets on our driveway and we were on the hook. This is not what you expect from a company that has your back.
Improved hydrology was a crucial part of our landscaping plan from day one, due to low spots and issues with flooding. Emily recognized this, proposed a rain garden and designed it. We loved it. We only made one small change to the plan, and that was moving the rain garden a little closer to the house. We never removed the idea of a rain garden from our plan. Ever. Just a few weeks from installation, however, Emily claimed to have deleted the rain garden component from the project somewhere along the way. A central component of a landscaping plan doesn't just get accidentally deleted and mysteriously added back a few weeks from install. In either case, the rain garden was NEVER listed in the bid under that name...at NO point! Emily could have apologized for this grave oversight and dealt with it in a professional manner, but instead she wrote us a "slap-in-the-face" email saying "I have added it back in. It's yours if you want it." To just nonchalantly make a core feature of a project seem expendable really got us thinking: "Do they even care?!" Of course, here again was a significant charge getting added to the bill at the very last minute, when it was too late to pull out.
In May, Emily had informed us that "we will do a final walk-through before we get started so that all of the grading issues can be addressed on site." However, when we attempted to schedule a date where we could be off from work to meet with La Belle Terre, Emily's response was "It's hard to schedule a start date by appointment because we employ a whole crew who can't wait around for a job to start. We roll from one project to the next so if the 24th doesn't work out just right we may have to push someone ahead of you and try again." Ultimately, La Belle Terre conceded in writing that it was important that we all be on the same page. But it seemed like a real labor to get them to this point. And that's not what you expect from a company that has your back.
When we emailed to inquire about these grave oversights and last-minute price hikes, we were ignored. We woke up the morning after to find an early email signed by both Eric and Emily. In it, Emily wrote that the necessary trust to continue the relationship had been undermined and that the company could not proceed with our project. This was mid-August. After 5 months of waiting. In a state where you either have a contractor lined up to complete work before frost, or you wait another 6-7 months without a patio, without a yard. Something we had waited 2 years for. With supplies just sitting around the house on pallets. Pulling the rug out from beneath is precisely what La Belle Terre did.
Eric urged me not to post any reviews, as "I think we all know we don't deserve that." We beg to differ. We feel we were sorely short-changed in this risky operation and that the least we could do is tell our story. It is the unsuspecting homeowner and consumer who DESERVE this review! read more
