Prime Cut Landscaping and Lawn Care

unknown

They left the area great and they completed the work very promptly. They are great; we use them for our regular service. They are going to start for us shortly as soon as a spring cleanup is needed within the next, probably, three or four weeks.

unknown

It went well. They were on time. They were very endustrious while here. They cleaned up after themselves. They came back to reseed where it didn't take.

What a nightmare. Matt was fast to return my inquiry and came by quickly to view the job but slow getting us a quote, even though I was clear from first contact that I I desperately wanted this done ASAP... He told me, on July 26, that he could do it in 2-3 weeks. I said, lets do it, but lets do it now... My biggest concern was the availability of quality plants in late July. He assured me that he could get excellent stock... No problem at all he said.... As we walked the job, on July 28th, he quoted $40-50 each for the forsythia, and $100 each for the Arbors, which we agreed would be at least 5-6 ft tall...I wanted as tall as we could get since these trees grow so slowly. We agreed on container plants to avoid the need or damage from an excavator. I wanted a fairly small root ball as this was to be a boundary plant, set very close to my neighbors walkway. I initially requested 3-5 plants, he went with 6. The estimate was $2100- $2400, which seemed really high, based on the plants we had discussed. I assumed this meant a LOT of labor, and a lot of soil.. I questioned him on this. He said it would "probably be less" if they encountered no problems like ledge. The contract was remarkably ambiguous about the price breakdown between labor and plants, but I was highly motivated and just wanted it done, and we had already discussed the price for the plants.... I thought, if you want premium work, you pay the premium price, expecting rapid, turnkey service. I signed the contract and sent him the $700 deposit on the 6th of August, the very day I received the contract. And then I waited. And then the bait and switch began... suddenly my $100 trees are $129 trees, then $150 trees but $165 trees with his markup.. Not what we discussed at all.. My confidence begins to fade, as does my trust. On August 14th, frustrated, and deeply concerned about price and quality, the challenge of finding 6 well matched trees this late in season, I send an email requesting we cancel the trees until next spring, but go ahead with the back yard. He starts arguing and berating me that they are "already dug" and I would have to pay at least $200 to replant them... Dug? What dug? I didn't approve burlap... Expressly discussed and declined burlap. I agreed to containers which can be easily cancelled or returned, so his attitude was surprising and alarming. Again I express, if you are charging top dollar, please understand I expect excellent quality. I put everything in writing, hoping against hope to avoid any misunderstandings. If I'm paying for a Lexus, you had best deliver a Lexus. I ask for an install date. He is evasive. The following week I again ask for an install date...After all, I need to schedule my time and there was no way I was going to let this guy dig before I saw the plants. He says it's all waiting on Digsafe. He tells me it will be the 22 or the 25th ( now a full month has passed since he quoted me 2 weeks) On Friday the 22, I personally call Digsafe to find out when to expect them, knowing that for a Monday job, they would have to be here on Friday. I am told they have no such job order, nor are they running behind. They ask if the yard is flagged in preparation. It was not. I email Matt to ask what gives. Again he calls back and leaves me yet another nasty message, how dare I call Digsafe, blah blah blah. Demands I quit contacting him, quit checking up on him, that he'll " get to me when he gets to me". Without question he is the rudest, most condescending, arrogant, belligerent contractor I have ever dealt with. Total Jekyll and Hyde. Pleasant until he has your money... The next contact, Tuesday August 26, he calls, leaves a VM telling me he will be here the following Monday, which was Labor Day. Not ideal, but I want it done. Surprise surprise....he does not show - no call, no text, no email. The same thing the next day. It is now September 2nd... almost 6 weeks from my initial contact. I contact Angies List for advice, hoping for a solution. Exhausted, I send another email saying lets just cancel the whole thing, return my deposit, lets go our separate ways... He adamantly refuses, saying he would absolutely not return a dime of the deposit ( contract does NOT say deposit is non refundable BTW ) that it wasn't HIS fault O'Donnels Nursery took 2 weeks to dig the plants ( I called - they deny this) it wasn't HIS fault Digsafe was slow (again - they claim they were not behind ) When I tell him I have contacted Angies List for advice, I receive yet another nasty voicemail saying it was "outrageous" that I would do something like that over something as" frivolous" as scheduling delays. He even criticizes my email communication format demanding I call him rather than write, somehow completely missing the point of a paper trail when one feels that we are not on the same page. Honestly, at that point, I did not believe he had any intention of actually doing the job, so I was shocked when he suddenly announces his intent to install the very next day. Impossible for me. No advanced notice. Then he wants the install the next day, on September 4. I had a Dr's appt that I was forced to reschedule. Incredibly unprofessional. Needless to say, the plants were not what I was expecting or hoping for. It was the worst case scenario coming true. The forsythia was thin and reedy... it looks like it was a throw away at a nursery. They do not appear to be the same as the plants they were to match and blend with. Only time will tell, as he gave me no details,documentation or care instructions on any the plants. The arbors were healthy but very small. Disappointingly small. Not the size we agreed on. Not the thickness we agreed on. Not the look I was going for. If only he had arranged for me to preview the plants, none of this needed to happen. I did not know what to do... It was an ambush install. He was very clear that if I did not let him install this crap he was going to drive off with my money and nothing would get done. He has a very snide and dismissive personality... said mere minutes ago we were having "an adult" conversation" but now that I was AGAIN expressing concern and disappointment, well, I was exasperating. I felt completely bullied and intimidated. He and his assistant convinced me to let them install everything, that the forsythia would eventually root and fill out. That they would build up a berm to raise the height of the arbors, to look taller, because NOW he finally admits that if these trees aren't good enough, we would have to wait until next spring.... but he makes it clear, I get no refund whatsoever. Every time he speaks, he says something new... I've got $800 into this, I've got $1000 into this, I've got $1500 in this.... Nothing is ever the same, nothing is the truth... And so they lined up the trees, spaced them out well, planted them upright...it looked OK from the house, until they drove off at 2 20 pm, ( they had not brought the mulch even though it was in their quote) finally moving their truck away from the front of the trees... And that's when I finally got a good look. And it was bad. They placed the trees (which looked somewhat like bushes, some as small as 4-4 1/2 ft ) a good 2 1/2 - 3 ft from the boundary. They look ridiculous. They need to be pushed over to closer to the border...I know they are going to grow. And I am willing to trim if necessary, but right now they are floating in the yard. It looks like my neighbor just got a big slice of our front yard. In fact it looks like they are my neighbors trees, not my "green fence", designed to protect me from their snow removal, their leaves, etc... All the reasons behind the install, explained to provider on initial walk through. The plants need to be moved at least 8 inches closer to the boundary, and because they are totally not OK. I immediately call Matt, who was supposedly out getting the mulch.... He starts yelling at me that he has returned the excavator, ( no one needs an excavator to move these plants 8- 10 inches) and they were only partially in the ground to boot. He said he would not move them without additional pay, which I refused. He claimed I had walked all around the plants and approved the location. I had not. ....In fact I expected them to knock on the door to consult with me before finalizing anything. Rather than move the plants, or stopping altogether until we came to an agreement, unbeknownst to me, he returned with the mulch, went ahead and put it down, deeply carved a horrible rectangular bed ( wrong) then called the police on me saying I was guilty of "theft of services", that I was refusing to pay him. OMG. At that point he hadn't even asked for payment. He called the police on ME to force me to pay him for work I told him I was not happy with. Standing on my front porch, in front of the police officer, he threatened to dig up or kill the plants if I did not pay him on the spot. Again, feeling even more hopelessly bullied then I did in the AM when he showed up with sad plants, I wrote him a check for $1000, with he threatening to sue me for the balance. Unbelievable. I now must spend more money, more time, racing against the calender to find someone to move the plants to their proper position. Even out back, he merely smoothed out the boundary, spreading soil well into my neighbors yard rather than build it up the foot or so high we discussed, building a sharp dropoff into my neighbors yard. Nothing was done in accordance with our walk through. Nothing was satisfactory. In addition, I have ordered additional forsythia, doubting these will be anywhere near OK.... This guy is an absolute nightmare. I found him dishonest, manipulative and untrustworthy. He has an attitude problem. I strongly advise you to look elsewhere.

Fast response and turn around. Crew was professional and competent.

I came home from work and was blown away at how nice my yard looked. I really had no idea it could look that good. They had done everything I knew needed to be done and so much more that I didn't even know needed to be done. For example, I have a slate walkway that I thought was about a foot and a half wide, turns out it's actually three feet wide, Matt and his team uncovered the extra feet under the overgrowth. Matt cleaned out all corners of my yard and actually made my yard look so much bigger. My dogs were thrilled to be able to go into spaces they had never been before under trees that were previously overgrown. I have a pool and they did an excellent job cleaning beds around the pool and making sure nothing ended up on the pool cover. They do my mowing as well in the summer and I can always count on them to make sure to keep lawn debris out of the pool. I can't say enough about how pleased I am with my spring cleanup and the services they provide for mowing in the summer. I appreciate the level of professionalism and respect they show my property and I recommend Prime Cut to all my friends and neighbors.

We have been happy with both lawn and plowing services. Specific to the snowplowing, they are always very timely with their plowing (arriving just at the point where I wouldn't be able to get a car through and not after, for example; and making sure I can get to work) and their attention to detail is excellent. They are also very nice people and Matt Corbeau is very responsive to all concerns. They clear the line right between the plowed area and our garage door, and they also clear our front path and access point for oil and other fuel deliveries