Santel Landscape & Design Reviews (%countItem)
Santel Landscape & Design Rating
Address: 441 Limestone Dr, Bethel Park, Pennsylvania, United States, 15102-1066
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Highly recommend Dave and Jorge of Santel Landscape and Design. Both were very professional and did a great job in making our front and back yard space appealing and inviting. We wanted to remove the mulch beds in our front yard and replace with rock. Dave and crew did a great job turning that project aorund quickly and efficiently. We were also looking to have back deck torn down and have a brand new one installed. Dave worked in conjunction with a deck contractor he recommended and everything went smoothly and as planned. He mapped out his vision for our project and then brought it to life. The concrete aggregate patio turned out just as Dave said it would and was enhanced by the stone fire pit and lighting. We now have a beautiful space for the family to hang out and enjoy as well as the many times we have entertained. Always get compliments the first time someone sees the finished project. Thanks Dave for enhancing our outside living space!
The owner, Dave, was easy to work with and we are very happy with the landscape design he developed for our front and side of our house. The plants/shrubs/trees selected worked wonderfully together and will bring many, many years of enjoyment. The landscape project truly enhanced our curb appeal, based on the many favorable comments from friends and neighbors. Dave’s team was professional and did an exceptional job on planting, building a wall and installing the lighting- all at a fair price. Would definitely recommend to all!!! Santel Landscaping is making Bethel Park beautiful, one house at a time…..
I highly recommend this company.
The work is professional and the crew was amazing
and *** were a pleasure to work with during the entire process. We tried to incorporate their vision into a beautiful patio, fire pit area with seat walls, and complementary landscaping with lighting. They will enjoy their new outdoor area for years to come. Thank you for your kind words.
I cannot say enough good things about Santel Landscaping! They were a blessing and I would recommend to anyone. My husband and I were in search of a large project including replacing a previous retaining wall with replacement, land excavation and new back yard patio design with concrete aggravate and pavers. Dave ( owner) was prompt from the beginning with consults and design feed back. From the beginning of the project through the end the entire team including Jorge, Jeff, M and team were prompt, efficient and effective. They were always on time and so reliable even working long hours at times due to rain. Our project came across several water issues and the entire staff was honest with reliable communication fixing several water issues in our back yard... even staying very late into the evening to fix a sum pump drain due to the possibility of rain in the am. The beauty of their work is top notch! Please contact them for your landscape needs and they will make your ideas come to life!
and *** were a pleasure to work with in completing a beautiful patio and wall for their home. We overcame some challenges regarding water issues and design changes but the end result turned out great. We appreciate the trust they had in us and glad they’re so happy with their new patio, wall, and landscaping, especially the lighting.
Long time coming! We had Dave and his crew to our house to do a retaining wall, landscape, patio, and fix driveway drainage issues. It could not have come out more perfect! His crew was extremely professional, arrived as scheduled and worked straight through until completion of job (weather permitting- which cooperated). He and his crew were very easy to talk to and willing to discuss any issues or concerns immediately when they arose. I was very thorough in researching landscapers and had many quotes but Dave and his crew were most professional and very reasonably priced. We have enjoyed our outdoor space for 2 years now and are repeat customers for landscaping and patio maintenance. Thank you Dave and your crew for all your hard work!
We work very hard to meet and exceed customer expectations. This review is greatly appreciated and represents compliments that we hear regularly from happy customers. Our nearly 30 years of providing stellar and honest service has earned us our rating with the Revdex.com. We gratefully appreciate the trust customers place in us to provide them with new looks for their homes.
We were in desperate need of a new wall because ours was severely leaning. Dave was quick to come to do a consultation and offered recommendations best for us. He showed us a sample of the brick that they would be installing and answered all of our requests thoroughly and professionally. Once we decided on Santel Landscaping, they quickly began our job. IT TURNED OUT BEAUTIFUL. They fixed our drainage, steps and mailbox too. I always look for businesses that are communicative, and everyone at Santel Landscaping was knowledgeable and accessible to questions. I cannot thank Dave, Jorge and the entire Santel Landscaping and Design team for the awesome work they did. Don’t look anywhere else for your landscaping needs.
and *** were awesome. We work very hard to do quality for work customers and greatly appreciate these kind comments!
Last year I had discussions with Dave S, owner of Santel Landscape & Design ("S***") about completing some fence work, doing concrete work around a pool, and landscaping my yard to compliment the pool. While we never contracted for completion of any work I believe S did purchase several panels and he did hang ~4 panels though he never completed the work as I'll explain and I subsequently had to hang 2 panels and 2 gates myself.
The issue began when my pool contractor was nearing completion of his portion of the work in late April 2018 and we were ready to commence concrete work around the pool. At this time my wife reached out to S several times to confirm availability, timing, etc. but he was unresponsive to these communications from my wife. As a result of this lack of communication we were left with no other choice but to seek another quote for the concrete work. We felt that due his unresponsiveness and prior assertions regarding his scheduling challenges we were offering a reasonable path forward whereby we could engage an available concrete worker and offer S the opportunity to contract with us to complete the fence work and landscaping when he had resources and capacity. It was not until we informed S that we received another quote and were considering contracting with someone else if he was unable to complete the concrete work that he responded. He called my wife and became verbally abusive towards her. When my wife informed me of the call I figured there was a miscommunication in the text, and in his anger during his call with her he was not able to process our current position, as a result I proceeded to give S a call to try and explain to him the situation. Our position, and my communication to S was, that we were still willing to contract with him for all the work but because he hadn't responded to our multiple attempts to understand if and when he could do the work we had done our due diligence as consumers and received another bid. I also informed him that all we were trying to do was provide reasonable path forward where he could complete the fence and landscaping IF he was unable to do the concrete work and reminded him of how he had expressed numerous times previously that his schedule was challenged. S continued to scream at me and informed me he would not complete any work (the fence, concrete, or landscaping) or provide us with a bid to complete any of the other work we had previously sought his bid on. After this phone call I hired another contractor to complete the concrete work, hired another landscaper to do the landscaping, and completed the fence myself.
I heard nothing from S for ~8 months until he recently sent me letter requesting payment for some materials (although he provided no invoice) as well as a request for an obscene amount of labor costs for installing 4 fence panels ($1,200, it should also be noted the posts were already set and it takes only 16 screws to hang a panel), in his letter he also acknowledged and apologized for his "getting loud" and "getting so upset" and assert his behavior and lack of communication was due to a severe concussion.
I am writing in response to a complaint about my business, may I note that it is the first complaint ever filed against my business in nearly 30 years of being in business. The following information provides factual information regarding the interaction with this customer that started in November of 2017.A friend of this customer, who we completed three major projects for over the last few years, including a major new construction landscape and hardscape design project for their new home in 2017, referred us to them.The complaining customer had been severely ripped-off by their previous contractor for literally tens of thousands of dollars and were left with a muddy and unfinished backyard and an unsafe in-ground pool area since fencing was not installed around the pool area. Not having fencing around a pool is both extremely unsafe and against borough ordinances.Soon after meeting the complaining customer in November of 2017, my concrete specialist, my project manager, and myself proposed a hardscape solution and proposal to finish the job. I substantially reduced my normal price as a courtesy to help out someone who had been so badly burned by the previous contractor. We also stated we could have the work done in December of 2017, which would get them out of the mud and secure the area, both conditions had been a problem for the customer since Spring of 2017. We stated we would install the landscaping and yard in the Spring but we would at least alleviate the unsafe and muddy conditions.The customer decided to wait until after the first of the year 2018 since they gave the previous contractor nearly 8 months to finish the job so they would not violate the terms of that contract. It was my understanding that they had paid nearly $50,000 to the previous contractor and gave him 8 months to complete the job and he skipped on them.On March 1 of 2017 we met to discuss the landscape design. We asked why the fence was not installed yet and they said that the fence contractor also was not cooperating with them and had also walked from the job. As a courtesy, and to help out these people who had been through so much, I had my guys go to Lowes and purchase the remaining fence items and sent 4 men over within a couple of days to secure the backyard with new fencing. I did not ask for any deposit and supplied the fence and my labor without any deposit. We agreed verbally to time and materials for pricing on the job and we would "square up" when we did the deposit
for the hardscape part of the project. Time was of the essence since the customer could be fined by the borough for having an such an unsafe condition in their back yardWe again stated we were ready to do the job in early Spring but they decided to have another pool man check out what needed to be completed before we could start. We were notified a month later that the new pool man needed the fence panels removed and I immediately sent men over, again without asking for payment, to remove fencing so that he could gain access to the back yard.I still have texts and can get phone records proving that the new pool man and I were in contact several times discussing when he would be finished so that we could start the job. He told me he kept telling the customer that we were in contact with each other. In fact, the day before the customer contacted me to tell me that they were going to use another contractor to do the concrete work, (even though we had agreed to a price and I was waiting for the new pool man to complete substantial work to fix the pool, and promised to the customer that we would start within a week after his completion), the pool man and I set up a meeting to review the job. In his text he says that he told the customer this fact.To specifically address the customer's complaint. I did not, and have not ever, verbally abused anyone in nearly 30 years of business. I admit that I did get loud, because I was so upset that we had done everything possible to help out a customer who had been so badly burned by previous contractors. I never tied up any of their money and did everything as expeditiously as possible to get bids back to them, secure their site, and wait patiently for their corrective work to be completed. Also, the customer lied in our phone conversation when he kept denying that we first presented our bid to them in November of 2017, and that we never met them that year. I have three witnesses and date books which can prove that fact. Why would a customer lie about such a fact? Yes, I did get upset, as would anyone else in was called a liar without basis.I stayed in frequent contact with their new pool contractor who kept telling me what an overhaul needed to be done to fix several problems that were done incorrectly by the previous pool contractor. The new contractor verified with me several times that he told the customers that we were in contact during his work. He also told them we were to meet on May 10 to review his work and to determine what I needed to do. This pool contractor can verify our frequent communications.I was referred to these customers through a friend of theirs who was very happy with three sizable projects which we completed over a few year's time frame. We also completed 4 other sizable projects in the complaining customer's neighborhood last year for customers who were more than happy with myself, our work, and our pricing.The Revdex.com asks for a truthful account of the experience with a complaining customer. The customer's complaint would have had more credibility if he stated ail of the things we did right to help them out. He complained about my labor rate, which over a hundred other customers thought was more than fair last year. He misrepresented the work involved in both going to get the fence and that each panel needed to be cut since the previous contractor did not install his posts correctly. Also, he failed to mention we spent time trying to dig out the gate post so that it could be re-installed larger since again the previous contractor left them with such little entrances.
I never tied up any of the customer's money. We had a verbal contract to do the fence work based on time and materials, since we correcting a previous contractor's work. Verbal contracts are legal contracts for small projects. I also agreed to honor my pricing from the previous November even though all of my costs had increased. How much fairer could I have been? They agreed that my total bid was for the concrete work and landscaping was fair, so why would I rip them off on the fencing job?As for the delay in getting an invoice to them, I was in a car accident May 1 of last year. My symptoms worsened to the point that I had to go to Allegheny General's concussion clinic May 10. The same day as receiving the phone call from this customer. I was suffering nausea and severe headaches to the point that I could hardly communicate with my family, let alone customers. I was on strict orders for months to avoid stress, computer work, and had several problems that basically ruined a large part of my life last year. I had appointments with 15 specialists and clinics over the year, and I had treatments 5 days nearly every week. I also was hit again later in the year which caused more head and neck trauma.I finally sent the customer a letter late in the year. In that letter, I apologized for the delay, for getting loud, and explained my side of our disagreement. I also pro-actively offered to reduce their bill by nearly 50%. Instead of responding to me, they wrote a letter to the Revdex.com and did not truthfully tell the whole story. They misrepresent totally how this whole experience evolved over several months. Also, you may notice there was no complaint regarding our timeliness or the quality of our work.Once again, the Revdex.com asks for a "truthful" account of a customer-contractor experience and that is what I offer here. It is unfortunate that a customer can try to ruin the reputation of one of the most honest and truthful contractors in the area. I have thousands of happy customers in my nearly 30 years of business. This is the first complaint ever sent to the Revdex.com and which could have been resolved with a simple letter or phone call responding back to me. I proactively reached out to the customer to resolve the dispute and proactively offered a major discount, before they even contacted the Revdex.com.I will further offer to accept $600 for payment in full so to put this rare and unfortunate matter to rest.
Sincerely,
David M, Owner
S*** Landscape and Design
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 complaint. For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear below.
Regards,
***
I am responding to Complaint #***. Despite the misrepresentations from S Landscape & Design regarding our interactions I am willing to settle for $600 as the contractor has proposed and I am requesting the contractor provide the actual receipts for the materials as I requested in my complaint. To date the contractor has only provided a hand written invoice and not the receipts to support the purchases. I look forward to the resolution of this matter and appreciate the work and support of the Revdex.com in allowing me to publically share my experience with others.
Attached are the receipts for the fence which was purchased in early March of 2018 for the *** residence. I do not know why I have to submit receipts, the fence did not appear magically. Also, no complaints were given regarding the timeliness or quality of work. Regardless, the customer got a $1950 job for the cost of the fence, but yet he still wants proof of the purchase of the fence.
His request demonstrates the unreasonableness and difficulty in even settling a matter which should not even have been sent to the Revdex.com. I offered a settlement of only $1000 to the customer proactivley. Although it is customary for contractor's in all types of business to add mark-ups to the products they use, I did not even request that in my offer.
I was very upset at the customer for the matters explained in my earlier letters, as would any contractor who did so many things to help a customer. I apologized for the loudness of my voice, especially when a customer blatantly lied, and for the lateness of my invoice due to health reasons. And yet these efforts were still not suitable. I offered this lower amount to put an end to this frivolous and unfair complaint.
As shown by nearly 30 years of an exemplary and stellar record with your organization and others I have earned a reputation of fairness and honesty. I believe I have done my best to resolve this issue and the customer has a quality job installed. I hope this matter is put to rest.
I expect payment in timely manner.
Sincerely,
Dave S, Owner
S*** Landscape and Design
Revdex.com:
I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID, and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me.
Regards,
***
***, *** MMay 21, 2019, 4:52 PM (17 hours ago)tomeHi *** – I received notice regarding the above complaint that the contractor is willing to settle for $600 as requested. How do I close this? Can I just send the contractor a check? Do I have to do something through the Revdex.com? Thank you for your help in resolving this matter.
Thank you,
***
______________________________________________________________*** M.
Dave had the vision for the patio and hottub area we wanted, even when we could not totally picture it. It turned out fantastic! They worked 2 weeks and completed the job on time despite some weather challenges and design changes. We searched for just the right landscaper who could tie everything together and are so happy we chose Dave.