C NICHOLS LANDSCAPING INC

Amazing! Definitely recommending to all family and friends looking for lawn care.

At first all seemed to be going just fine, though this did not last long. PRICE: When first hired we were told that the hourly fee was $45 an hour, per man hour. We thought that this was a tad high and mentioned it, but then were "sternly" told that Chris Nichols Landscaping (CNL) had to pay a salary to the crew, taxes, insurance, etc. We usually have no problems paying a tad more IF everything else is just fine. Also, if our bills were written out as was requested, meaning in detail, then a lot of the problems that arose would not have. Bottom line here is that when a business does not respond to calls and emails asking very specific questions then a customer not only wonders what is going on, but why, and then that customer will take things into their own hands, asking around regarding pricing, reliability,. etc. QUALITY: The quality was OK. We just received a post from CNL stating that there were no warranties on any of the plants, but isn't a 1-year warranty industry standard? Also in this post CNL states that warranties were discussed but we know for a fact that they were not. Plus, the first report of failing flora was addressed without a problem (well, other than CNL did not show up to fix the problem and we had to fix it). Here is also something that did not register with us until recently. In conversations we were told that CNL liked us because we always paid on time. The first time this was said we thought nothing of it. The second time we began to wonder why a business person would say something like this to a customer/client. After having to deal with promises of showing up, and then not (and for weeks and months this went on) we began to suspect the reason why. Now, we know that in any business there are deadbeats. but we were beginning to think that there was a reason that customers were late in paying (well maybe, since we do not have the numbers; just know of neighbors who also stopped using CNL). In May 2013 we had them begin mowing, and whatever else needs to be done when you mow, our backyard. The cost to do this? $75. At the time I said nothing as I was waiting for my husband to catch this one. All they were doing was mowing & some weed whacking the backyard. Once my husband "woke up" I called to complain about this (I know, I should have said something immediately) since CNL made it a point to remind US that we are being charged per hour. Well, I told CNL that not only did his crew do a crappy job, which they did, and I had to call and/or email numerous times about this, but no one came back out to re-mow, nor did we get a discount, AND it turned out that he had to come and show his crew how to use a blower (they kept getting dirt and dust and grime into a furnished screened-in deck area that we used a lot), so they were just down to mowing and trimming. By the way, you also do not complain about how "stupid" your crew is to a customer (man, red lights all over the place!). But there is not a lot to trim. Also, I had to call a few times to let CNL know that the guys were not here for more than 20 minutes, a 3rd guy was not here, though CNL claims that a 3rd guy was here to weed as was told to hubby (at first we gave CNL the benefit of the doubt that maybe his crew was lying to him), but we only saw a 3rd guy 2 times, so CNL agreed to lower the price after much grousing on my part (if you think about it; 2 guys, 20 minutes, which is 1/3 of an hour, 1/3 of $45 is $15, times 2....and we still are overpaying!). He did give us a full refund on the difference because, and I quote, he wanted to keep us as customers (because we paid on time). So we asked friends and neighbors what they paid to get an ENTIRE acre mowed and trimmed, etc. and we were still overpaying! We stopped this service not because of the price but because we knew that unless CNL was here to supervise the crew would continue doing a crappy job mowing, AND continue to make a mess in our screened-in-deck room. RESPONSIVENESS: The first signs of trouble occurred a month or so after the Leyland Cypress trees were planted. During a storm one of the trees totally came out of the ground. It had not been staked properly. In fact, one of the stakes for this tree was crammed through the actual root ball of the tree. We called CNL to come and fix, as we only got it back into the hole, packed some mulch and dirt around it, and then tied it to the fence. After a week and CNL still had not come to fix this we had to go out and replant the tree. We also began to notice that each time we had a concern or complaint we were ignored. (If we did not know any better we would have thought CNL wanted to get fired, and this was back in 2012). A list of (detailed) jobs was sent to CNL, and numerous times, as things were not getting done in a timely manner. (which then meant he lost some jobs, which I am sure did not help matters either) For example, CNL was supposed to come out and aerate the lawn, as well as weed and feed the lawn. He did do this in the spring and the backyard looked great, but during the summer the work was not done, so now the backyard is back to looking awful. All we heard was a lot of complaining, to the point of whining, about why the work was not getting done. Again, as a business professional you do not whine to your customers about why jobs are not getting done in a timely manner. You find a way to get the work done, and if you cannot get to it then you contact your customer to let them know that there will be a delay. You do not ignore your customers (with the hope that they eventually will shut up????). Now, had CNL done what needed to be done AND when it needed to be done, again, most of the problems that arose would not have occurred. Also, whenever we mentioned some problem or issue it seemed that he had the exact problem on his property. Or his other customers did (FYI: CNL used to have a lot of signs in our neighborhood, which was why we initially hired him, but we do not see as many signs anymore.) PUNCTUALITY: Again, if you tell a customer that you will be there to do work then be there. If not, then let them know in a timely manner. And CNL is really bad about communicating. There were times when we were talking in person and I was trying to tell him about some problems, but could barely get a word in edgewise as I kept being told about ALL of the work they had done, how well they had done it, etc. There were at least 3 of these conversations. I then switched to emails. I also got tired of hearing about all of CNL's problems and excuses, and during one phone conversation told him that I could not do this anymore. PROFESSIONALISM: Totally lacking. For one, all of the yard/landscape pros that have worked here in the last 2 decades none have charged by the hour but by the job. I once did ask about this, especially the day a worker was here and of the 7 times I happened to walk by a window and look out 4 of those times all I saw was this worker wandering about or sitting, doing nothing. He arrived at 8 am and left at 2:15 pm and we were charged for 6.5 hours (since when do we pay for hour-long lunch breaks? And no, we are not ogres. Stopping to rest every now and then, and eat your lunch in a timely manner we figure is worked out somewhere down the line). By 1 pm I was wondering why the guy was here, so I called CNL. I was "sternly" told that the guy was probably on his lunch hour. After a letter sent to CNL about this we got a credit of 2 man hours. But why must we have to call almost every single time they are out here because of a crappy job or a worker standing around, or sitting in a truck, for long periods of time? And what company shows up to mow BEFORE 7 am? I brought this issue up with CNL since there are noise ordinances in place, but it went ignored (like a lot of what was said to him). After the 2nd time of being here before 7 am and I complained again they began to show up right at 7, or a wee after, and of course were gone by 7:20. And yes, we began to keep track of when his crew arrived, how many guys were here, and how long they were here. Again, because CNL does not communicate well things just escalated and got worse. For example, we were told to water new plants for 2-3 weeks to get established (he states in his last email that it is our fault the plants died, but we did water them just as he instructed). But here is something to think about (in regards to the skip laurel shrubs planted somewhat on a hill and in total shade): A landscape PROFESSIONAL should know that anything planted in this particular location would most likely not survive. In his post to us he states that he did tell us this, but I have a record that in fact it was us who asked him about this. It was us who insisted on plants that would require little to no care once established, and it was us who had concerns about not only the skip laurels that were planted under a thick canopy of trees, but also the leyland cypress trees and whether or not they would get enough sun. We are not the pros, CNL is. Bottom line: Once it got bad and he was not even responding to emails we began to get frustrated and upset. Should we also file a complaint with the BBB? Anyway, had he done what he said he would do when he said he would do it, respond in a timely manner, and all of our bills were written down correctly (many were not) there would not have been any problems. Tthis all really went downhill with the skip laurel bill when we saw how much we paid per plant (as it turns out CNL stated in his last post that the bill was written down incorrectly; so yet another bill written down wrong, or maybe just a business owner trying to cover his own backside?). So, in our opinion, CNL is very unprofessional, and being so caused CNL to lose a customer who paid on time.