Big O Tree & Lawn Service, Inc.

Review: Contacted this company late last summer about grinding two tree stumps. Shortly thereafter, [redacted] came to our home and provided me with an estimate of $720.00 to grind the stumps, remove the debris, fill the holes with sifted topsoil, reseed and tack with a seed mat, because we did not want straw all over our lawn. The work was to begin within 4-6 weeks. I asked [redacted] if large trucks would be in our yard and he told me that nothing larger than a pickup truck would be in the yard. To begin with, they did not come to do the work when promised. They did not call either. I called them however. When they did arrive, they did grind what was left of the stumps. They did remove the debris. They did NOT bring good quality sifted topsoil as they agreed to, but rather trashy looking soil with rocks varying up to and inch in diameter. Thus, it was NOT the sifted topsoil as agreed to. Now, being later than what they had informed me, they asked if they could come back in the spring to bring better topsoil and seed the areas at that time. What choice did I know have but to say yes being so late in the season. In March of this year, they showed up while we were not at home and supposedly completed the job. To my dismay, I found two ruts in our lawn from the truck used to delivery the topsoil. Not sure, but don't think a pickup truck would cause this. Upon inspecting the two areas to be repaired, the first thing that I noticed was that there was no seed mat or anything to tack it to the soil as promised. NOTHING ! I do not have the best eyesight, but I could not find hardly any seed or signs of fertilizer. My neighbor could not either. I called and talked to [redacted] about this. He came back the next day to put down straw. He informed me that they did not have any seed mat as he promised. However, [redacted], [redacted] and a few garden centers close by DID have it. About 30 days pass by and I have very little is any grass. I call the company. Talk to the owner. He came by to inspect the work shortly thereafter. His comment was that 60% of the areas were starting to show signs of growth. Told me also, that he would call me back in two weeks. HE NEVER DID !!!!! Now, we're in mid May. STILL NO MORE GRASS. I call back again. [redacted] came by last day of May and began to remove the trashy dirt. Came back the following day with new topsoil and reseeded the areas. Told me it would be best not to cover the area with any mat, mulch etc. I'm game for anything now. I just want grass and what I paid for. After watering it as instructed, all of a sudden it looked as if I had two gardens in my front yard. You have never seen the like of weeds to include but not limited to sand briars and thistles. I contacted the company again. Asked to speak with [redacted] the supervisor. He was not available, but left a message and he was to return my call the following day. The following day came and went with NO contact from [redacted]. I called the following morning and asked the lady receptionist what happened and her replay was "that he forgot" Go figure ! The following day, [redacted] came by to inspect the areas and advised me to let the junk grow for another two weeks at which time they would come back and apply a weed killer etc. Now, after waiting for grass for 4 months, NOT getting what we agreed to and being totally disappointed and dissatisfied, I killed off the entire areas myself, called the owner, discontinued the remainder of my annual service and asked that he do what he thought was right. Last week, we got a check for the unused portion of our annual service. Needless to say, I was disappointed that no adjustment was made for the mess they had made of my yard. Two huge truck ruts that I have to repair and the laughing stock of the neighborhood for the mess they made where the two trees were removed. I have worked hard for my money. I try my best to spend it wisely. This company did NOT do what they agreed to and thus this complaint. Personally, I feel as if they should refund half of the money we paid them to repair these two areas that was not done. Totally dissatisfied and disappointed. Appreciate your assistance. Thank you!

Business

Response:

My company, Big O Tree and Lawn Service guarantees all of our work. We promise that we will continue to work with our customers until they are satisfied. The same protocol has been attempted in this case.Our first contact concerning this project of stump grinding was November 11, 2015. We bid the job on November 16, 2015 and the job was done on December 11, 2015, which included grinding the stumps, removing the resulting debris and grading. The seeding was to occur in the spring of 2016 for better germination. Both of the areas to be done were approximately 12 ft in diameter.We returned and added more topsoil and planted the grass seed on March 24, 2016. I did receive a call from the client to come look at the job which I did and I observed that approximately 60% of the areas had filled in. The grass at this point in it’s life cycle is what we refer to as “baby grass” and I felt that it could still fill in 80-90% on its own. I assured the client that we could overseed after this grass had hardened off and that we would make him 100% satisfied. I did not observe any ruts in his yard and no one in our company had ever heard any complaint from the client about ruts until this formal complaint.On May 31st and June 1st, 2016 one of our Lawn technicians went back onto the property where he spent 9.5 hours removing all of the topsoil and replaced it with new sifted topsoil. He then graded and reseeded the the areas with new seed. On June 22nd 2016, our Lawn division manager went to look at the job. At the time, the grass was approximately 12 days old. There was an excellent stand of grass but there were also a fair number of competitive weeds. Our manager explained that the grass needed to “harden off” before any weed killer could be applied without damaging the new grass. The client was told we would return in a couple of weeks to do that in order to apply the weed killer without harming the new grass. Once again, we reiterated that he would be completely satisfied. On June 29, 2016 he called us and told us we were fired. We regret that we were not able to satisfy this customer. In my 37 years of business, this is to the best of my knowledge, the first person ever to complain to the Revdex.com. Respectfully, Orvin Kiser, owner

Consumer

Response:

I have reviewed the response offer made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and have determined that this proposed action would not resolve my complaint. For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear below.

The dates indicated in this response may be correct, but the majority of the fact's are NOT. A total waste of my hard earned money. I'll give the company some free advertising.