Hart's Total Maintenance

As a professional business owner, I always document every phone call, reason for the call.  I also keep track of whom was on each property at the time of service.  It is my belief that this is a complaint from a third party, and not from the owner of the property at the time I was hired by...

to do the service.  I have spoken to Ms. [redacted] on the telephone five times over the last four months of service.  Not once was she ever rude or even raised her voice, she was very pleasant to talk to, and never complained about our work.  Our first phone conversation we discussed that she was rarely at the property as she traveled a lot, and we would keep the price the same as she was paying  [redacted] for the services. She also explained her daughter [redacted] lived on the property and would be there if we needed anything.  Second phone conversation was to let me know I had mail the Invoice to the wrong address, so we decided that I would email the invoices to her as this was more convenient for her.  She also let me know that we had missed a ditch that was located in the back of the property to please cut it the next time of service.  I assured her that we would be sure to catch it.  June 23, 2014 date of second service…  I myself walked the entire property with daughter [redacted], she showed me exactly what Ms. [redacted] was looking to be completed at the time of each service.  The third phone call was to ask to please only cut the property once a month.  Forth call was to let me know she was going to pay invoice but needed extra time in doing so. I explained to her to take as much time as needed.  July 30, 2014 Ms. [redacted] called, [redacted].   She explained to him that she needed the whole property done within a couple of days.  Fifth call Sunday September 14, 2014 Ms. [redacted] called to ask when we were coming out to cut, I explained tomorrow.  I asked if she wanted just the weed eating done or the whole yard serviced.  She asked what the difference of the price was.  I told her $140.00 for the weed eating, $300.00 for the whole yard.  (Once again she was very pleasant, and had no complaints.)  Before she could answer me, someone else got on the phone.  She Explained she was a daughter named [redacted], she was screaming and irate.  After being screamed at for 30 to 45 seconds, I told her I did invoicing and not pricing she needed to speak to my husband.  He tried to explain to her that we did this yard for a great price already, and we could not reduce the price anymore with the cost of fuel and labor.  She insisted that she had someone quote her a price of $15.00 an acre, he told her to use their services because we could not touch the property for that price. The phone conversation ended with both parties agreeing that we would only do the weed eating, tomorrow.
September 15, 2014 we arrived at property only to be screamed at again by the same woman on the phone.  She was irate, with a very hostile temperament in explaining that our service was not needed and we need to leave at once.  I explained that there was a balance that I would really like to have paid, she said she had never received a bill.  She was throwing her hands in the air waving them all over the place, honestly most of what she was saying I didn’t hear as we were packing up all the equipment to leave before she came any closer.  She went inside, coming right back out only to provoke us to come on the property.  This time I heard her as I was on the side of the truck, not in my trailer.    She said, “My Mother would be glad to speak to the owner if you want to come up here and speak to her.  Just be aware that you are being recorded, everything you say or do is now on my phone.”  Another woman was nowhere in sight. I told everyone to get in the truck and we left.  
 As caring business owners we had decided that when we went to the property to cut the whole thing we would not charge Ms. [redacted] as she was already having a hard time, and this unforeseen circumstance came up, her attention needed to be focused elsewhere.   If Ms. [redacted] cannot afford to pay the bill, she doesn’t need to pay it. However this is a ridiculous way for the daughter to get out of paying a bill.  Customer Service is what has built our business to what it is today.  Leaving a property half finished, and only being there for five minutes another time is completely false. It takes about one and a half hours to weed eat the property.   
 It is true we bought [redacted]’s business from him, however he works with us servicing our customers as well as his.  [redacted] has been with us every time we were out at this property with the exception of the second cut, when I spoke with daughter [redacted]. While out mowing the property the last time [redacted], personally spoke to Ms. [redacted], he said she didn’t address any complaints.
 I have shortened the phone conversations as much as possible as this will be seen by the public, and respect for the family.

Review: This is a 2-part complaint - Customer Service issue related to poor quality of work issue. This has been an upsetting and concering situaiton - enough so that we are taking the time to write this formal complaint to the Revdex.comHart recently took over the lawn care of my property from the former owner who had a medical issue and sold his customer base and existing business to Hart. Since the time the business was transferred, Hart, has not introduced themselves to me as their new customer, advise of what I could expect of them, or to understand my expectations for work performed. They've had my business since May 2014., and while with the former owner for the first cut - They have been out to the property with the former owner, and the work was fine, the last 2x - it was not, the last they came out, I was here - I saw them cutting at my barn area, I couldn't get to them before they left, they did not come to my door or attempt to meet with me. Because of this, my expectations have never been discussed, and the property not properly or completely cut without the former owner present. The first time the cut was improperly completed - they were gone by the time I returned, I expected to meet with them the next cut to show them how I'd like the work done, the last time they came it was dusk and many areas were missed, I was concerend then as there is no lighting to see to cut at night visibility is poor as there is no lighting at all in areas needing to be cut. Thus both times, it was half completed, I tried to reach them to no avail to advise I then received a complete bill on Sept 2nd backdated to August 1 and statement was for July. Finally, I was successful reaching them 9/14, a Sunday afternoon.The lack of Customer Service is highly concerning - no proactive attempt to meet with me, even via phone, and no follow up. When I and my daughter spoke with them to discuss reevaluating cost to perform work the tone on Hart's end became agressive and curt -at which time we determined it was not a good fit and did not want to continue the relationship. This conversation lacked courtesy and was unprofessional, and unaccomodating - we initiated contact and asked a question and were told off by elusive contractors who don't care about building relationships - it seemes all they were interested in confirming was that the bill would be paid. When we asked for reconsideration of a bill to reduce it by $15, we received an irrelevant scolding of manpower and costs to the business - which is more information than anyone needs to hear when asking a simple question. Quality of Service - both times Hart came out, the job was not completed. satisfactorily, and tried to discuss with them - I waited for them to return to meet with them and show them where the issues were, but there was no routine date to rely upon.. When I received the backdated bill, I had not seen them by the time I received the /bill - today, September 15, they showed up after the uncomfortable situation Sunday PM, and our leaving the call being told off, and we advised them not to cut., this was done in a discussion across our yard to stop them from initiating the job - and when asked to speak with the owner, they advised they were tired of talking and we owed them for 2 cuts and advised they gave us a free one. Our position is half the work was done twice, we attempted to discuss and resolve it, and then were bullied by the employee (or owner maybe) we don't know. We have no interest in doing business with a company that lacks customer service and cannot adequately perform the required work to the customer's expectations. Please advise. Thank you.Desired Settlement: Address issues and adjust billing to cost of 1 complete cut for the 2 half done cuts - we have no issue paying Hart for services rendered.

Business

Response:

As a professional business owner, I always document every phone call, reason for the call. I also keep track of whom was on each property at the time of service. It is my belief that this is a complaint from a third party, and not from the owner of the property at the time I was hired by to do the service. I have spoken to Ms. [redacted] on the telephone five times over the last four months of service. Not once was she ever rude or even raised her voice, she was very pleasant to talk to, and never complained about our work. Our first phone conversation we discussed that she was rarely at the property as she traveled a lot, and we would keep the price the same as she was paying [redacted] for the services. She also explained her daughter [redacted] lived on the property and would be there if we needed anything. Second phone conversation was to let me know I had mail the Invoice to the wrong address, so we decided that I would email the invoices to her as this was more convenient for her. She also let me know that we had missed a ditch that was located in the back of the property to please cut it the next time of service. I assured her that we would be sure to catch it. June 23, 2014 date of second service… I myself walked the entire property with daughter [redacted], she showed me exactly what Ms. [redacted] was looking to be completed at the time of each service. The third phone call was to ask to please only cut the property once a month. Forth call was to let me know she was going to pay invoice but needed extra time in doing so. I explained to her to take as much time as needed. July 30, 2014 Ms. [redacted] called, [redacted]. She explained to him that she needed the whole property done within a couple of days. Fifth call Sunday September 14, 2014 Ms. [redacted] called to ask when we were coming out to cut, I explained tomorrow. I asked if she wanted just the weed eating done or the whole yard serviced. She asked what the difference of the price was. I told her $140.00 for the weed eating, $300.00 for the whole yard. (Once again she was very pleasant, and had no complaints.) Before she could answer me, someone else got on the phone. She Explained she was a daughter named [redacted], she was screaming and irate. After being screamed at for 30 to 45 seconds, I told her I did invoicing and not pricing she needed to speak to my husband. He tried to explain to her that we did this yard for a great price already, and we could not reduce the price anymore with the cost of fuel and labor. She insisted that she had someone quote her a price of $15.00 an acre, he told her to use their services because we could not touch the property for that price. The phone conversation ended with both parties agreeing that we would only do the weed eating, tomorrow.