We chose Jacob because of his good reviews (we should have looked at his yelp reviews instead of the google reviews as they had the same exact issues we did), but our experience was nothing short of terrible. Despite a clear agreement for the services we expected, the outcome was shameful and deceptive. For the $830 paid, we received work that was incomplete, poorly done, and fell far below acceptable standards.
Before work began, my mother had detailed discussions with Jacob about what was to be done:
- Clearing the rocks of all debris (weeds, sticks, grass, dead leaves) without using weed killer. He stated he would remove the grass growing in the rocks even though he may have to use a special machine to do so and that, as a result, a couple of inches of dirt will be removed in the process which was okay with my mom.
- Trimming trees and bushes neatly
- Mowing the grass and trimming around bricks and pillars
- Sowing grass seeds for regrowth
- Fixing the sprinklers and a leaking hose faucet
Jacob provided an estimate, and my mother decided to proceed, despite delayed and vague communication on his part. Things quickly went downhill:
Poor communication: Jacob did not provide specific times or dates for the work. He showed up unannounced, initially with one other young man and no crew, which raised concerns given the scope of the work.
Substandard execution: The rocks were untouched, still full of debris, weeds and the grass was neither removed from the rocks nor trimmed properly. Some areas of the lawn were unevenly mowed, while others were left completely unmowed. Plants were butchered, with branches left half-cut and dangling.
Unfulfilled promises: The sprinklers for the grass were not fixed and do not turn on automatically and the leaking faucet remains unrepaired despite an additional charge of $160 for these services. The faucet is leaking even worse than before Jacob "fixed" it. It is now leaving a giant puddle in the rocks. He also said he would sow seeds into the dirt patches in the grass to help it regrow. He did not do that either. Jacob texted after leaving our property that the diaphragm needs to be replaced in the backyard or the sprinklers would need to be turned on manually instead of turning on automatically. If that is the case, Jacob should have specified that before we paid him $160 that was supposed to go toward him fixing the irrigation system and leaky faucet as agreed upon.
Once paid (we paid cash before he began working due to our schedule) he became unresponsive, ignored follow-ups, and failed to return to complete the job. When we reached out to Jacob asking him to come back to finish the mess he left in our front and back yard, Jacob attempted to ask my mother if she'd be open to using weed killer (most likely at an additional cost) after already agreeing to remove the weeds and grass without any use of pesticides. After Jacob replied with a vague text saying he's figuring out a time and date. One month later and we still never heard back from him. We are deeply disgusted and feel robbed of our hard-earned money. Pictures of the messy aftermath and our communication with Jacob will be posted as evidence. We had trash bags full of leaves and a pile of sticks from what was left behind by Jacob that we had to pick up and trim ourselvesIves. I could not upload all the photos as there is a 20 photo limit. If we had known the level of negligence and disrespect we'd face, we would have put that money towards hiring a reputable company. read more