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 complaintAs you can clearly see from the photos, the degree of damage is similar on both sides of the underground fence, which divides the yard into place where the dogs can and cannot goTop Turf's claim that our damage is due primarily to dogs is clearly not accurate Regards, [redacted]
Spring and summer weeds are most effectively controlled by applying pre-emergent herbicide in the late winterPre-emergent herbicides stop the seeds
from annual weeds from germinating, but pre-emergent weed control does nothing to stop perennial weedsWe can normally prevent 60-70% of spring and summer weeds from showing up in a lawn if we have the opportunity to apply the preventive treatments in time
We began servicing this property on May 5th of this yearThe customer was informed by our sales staff that it was late in the year for weed prevention, and there would be more weeds in the lawn this summer than usual because were not able to effectively apply two applications of pre-emergent herbicide at the proper time of the yearIt was written on the very first invoice we left at the property that it would take a year to properly control the weeds
This is what my technician was trying to explain when the customer began using profanity and became verbally abusiveShe bordered on becoming physically abusive when she threw the invoice into the vehicle
I have a standing rule that none of my employees are required to subject themselves to verbal or physical abuse of any type at any timeThey are instructed to terminate contact and leave the property when an individual becomes unstableMy office staff members are also instructed to end a phone conversation whenever someone loses control and proper communication cannot be maintained
My technician was in contact with his manager during this encounter on the property, and was instructed by his manager to leave this property
The application was complete on this property; they were finishing up spot spraying the grassy weeds when the customer came out
We initially spoke with the Mrwhen this account was set upExpectations were set with him, and his contact numbers are all we were givenMy operations manager attempted to contact the customer at these numbers twice on May 8th, leaving messages the day after the last treatment
I have cancelled this account and marked it for no contact/no reinstateI will credit the balance on this accountWe are a small family owned company I care very much for all of my staff, and I am very upset with the way some of them were treated by this personI do not want any more contact with this individual and I regard this matter closed
“Two years ago, we uprooted our yard, tilled, and replanted...
our lawn. When the new grass was first up, my husband wanted it to stay nice so he hired Top Turf of [redacted], South Carolina.”
“Our yard was green and growing BEFORE they began treatments.”
The initial estimate was performed on this property February 21, 2012. The condition of the turf was far from “nice” when we started treating it. The lawn was infested with broadleaf and grassy weeds. It was also noted that partial shade areas were affecting the density in areas of the lawn. This lawn was repeatedly overseeded in the winter with ryegrass. The actual bermudagrass was brown and dormant when we started treating it, not “green and growing”. Seeding ryegrass over Bermuda in the winter leads to many problems.[redacted], a prominent lawn and garden expert in Atlanta, sums it up rather perfectly on his website:
“Keep in mind that overseeding bermudagrass with ryegrass is like you trying to take a nap during a child’s birthday party. The needs of one grass might not coincide with the needs of the other. Overseeding should be done ONLY IF your bermudagrass is in very good shape. Overseeding may rd the warm-season grass unless managed correctly in the spring, because the ryegrass competes for moisture, sunlight and nutrients.”
The growing conditions and initial density of this turf were far from ideal, and this was communicated to the client before any treatments were performed.
“We paid them for two years to care for our lawn. The lawn has gotten worse and worse. When I would complain, they would send someone out who would tell us that it was not their fault and that we had some new kind of weed- each time it was a different excuse.”
Our technicians and service managers go beyond simply treating the lawn with fertilizer and weed control. We provide information to our customers on each visit that pertains to any needed environmental condition changes and cultural practices required by the customer to maximize the effectiveness of the treatments. Information regarding the negative impact of overseeding with ryereass in the winter, shade issues, density, and weed infestation on this property was repeatedly given to the customers. Two free service calls (one proactive follow-up) were performed on this property within the first 30 days of the start of service. Treatment history records indicate the clients were informed on the second service call (on 3-21-12) that it would take a minimum of a full year for them to see significant improvement on the property.; and that was if instructions were followed and cultural practices were performed properly. All too often we find that our efforts to properly set expectations by giving pertinent information and honest appraisals of current conditions are labeled as “excuses”. They are labeled as “excuses” quite possibly because we are telling the clients things they do not wish to hear.
“We had paid them to treat the lawn for weeds and paid for pre-emergent. We also paid them to aerate the lawn. It got steadily worse. When it was time to aerate again, we said that we didn't see any difference after they had done it last time. They kept making excuses and coming and spraying our yard with ineffective treatments.”
Our “excuses” were actually instructions repeatedly left for the clients to stop seeding the bermudagrass with rye over the winter, put sand in the thin areas, trim tree limbs to increase sunlight to shady areas of the lawn (Bermuda requires 8-10 hours of direct sunlight to do well), core aerate to help the Bermuda spread, expand natural areas around the trees due to root competition, remove animal feces from the turf areas, mow more frequently than every 2-3 weeks, and more. Treatment history indicates notes were left regarding most or all of these requirements on every treatment and service call we have done on this property. These instructions were largely ignored. The clients did have the lawn core aerated once – two years ago. Core aeration relieves and prevents the compaction of clay soil, and is vital to increasing the air, water and nutrient uptake to the roots of the turf. It is recommended to be done every year on well established lawns. It is absolutely vital that it be done yearly on a lawn with density issues as bad as this lawn due to the constant rye overseeding. They refused to have the core aeration service done, thus negatively affecting density improvement of the bermudagrass and limiting the effectiveness of pre and post emergent weed controls.
Weak, thin turf is more susceptible to things such as disease and extreme weather conditions. This past winter we experienced 8 degree temperatures and snow, which caused severe winter kill throughout the Southeast. This lawn was affected by these conditions. Many sod farms are not harvesting certain turf species this year at all due to the damage caused by the weather. These clients have had multiple conversations both in person and on the phone with our Production Manager and Service Managers regarding the multitude of issues affecting their lawn. They have chosen to ignore our recommendations and label everything we tell them as an “excuse”, all the while holding us completely responsible for the condition of the turf and refusing to pay for services rendered in good faith. In the last documented conversation we had with [redacted], she told my employee that we could go[redacted] ourselves.
I have instructed my office staff to remove the remaining balance on this account. I have also instructed them to status this account to never be reinstated or contacted. I have no intention of issuing refunds for any prior paid services that were performed in good faith on this property.
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. As you can clearly see from the photos, the degree of damage is similar on both sides of the underground fence, which divides the yard into place where the dogs can and cannot go. Top Turf's claim that our damage is due primarily to dogs is clearly not accurate.
Regards,
[redacted]
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 complaintAs you can clearly see from the photos, the degree of damage is similar on both sides of the underground fence, which divides the yard into place where the dogs can and cannot goTop Turf's claim that our damage is due primarily to dogs is clearly not accurate Regards, [redacted]
Spring and summer weeds are most effectively controlled by applying pre-emergent herbicide in the late winterPre-emergent herbicides stop the seeds
from annual weeds from germinating, but pre-emergent weed control does nothing to stop perennial weedsWe can normally prevent 60-70% of spring and summer weeds from showing up in a lawn if we have the opportunity to apply the preventive treatments in time
We began servicing this property on May 5th of this yearThe customer was informed by our sales staff that it was late in the year for weed prevention, and there would be more weeds in the lawn this summer than usual because were not able to effectively apply two applications of pre-emergent herbicide at the proper time of the yearIt was written on the very first invoice we left at the property that it would take a year to properly control the weeds
This is what my technician was trying to explain when the customer began using profanity and became verbally abusiveShe bordered on becoming physically abusive when she threw the invoice into the vehicle
I have a standing rule that none of my employees are required to subject themselves to verbal or physical abuse of any type at any timeThey are instructed to terminate contact and leave the property when an individual becomes unstableMy office staff members are also instructed to end a phone conversation whenever someone loses control and proper communication cannot be maintained
My technician was in contact with his manager during this encounter on the property, and was instructed by his manager to leave this property
The application was complete on this property; they were finishing up spot spraying the grassy weeds when the customer came out
We initially spoke with the Mrwhen this account was set upExpectations were set with him, and his contact numbers are all we were givenMy operations manager attempted to contact the customer at these numbers twice on May 8th, leaving messages the day after the last treatment
I have cancelled this account and marked it for no contact/no reinstateI will credit the balance on this accountWe are a small family owned company I care very much for all of my staff, and I am very upset with the way some of them were treated by this personI do not want any more contact with this individual and I regard this matter closed
“Two years ago, we uprooted our yard, tilled, and replanted...
d the warm-season grass unless managed correctly in the spring, because the ryegrass competes for moisture, sunlight and nutrients.”
our lawn. When the new grass was first up, my husband wanted it to stay nice so he hired Top Turf of [redacted], South Carolina.”
“Our yard was green and growing BEFORE they began treatments.”
The initial estimate was performed on this property February 21, 2012. The condition of the turf was far from “nice” when we started treating it. The lawn was infested with broadleaf and grassy weeds. It was also noted that partial shade areas were affecting the density in areas of the lawn. This lawn was repeatedly overseeded in the winter with ryegrass. The actual bermudagrass was brown and dormant when we started treating it, not “green and growing”. Seeding ryegrass over Bermuda in the winter leads to many problems.[redacted], a prominent lawn and garden expert in Atlanta, sums it up rather perfectly on his website:
“Keep in mind that overseeding bermudagrass with ryegrass is like you trying to take a nap during a child’s birthday party. The needs of one grass might not coincide with the needs of the other. Overseeding should be done ONLY IF your bermudagrass is in very good shape. Overseeding may r
The growing conditions and initial density of this turf were far from ideal, and this was communicated to the client before any treatments were performed.
“We paid them for two years to care for our lawn. The lawn has gotten worse and worse. When I would complain, they would send someone out who would tell us that it was not their fault and that we had some new kind of weed- each time it was a different excuse.”
Our technicians and service managers go beyond simply treating the lawn with fertilizer and weed control. We provide information to our customers on each visit that pertains to any needed environmental condition changes and cultural practices required by the customer to maximize the effectiveness of the treatments. Information regarding the negative impact of overseeding with ryereass in the winter, shade issues, density, and weed infestation on this property was repeatedly given to the customers. Two free service calls (one proactive follow-up) were performed on this property within the first 30 days of the start of service. Treatment history records indicate the clients were informed on the second service call (on 3-21-12) that it would take a minimum of a full year for them to see significant improvement on the property.; and that was if instructions were followed and cultural practices were performed properly. All too often we find that our efforts to properly set expectations by giving pertinent information and honest appraisals of current conditions are labeled as “excuses”. They are labeled as “excuses” quite possibly because we are telling the clients things they do not wish to hear.
“We had paid them to treat the lawn for weeds and paid for pre-emergent. We also paid them to aerate the lawn. It got steadily worse. When it was time to aerate again, we said that we didn't see any difference after they had done it last time. They kept making excuses and coming and spraying our yard with ineffective treatments.”
Our “excuses” were actually instructions repeatedly left for the clients to stop seeding the bermudagrass with rye over the winter, put sand in the thin areas, trim tree limbs to increase sunlight to shady areas of the lawn (Bermuda requires 8-10 hours of direct sunlight to do well), core aerate to help the Bermuda spread, expand natural areas around the trees due to root competition, remove animal feces from the turf areas, mow more frequently than every 2-3 weeks, and more. Treatment history indicates notes were left regarding most or all of these requirements on every treatment and service call we have done on this property. These instructions were largely ignored. The clients did have the lawn core aerated once – two years ago. Core aeration relieves and prevents the compaction of clay soil, and is vital to increasing the air, water and nutrient uptake to the roots of the turf. It is recommended to be done every year on well established lawns. It is absolutely vital that it be done yearly on a lawn with density issues as bad as this lawn due to the constant rye overseeding. They refused to have the core aeration service done, thus negatively affecting density improvement of the bermudagrass and limiting the effectiveness of pre and post emergent weed controls.
Weak, thin turf is more susceptible to things such as disease and extreme weather conditions. This past winter we experienced 8 degree temperatures and snow, which caused severe winter kill throughout the Southeast. This lawn was affected by these conditions. Many sod farms are not harvesting certain turf species this year at all due to the damage caused by the weather. These clients have had multiple conversations both in person and on the phone with our Production Manager and Service Managers regarding the multitude of issues affecting their lawn. They have chosen to ignore our recommendations and label everything we tell them as an “excuse”, all the while holding us completely responsible for the condition of the turf and refusing to pay for services rendered in good faith. In the last documented conversation we had with [redacted], she told my employee that we could go[redacted] ourselves.
I have instructed my office staff to remove the remaining balance on this account. I have also instructed them to status this account to never be reinstated or contacted. I have no intention of issuing refunds for any prior paid services that were performed in good faith on this property.
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. As you can clearly see from the photos, the degree of damage is similar on both sides of the underground fence, which divides the yard into place where the dogs can and cannot go. Top Turf's claim that our damage is due primarily to dogs is clearly not accurate.
Regards,
[redacted]