[La lamy]

Just had a nauseating phone call with Tri County Landscaping where they said they don't give free estimates. They charge $115 for it!!!! Crazy crap. Am I the only one who was told this, or have others received stupid quotes to get an estimate. Can't stop shaking my head over this.

[Keefelane66]

Just move on call another landscaper

[Babubhat]

Just say no

[tophcfa]

When contractors are busy and have lots of work, it’s not a good use of their time to give estimates to potential customers who they sense are price shopping several estimates. They figure they are going to bid high and not get the job anyways, so why bother to do it for free. It’s currently a contractors market, not a customers market.

[ThirdOfFive]

Originally Posted by La lamy

Just had a nauseating phone call with Tri County Landscaping where they said they don't give free estimates. They charge $115 for it!!!! Crazy crap. Am I the only one who was told this, or have others received stupid quotes to get an estimate. Can't stop shaking my head over this.

I had sort of the same kind of thing happen with a sprinkler guy. He said that they charge $40 to come out and check my system so he could give me an estimate, but that if I want them to work on it the $40 goes into the price of the work. I ended up paying $115 for the job; he checked over the entire system including the timer, replaced three of the heads, and made sure the rest were were working well and aimed in the right direction. I felt that I was treated fairly.

[retiredguy123]

There is no way I would pay for a landscaping estimate.

[Michael G.]

Originally Posted by tophcfa

When contractors are busy and have lots of work, it’s not a good use of their time to give estimates to potential customers who they sense are price shopping several estimates. They figure they are going to bid high and not get the job anyways, so why bother to do it for free. It’s currently a contractors market, not a customers market.

Then, instead of insulting us, they should take the phone off the hook, then take
care of the business that they already over changing.
I NEVER do business asking for money up front, and insulting the public with high
prices is poor business practice.

[Stu from NYC]

do not pay for estimates

[Nucky]

Maybe the contractor thinks he has the market cornered on digging holes and popping plants 🪴 in the ground. Forgetabouit. Onward to a fair hole digger.

[Pairadocs]

Originally Posted by Michael G.

Then, instead of insulting us, they should take the phone off the hook, then take
care of the business that they already over changing.
I NEVER do business asking for money up front, and insulting the public with high
prices is poor business practice.

Agreed, we've added another, we NEVER take the word (or words on a car or truck) that the contractor is registered with the state AND has insurance. Can't tell you how many, at least SIX times, when all else was satisfactory to have some work done, last step was to check with state and....SURPRISE... the NUMBERS on the business card were ACTUAL numbers connected to the name and business...but... were NOT CURRENT ! In other words, state employee said a business will often register and have the proper insurance ONCE, to get a valid number, but that does not mean they have kept it up to date and filed the current insurance annually. It's as if YOU registered your auto and got both insurance and plates.... then NEVER did anything again, just kept the insurance card in your auto or wallet, and never bought an annual renewal of license plates/tags ! Dah ! NEVER NEVER skip actually checking because some who "looked legit", gave you a card with insurance # and information about being registered, N.E.V.E.R. The guy who gives you the cheapest estimate to cut down that big tree, may turn out to be a huge expense if you have to take care of him or his employee for the rest of their life when they fall OUT of that tree. It only takes 10-15 to make this VITAL check with the state of Florida, but, probably 75% will not !

[La lamy]

Originally Posted by Michael G.

Then, instead of insulting us, they should take the phone off the hook, then take
care of the business that they already over changing.
I NEVER do business asking for money up front, and insulting the public with high
prices is poor business practice.

[fdpaq0580]

Originally Posted by ThirdOfFive

I had sort of the same kind of thing happen with a sprinkler guy. He said that they charge $40 to come out and check my system so he could give me an estimate, but that if I want them to work on it the $40 goes into the price of the work. I ended up paying $115 for the job; he checked over the entire system including the timer, replaced three of the heads, and made sure the rest were were working well and aimed in the right direction. I felt that I was treated fairly.

Time is money. A REASONABLE charge to come out. If they do the job, figuring that back into the overall cost is fair.

[CarrieOn]

Yikes…so many company to chose from.. call another, be done..

[jswirs]

Originally Posted by La lamy

Just had a nauseating phone call with Tri County Landscaping where they said they don't give free estimates. They charge $115 for it!!!! Crazy crap. Am I the only one who was told this, or have others received stupid quotes to get an estimate. Can't stop shaking my head over this.

Try Fernview Farms - 352-245-7905 They did a job for me a few years ago, reliable and reasonable.

[ChicagoNative]

We just had Jason Schmidt do some landscaping for us. They gave good guidance, service, and execution. They showed up for the initial estimate (free) on time and did the work when they said they would. With the way contractors are abusing customers these days, that’s a huge plus in my book.

Jason Schmidt Landscaping Professionals