Kentucky Lawn Care

Got a Groupon for lawn work, I called to make an appointment they said they would be there on Monday. On Monday they didn't show up. Called again the guy on the phone thought they had been there. I was home all day and they never showed up. also he said they would be there on Thursday....once again they didn't show up. Thank goodness Groupon refunded my money.

The Kentucky Lawn Care website advertises the following: ---Topsoil is "Shredded for easier handwork.", and displays a photo of what looks like good quality topsoil. ---Their FAQ section states, "One truckload holds 2 cubic yards of material which is enough to cover 200 square feet at approximately 3 inches deep." ---Their online calculator states, "One truckload covers over 220 Square Feet (2 CY) at approximately 3 inches deep." (Note there is a 20 sq. ft. discrepancy in their two descriptions of 2 cubic yards.) --- "100% Satisfaction Guaranteed". "The Kentucky Lawn Care Guarantee ? the best landscaping material delivered and installed at your property, on time at a fraction of the cost of retail." ---Displays the "BBB Accredited Business" logo. Refer to my photos ? their "truckload" of topsoil was delivered on a landscaping trailer. Hmmm. I commented to one of the two deliverymen that it looked like this was about half the amount I ordered and paid for. He simply said, "This is what they gave us". I told the deliverymen I would call the office later to discuss my concerns about the quantity delivered. I asked them to go ahead and spread it along both sides of the driveway and along one side of the new sidewalk. I asked that they leave any remaining soil in the grass strip by the street. I also had a contractor onsite who was preparing a quote for a retaining wall I was considering for the backyard. I was in the backyard with this contractor while the soil was getting installed out front. Before the soil deliverymen left, one of them came to my back gate to say they were done. I thanked him for their work. He then said, "I'm sorry about the clots; we tried to break them up but couldn't." Hmmm. After the contractor and I finished our discussion in the backyard about the retaining wall, we returned to the front of the house and he left. It didn't surprise me to see that there was no soil left over in the grass strip. I then went to work on the clots. Refer to my photos. I would expect topsoil to contain some clumps, but this soil was filled with hard clots of clay. It was heavy and pale brown in color ? not at all what is pictured on their website. The clots would not break apart even when placed on the drive and struck forcefully with the side edge of a metal hard rake! Each side of my driveway is 16 ft long for a total of 32 ft, and the one side of the sidewalk that I needed backfilled is 57 ft long. The new concrete is 4 inches thick and the width of the strips along the edges that needed backfill varied from 6-14 inches wide. This equates to 89 linear ft X an average width of 12 inches X 4 inches deep. For these areas, the conversion calculations called for 1.1 cubic yards or 0.3 tons. I planned to use the balance of the 2 cubic yards to fill in some low spots in the grass strip by the street. While researching how much I would need, I found various soil calculators online that estimate ONE cubic yard of topsoil should weigh between 1700 lbs to just over 2000 lbs, depending upon outside temperature and water content, and cover approximately the same amount of square footage as stated on the Kentucky Lawn Care website. So TWO cubic yards should weigh between 3400 and 4000 lbs. I then called the office and spoke with Julius. I asked if I could come take a look at their topsoil. He said their materials were not located where their office is located. I said that's OK, I don't mind driving to wherever it is stored. He refused to tell me where it was located. I then identified myself and voiced my concerns about the quantity and quality of the soil they had just delivered to my home. He insisted they had sent me 2 cubic yards. I asked if they had weighed the load before it was sent out. He said, "Yes, it weighed 1970.85 lbs." I commented this equates to about one cubic yard and I paid for 2 cubic yards. As I defended my position, Julius was rude and argumentative. I asked for either a refund or a second delivery of topsoil such as described and pictured on their website. He would not agree to a refund but he did finally agree to make another delivery at no additional charge. (Note that a few weeks previous to this, Kentucky Lawn Care had provided me with a written quote to perform a rejuvenation of my front lawn including re-seeding. Needless to say, I had now changed my mind about having them re-work my lawn.) I followed up my conversation with Julius with an email addressed to whom ever the owner is. I included quotes from various other soil retailer websites including definitions of the volume and weight of 2 cubic yards of topsoil. I also communicated my expectation that the next delivery would be as advertised ? workable by hand and free of clay clots. I also mentioned that their website displays the proprietary "BBB Accredited Business" logo and that I had confirmed with the BBB that they are NOT an accredited business. Refer to my photos including a July 22nd screenshot of one of their web pages that displayed the BBB logo. I received a very rude email reply on July 23rd from Dean Means who identified himself as the owner. He felt I had insulted his manager and deliverymen when I insisted upon receiving the topsoil as described on their website! Among other things, he stated: "The Better Business Bureau contacted me at my personal residence to ask if Kentucky Lawn Care would like to become BBB accredited business dozens of times within that last two years alone. I spoke with others within the company and we are moving forth with that offer. The logos became added when this information was passed to our web developer. The webmaster went ahead and added the logos July 20, 2011 as the site was due for an update. In order to cut cost and bring the layout up to date the web developer decided to go ahead and add the logos while the process is completed sometime early next week." He went on to say, "The Top soil states it is shredded in which it is. The soil is sent though a machine which grinds it. That is what we are stating by saying shredded top soil. You purchased shredded dirt. This material was never claimed to be guaranteed nor do we state that it will be free from clumps. No refund will be issued to you. Once this last load is delivered we do not wish to continue business services with you in any form in the future. If clumps are in the material please ask the delivery team to break up or remove the clumps upon delivery. Also we will note this on the delivery sheet." The following Tuesday I returned home from work to find that Kentucky Lawn Care had made a second delivery of about one cubic yard of soil to the grass strip by the street ? again heavy, pale brown in color, and full of clay clots! Within the next couple of weeks, the contractor I hired to build the retaining wall also performed a front lawn tear out including re-grading, topsoil dressing, and re-seeding. He re-seeded the entire lawn as well as the areas around the drive, sidewalk, and grass strip by the street that contained the soil delivered by Kentucky Lawn Care. Approximately 10-20% of the grass seed sown in the soil delivered by Kentucky Lawn Care germinated. Conversely, 85-95% of the seed sown in the topsoil delivered by the other contractor germinated. The Kentucky Lawn Care website no longer displays the BBB logo. On August 26th I confirmed with the advertising manager of the Bluegrass chapter of the BBB that Kentucky Lawn Care has not joined the BBB. In the morning on August 26th I again emailed Kentucky Lawn Care citing the seed germination results, and asked for a full refund per their "100% Satisfaction Guaranteed" promise. I stated I was prepared to share my experience with the BBB and Angie's List if I did not receive a full refund by 3pm that day. To date, I have not received their refund.