DO NOT USE THIS COMPANY. They have recently changed their billing practice so that the invoice is past due as soon as they send it. After three days they begin sending you past-due notices, although they themselves take a week after the service to send the bill. Even worse is that they aren't capable of receiving modern payments like direct-deposit and they are slow at processing checks they receive. So I sent a check the day I received the invoice, told them that it was on the way (twice), and today, 9 days after the invoice was delivered to me, I got a notice that they are sending me to collections. We've been customers for 15+ years and I've been OK but not thrilled with the service, but they are cancelled now. read more

I worked with John, the designer for Merrill Landscape, on my project. My project was pretty small, but I was never treated as if my project was unimportant to them. I am so happy with the final outcome. I highly recommend and will use for future work. read more

This was the most bizarre, unpleasant customer experience I've ever had. Like the other recent review here, I was summarily "cancelled" for asking for the manager's email address and a chance to raise my concerns over the long wait period for the snow removal. I'm a good customer. Not only had I signed up for the service and put my $100 deposit down over a month before the first big snow hit--but I have spent plenty of $ with Merrill on regular mowing/trimming services and leaf removal. I deserved better than what I got. As the other reviewer mentioned, the post-snow communication started with a warning that we might need to wait several days for snow removal--and that no disrespect to the hardworking crews would be tolerated. Wha...? Who said anything about abusing the crews? Why would I ever do such a thing? And why would such a negative message be sent to good-faith, deposit-paying clients? I see now, It was the perfect setup for gaslighting. Any question or concern could now be met with, how dare you be so abusive--this insubordination shall not be tolerated. You are hereby cancelled! I kept in touch via email, as the customer service agent had requested we do. And as we got further into the week with no snow-removal help in sight, I asked for the manager's email, so I could mention that this was not safe to have no egress in case of emergency. My only point was that if this was the situation, they should revisit their demand planning process and adjust accordingly. I would have made other plans in advance of the season, if I'd known they didn't have the capacity to provide service. Welp, not only was I refused the manager's contact info--I was told my service for the season had been cancelled. She repeated her message about no disrespect being tolerated. After my series of respectful emails, this baffled me. I asked what I had done/said that was disrespectful. Five days later, no response. So, after waiting that five-day period to see if I'd be offered an explanation or apology, I'm writing this negative review. Just, wow. What a rotten way to treat good-faith customers who commit to your service in advance and with a deposit. Shame on them. My conclusion? Best to go on Nextdoor and find a small business eager to have the work. That's what I did, and it took no time at all to find someone highly recommended. read more

I have used Merrill services for the last 5 years, but the quality has sharply declined the last couple years. Most recently, I requested landscaping services. The job was incomplete and verly poorly done, and they charged over $300 for what looked like less than $25 worth of work. Attached: one "trimmed" shrub, the others were not touched. Supervisors never returned our calls or emails. read more

Merrill Landscape Services - "Trimmed" bush, a few branches were shortened. The other bushes were not touched. - Dense green bushes are in front of a house with window blinds and siding, partially obscuring the view. - Landscaping Near Me - Champaign, Illinois

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I never even got a sales quote from Merrill for a large patio and pool deck project. Annabelle emailed me and asked if 2 pm on a Monday was ok, and I responded within 20 minutes and said yes. The she emailed me back the next day and said that slot was unavailable. This company is clearly disorganized and needs customer service training....bullet dodged. read more

I had two large, circular bare spots where trees had been removed. They agreed to lightly grade and strip seed a rectangular area that included the bare spots, and to erect a temporary fence to keep the dogs off the new seed. I received the bill, but I could see no evidence they had done anything. No grass was growing, and there was no fence. They said they strip seeded my whole yard, which would include the area in question, yet not a single blade of grass had appeared two weeks after receiving the bill. F&W Lawn Care came out to do some repairs on my irrigation system, and they offered to throw some of their seed on those spots, free of charge. The grass is growing nicely there now. read more

We hired them to aerate and overseed. We had no idea when they were coming, and when they did, they apparently couldn't get to the back yard because of a parked car. My wife was in a work meeting and asked if she could have 15 minutes to move it. They agreed and then left before that. They never showed back up but sent a bill for the full amount. I called and was told they would get someone out there immediately to do the rest. They never came. We then received a late notice on the bill. When I complained, I was given a roughly 11% discount (and our backyard is bigger than the front), then they upped it to a little over 20%. So much for agreements, I guess. And incidentally, the backyard is what I wanted done, so I threw a hundred bucks away on nothing. This is also after we hired them last year to mulch and preen our front flower beds, and they instead preened my entire yard (when I was trying to grow grass). read more

My parents live on the Champaign country club and wanted to update their walkway, so I helped them find Merrill to do the job. They blended the stone patterns beautifully and came out quickly to do the work! They are also doing their mulch and irrigation system now. read more

Merrill Landscape Services - a stone path in a garden - Landscaping Near Me - Champaign, Illinois

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I hired this company for taking care of my yard while i was on a long vacation and specifically told them this. When I returned back I see my backyard with half of the grass dead. To me and to another company i called this is a fertilizer burn which the company did on July 13 although when I setup the service I told them that I was away and do not need summer fertilization. Anyway, I called them and they sent a technician to claim we have grubs on the backyard! I called again and the owner then came and this time they told it is drought! What type of drought is that it did not anything on any of my neighbours lawns who never water their lawns but killed mine. Anyway, I suggest not to trust this company as they do not take responsibility on their as you can see from my story above! read more

This company is the paradigm of "corporate cancel culture": first, even before the services (in this case snow removal) are rendered they, for no good reason, a patronizing email (don't insult our workers if we are late, qqas if it was their fault an not the office manager) and then, if you right an email just literally stating that you are if the have the capability honor the signEd contract, they cancel you because you are unhappy with their services. Interesting way to manage their backlog. Good lluck! read more

I have been working with this company for many years now. The services that are provided with this company literally can't be beat. From totally re-Sodding my yard looks o the disposal of some pesky shrubs I have yet to be disappointed. If you feel like something is not done right, call them and they will be right out to discuss different actions for your requirements. I would highly recommend this company to anyone! read more

Merrill Landscape Services - Landscaping Near Me - Champaign, Illinois

Though they were a bit slow in giving me an estimate on my yard, the service was quick and thorough. Had a LOT of growth in my backyard (weeds upward of 4 feet) and did not have the equipment to mow (really needed a weed mower), but they did a great job! Lawn looks great and they even took away excess tree branches. Also very reasonably priced, especially if you have a big residential job where you might have to rent equipment. Just pay a bit more and call these people. Great service! read more

Had to contact repeatedly to get them to come out after we accepted their bid. Billed for service before they did the majority of the work. Had to call to get them to come and finish it. Bad service, billed twice what their estimate was. The items they provided were more than double what I could get them for at our most expensive garden store. Why get a quote if they don't follow it. Very unethical billing. read more

Merrill Landscape Services was recommended to us and now we can see why. From the first time we contacted them to after our services were finished the staff was friendly and helpful. The staff went above and beyond answering our questions and getting back to us with answers in an efficient manner if they did not have them at the time. Merrill Landscape Services provided high quality landscape work at our house at a affordable price. They provided inspiration and ideas to update our yard while also sticking with the current theme and style of our house. Without Merrill Landscape Services our landscaping would have never gotten done in our busy schedules. I would highly recommend Merrill Landscape Services to friends and family and will not hesitate to contact them again for future landscaping projects. read more

We signed up with Merrill to be our landscape and mower service for the summer. I had to cancel them out after the first few mows..They flew through the yard, sprayed clippings in my flower beds, and didn't blow off the patio like they were supposed to do. On top of that they add a fuel surcharge to their bill. I would much prefer to pay a little more for one price that includes a thorough and professional job. I cannot recommend them to anyone. read more

Did a great job ......eventually. Had to have them back numerous times to correct misplantings, tree care and downspout installation sites.

I had some hedge/tree trimming work done by Merrill as well as yard waste haul-away. They were the first out of three vendors to come by and give a quote, and the person who did that took the 12-13 bags of yard waste immediately which I was grateful for. The price for the trimming was about $150-200 less than another business in the area. They did the job in a timely manner and I was generally pleased with the results. When I discovered later that day that a window right over the hedges was cracked, which wasn't before, I followed up with them and the manager Bailey was quite kind and paid for a fix of the glass even though I admitted I was not there to witness the window breaking. Overall I thought they were professional and got to the job in a reasonable timeframe. They were also more responsive and honest than other local yard/lawn companies I worked with in the past. read more

I was so hopeful that this company would turn our lawn around, but they were completely unreliable. I called on 6/5 asking them to come out and spot treat the weeds. On 6/27 they still had not come out. When I emailed again, they told me that they would be out in the next few days. This wasn't the first time since Spring that I have had to ask them to come out and do the work that they were hired to do. In addition, they told me that my yard need aerated this Spring, so we paid $132 for that, and later found out from another lawn company that aeration should only be performed in the Fall. I didn't feel like they were honest OR that they were willing to put in the work for the services that they quoted from the beginning read more