Washington Green Hydroseeding, Inc.

Review: I am an NEW homeowner and was extremely excited to get my my Hydro-seed done! My neighbor refereed me to Washington Green and said that he really liked them. I was thrilled because I think my neighbors grass looks A-MAZING!! I did a little investigating myself and was satisfied with all the information that I gathered. I called them up as soon as I had the cash and quick fast and in a hurry they came and picked up my check! I watered up to 6 times a day, as it was 100 degrees and above and avoided night watering because that is what their web site informed me to do. As time went on I noticed a lot of crab grass growing, I thought maybe I was just worrying for nothing. I called [redacted] (who Never returned my call) to see if their was anything I could do. When the weekend passed and I heard nothing from [redacted], I went to [redacted] (Who has A-MAZING customer service by the way) and was informed that I should fertilize with [redacted] Weed and Seed. After calling [redacted] AGAIN 2 weeks after I did the [redacted] weed and seed and still had 95 percent crab grass in my yard, he answered my call and told me all I needed to do was do the weed and seed. He then told me that the only was crab grass could have gotten in to my grass is if I had contaminated the dirt, and then asked me if I imported soil. Now I have a pretty big yard and if I was going to Import that much soil, I would have just laid sod down. At this point I was very upset and told him I already did the weed and seed but the weeds were NOT the Problem, The Crab grass was the problem. (I live in a new housing development and crab grass doesn't grow naturally there), weeds and thisiles do and I did expect a lot of thisiles and goat heads to grow, surprisingly had no problems with any weeds. I explained to him that my Brand new lawn is 95% crab grass. He said he would come out Tuesday at 5:45 p.m. so we could look at it together and see how we could fix my problem. Of course 5:45 P.M. Of course 5:45 P.M. rolls around and I get a phone call from him saying that his kid had football practice and his wife had to work so he was unable to come and look at my crab grass. We rescheduled for the following Friday at the same time. When I arrived home at 3:00 p.m. on Friday his card was stuck in my door. No note, no phone call, NOTHING. I called him AS SOON AS I WALKED IN THE DOOR and left another message, and still nothing all weekend. I waited till Monday to see if he would call me so we could resolve this issue. NOTHING!!!! I called him left another message and NOTHING. I finally called on Wednesday from my work number so he couldn't see my cell phone number in his caller I.D. And WHAT DO YOU KNOW....HE ANSWERED MY CALL!!!!! Unfortunately he proceeds to tell me that to him it looked like the lawn was NOT cared for properly, It looked as if it didn't get watered enough. Well I have an automated sprinkler system that was programed to water 6 times a day, so I know that care was not the issue. We went round and round on the phone and he Tells me in a rude and threatening tone of voice and I quote I would, not that he should, but I will come out and re-spray but I need to dig up the grass and re-grade the whole yard! It's his product he should be the one to fix it not me! I cannot afford to pay somebody to do what he should be doing.Desired Settlement: I want a refund. I paid $500 for grass not crab grass. I wouldn't be opposed to him come out and digging the crab grass up re-grading it then re-spraying the Hydro-seed but I'm scared that the same thing will happen with his seed. I just want my money back so I can go with somebody else.

Business

Response:

Responding to any complaint is a difficult and sensitive issue for any company. It is unfortunate that the issue reached this level for many reasons. First it means we have an unhappy customer and we take that very seriously. Second it means we are forced into a lose-lose situation. Let me explain. There is no “winning” in this situation. The complaint is very emotional and with that comes a great exaggeration and omission of facts. Nothing I can say here will be any different than what I have already discussed with the customer and will certainly not change her opinion, nor will I change my stance. For us the damage is done no matter the final outcome as the complaint remains on file regardless of its validity.

Hydroseeding is the process of applying grass seed in a slurry of mulch, fertilizer, tackifier and seed. It is a very efficient and cost effective way to get a lawn established, however it does require due diligence on the part of the customer. We simply apply it, the rest is up to the care of the customer. Our guarantee consists of this: The materials we use are tested and certified to be weed free and our application process is done in a consistent and professional manner. As the customer pointed out we are a well-established, reputable company and she has firsthand knowledge of the work we do (even calling it A-MAZING).

This customer first contacted us because we had seeded her neighbor’s yard. After giving her a quote based on the information she provided we scheduled an appointment. I sent my crew out on two occasions only to find that the prep work had not been completed as stated by the customer and we could not complete the seeding. The lot was covered in weeds and she was told that we could not do the seeding with the lot in that condition. On the third trip it appeared she had completed the prep work so we applied the Hydroseed. The fact that we had mobilize without being able to complete the job cost our company money. We have to pay wages as well as fuel and equipment costs, our minimum mobilization fee is $100. Yet, as a customer service commitment, I did not even mention this to the customer. In addition the customer was quoted $500 for the project. Well we all live in the State of Washington and are well aware that there is a sales tax which for this project totaled $43.00, however she presented a cashier’s check in the amount of $500. Once again, in an attempt to satisfy the customer, I did not ask her for the additional $43.00 instead opting to adjust my proposal. Our company is now out $243 on a $500 job.

The crux of her complaint is that we seeded her lawn with crab grass. As I explained to her that is simply impossible for two reasons. First and most important, we DO NOT use crab grass for any application. It is not a type of seed we have or would ever use. Second, as described above, our materials are tested and certified not to contain weed seed. I made a visit to the site and found that her claim of crab grass to be grossly exaggerated. While she does have crab grass present (which is present in several yards throughout the neighborhood) the majority of the weeds are all found in the fields surrounding her development. If you were to research Hydroseeding from any source the common theme you will encounter is questions about weeds.

The answer in all cases is that you WILL get weeds. No reputable Hydroseeding company will tell you that you will not get weeds. In fact, as we explain on our website weed seed is found everywhere. It is in the existing soils, it can be introduced with topsoil, composts or other things brought onto the property or it simply blows in from nature. However with proper care the weeds can be managed. Once again that is not a service we provide and we make no claims otherwise. Please understand that we cannot know what goes on before and after we apply the Hydroseed. I have no knowledge of what this customer did or did not do. All I can do is look at the site after the fact and make my best judgment. In this case the appearance of the property indicated that the proper care was not taken. The weeds were a foot high indicating that it was not being mowed regularly, the ground was dry down at least two inches that I observed which indicates a lack water.

The second part of her complaint is that I “never” returned calls. This is the most difficult to respond to as it is a personal attack. Not only is the allegation false but if you read her complaint carefully she contradicts herself by stating that she talked to me on several occasions, that on the occasion when I was unable to make our scheduled appointment I called to reschedule and that I did leave my card when I arrived to find that she was not at home. I guess that means I should be upset about the 5 times I had to leave a message for her. The fact is that I am not always able to answer my phone just as she is not always available to receive my return call for a variety of reasons, none of which have to do with caller ID.

In summary what we do is not a magic solution. We are on a project like this for 30 minutes and simply apply Hydroseed. What happens before and after we are there is the responsibility of the customer. We provide our customers with guidelines for the care of the product and there is a large amount of information available on our website as well. As the customer stated, although I maintain that the result was not due to any defect on our part, I offered to reseed her property if she wanted to try to mitigate her weed issue. She declined, instead just wanting cash. Due to the facts listed above we will not offer her a refund

Consumer

Response:

I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID 9674028, and have determined that this does not resolve my complaint. For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear below.

Regards,