Varsity Landscaping & Grounds

Review: I have had Varsity Landscaping come to my home the last two yrs. The first year I had them the bill was combined with my parent's bill, [redacted] and [redacted]. I absolutely loved the work that was done and told the guys that came I loved their work. The next year I called and these two gentleman were no longer employed with Varsity so two other gentleman came out and did work. They also did a great job and I let them know this. I was charged $200.00 and there was a question about a charge for mulch put down on left side of house. I am complaining about an employee by the name of [redacted], who has come to my home to give estimates and who I have dealt with over the phone. I called 2 days ago and he was very matter of fact about me asking him what was done in the past 2 yrs so I would have an idea of what to have them do this year. His customer service was very poor, he gave the impression of not caring about my business. I asked him to have the secretary call me back and when my call was not returned, I called her. There was confusion about whether or not she had spoken with him, but said she would have him call me. [redacted] just called back the next day and was extremely rude and told me it was not worth his time to come back to my home to do what I needed to have done with my yard. He said I had numerous complaints last time they came and he no longer wanted to do business with me. He also said he only charged me $90.00 the last time they came, which is not true!! I paid them $200.00 . I also asked them to call me back another time, which they never did! I have been in customer service for 30 yrs and this is a horrible way to treat people!!! When you have a good customer you always try to work with them to their satisfaction!!Desired Settlement: After the way I was treated I will not be doing business with Varsity landscaping again. I do however would like an apology from [redacted] and with the hopes he never treats anyone like this again!! I also know the exact charges for both yrs he has come out and I would like for him to review his records and acknowledge that he was wrong about this with a phone call.

Business

Response:

We hate that Ms. [redacted] is unhappy. We make huge efforts to please our customers, and especially Ms. [redacted] as I will attempt to provide a little history. Unfortunately, Ms. [redacted] is one of those customers that is unlikely to be satisfied with anyone's service. After all our efforts, we have been unsuccessful in accomplishing satisfaction with Ms. [redacted]. In past years, we have performed her $200 spring mulching service which she has consistently been less than pleased with. We have tried to be accommodating each time addressing her concerns and trying to please her. In one situation we discounted her annual $200 mulch job to $90 (which was paid for with check #8162) in an effort to resolve her concerns. We feel challenged to meet the expectations of Ms. [redacted] and we are concerned that we are setting ourselves up for disappointment by attempting to achieve the performance that Ms. [redacted] desires.

Ms. [redacted]'s phone call to us this spring was initiated with a lecture explaining that she wanted us to do the work but she was not happy with us and that if we could not do a good job that she should call someone else. Her demeanor was confrontational and argumentative and she made her opinion very clear. It seemed evident from that initial phone call that she was not going to be happy with the service that she was asking us to provide. Just as she was less than satisfied with our past efforts, discounts given and the supplementary hours spent addressing her concerns. She has reminded us several times that $200 is a lot of money to spend and this has not gone unnoticed and we truly appreciate the opportunity that she has given us. We hate to turn away a customer but we are apprehensive about meeting her expectations regardless of the dollar amount involved. Though she feels that $200 is a significant amount of money, it is important that she recognize that it must cover material (mulch), transportation to and from the jobsite and labor to install the mulch, in addition to the necessary recovery of overhead such as insurance, phones, etc. Though it may seem like there are huge profits, there is not enough profit left over to cover time spent trying to bring a completed project to her standards with return visits and time and energy required by this customer.

I apologize to Ms. [redacted] on behalf of myself and my staff that we have fallen short of providing the quality of customer service that she desires. Our intention was in no way meant to insult or offend her. My employee, [redacted]'s intention was nothing more than an attempt to prevent further frustration and I or disappointment by both her and our staff. I wish her the best of luck with future landscaping endeavors and I hope that she will be able to find a company that better suits her needs.

Sincerely,

Michael A Anderson

President

Consumer

Response:

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

Everything in response to my complaint is completely false!!!! I have been satisfied with the work in the past and I have told them so. I did however, let the office person know that [redacted] comes across in a very bad way to customers and that he needs to change that!! I have been in customer service for more that 30 years and know that customers should be treated kindly and professionally at all times. [redacted] has never done this. My parents stopped having them several years ago, because they were dissatisfied with [redacted] and many other things, but I continued to have them. I want to make completely clear that I never paid $90.00 at any time for their services. I have a very small yard and never paid less than $200.00 for their services. I have been kind to them each time they have come!

I have found another landscaping company and they charge the same amount. They are very kind and professional and I will not be doing business with Varsity ever again!!

Sincerely,

Complaint ID#[redacted]