HAZELTINE NURSERIES INC

I have lived in Englewood 30 years and this was my 1st and last experience with Hazeltine Nurseries. The first time we went in Oct. my husband and I enjoyed half a day there during their autumn/fall festival weekend. Everyone was super-nice and helpful, after all...we did make a sizeable purchase. It was even suggested by a manager that I mention them on Facebook, so I posted their photo and sang their praises. When I returned today to make an exchange and additional purchases, I was told in no uncertain terms Hazeltine items are sold AS IS. No refunds. No exchanges. No exceptions. Period. I even showed my receipt and was told it didn't make a difference. OK. Your business, your policy. No problem. I picked up my half-dead plant, informed them they lost a really good customer and left. Even Wal-Mart and Home Depot guarantee any live plants for one year with a receipt! I was very disappointed Hazeltine's won't stand behind their products. I would have enjoyed a continued relationship with the company.

After using Hazeltine for several years, we finally had enough and changed providers. First of all, their prices were always substantially above the market. Second, their response time was extremely slow to non-existent. We would call, they would say we'll be there next Tuesday, and then never show up. It was like pulling teeth. And since they required 50% down upfront, and were extremely slow to show up, I became very nervous about the situation. When we had problems with our finished landscaping, once again it took ages for them to show up, and several shows to get it right. Virtually no one on the crew could speak english. We switched to a new landscaper who responds quickly, does just as good if not better work, bills us when the job is finished, and costs 30% to 40% less.

First meeting September 13, 2011 with designer/salesperson and landscaping not completed until December 22nd. Finally received plan/contract November 8. Revised to eliminate turf that I was going to have installed and signed the revised contract on November 10 mailing it with the required 50% down. I was told that the project would be installed within 2 to 3 weeks. I called over this time frame numerous times trying to find out when they would be out to do the work. Most of the times I called I would not receive a phone call back! I would let another week go by and try again with the same result! Then I was told around Thanksgiving time that they would be at the house December 6. I was away for Thanksgiving but drove home to arrive for December 6. No call to confirm and they did not show up. I finally called them once again only to find out that the "project manager", Mr. Montgomery, seemed to know nothing about the project being scheduled for December 6. He indicated he wouldn't be able to do the work for several weeks...no apologies given. And once again, no phone call to let me know exactly when they would be coming and no return calls when I would leave messages. I finally called Mr. Hazeltine, the owner, and told him what had transpired over three months. I then received a phone call the next day from the project manager saying they would be arriving December 22nd at 9a.m. and he would drop by to oversee the project. (He never showed up) The "crew" arrived at 10:30am....1 1/2 hours late. The leader, and the only person that seemed to speak English, did not know he was to remove a palm tree, did not know that he was to make a separate bed for a gardenia plant. Later I also realized that he did not spread a pre-emergence over the soil that was brought for the beds and within a week they were all full of weeds! Each morning I would spend about an hour pulling weeds. (This was finally rectified in February). The crew's "leader" then announced around 4:30 pm he had to take his crew and go to another job without finishing my landscaping that day. (If he had arrived at 9:00 a.m. as they were suppose to they would have been finished with my job and able to go to his next job in plenty of time before sunset.) I had to be firm that I wanted the landscaping done that day. He reluctantly stayed and finished. There was never a follow up by the project manager to see if I was happy with the job. Although, the salesperson called a week or so after to check. I had also contracted with them to install a pergola. I will rate that "project" in a separate Angie's List report. It didn't go well either. The plants all seemed to be in ok condition except the Bird of Paradise which from day one appeared scraggly and in poor shape. (A plant that cost me $148.00) The final straw on the landscaping came when a crew showed up without a phone call, appointment or prior notice with two RED bougainvillia (I had ordered "Miami PINK" back in September) planted them in the wrong places and were about to leave when I arrived home. I asked them to return them to the nursery. I called Hazeltine Nursery and asked they remove the Bird of Paradise (that still appeared unhealthy) and cancel the order for the" Miami Pink" bougainvillia and credit my bill for them and the Bird of Paradise that I was returning. I did not want to go through the agonizing time to get replacements for these plants as I had with all of the other dealings I had had with them for the prior 3 months. The final problem came with the bill. They sent me two invoices. One for the balance owed and another showing the credit I would receive for the three plants. I subtracted one from the other and sent the payment within a week. Then I received a call from their billing department saying that I still owed money and that it must have been "confusing" the way the accountant had sent two invoices! Needless to say, I wanted to scream! Synopsis: MAJOR lack of communications...not only with their customer but within their own company between sales and project manager and between project manager and landscaping crew. No follow through or follow up ever. I felt that I payed top dollar and I had expected a well run company that did what they said they were going to do and be courteous by keeping the customer informed. Instead I was confronted with a series of frustrating and try-your-patience episodes that lead me to realize I had made a horrible mistake in hiring the Hazeltine Nursery of Venice.

Design and installation went according to plan, and schedule and budget. On-going maintenance has been challenging -- not everything is addresssed when it should be. But the crew is trained and its probably the best we can do, and therefore expect, for now. Very nice people....... expensive -- lots of overhead a/w running the business.