BENNETT LANDSCAPE INC

I would like to say that I really dislike writing negative reviews. I would like to think I could work out something with the provider of services that ends well - even if you part ways. I really feel reviews help to forewarn other consumers -- if a bad experience happens to me then perhaps others can be more aware. At least you can go in with your eyes wide open and I am supposing if you are reading this review, then you want to know what other folks have experienced. Okay so first off I really have no issues with the mowing crews that BLI (Bennett Landscaping) has. I understand they can only do what a “supervisor” tells them to do. However, when you have 3 or 4 guys on a yard that is ridiculously small (I mean postage stamp small) and your agreement with BLI started on a handshake and written maintenance agreement for chemicals, they should do so (meaning pick up the sticks that are large and throw them in the truck to take off or put them in the natural area of the back yard) instead of standing around while they finish edging and waiting on the other guys to finish up the cutting or loading the mowers on the truck. So the destruction of my lawn was not in any way created by the lawn maintenance crew. The problem with BLI and the lack of responsibility they feel about my yard is the reason I am writing this review. I had first called BLI a year before I actually hired them in order to get an estimate. I was still trying to restore the newly purchased house and had someone that was maintaining the yard (I inherited him with the property). I decided to go with BLI because of their company’s size, they were an all-in-one company and how professional they initially appeared and for what I was planning on the yard for the future. When BLI took over the yard it wasn’t perfect by any means but not at all unkempt or lacking. In February of 2020 BLI was hired to maintain the yard and also do the chemical/fertilization service. The first cutting was actually in April and the chemical service was started immediately in February after they were hired. Warm season grasses in the front yard and cool season in the back, due to shade. I had already prepped the yard and over-seeded the back -- it was beautiful fescue. I asked BLI twice to mow the fescue on a higher setting. For 3 months they mowed and treated the yard until one day I came home and noticed the front sidewalk Bermuda was spot treated for weeds - but it wasn’t the weeds that were killed it was the Bermuda (a lot of Bermuda, thankfully they didn’t spray the main front yard too much - just in some areas). I spoke to a “supervisor” and he said it was just yellowing and would be fine; I said it was dead and asked him to meet with me and look at the yard. After a couple of days I noticed a gardenia bush out back that had lost its leaves in some areas as though it had been burned. Suddenly the back yard fescue was dying at an alarming rate. I called the “supervisor Mason” who told me had had 20 years of knowledge (even though he’s somewhere in his mid-20’s) and it was a fungus and that he would only charge us $50 for fungicide. The money wasn’t important to me at all but the dying grasses were. First MASON, if it were a fungus then it was brought into my yard by your mowers! Secondly, don’t you believe that you have a responsibility to see it for yourself instead of having one of your mowing crew send you a picture (yes, I watched from the window when he took it) - funny how you didn’t address the front yard and the dead grass. A “wait and see attitude” probably only works if it isn’t your yard. I asked you to come and look at the yard and meet with me again. When a crew member and myself called you directly and say, “Hey, the yard is dying” - what did you do? You should have come out quickly when asked and you should not said, “Let’s wait and see!” Since I was told you had a new chemical person doing the spraying and that guy was no longer with you, I would think you would want to be that much more responsive. BTW when it yellows up like that after just a few hours - it’s called dead not yellowing. It’s from spraying! Okay folks, here is where you use your head. If the front grass is dead and the bush was burned and then your backyard dies – it’s called intentional, irresponsible and uncaring. The back yard is about 80% dead now and I have had to sand the front in hopes of growing back the dead Bermuda. Yes - I fired BLI and Mason! It was not a fungus - it was a bad chemical mix and their employee over sprayed and over mixed chemicals that burned my yard up! Even the mowing crew said so both times within 2 weeks. I also called in two other professional landscape companies that absolutely agreed that the dead grass was from overspray and not fungus. Please understand my grass was beautiful on June 11 and had completely died by the middle of July. ( Yes Mason, I have dated Photos also along with dated correspondence to your company on this) I would not recommend BLI to even plant flowers (which I had them do). While the flowers were nicely placed in the dirt, they didn’t do any prep work for the beds – no soil build up or additional fertilization for the new plantings. Now the guys that planted were nice enough and verified where the plants went but that was all that was done. Whatever BLI used to be, they are not any longer! Before posting this review this afternoon I actually had a conversation with Mason, the owner’s son and the “supervisor”. I was looking for a solution to this very expensive problem of replanting my yard. I asked if BLI would be willing to correct their mistake by aerating and over seeding this fall and this spring. Mason said he would not be willing to do that. Now understand, this would probably cost BLI less than $100.00. I told him I had read other reviews with other BLI customers and they had experienced the same problems. Once again I tried to reason with him and work out a solution – his response was, “I have this problem all the time.” I was taken back when he admitted that this seems to be some of the same issues with other customers and it doesn’t bother him to lose one more and possibly face legal action. Buyer beware! If you are in the Chestatee golf community area and are thinking of using a company for your small yard (after all what could it hurt??) use another company that backs up their work and doesn’t give you broken promises and an attitude when all you are trying to do is work out a reasonable solution. What could have been solved by a little effort and responsibility on the part of BLI has now turned into a very expensive problem.

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The price they charge me was reasonable.They're timely, clean and they communicated well with their customer.

They are very responsive to my requests for anything out of the ordinary. They are pricey.