Inland Lawn Maintenance

[To assist us in bringing this matter to a close, you must give us a reason why you are rejecting the responseIf no reason is received, your complaint will be closed Administratively Resolved]
Revdex.com,
I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID *** and have determined that this does not resolve my complaintFor your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear below
1. Yes I received a quote but I did not authorize Inland Lawn to perform the lawn service as I was awaiting other quotes. Inland Lawn sent workers out to cut my lawn before I made an agreement to use the company. I was never told workers were even coming out. I would not have asked who the workers were when I saw them cutting my lawn had I already agreed to a service with Inland Lawn. I left a voice message with *** concerning how bad the lawn was cut by his workers and the following week *** left a voice message saying he came out and surveyed the lawn and stated "yes, I can see what you are saying about the lawn and I agree that they should have cut the lawn twice". *** continued to state that he would really like to keep me as a customer because i'm on his route. I never called him back because I had already chosen a different company by the time I received his message. 2. Yes, the lawn was high. Yes it would have taken a higher level of initiative to ensure it looked like a professional cut. I understand if I had a field of acres and complained about a few strands of grass standing up but in all fairness, this lawn is very small as it only took two workers minutes to zip through the front yard. The fact remains that 1) I did not authorize nor agree on the service and 2) would have considered using Inland Lawn over the other companies had the lawn service provided wasn't sub-standard. The choice was taken away from me to use Inland Lawn based on the after effects of the Lawn service. If i'm paying for a service, I'm surely not going to use a company that does not take pride in appearance of customer's lawns. 3. What is really disturbing is the constant discussion of the "height of the lawn" being a factor. The quote I received stated nothing about that being a factor on the first cut. The point is, Inland Lawn took action before a firm agreement was made, did a poor job of it, then want to recoup a cost of $for a first time lawn cut. This is why i'm disputing owing any payment
Regards,
*** ***

I have attached our response.
Please feel free to call me directly at (509) 362-3547 if there is anything else we can do for you.
 Good morning, this letter is in response to the [redacted] inquiry ID#[redacted].We were first contacted to take a look at this property in the later part of June....

At that time we were informed that a large area of an old field had been hydro seeded the prior year, and that due to personal circumstances, the homeowner did not follow the post-application care tips as directed by the service provider ([redacted] ). Our initial inspection showed that the area had been lacking in hydration and nutrients, which matched up with the info provided by the customer, and the post-application fertilizer and watering needs had not been addressed as directed. The customer was informed that this would be a multi-step process over the summer and into the following spring, in an attempt to recover the turf areas. The stages of this process were to include fertilizing, modification and adjustment of the watering schedule as needed throughout the season, and a conservative approach on weed control that would not inhibit the growth of new grass until the lawn was better established. We would also monitor the turf as we progressed through the growing season.  At the customer’s request, we agreed to move forward with the process, with the exception of setting the watering schedule, as it was going to be handled by another party, and on June 22nd a written quote was emailed out to the customer for approval. We proceeded with our portion of the work the following day. A few weeks after the turf was treated we received a request to come out and take a look at the property, which we did.  Again we notified the customer of the lengthy process this may take. At that point I began a conversation with a representative of the hydro seed provider, [redacted], to loop him into the process.  I offered to come out personally, to run and check through the irrigation system and watering schedule. We also made an effort to schedule an additional round of granular fertilizer specifically designed to promote growth in the high stress situation the turf had been exposed to prior to our starting work on the site. Both of these steps were offered at no additional cost to the customer. Our company, our entire crew, and myself in particular, take a great deal of pride in being able to turn neglected lawns and landscapes around. When given the opportunity to manage the process with the customer, it is extremely rare that we aren’t able to reach that goal. As stated by the customer we have made several attempts to keep a line of communication open, through email and by phone, and to her know what we can do to help get her property back in shape after the stress and lack of attention it has seen over the previous year. Our only concern has been to find a way to meet both the needs of the landscape, and the expectations of the customer. We have continued to pursue avenues to do just that, but so far the customer has been unwilling to work with us to reach that goal.Kelly P[redacted]
Inland Lawn, Inc.

September 11, 2015 – From [redacted]
Re: Response to Inland Lawn Letter #2 9-6-15.
All of Inland Lawn Maintenance and Kelly P[redacted]’s responses are false statements. 
In a prior response from Inland Lawn, they admitted that what they originally sprayed on my lawn did not work and stated that they offered to fertilize again with granules at no cost.  However, when I asked them to provide me with their written offer with a date on it, they did not provide me one because they never did offer anything.  Simply stated, INLAND LAWN IGNORED MY REQUEST FOR THE FOLLOWING INFORMATION.   
Please provide me with your ORIGINAL alleged written offers with a date on it, where you offered to come out personally and check my watering system and also where you offered to fertilize again with granules at no cost.
Inland Lawn admitted to what chemicals they sprayed on my lawn did not work.  They also admitted to asking [redacted] at [redacted] for guidance on what to do in regards to my grass situation.  NOW, Inland Lawn is blatantly attempting to take credit for my efforts in restoring my grass, which I did on my own.  Revdex.com, PLEASE CALL [redacted] with [redacted] to confirm my statements herein. 
I have photos and video before Inland Lawn sprayed chemicals on my lawn.  I also have photos and video after Inland Lawn sprayed chemicals on my lawn showing the damage they caused and weeds growing out of control.  I also have witnesses.
ALL MITIGATED DAMAGES WERE DONE BY MYSELF WITH OUTSIDE COUNSEL AS TO WHAT APPLICATIONS TO USE AND WHEN.  ANYTHING THAT LOOKS GOOD IN REGARDS TO MY LAWN NOW WAS ON MY BEHALF AND NOT BY INLAND LAWN OR KELLY A. P[redacted], PERIOD.
I have spent a lot of time and money in trying to fix the problem that Inland Lawn caused with my grass and the weed problem that still exists that Inland Lawn FAILED to eradicate.  I’ve already experienced significant out-of-pocket costs and anticipate incurring further costs in attempting to repair the damage Inland Lawn caused to my grass.   
INLAND LAWN, PLEASE PROVIDE TO ME, IN WRITING, THE ACTUAL NAMES OF ALL CHEMICALS YOU SPRAYED ON MY LAWN AND FIELD AREAS FOR BOTH FERTILZATION AND WEED CONTROL ON 6/23/15.
Inland Lawn CAUSED THE DAMAGE to my existing lawn and field areas.  THEY DID NOTHING TO REPAIR, RESTORE OR CORRECT THE DAMAGE THEY CAUSED, PERIOD.  THEY ARE CONTINUING TO CAUSE ME EMOTIONAL STRESS WITH FALSE STATEMENTS AND REPEATED BILLINGS NOW WITH ADDED INTEREST/PENALTIES FOR THEIR SERVICES THAT DAMAGED MY LAWN. 
Inland Lawn’s website states that they offer a 100% satisfaction guarantee.  However, I am not satisfied and Kelly P[redacted]/Inland Lawn ignores my lack of satisfaction.  This is fraudulent advertising.
I DO NOT WANT INLAND LAWN BACK ON MY PROPERTY TO CAUSE MORE DAMAGE!  I do not trust Kelly A. P[redacted] and Inland Lawn Maintenance due to the numerous false statements made in the past and continuing as well as their failure to honor their website’s 100% satisfaction guarantee.  When asked for documentation to support their claims, they ignore and fail to provide this. 
Kelly A. P[redacted]/Inland Lawn Maintenance repeated billings plus penalties for services that they admit did not work and instead caused damage is an intentional act to harass me.   
[redacted]
 
Attached is my prior response for reference.
Re:  [redacted] #[redacted]
This letter is in response to Inland Lawn’s rebuttal to my complaint, which attachment could not be accessed or read.  After speaking with a Revdex.com representative, they emailed me Inland Lawn’s response to my initial complaint.
First of all, thank you Kelly for acknowledging that whatever you sprayed on the fields and house lawn on June 23, 2015 did not work.
As for the rest of your response, I never received any emails in writing or phone messages offering or documenting any resolutions from Inland Lawn.  You never spoke to me or emailed me that you were willing to come out personally to check my watering system (which wasn’t necessary because a professional company had already checked the watering time, flow etc. on the fields prior to June 23, 2015, before you sprayed, and had concluded the watering system and program was running perfectly).  I never received any messages by email or phone that you were willing to come out and put out new and/or different granule fertilizer (that should have been put on the grass areas in the first place).  I never received any offers or resolution from you to do either of these steps at no cost as you stated in your response.  Please provide me with your alleged written offers with a date on it, where you offered to come out personally and check my watering system and also where you offered to fertilize again with granules at no cost.
I gave Inland Lawn 5 to 6 weeks to respond or provide a resolution in writing and/or via phone.  With no response or resolution from them I had to take things into my own hands.  I contacted [redacted] at Add a Lawn for guidance on what fertilizer I should begin using to repair the damage Inland Lawn did to the grass and to find out what I should do to remedy the out of control weed problem.   I fertilized the new grass field areas myself and within 7 days after following [redacted] at Add a Lawn’s advice, my new grass in the field began to grow and get green.  It has now been 3 weeks with me spreading additional fertilizer and the grass in the field is finally being restored and improving, although, I still have the uncontrolled weed problem that Inland Lawn failed to eradicate.  Revdex.com is invited to contact [redacted] at [redacted] to confirm my statements herein. 
Inland Lawn left me no alternative after many weeks of no help but to do what was needed to mitigate the damage done and to save my grass.  My lawn surrounding my house both front and backyard areas are still burnt from whatever Inland Lawn sprayed on my grass and to date I still have a huge weed problem.
As stated on your website www.inlandlawn.com you ‘guarantee’ 100% satisfaction – which you failed to honor in a timely fashion.  I am not satisfied with your services.   Simply put, you did not produce the results you guaranteed, instead you caused damage to my lawn, failed to get rid of the weed problem and wasted time. 
Again, I am asking you to withdraw your repeated billing for services that you admit did not work.   I’ve already experienced out-of-pocket costs in repairing the damage done to my grass.  Before and after photos and videos are available to Revdex.com upon request.
 
[redacted]

6.22.15Good morning, This letter is in response to reference #[redacted] - [redacted]. I believe it is important to first clarify that the phone conversations, emails, written bid, texts and the follow up inspection was done by me personally  - we don't even have a [redacted] that works here that is referenced in the customers email . The  fact that I personally had a hands on involvement in this process is one of the many things that our customers enjoy. I will respond to each item as they were presented to us:1. As the customer stated they did receive a written quote that outlined the work and the pricing for each line item that was performed. The work was approved by [redacted] on June 6th at 11:21 am, with me, and the schedule was set for the work to be performed on 5.8.15 . Our crews arrived on the date agreed to and did both of the line items that were approved by the customer. The customer was actually home and spoke with our crew while they were on site. I am curious why the customer would see our crew, talk to our crew, and allow the work to be done that they had received a written bid for  if they did not want to receive the benefits of our services? 2. The written bid provided, and approved, to the customer clearly states the  that the initial mowing would be a total of $65 dollars due to the length of the grass and the amount of time it would take. The lawn had not been mowed or maintained in quit some time.  The customer was on site, as mentioned in their letter, and watched the work be done. The following day I personally inspected the lawn cutting which met the high standards that our company requires our employees to meet or exceed on a daily basis. 3. The discussion of the height of the lawn is the first line item mentioned in the written quote provided to the customer,  due to the amount of time the lawn had been neglected. The lawn had not been mowed in a very long time and our crew had to work around garbage and broken pop up tents that were laying throughout the back yard. In the phone conversation I had with the customer, after the written bid, we discussed all of the items we would have to work around during the initial mowing. If you have any further question or need to speak to me directly I can be reached at [redacted]. [redacted]Inland Lawn, Inc.

06.15.2015RE: [redacted] Good morning, This letter is in response to the approved mowing we did for [redacted]. We received a request to bid the property at [redacted] on 5.5.15 through our email system. We responded to the email and had a written quote to [redacted] the following morning...

at 11:10 am, at that time the written quote was left with our company information on the front door of the residence. The customer arrived at their house during their lunch hour and called us with a few questions on the quote regarding the shrub pruning bid we had also left. The customer agreed to start us off with the weekly mowing, with the extra charge for the additional mow (the lawn was REALLY long and had not been cared for since the late summer of the following season) - we scheduled the agreed to work and completed the job (both front and back yards) the next day. The following day one of our representatives ([redacted] - Vice President ) did an inspection on the property, and the job was up to our high standards.Around the first week of June I did get a call from a gentleman at the residence who stated he was her husband and that he was confused on to what had been ordered by his wife for the property, it was explained what we did - per the written quote. He was apologetic for the confusion and stated he is often out of town for work and thanked us for the work we did on the property.  [redacted]Inland Lawn, Inc.

Good morning.
We have attached our response letter.
Good morning. I have included the initial letter at the end of this one for a reference.We are glad to see that the irrigation on the property has been fixed and the recommended second part of the process has been completed as well (the granular fertilizer application). Both of these items coupled with the material and work we provided will definitely help in the process of recovering from the neglect the property had been through. In an order to keep the property on the course of recovery at least one, if not two, more fertilizer applications will be needed before the end of the season. We are willing to offer to do one of the applications at no cost or reduce the customers balance owed by 15% - if the account is paid in full within 30 days. Again, we take pride in being able to turn properties like this one around and get them to a full recovery. The first part of the process that we provided (materials and labor) has definitely laid a great foundation moving forward. We would prefer to provide the next application of granular fertilizer rather than to simply provide a 15% credit to the bill. The cost to us would be much greater as would the benefit to the property. Inland Lawn, Inc.
Let us know if there is anything else we can do.
Inland Lawn, Inc. (509) 456-TURF (8873)

Review: I have grocery store sir and I see one regular coustomer his name [redacted] he say he is owner inland lawn so I ask him can he cut my grass fron side home so he say he can and he charge 25 dollar minimum so I say ok and I make mistake and I give him 20 dollar cash and 5 dollar cost beer so he say he is going evening time to cut grass but he never show up then he call me after few day and he say he was sick he will comeing today but he still not came I call him a lot time so today same company other guys came and I told him all about it and he say that just worker and here is owner name and nomber so I call owner I told all about it he say u try to pay under the table to my empolyee and he cursing me and telling me he is out of town other wise he come to fix my [redacted] after that he hang the phone on me

Business

Response:

Good morning.

Review: Unauthorized lawn service, poor lawn service, poor resolution, and billing. Inland lawn performed a lawn service that I did not authorize. I stated that I had remaining quotes from other businesses before making a final decision. Inland Lawn came out and cut my lawn without my approval then billed me for doing so. In addition, the lawn itself was poorly cut. The front yard had two different cut levels and dandelions were still fully grown. Last, the company billed me for a service which was not conducted (front/rear lawn and weed eating). The quoted price was for $35-$40 per week. The lawn was only cut once, the rear was never cut nor weed eating performed. I was charged $70 for an initial cut (due to the high length of the grass) which was only performed on a small front lawn which I did not even agree to. The representative I spoke to understood that I had made a final decision on a separate company, was dissatisfied with the service the workers did, was billed when I should not have been, and then threatened with being told that they will go to my rental agency for reimbursement if I did not pay.Desired Settlement: 1). Drop the bill. I did not authorize this service from Inland Lawn.

2). Request that the company perform written contracts with customer's in the future and clarify what they will do in case of customer dissatisfaction and how to resolve it.

3). Perform lawn inspections by a foreman instead of the customer having to call and send photos showing proof of the poor workmanship.

Business

Response:

06.15.2015RE: [redacted] Good morning, This letter is in response to the approved mowing we did for [redacted]. We received a request to bid the property at [redacted] on 5.5.15 through our email system. We responded to the email and had a written quote to [redacted] the following morning at 11:10 am, at that time the written quote was left with our company information on the front door of the residence. The customer arrived at their house during their lunch hour and called us with a few questions on the quote regarding the shrub pruning bid we had also left. The customer agreed to start us off with the weekly mowing, with the extra charge for the additional mow (the lawn was REALLY long and had not been cared for since the late summer of the following season) - we scheduled the agreed to work and completed the job (both front and back yards) the next day. The following day one of our representatives ([redacted] - Vice President ) did an inspection on the property, and the job was up to our high standards.Around the first week of June I did get a call from a gentleman at the residence who stated he was her husband and that he was confused on to what had been ordered by his wife for the property, it was explained what we did - per the written quote. He was apologetic for the confusion and stated he is often out of town for work and thanked us for the work we did on the property. [redacted]Inland Lawn, Inc.

Consumer

Response:

[To assist us in bringing this matter to a close, you must give us a reason why you are rejecting the response. If no reason is received, your complaint will be closed Administratively Resolved]

Revdex.com,

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

1. Yes I received a quote but I did not authorize Inland Lawn to perform the lawn service as I was awaiting other quotes. Inland Lawn sent workers out to cut my lawn before I made an agreement to use the company. I was never told workers were even coming out. I would not have asked who the workers were when I saw them cutting my lawn had I already agreed to a service with Inland Lawn. I left a voice message with [redacted] concerning how bad the lawn was cut by his workers and the following week [redacted] left a voice message saying he came out and surveyed the lawn and stated "yes, I can see what you are saying about the lawn and I agree that they should have cut the lawn twice". [redacted] continued to state that he would really like to keep me as a customer because i'm on his route. I never called him back because I had already chosen a different company by the time I received his message. 2. Yes, the lawn was high. Yes it would have taken a higher level of initiative to ensure it looked like a professional cut. I understand if I had a field of 5 acres and complained about a few strands of grass standing up but in all fairness, this lawn is very small as it only took two workers minutes to zip through the front yard. The fact remains that 1) I did not authorize nor agree on the service and 2) would have considered using Inland Lawn over the other companies had the lawn service provided wasn't sub-standard. The choice was taken away from me to use Inland Lawn based on the after effects of the Lawn service. If i'm paying for a service, I'm surely not going to use a company that does not take pride in appearance of customer's lawns. 3. What is really disturbing is the constant discussion of the "height of the lawn" being a factor. The quote I received stated nothing about that being a factor on the first cut. The point is, Inland Lawn took action before a firm agreement was made, did a poor job of it, then want to recoup a cost of $70.00 for a first time lawn cut. This is why i'm disputing owing any payment.

Regards,

Business

Response:

6.22.15Good morning, This letter is in response to reference #[redacted] - [redacted]. I believe it is important to first clarify that the phone conversations, emails, written bid, texts and the follow up inspection was done by me personally - we don't even have a [redacted] that works here that is referenced in the customers email . The fact that I personally had a hands on involvement in this process is one of the many things that our customers enjoy. I will respond to each item as they were presented to us:1. As the customer stated they did receive a written quote that outlined the work and the pricing for each line item that was performed. The work was approved by [redacted] on June 6th at 11:21 am, with me, and the schedule was set for the work to be performed on 5.8.15 . Our crews arrived on the date agreed to and did both of the line items that were approved by the customer. The customer was actually home and spoke with our crew while they were on site. I am curious why the customer would see our crew, talk to our crew, and allow the work to be done that they had received a written bid for if they did not want to receive the benefits of our services? 2. The written bid provided, and approved, to the customer clearly states the that the initial mowing would be a total of $65 dollars due to the length of the grass and the amount of time it would take. The lawn had not been mowed or maintained in quit some time. The customer was on site, as mentioned in their letter, and watched the work be done. The following day I personally inspected the lawn cutting which met the high standards that our company requires our employees to meet or exceed on a daily basis. 3. The discussion of the height of the lawn is the first line item mentioned in the written quote provided to the customer, due to the amount of time the lawn had been neglected. The lawn had not been mowed in a very long time and our crew had to work around garbage and broken pop up tents that were laying throughout the back yard. In the phone conversation I had with the customer, after the written bid, we discussed all of the items we would have to work around during the initial mowing. If you have any further question or need to speak to me directly I can be reached at [redacted]. [redacted]Inland Lawn, Inc.

Review: Hired Inland Lawn Maintenance to Power Rake the lawn at my residence ([redacted]) in early spring, 2104 (May). The work was to occur while I was at work. At the end of the day I inspected the yard and it was obvious the work had NOT taken place. I immediately called the company representative ([redacted]) and asked why the work had not been completed. [redacted] stated the work had been completed; however it wasnt' by him personally but other individuals from Inland Lawn. I explained that the lawn was not any different from when I looked at it the day before. [redacted] repeatedly stated the work had been done and explained he would make up for my disastifaction. I explained I would not be paying for work not performed, and that I would take care of the work myself. In the months since I have been billed for the work after repeatedly calling and letting Inland Lawn Maintenance they would not be paid for work not performed. Prior to the last invoice I rec'd dated 10/31, a letter was written and sent to Inland Lawn along with the invoice statement- giving clarity that a complaint would be issued with the Revdex.com. Through the course of these last 6 months, there has not been any course of action from Inland Lawn Maintenance to retract the invoice and to consider they did not perform the work. They did not come the property to inspect, but chose to disregard their customer. -This invoice will not be paid. Further invoices for payment will be considered harassment and will be addressed as such.Desired Settlement: Retract invoice and $0 out balance.

Business

Response:

Over the last 18 years Inland Lawn has been providing quality service to the Inland Northwest and we have an A+ rating with the Revdex.com. On 5.7.14 Mr. [redacted] was given a written estimate for the three services he had requested - one turf fertilization, one aerate, and one power rake. He agreed to the jobs and the pricing and we scheduled service for the aerate and fertilizing for 4.25.14 and the power raking was scheduled for the date of 05.02.14. All of the jobs were completed on the agreed to dates. The customer called and confirmed the aerate and fertilizing had been done and asked if the sprinklers needed to be marked for the power raking, we follow through on the discussed date for the power raking and did the work on the agreed to date. We had a crew there promptly at 08:42 am that was led by a crew leader that has 6 years experience with our company. The customer had called to ask about the work and was confused on the outcome of the job and why there was still a little thatch left in the turf. It was explained at the time the estimate was given that there would be a little thatch left in the lawn (industry standard) - you don't want to completely remove all of the thatch on any property that would put an amazing amount of stress on the turf. Months later we received a call from Mr. [redacted] in which he apologized for the late payment on the bill, and paid for the aerate and fertilization on August 20th, 2014. At this time he was still confused on the process of power raking and we verbally extended him a $50 credit towards the power raking. The work was completed per the written agreement and on the exact dates provided. We are still willing to glad to offer him the fifty dollar credit towards his bill and waive all of the late fees associated with this invoice. We have held this from going to collections for a few months past our company policy, when it is turned over to the separate collections company we use it will not be our account. We are looking forward to a quick resolution prior to this account being sent to collections. [redacted]Inland Lawn, Inc. [redacted]