Innovative Exteriors

Review: We had over $15,000 worth of work done on our patio with pillars added and patio block installed. 3 years ago. I contacted them at the beginning of the summer to have them come out to take a look at the pillars as they are starting to move and tilt. We wanted to meet with them and discuss what options there were to see if they could fix them as we feel 3 years and the cost we spent they should not be moving. I did talk to [redacted] in the summer and said he would contact us during the summer and do the work in fall, I have tried to call him number of times, leave messages, mailbox is always full, emailed him numerous times and have not received any response whatsoever. I feel he should follow-up on his work or at least give us a call and come out to talk with him.Desired Settlement: Would like him to come out to view the problem and discuss a solution to the moving of the pillars.

Review: I have two invoices totaling $1140. that are past due one since 11/12/2014, repeated calls to [redacted] and [redacted] have not been returned. Innovative exteriors supervisor (chuck meyer) who supervised the work was very satisfied with our work and told me that we met all conditions on the job.I reconfirmed this fact with him on 6/11 /15.Innovative exteriors has been paid by the home owners association ,they have told me that our work exceeded their expections,and do not understand why we have not been paid.Desired Settlement: pay invoices

Business

Response:

To Whom It May Concern, We are in the process of putting together all the man hours and materials used to fix/correct the damage that was sustained by the company used for the tree planting. We had several issues with this company creating a lot of damage to private customers lawns, fire pits, etc.. We have told him that we were willing to come to an agreement but nothing ever materialized. Innovative Exteriors, LLC

Consumer

Response:

Review: Did not receive what was paid for. There are bald spots in our yard due to the fault of the landscaper not knowing how to use a hydro-seeder. However this was not easy for us to get them to admit. [redacted] of the company felt that they did a great job of seeding our lawn even though all of our neighbors would tell you that they were laughing and about the crazy landscaper who tried to con us into believing that Innovative Exteriors did a great seeding job. We were told Innovative Exteriors would over seed and spray a herbicide up to 3 times and also a Grow Weed & Feed after 4 mowings. None of this has been done even once. We paid for and show items on our landscape plan that have not been received. This was talked about in the beginning of July but again nothing was ever delivered. Multiple plants were planted just under the mulch (not in any soil) therefore these items have blown away or are laying on the ground DEAD. Trees are either dead or braced. One tree has never had ANY leaves on it. It appears to be dead. Plan was to include year round color...no color in front yard from August to date. When they graded our yard they threw the rocks down an enbankment instead of removing them off premise even though this was discussed with the salesman at the time of drawing up plans. We were told that they would NOT leave rocks in our yard. The rocks now cause us difficulty navigating the terrain. Drain tile was supposed to be cut but has not been done. [redacted] from Innovative Exteriors demanded full payment BEFORE he would fix any issues we discussed with him. We paid him nearly 3 months ago and still things have not been corrected. [redacted] will not return calls. He will not supervise his employees or verify with clients that work was done properly and to their satisfaction. This is the worst customer service we have EVER received. It is clear that [redacted] is only interested in being paid for services not rendered. At the end of June we asked for an ITEMIZED bill. We have never received this bill. In an accounting of the bills received, we found that we were overcharged. [redacted] came up with a lower figure and sent a check for the lower figure. But still no itemized bill. We contracted with Innovative Exteriors in mid October 2013 and were required to pay 1/3 of the bill at that time. After 6 weeks we were told that they were not able to begin work on our job but would begin in the spring. They did not start our job until May 2014. It has been nearly 5 months and we are still wondering when [redacted] will take responsibility and fix the issues caused by his inability to properly schedule or hire competent employees. We have consistently taken pictures of what our landscaping looks like. There has not been one person who felt that our job was worth the price we paid. Infact all people who have seen our physical landscaping or the pictures have said that we should be suing Innovative Exteriors and this includes lawyers. We paid over $15,000.00 for landscaping that is clearly discounted garbage. It is clear that [redacted] is unwilling to take responsibility for bad service all around. I feel that he is a con man. He certainly wants our money but refuses to follow through and give a great customer experience. We are looking to get all of our lawn and landscaping issues corrected to our satisfaction prior to the beginning of November with a guarantee of satisfaction. Since it is now so late in the year, we want that guarantee to be in effect until we know that plantings are rooted, healthy and growing and this also includes trees.Desired Settlement: As stated above, we are looking to get healthy replacement plantings that are thriving and prove to be growing (planted in actual soil). We want to be on the premise when ANY work is done so we can supervise the work is done properly (because [redacted] will not do this). We want tree's that aren't dead. We want our lawn to NOT have bald spots. We want an itemized bill of every item and what the charge was. We want the rocks removed and drain tile cut. We want the items listed on our plan since these items were included in the cost of the job. We want guarantee's in writing that these issues will all be corrected. That guarantee should not expire prior until June of 2015 so it can be verified all items are indeed healthy and thriving. This cannot be done unless we are into a growing season vs. a dormant season. WE would like to meet with [redacted] at each phase so we can communicate and check off items that are completed to our satisfaction.

Business

Response:

Mr. & Mrs. ** entered into a contract with Innovative Exteriors, LLC on 10/17/2013. We gave no misrepresentation to the customer regarding our ability to perform these services in the fall season last year, as this is not a conducive time to plant and establish turf. We received their initial deposit and processed the payment on 11/12/2013. They initially wanted sod to be installed and we went through with a change order in the early spring to accommodate their needs at that time. We ask all customers for a deposit to secure a spot on our schedule and to procure certain materials to start the job. In no way did we "require" them to make a payment, as she's making it sound like we forced them into this, which is certainly not the case at all! First off, we do thirty to forty hydro-seed jobs per year and have had only one complaint regarding this service (Mr. & Mrs. *). We installed the turf in mid May and were told by their adjacent neighbor that they were not watering. He even told us that he had made several comments to them about the need for water, in addition to the turf and landscape care instructions we provide for every customer. Once we were alerted by the customer that the grass was not growing to their satisfaction, we offered to rent them a temporary irrigation system. This system was invoiced on 6/6/2014 which is after we installed the hydro-seed blend. If the watering was not performed for even a couple days after the hydro-seed, you risk losing a substantial amount of seed for germination. This is something that we simply can not warranty due to the negligence or inability of the customer. If they would have told us they weren't in a position to water the newly seeded lawn, we would have made the recommendation for the irrigation at the time of installation. Also, this lawn was over seeded twice in good faith at our expense to please the customer, again to find out that they were not watering properly. Again, we can not be held liable for this as it is out of our control. Regarding the planting portion of the job. This is again a situation where we can not be held responsible for the care and maintenance of the plantings post installation without notification from the customer that they may need additional help in sustaining the overall health of the shrubs and trees i.e.. an irrigation system. Fortunately, we do have a warranty in place on every contract that is signed regarding plantings. With the exception of perennials, and annuals we provide a conditional warranty for the shrubs and trees. We also have a license through the Dept. of Agriculture Trade and Consumer Protection for a nursery resellers permit to protect us and our customers against poorly propagated nursery stock. We have had no problems whatsoever with our vendors and the only reasonable explanation is that the customer was not properly caring for the plantings. We install the plantings before we install mulch, therefore, it would be impossible to have planted in the mulch! It should be noted that we only contracted with them for drain tile, out cropping, flagstone steppers, mulch and lawn installation at first, and then we entered into a second contract to include the plantings in late April, 2014.The issue with the refund is simple, I did not need to send a check or return Mrs. [redacted] phone call because [redacted] showed up here the day after she called (7/18/2014) and was given a refund in the amount that was owed and was also given two copies of the invoice showing how we itemize our services per the billing. There were eleven line items included in their bill, so I'm not sure how else they would like to see the bill itemized as it was broke down into all the service areas included in the contract including the change order and the line item showing the double charge for mulch which, again was refunded minus the cost for the irrigation system. [redacted] walked out of our office satisfied with the items presented to him, and made no comment to suggest otherwise?Finally, to address their desired resolution. I have included pictures showing the plantings to be in good health and not planted improperly. I normally do not "supervise" the crews, as I have many other duties in running the company, but will be happy to discuss the desired drain tile cut length and go over the plantings in detail with the designer who drafted the plan. If there are any planting that were not installed, we will provide a refund for those plants, or procure and plant them immediately. We will not assume any additional responsibility for the turf, other than provide a winter fertilizer and herbicide treatment to be applied at our discretion with regards to timing, as we have exhausted all the time and materials we can into helping with the nutrition and vitality of this lawn. As noted above, there is a warranty noted in detail on the contract and we will address any dead plantings that we find next spring to be planted with non industry specific technique, proving to be our fault as to reason for non survival. Our office staff questioned the personnel that was out at this job site, and have no reason to believe we disposed of any rocks in an area that would be navigable terrain. One last thing. I have dedicated the last six years of my life to building this company from nothing, to a million plus dollar company, and to be called a "con man" by someone whom I've never met is downright disrespectful! I'll be the professional here and refrain from giving my opinion of [redacted] and say that it is not ok to lie to anybody to get products or services that are either not earned or paid for!Kind Regards,

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Consumer

Response:

Review: French drains overflow during a normal thunderstorm. We have had numerous occasions of water dumping next to the house. Pop ups installed, or simple grate like neighbors.

Plants needing replacing are blueberry bush, Japanese maple, and the 3 Taylor junipers to something more suitable to their location. These junipers were specified by Jetto and we have since learned they will grow too large. We suggest the "forever Goldie" thurja. If you have other suggestions we will consider.

7 arborvitae look terrible because they sat in a pile on site for about a month. These would never be selected in their condition from a nursery, nor would they be accepted by anyone in a new installation. You say they can be trimmed up, etc. If they don't fill out where there are currently bald and damaged spots, they will need to be replaced.

Ineffective weed barrier used in parts of purple rock area needs replacing with the weed barrier that worked.

In effective weed barrier used under pea gravel around planter beds needs replacing with the better barrier used in the purple rock area.

Raised planter bed liner is not what was specified. The tar paper needs to be replaced with pond liner safe for fish and plants.

Raised planter bed finish gone unevenly and / or absent on some boards. Severe fading and dryness has already occurred. A proposed solution is that we provide the product and you provide the labor to apply it. Or vice versa. You were also going to check if cedar was actually used.

Grass areas damaged to be reseeded.Desired Settlement: Above items are replaced, repaired, as per what was promised, and what was specified on the agreement

Business

Response:

We have already agreed at our meeting on May 22nd, 2015 to replace the blueberry bush and the Japanese Maple per our standard nursery warranty. We will not be offering to replace the Taylor Juniper as they were noted on the landscape plan and were approved for installation by the customer prior to install. We have also agreed to bring one of the buried downspouts back above grade and customer had indicated they would get a drain pad so that the water did not wash away the mulch. The other draintile was noted and we had agreed at our meeting to install a pop-up emitter or a grate as the customer has specified. We do not feel as though the weed barrier needs replacement. There are weeds that will settle on the surface of the weed barrier and the possibility of a few coming through, but this is a case where they feel that because they had weed barrier at their last residence in the city of Wauwatosa that the weed barrier is ineffective at their new residence. This is a case where they have moved from a city lot with very little weed infestation out to a rural area where weeds of all kinds are far more prevalent. The photos of the weeds at the sites where weed barrier was installed is not overly excessive and does not need replacing, rather an hour or two of weeding and some round-up like most homeowners use. The arborvitae's are very much in good health and I do not see this needing to go any further than some root stimulator and some light pruning.We will replace the tar paper used in the raised planter boxes with pond liner per their request, however it will be at our discretion based on the contract to use what was called out in the original proposal, even though the customer had approved this at the time it was being installed. The wood sealer that was used is in our opinion a quality product and the customer indicated to me that they even witnessed the sealer being applied, they are not happy with the appearance of the wood because it has been exposed to sun for the last eight months and has faded beyond their expectations. This is a maintenance item that we feel will have to be addressed by them as they continue to own the home.Lastly, we have already indicated to the customer via e-mail and in person that we will top dress and reseed any disturbed areas that were affected by our equipment during the installation of their landscape and is typical of this to be offered.Regards,