I'm going to first present only the facts, and give my opinion at the end…read more
I called Lawn Spa for an estimate. I spoke to Mark, the owner.
When Mark came out with his crew, I told him that we needed lawn care as well as shrub/bush maintenance.
I explained to him that I previously trimmed all the bushes myself, but due to health issues, I haven't trimmed some bushes in 2 years and others in 6 months.
I also advised him that we just had sod installed in the front yard and were told to wait a full month before the first cut.
Mark offered a monthly service plan, with the first month being 150% of the monthly rate due to the negligence of the shrubbery. I agreed with him. He mentioned that he doesn't work on Sundays because he goes to church (I didn't ask if they worked on Sundays. as I've never known a lawn company to work on Sundays). He presented himself as a good salesperson.
Since it was only 2 weeks after the sod was installed, he scheduled the first service on a Monday 2 weeks later.
On the scheduled Monday morning, it rained. I understood that he likely wanted to use the limited time he had that day for his established customers. So, because I didn't hear from him, I reached out to him at almost 11 am. and offered to reschedule.
Mark advised me that because of the rain and the amount of work needed, he was unable to schedule us in. He provided a phone number to another lawn company. I told him that hopefully I also have a backup company. I called the other company, which was my second choice when getting 2 estimates, and they were backed up because of the rain as well. I called the company Mark recommended, and was told they do not service our area.
I told Mark that the company he recommended doesn't service our area, and the backup company was too busy. He responded and said that he'd see how the rest of the day went and he may come out on Tuesday (the next day), and he'd contact me "later today" (still Monday).
After not hearing from him, I messaged him two days later on Wednesday and let him know that I was still frantically trying to find someone to mow our lawn. The new sod had grown very much with all the rain, and because of our HOA, I was concerned they may take notice. I also told him that he didn't tell me that he couldn't do the job until the day he was scheduled to be there. He told me that he would come out later that afternoon to mow.
At 5:17 p.m., I was next door at my neighbor's house when I was alerted by my security camera. I looked and barely caught the image of a man on a lawn mower. My camera only caught a split-second glimpse of it because he was going so fast.
I went home and told him that I understand that he's probably tired, and it was only the front lawn that I was concerned about; amd he could come back and do the rest at a later time, if he still wanted to. He said he just wanted to get it all done.
He mowed, edged, and blew the cut grass with the leaf blower. He didn't cut the grass growing in the crevices.. I asked how much he wanted to be paid for the cut. He told me that he didn't appreciate being insulted. I told him that he should have let me know in advance that he wouldn't do the job - not the day of, and only after I messaged him. He said "Ahh" and shrugged his hand up. Again, I asked how much he wanted for the cut. He said, "At least fifty."
I paid him $50 for the fast and uneven cut and walked away.
My opinion: Fifty dollars is a small price to pay for a lesson learned: Good salesperson and reliable servicepeople are NOT the same. Also, people who go to church don't need to tell others that they go to church. I should have been suspicious when he said that they don't work on Sundays because of church. I never asked, and in foresight, it seemed to be a big part of the reason I hired him. As I said, he was a good salesperson.
