[bluedog103]

I hired my first landscaper since buying in TV last year. What a joke.
Quality Landscapes had done a very large job for a neighbor and it came out nice. I got a decent price from them for a small job so decided to hire them. He wanted money upfront, which should have been a warning sign. I felt sorry for him so agreed to pay part upfront.
He said he had to pick up material this morning and he'd be over around 10 A.M. to get started. He arrived around 11 A.M. When I went out later to check on the progress I found he was taking shortcuts with landscape fabric, leaving large areas uncovered. I asked him to fix it and install it as he had agreed to do. He said he would. Later I found that rather than fix those areas he just spread mulch over them to cover up the areas where he had shorted me. I told him he had to fix it and he agreed.
Then he ran out of landscape fabric and said he was running low on mulch. He had to go for more supplies, which he said would cost me another $60. I wasn't happy with this but didn't want the job half finished so I agreed to pay the extra. He left and returned a little over an hour later with the supplies. He worked for about a half hour and again ran out of landscape fabric. By now I was more than a little p*****. He said he had to go for supplies again and had no money and needed gas for his truck. He said he needed another $20. I gave him the $20 but that wasn't enough. He said he needed the extra $60 I had agreed to pay him as well. Again, just wanting to get the job done I paid him what he wanted and off he went. I didn't trust him to return and he agreed to leave his tools and trailer as collateral. This was about 2:30 P.M. He called me around 4:45 and apoligized for being gone so long. Said they decided to have lunch and that he'd be at my house in 1/2 hour. I waited an hour and called him to see where he was. Now he said his wife got stuck at the laundramat and he had to go get her. He said he was almost at my house. Finally a little after 6 P.M. he returned with his helper and finally got the job completed after dark, working by a flashlight I held for them.
Then, just before he left he said when I got ready to do some more work he'd take 10% off the next job. I don't think so. This was an aggravating day. The owner lied to me, tried to cheat me, and then tried to pretend everything was great.
Never again. I hope to never, ever see Quality Landscapes again. If you're considering using them, beware. The quality may not be there after all. If you do use them, get everything in writing and don't give them anything upfront. Then be prepared to supervise everything they do.

[Bryan]

You made a few bad decisions. Paying upfront was the biggest. You didn't say but I'll bet there was no written contract so you let him get away with "upselling" you on additional supplies. On the plus side, you did your due diligence and watched him work very carefully. You made sure it was done correctly (at some aggravating extra cost, but at least done right), and holding his tools probably saved your bacon at the end, causing him to return to finish. It just serves as a warning to the rest of us - be careful, be smart, and be proactive.

[Talk Host]

Did you ask them if they were insured? A landscaper (not the one in this thread) caused $11,500 damage to my driveway with a forklift. I asked him ahead of time if he was insured. He was.

He turned in a claim and the insurance company made the repairs.

What would have happened if they had not been insured, if I had not asked.

[bluedog103]

Originally Posted by Talk Host

Did you ask them if they were insured? A landscaper (not the one in this thread) caused $11,500 damage to my driveway with a forklift. I asked him ahead of time if he was insured. He was.

He turned in a claim and the insurance company made the repairs.

What would have happened if they had not been insured, if I had not asked.

I did ask if he was insured and he said he was. I did not ask to see his documents though so, in retrospect, he probably was lying about that too.
I absolutely made a number of dumb mistakes, things I don't usually do. I actually chastise people who do the same things I did. It was a bad experience and these acts of poor judgement will not be made again.
Thanks for the input.