[Villageswimmer]

Ok. IMO an AD should be identified as an AD. To me, this approach seems a bit disingenuous. Just MHO.

[Mansfield Landscaping]

In the past we encouraged our customers to post their reviews on TOTV and I know it will come as a surprise to the posters here, but their choice of landscaping options were ridiculed and the number of posts were questioned.

We didn't feel it was right that our customers should have any confrontations because they posted on this site. We made it clear that from that point on, we would post for them.

Many of them gladly give their names and address if you would like to talk to them. If you want to know how much or wish to tell them you don't like the tree they picked or the way they chose to place their plants, you are welcome to go to them face to face and tell them.


As to our posting on TOTV, we pay for the right to do so. While I realize some people clearly don't care for it, from the feedback we get, far more people appreciate it.


Thank you,
Mansfield Landscaping

[graciegirl]

Advertising tenet number 1.

Keep the good will of potential clients.


Never criticize, condemn or complain. Dale Carnegie

We may be old but we're not stupid. Gracie

[shcisamax]

Originally Posted by naneiben

Ok. IMO an AD should be identified as an AD. To me, this approach seems a bit disingenuous. Just MHO.

There is lots of soft sell these days on television through infomercials, on social media, etc.. You can see the Mansfield Landscaping in bright red letters at the top of the post showing they are the original poster. As an advertiser, tt is their prerogative and their marketing strategy to inundate TOTV constantly with these testimonials and lovely photos hoping to be the household name like Kleenex or Tylenol. Just as it is their prerogative, it is everyone's option to click that little button and look at the post.

[Uptown Girl]

Originally Posted by Russ_Boston

I was given a complete layout of my yard with every plant and every size plant that would be placed with an exact finished price. I then shopped that to others and went with the original person. The only one who didn't want to work that way was Mansfield.

I know that Village Palms will not 'work that way'. Fairfield Farms won't either, in my experience.

It takes focus, time and effort to come out and look at a property, work with a potential client's 'wish list' and budget and design a layout, then present it to you and spend more time tweaking it, should you desire.
Most places are not going to do all that for you free of charge, then let you walk away with the schematic..... to shop it around or to do the work yourself with their design.
I wouldn't do it either, unless I was a landscape architect and you paid me for my custom design. Then it would be yours fairly, to do with as you please.

[graciegirl]

Originally Posted by Uptown Girl

I know that Village Palms will not 'work that way'. Fairfield Farms won't either, in my experience.

It takes focus, time and effort to come out and look at a property, work with a potential client's 'wish list' and budget and design a layout, then present it to you and spend more time tweaking it, should you desire.
Most places are not going to do all that for you free of charge, then let you walk away with the schematic..... to shop it around or to do the work yourself with their design.
I wouldn't do it either, unless I was a landscape architect and you paid me for my custom design. Then it would be yours fairly, to do with as you please.

That makes very good sense. I am beginning to see what you meant.

[angiefox10]

Originally Posted by Uptown Girl

Actually, that is how WE started shopping. We began with wanting a palm tree ONLY.
I knew nothing about palms when we first moved here- just that I admired them and I wanted good info before investing.

Our first step was to visit nurseries that offered a large selection. We picked a few out and asked for pricing on those specific specimens.
Every nursery we visited (we picked five) addressed exactly what we asked- including Mansfield.

We got no hard sell from any of the nurseries. All we spoke to were helpful and friendly and all the nurseries were very well kept.

I found them all very comparable in product price (apples to apples) delivery and installation, but we DID discover that the guarantee/warrantee varied a bit from nursery to nursery.

In the end, we chose a palm from Village Palms- we liked the guarantee they offered and they happened to have the particular specimen that we liked the best.

I was so impressed with their service in delivery, the manner of the guys working to install and the care they took - plus the detailed instruction care sheet they left for me, that when we were ready to complete our landscaping, we visited a list of some of their other customer jobs, and chose to hire them again, rather than shopping around.

Did we get the cheapest price? Probably not. Did we get thorough care, knowledgeable design, excellent quality of plants and impeccable installation?
You betcha. THAT's what we paid for.

I agree with you.... Go to the nurseries and check out their palms. You can easily get a price for the palms at each nursery and discuss what you want to to add to your landscaping and know what it will cost. You can look at the plants and see how healthy they are as well as get an idea of what they will look like in your "master plan".

[KathieI]

Originally Posted by Uptown Girl

I know that Village Palms will not 'work that way'. Fairfield Farms won't either, in my experience.

It takes focus, time and effort to come out and look at a property, work with a potential client's 'wish list' and budget and design a layout, then present it to you and spend more time tweaking it, should you desire.
Most places are not going to do all that for you free of charge, then let you walk away with the schematic..... to shop it around or to do the work yourself with their design.
I wouldn't do it either, unless I was a landscape architect and you paid me for my custom design. Then it would be yours fairly, to do with as you please.

Exactly, you said it much better than I would. It is very unethical to take someone else's design that they have spent time on and shop it around. I would NEVER do that. Being a purchasing/design person for many years, I never shopped another supplier's design to get a lower price, it was extremely unfair. If I wanted a design to shop around, I designed it myself in a layout or model and then I felt I was totally fair to my vendors.
Mansfield wasn't my first landscaper I used. I actually went through 2 others who went out of business, but what Steve and I do is a work in process. Its been a 5 year relationship and he knows what my budget always is and we work together to an agreeable, affordable design. We are now working on another phase and he totally understands what I need, we talk the same language.

It is also very confusing to me that some people want guarantees on landscaping trees and shrubs?? I've been landscaping houses for 30+ years with my husband in LA and we never asked one nursery for a guarantee, there are too many "acts of God" that could cause something to die, especially if you don't water it adequately once it is planted.... Please help me understand this request. Thanks,

[Uptown Girl]

Occasionally a palm can have a virus that is not immediately detectable. Some of these viruses are new to our area, just beginning to show up in Central Florida. Lethal yellowing disease is a virus, the Sago Palms are showing another that so far, is unique to Sagos only...... but not all Sagos are affected, and they don't quite know how the Sagos get it. There is no hope if your Sago gets the virus, and no way to test or treat ahead of time. It may look beautiful at the start.

So, for that reason, many good landscapers offer a limited guarantee.
As I said, it varies in terms and length of time it's good for. A nice thing to offer.
As far as the other plants are concerned, I don't believe there is a standard guarantee, but I have many neighbors who have had an occasional plant fail within the first year.
Their landscapers (almost all) came and replaced those plants, without question and in timely fashion. That's good service and good will. I never had that experience personally here, as all my plants have thrived, but I have no doubt my landscaper would have done the same for us.

Up North, it was always standard procedure to give a one year guarantee on any (retail) landscape plant purchased from a legitimate nursery, with the dated receipt of purchase presented along with the dead plant- no questions asked. They did keep a record of the return though, so as not to be abused by brown thumb gardeners, reserving the right to limit the number of returns per customer.
I don't see that as a standard procedure here, but SO much more volume is planted, that I am sure it wouldn't be realistic or cost effective to offer or expect that in our area.

[angiefox10]

Originally Posted by Uptown Girl

Occasionally a palm can have a virus that is not immediately detectable. Some of these viruses are new to our area, just beginning to show up in Central Florida. Lethal yellowing disease is a virus, the Sago Palms are showing another that so far, is unique to Sagos only...... but not all Sagos are affected, and they don't quite know how the Sagos get it. There is no hope if your Sago gets the virus, and no way to test or treat ahead of time. It may look beautiful at the start.

So, for that reason, many good landscapers offer a limited guarantee.
As I said, it varies in terms and length of time it's good for. A nice thing to offer.
As far as the other plants are concerned, I don't believe there is a standard guarantee, but I have many neighbors who have had an occasional plant fail within the first year.
Their landscapers (almost all) came and replaced those plants, without question and in timely fashion. That's good service and good will. I never had that experience personally here, as all my plants have thrived, but I have no doubt my landscaper would have done the same for us.

Up North, it was always standard procedure to give a one year guarantee on any (retail) landscape plant purchased from a legitimate nursery, with the dated receipt of purchase presented along with the dead plant- no questions asked. They did keep a record of the return though, so as not to be abused by brown thumb gardeners, reserving the right to limit the number of returns per customer.
I don't see that as a standard procedure here, but SO much more volume is planted, that I am sure it wouldn't be realistic or cost effective to offer or expect that in our area.

I don't know about all the landscapers. I know that Mansfield, Village Palms, Jamie, KGL and Ron's Landscaping stand behind their palms. I've talked their customers and have been told they have all come back to change out plants for various reasons. For me.... Standing behind your work is important.... I don't just want a palm put in my yard.... I want someone who will be there if something goes wrong with it.

[jimbo2012]

All the big retailers give plants & Palms a one year, HD, Lowes even Walmart.

They have no idea if you watered or planted it right.

[bkcunningham1]

Originally Posted by Mansfield Landscaping

In the past we encouraged our customers to post their reviews on TOTV and I know it will come as a surprise to the posters here, but their choice of landscaping options were ridiculed and the number of posts were questioned.

We didn't feel it was right that our customers should have any confrontations because they posted on this site. We made it clear that from that point on, we would post for them.

Many of them gladly give their names and address if you would like to talk to them. If you want to know how much or wish to tell them you don't like the tree they picked or the way they chose to place their plants, you are welcome to go to them face to face and tell them.


As to our posting on TOTV, we pay for the right to do so. While I realize some people clearly don't care for it, from the feedback we get, far more people appreciate it.


Thank you,
Mansfield Landscaping

I appreciate your posts. I think you do a remarkable job. I love the style of your posts and the testimonials you post for your clients. Keep up the good work and thank you for paying to advertise on this site.

[jhrc4]

Since the post was looking for an opinion or two here is mine.
a) The Palm from both angles appears to be leaning forward (Not) straight.
b) The said Palm looks to large for that area..could be mistaken would like to see a photo from distance.
c) Request from some individuals for the cost of this project were Ignored,,OK so here is another request, How Much was this project ?? please give details.
d) Does Mansfield Landscaping require a deposit ? If so how much.
e) All this is a simple critique,and requests.
Lastly this landscaping project the customer appears satisfied,however the photo's do not show the extent of the project so while I await your reply for my requests I would like to see additional photographs..so I can really understand the cost and effort put into this project. Thanks in advance.

[Russ_Boston]

1. I didn't start out by thinking I was going to shop a design around. But my landscaper said "go ahead - try and have someone else build this for you for less". And btw that price for me included almost all new rerouted irrigation since my new pool and lanai messed up the original design. The price also included all new stone mulch for all landscape areas including my original.

2. The landscaper gave me one year on all plants to thrive. I only had to have him replace 1 plant in that time.

3. I didn't have any hardscape included so it wasn't TOO much for the project (5 large palms, 100+ other plants around the pool and two new islands). New rock mulch and new irrigation.

4. for a price that no one, no one, even came close to. It was a no brainer.

The only drawback is that the landscaper doesn't do a lot of work in TV (he is out of Orlando) so I had to put a little faith into his work. But he accepted small token dollars until the work was done. He was recommended by my pool company - All Seasons.

And no I won't give out his name or company since he doesn't want to do work inside TV any longer due to the travel involved and he has plenty of work near Orlando.

Mansfield does some great work. But for me $ was a main concern. Heck I still work for a living

And to those of you who say that you'd never shop around a design from someone else - I'll bet you've done it many times - for example when you buy a car you go in person to a dealer (or online) and spend countless time talking to someone about exactly what you want, get a price, then shop that price elsewhere. Right? So if you don't buy from the original sales guy you wasted all of their time. Didn't you? Or you get an insurance guy to come to your house and try and talk you into a deal only to go online and find the same deal cheaper. The point is that if someone is confident in their landscape design they have no problems telling you exactly what going to be included and exactly how much it will cost and exactly how much they stand behind their work. No different than any other good service company.

[er9027]

Originally Posted by Mansfield Landscaping

In the past we encouraged our customers to post their reviews on TOTV and I know it will come as a surprise to the posters here, but their choice of landscaping options were ridiculed and the number of posts were questioned.

We didn't feel it was right that our customers should have any confrontations because they posted on this site. We made it clear that from that point on, we would post for them.

Many of them gladly give their names and address if you would like to talk to them. If you want to know how much or wish to tell them you don't like the tree they picked or the way they chose to place their plants, you are welcome to go to them face to face and tell them.


As to our posting on TOTV, we pay for the right to do so. While I realize some people clearly don't care for it, from the feedback we get, far more people appreciate it.


Thank you,
Mansfield Landscaping

I agree!!! Enuf said. Looks Nice