Their Trucks & Delivery - but all Your Risk & Liability -- I've used Marin Landscape (formerly Colored Gravel) and their delivery in the past couple of years for gravel delivery with no problem and good prices. They were actually fun to deal with. However, they are under new ownership apparently and they have new trucks making them lose sight of the fact they are in the dirty, rumbly, bumpy, gravelly, scratchy, rock and landscape delivery business. Visited on-site and discussed with staff 4x for delivery of 6 cubic yards of gravel- same as prior years. Arranged for team on my side to spread it out over the same cool weekend (to address new MMWD water saving program reverting landscape and before our heat wave hit.) Marin Landscaping driver arrived however and had one excuse after another why he couldn't drop the load because a nearby tree might scratch the truck. I, the homeowner, would have to pay the $3,000.00+ to $12,000.00 to get it repainted should it get scratched or damaged while dumping, etc.. Huh? Mind you I am not driving or dumping their truck, he is. (I'm also sure the inside and outside of these trucks get scratched whilst rocks and other heavy equipment get near them.) Suddenly this became a very surreal, unrealistic and very, very, expensive pile of rocks- never a problem in prior years because their trucks were beat-up-monster trucks with the corresponding burley drivers apparently understanding the business they were really in and the tree was their in prior years... (I can't imagine from my prior experiences their past drivers saying I can't dump the load because "my truck will get scratched...") Now I really could have gone with all this love for these new Peterbilts, if but for the 4x times I discussed delivery and planning prior, they could have had highlighted that things had changed: they had all new trucks, new constraints and homeowner bore the burden of risks for delivery via their new pretty boy trucks (which apparently were their new priority and yes, I do know how expensive they are, but they are, after all, industrial work trucks...) This communication amongst their staff and basic concept is apparently not part of their new business model to share or communicate because it works really to their advantage and not the consumer. [They said this disclosure on their receipt but that doesn't show up until AFTER delivery if you order on a credit card, isn't on price list, website, never disclosed in 4x visits, etc.] When you run the total numbers, this this business model doesn't work for most consumers- even if I had known this change in advance (which cost me my vacation time, + the labor I hired to spread the gravel and extended the project another 3+weeks while I found another supplier and ruined my long weekend,) this potential $$ range of liability they place on the consumer is unacceptable additional liability risk for most consumers to take on, even with home insurance & relative to other options. So their per cubic yard price is good but, when you factor in the my-big-work-truck-might-get-scratched-doing-what-it-is-designed-to-do, and any other the additional liability you will potentially be burdened with, at this increased rate you are far better off with delivery by Home Depot for larger & basic orders. Yes the cost is higher per cubic yard and they don't carry the lower end products, but Home Depot will actually deliver this volume without this additional $$$ liability, hassles & uncertainties of what might be a scratch, bump, burp hazard the day of delivery (and they will wave all interest for 6 months for purchases over $300, give you cash back or a percentage off your order and cover liability related to the order delivery.) When I pointed this out to management at Marin Landscaping when I disputed the charge and why, they say they have so much business, they don't care to address the problems with their processes. Hmm, interesting attitude. So, now you know... read more