The Productive Earth

it went very well. There were a couple of weather related delays (there was a brutal heat wave in the middle of the project), but that's understandable for any outdoor project. Part of what was so nice is that he had given us such a complete breakdown at the beginning that we chose to do most of the hedge removal ourselves, because we knew what the cost savings for our labor would be. The job completed in close to the original time estimates and on target for the pricing. The final result is a very attractive retaining wall 3' high around 2 edges of the property, with a secondary wall set back to allow a dedicated planting space that we've used to good advantage this year to grow lots of produce.

We found Ansu through Craigslist. Landscaping project--sod front lawn, put in a tree. Day of appointment for estimate, he canceled, but then came out a few days later. He seemed very meticulous, and a nice young guy. Produced a very thorough, thoughtful and professional estimate for us. We arranged for him to stop by our house with the contract once we?d settled on a plan. I couldn?t make it that night because I was kept late at work, and asked him to leave it behind with my wife so I could look at it later. This is where things got a little weird?he seemed to become suspicious about this. He said he didn?t want to leave the contract, because he had already signed it, and worried that we would make a change to it that would then bind him to do something he didn?t want to do. I didn?t think this made a lot of sense. I suggested he cross out his signature and leave it with us, if he was concerned, and that?s what he did. I later accepted the terms by e-mail. Since I missed the meeting, I offered to send the contract by e-mail and the down payment on the job by Paypal. He agreed, and I sent him the deposit right away. I then forgot to send him the signed contract on a particular date. To Ansu, this was some sort of ultimatum apparently, and Friday morning when he was to buy materials to begin the job on the following Monday (a date he?d already put back once), he instead up and returned our deposit electronically and canceled the job with a ?sorry we could not do business? even thought we were in fact doing business?sort of a screw you. Given the amount we?d communicated, the fact the deposit had changed hands, we were already agreed, had a start date, this was kind of stunning?the notion that he would do this without calling up and saying this is what I think I?m going to do first is just bizarre. Anyway, I sent him the signed contract the moment I got his e-mail, a few hours later, and practically begged him to reconsider?I was in the midst of this crazy whirlwind at my own job I explained?since we?d invested a month in setting it up, and I liked him and we had very much wanted the job done early this month. He seemed suspicious and hostile in e-mail (wouldn?t answer my call), saying I?d made his company wait too long for the ?signature? it required (although he already had the deposit and substantial e-mails evidencing our agreement), the four hours or so we were past his deadline (which I really hadn?t been conscious of) put an intolerable strain on his business, that sort of thing, as if Zijan Landscaping were Haliburton, and we were not in fact people on a first name basis, one of whom wanted to shell out $ to the other! Seemed rigid and supersititous about the contract issue, and had no problem leaving us in the lurch the day before he was to begin work.