[BlackSheep]

Hello,

Whatever you do, DO NOT hire Bates exterminating and lawn care . They have ruined my grass. I am so mad and upset over this. I have called them, they come out and say the same thing and the supervisor told me to turn my water off, they have NO clue what they are doing. I keep calling to talk to a manger and they will not let me, only a supervisor Jack who knows nothing. I have had 3 other companies come out and look at my lawn and all 3 have said the same thing, Bates has ruined my lawn. No one will help me or get me to the owner. When I first bought my house they sent me a brand new employee who knew nothing at all, I had him for a few months until I complained and they took him off my route. Then the bugs, they can spray and spray and the bugs come right back. I have paid for the year and I am out the money now. I will post photos tomorrow of what they have done, DO NOT HIRE them! BAD NEWS. They will take your money and won't help you out. Very sad way to do business and especially in The Villages, BAD NEWS ALWAYS TRAVELS FAST!!!!!!!!

[Fredman]

Never pay a lawn company in advance. They cut and run

[Chatbrat]

No long term contracts for lawn care, this has been proven time & time again--sorry for you bad experience

[Jima64]

There are honest people that will do good work if they know they have to earn each check. I would never pay for anything ahead of time if possible.

[villagetinker]

OP, contact seniors against crime, at a minimum, they should be able to assist getting your money back. You might also want to file a complaint with the BBB.
Now having stated above, all of the lawn care companies appear to be having lots of trouble getting and keeping personnel, then you have the problem that there good crews and bad crews. I use Deans for over 5 years, and over the last year I have seen a decrease in the quality of the work, but it has recently seemed to come back up. Several neighbors, using other lawn care services have noted the same problems. I have also heard about TV having problems getting sufficient workers for the common property. I have also seen a significant turn over in pool maintenance personal. Deans has always been very easy to deal with when I have hads problems (very few to date), and I pay them monthly through a credit card debit plan, this gives me some protection as I can always call the CC company and place a hold on the payment if there are real problems.

[Madelaine Amee]

Originally Posted by BlackSheep

Hello,

Whatever you do, DO NOT hire Bates exterminating and lawn care . They have ruined my grass. I am so mad and upset over this. I have called them, they come out and say the same thing and the supervisor told me to turn my water off, they have NO clue what they are doing. I keep calling to talk to a manger and they will not let me, only a supervisor Jack who knows nothing. I have had 3 other companies come out and look at my lawn and all 3 have said the same thing, Bates has ruined my lawn. No one will help me or get me to the owner. When I first bought my house they sent me a brand new employee who knew nothing at all, I had him for a few months until I complained and they took him off my route. Then the bugs, they can spray and spray and the bugs come right back. I have paid for the year and I am out the money now. I will post photos tomorrow of what they have done, DO NOT HIRE them! BAD NEWS. They will take your money and won't help you out. Very sad way to do business and especially in The Villages, BAD NEWS ALWAYS TRAVELS FAST!!!!!!!!

I would suggest you call Massey and ask for a lawn expert to come out and take a look at what you have and see if they have any suggestions. DO NOT PAY ANYONE before you know what they are suggesting and before they give you a good idea of what the other company has done. I had several lawn companies before settling on Massey. My husband hates getting their bills several times a year, but my lawn and my yard looks great and I do not have bugs!

[JoMar]

Originally Posted by villagetinker

OP, contact seniors against crime, at a minimum, they should be able to assist getting your money back. You might also want to file a complaint with the BBB.
Now having stated above, all of the lawn care companies appear to be having lots of trouble getting and keeping personnel, then you have the problem that there good crews and bad crews. I use Deans for over 5 years, and over the last year I have seen a decrease in the quality of the work, but it has recently seemed to come back up. Several neighbors, using other lawn care services have noted the same problems. I have also heard about TV having problems getting sufficient workers for the common property. I have also seen a significant turn over in pool maintenance personal. Deans has always been very easy to deal with when I have hads problems (very few to date), and I pay them monthly through a credit card debit plan, this gives me some protection as I can always call the CC company and place a hold on the payment if there are real problems.

After having Deans since we moved here (4 years ago) I had to make a change. They lawn has been going downhill over the last 12 months, they kept changing service folks and each one had the "answer" but the lawn never improved. I suspect they are taking on new customers with the expansion and finding trained personnel is difficult. When I cancelled they didn't ask why or thank us for the past business. While I have found a new company that looks promising I will hold off comment for awhile since they have been providing service with us for a limited time. I suspect that unless I give in and start doing it myself finding a long term provider will be difficult. Both Deans and Massey have lost significant customers in our neighborhood.....guess all part of living the dream . LOL