[Happinow]

While I wish I didn't have to write this, I feel compelled to give you all the heads up on this service. First I must say that Chris is very kind and wants to learn. However, he is in the wrong business. After recommendations from people on this forum, I hired Chris to do some weeding and trimming of the shrubs/ bushes and trees at my home. He came out on Sunday to spray the weeds so they would die before he pulled them today. He started weeding at 11:00 this morning. I noticed he was a bit slow but it was hot and it's a tiring job. The weeding was done well, just slow.....about 2 1/2 hours (we did let it go too long so,there were a lot of weeds). He then proceeded to trim the shrubs and bushes. After a little while, I went out front to check on him. The shrubs were literally hacked. My jaw dropped. I wasn't sure what to do as I didn't want to hurt his feelings so I told him we would trim the rest of the shrubs together. I went one by one with him trying to coach him on how to trim the shrubs. It was quite clear that he had no clue. After guiding him the best it could...he was holding the trimmer....I decided to let him do minimal trimming as minimal would look better than it was before and I wouldn't risk him hacking up any more of my landscaping. We made it around the whole house together, shrub by shrub. When we were done, I instructed Chris to go clean up all of the trimmings while I trimmed up the topiary tree in front. (He was supposed to trim that too but was going to cut off the balls of the topiary as he had no idea what it was supposed to look like. It was apparent that he was not capable of finishing the job himself as he had to sit very frequently and seemed overwhelmed most of the time he was trimming. He is a very hefty guy so I expect that his build had something to do with his inability to work for any length of time. (He ran out of water about 12:30 so I too supplied him with several bottles of water) I summoned my husband to come help him clean up the trimmings while I trimmed the topiary. All together I spent about 3 hours helping Chris complete the job and my husband spend 1 1/2 hours helping to clean up,the yard from all of,the trimmings. While I felt bad for him I was also aggravated that he claimed that he could do this job and clearly had no clue about trimming anything. Thank goodness he didn't charge us much. He also had minimal equipment...a blower, an electric hedge trimmer and a pair of branch cutters. The hedge trimmer kept blowing our circuit breaker which added to the mess. I had expected a gas trimmer and blower. I had not expected to hire a trimmer and have to do the job with him. We finished the job at 4:00 PM. Chris clearly doesn't belong doing the job he's doing. However, I admire his desire to get out there and work. He just needs the right job.

[Happinow]

That it seems when I post something the posts are archived before anyone has had a chance to read them. I think this post deserves to be read so others don't waste their time and money.

[redwitch]

Posts aren't archived; if you click on new posts and no one has responded to a post you looked at previously (or you had posted), it just doesn't show for you -- it is still there for others to see.

I read your post earlier but didn't feel I could contribute anything. I will say you were far kinder and more patient than I would have been.