James Sanders Nursery

In a 3 week period, we called 6 times. They have NEVER responded. IF they were to ever call, we would NOT do business with them. Apparently they aren't interested in, what we believe would have been a $1500 job, so they aren't worth my time any longer.

We asked Sanders Nursery to help us tame the outdated, overgrown landscaping we inherited in our new-to-us-home. I'm a Master Gardener, but age and infirmity prevent us from doing big tasks ourselves. Someone came out fairly quickly and walked through the front and back yards (about 2/3 of an acre), taking notes, and was, I thought, pretty knowledgeable about plants, views, maintenance, etc. He listened more than talked, which I liked. (And I was not dictating very much -- we're not from this region and although I have experience in the garden, it's not in this zone with these plants and climate. I really wanted a dialogue and thought he would be just right for that relationship.) He said he'd draw up a plan, because we would have to budget this service, and it would have to be staged to time major prunings, replantings, etc., by what was best for the plants. We made it clear that we intended to establish a long-term relationship for maintenance and tasks we cannot manage. We didn't hear back for more than three months, in spite of sending emails and leaving voice mail messages, and we'd lost the early spring window we were aiming for; we knew the yard would look pretty bad with so much overgrowth if something were not done soon. Not happy about that, we called again, he came out again, we reviewed the earlier conversation, and more details were added to or deleted from the "plan" discussion. Once again, there was no follow-up from them at all. To be fair, I did not say anything about our unhappiness to date, nor did I ask specific questions about when we would receive an estimate or a plan. I'm just not used to having to beg a business for their business, I guess. Never did this company representative indicate that Sanders was too busy to work on our landscaping, uninterested in the project, or unhappy that it would have to occur in phases. We never did find out what they might have charged. They just didn't follow up at all. I'm willing to work with a company's schedule, but I'm not going to chase them to spend my money with them. And I did call Sanders because a co-worker recommended them and they appeared on Angie's List, so I don't know what happened. Is that person still with Sanders? I don't know and I'm not going to bother to ask. Does asking for an estimate -- twice -- and leaving lots of messages make me less of a customer than someone for whom work has been performed? This fall, I kept searching the Internet for suggestions, and called another service to do front yard work before winter; our home was an embarrassment because Sanders didn't follow through. They responded quickly, their prices were fair, they showed up when promised, were amenable to minor changes in the plan, and cleaned up beautifully. Couldn't be happier with the new company, and after they come out again this spring, if the experience is just as positive, I'll be recommending them on the list.

I brought in a sample of my soil and then they tell you what to by. I didn't have to have anyone come out and it didn't cost me as much.