Allen Outdoor Solutions

If I could give 0 stars, I would. I hope this is a warning for anyone considering using Allen, they are absolutely HORRENDOUS to work with. Never in my life have I spoken with such a disgusting manager. To give back story, we hired Allen to inspect our backflow last July. A member of the team came out, inspected, and gave us a green/blue tag saying we were “all good to go”. He mentioned that we didn’t need any paperwork, and that they would submit it directly to the water district. A year later, our water district called letting us know they were shutting off our water because they never got a passing test from Allen. The manager and receptionist BOTH said it was mine and my husband’s fault because we mentioned in passing that we would eventually take out our sprinkler, so the information never got sent to the water district. DISGUSTING! This was also after admitting that the inspector didn’t work there anymore “for good reason”. After arguing with the Manager who still insisted it was mine and my husband’s fault, they sent out a new tech who straight up told the manager while I was standing there “the inspector did pass them in their inspection and gave them a tag. The information is all here. The office must not have filed the paperwork correctly”. They still continued to send us a bill for the re-inspection. Save yourself the hassle and hire someone that actually cares.

Needed a backflow test for sprinkler system. Allen came out next day!

We contracted with Allen Outdoor Solutions to landscape our home. A decision we have come to regret. Here is a list of some of the problems with more details to follow: -A whopping 40%, or more than $5,000, increase in the contracted price -Inaccurate measurements in the design that resulted in significantly higher costs -A project that was supposed to begin in May but began in July -A project that was supposed to be 3-4 days turned into 4 weeks with elements still not fulfilled -Calls and emails that went unanswered / unreturned -Inability to fulfill parts of the contract (trees/plants) -Agreement from the owner to replace a specific tree went unfulfilled as of 21 Aug 2022 -Agreement from the owner to extend the warranty on another tree went unfulfilled as of 21 Aug 2022 -An invoice dated almost 4 months prior to receipt & dated before the contract was even signed! -Introduction of new fees that popped up when the contractual relationship began to deteriorate -Unacceptable plants/quality of work -Bills presented as contracts -Not honoring the terms of the contract Of all the issues listed above, the most egregious are issues with the billing. Our latest invoice is 40.4% above the contracted price! This is after 2 items totaling $2,850 were removed because the company was unable to provide the contracted service. You might think if your bill was 40.4% above the contracted price, a company would reach out to you and engage in a conversation to talk about it. No such luck here. We were emailed an “invoice” with the increase and with an expectation to pay it – no explanation, nothing. When we brought it up to them, the response was, ‘we were waiting for you to say something.’ Who does that? The contract stated the cost of cobblestone was $300 for 150 Ln/ft but sent us a bill that says it’s $4,800. They’re argument is 1) they told us at some point the increased cost (they did not!) and 2) we should’ve known it was wrong on the contract. Just like I didn’t know if a hydrangea should cost $75 as the contract says, I had no idea the cost of a cobblestone. While the latest bill was a true invoice, the preceding two were in the form of modifications to the contract. Why present us with “contracts” when they clearly had invoices at their disposal? Think through that one… Another big issue has been wrong measurements The contract stated 850 sq/ft of sod (including regrading soil amendments) was needed. They mismeasured, not because the design was modified to include more sod, they simply got it wrong. The actual amount of sod used was 1100 sq/ft. No conversation or phone call just an email from an employee saying “I forgot to add the city area for sod and will need to make the adjustment to the invoice.” A 29.4% or $662.50 cost increase due to undermeasurement, and they didn’t think it warranted at least a phone call to discuss it. To add insult to injury, on the last invoice, they tacked on an additional $2.50 onto the contracted amount of $2,250 making the total for this item $2252.50. How petty is it to add $2.50? I don’t get it. In another example, the contract says they would need 13 yards of mulch and in fact, they are trying to charge us for 13 yards of mulch. However, earlier invoices say they used less than 10 yards of mulch. In yet another example, the contract says they would need 150 Ln/ft of cobblestone. They actually used 240 Ln/ft. We thought we were making some progress towards a resolution when we received a bill that showed they were charging us $500 for the cobblestone on 3 Aug. Only to find out later that day when we spoke to the owner, Mr. Allen, and he told us that the bill was no good. Here’s the kicker. Several days passed after that conversation with Mr. Allen on 3 Aug about our insistence that he honor the contract and fix the remaining errors in the invoice. After trying to get a final and accurate invoice on 2 separate occasions (August 8 & 10), we received an email on Friday, 12 Aug that says the company can’t honor our request to reduce the fees…. we never asked that, we asked them to honor the contract! The letter then gives us two options, pay the balance due (with the errors listed above and others) including the full $4,800 for the cobblestone or return the product by allowing Allen to remove the materials from our premises. The letter further states, “Please consider the options above and contact our office. We look forward to coming to a resolution in the matter, and do not want to see things escalate further to include a fee for restocking of Hydrangea, collections, or other legal action.” On Monday 15 Aug (1 business day after receiving Mr. Allen’s email on the 12th!!!!) we received an email letter of demand from Mr. Allen’s attorney for immediate payment as “invoiced on April 22, 2022.” We signed our contract on 23 April 2022 – how can they reference an invoice dated before the contract was even signed?! And what happened to Mr. Allen’s desire to avoid legal action?! A little about us – we are an active-duty military family. We’ve lived in many states and overseas and dealt with many contractors over the years. This is the absolute worst experience we’ve ever had with a contractor. We bought a home in the CWE because we fell in love with the neighborhood and STL. All we want to do is improve our home and enjoy our new community. There are other issues, but I won’t belabor the point. Oh, how we wish we had made a different decision about the contractor – we would have avoided Allen Outdoor Solutions like the plague. To end on a positive note, Chesterfield Valley Nursery had no problems supplying one of the items Allen Outdoor Solutions was unable to provide. Chesterfield Valley Nursery was easy to work with and very professional.

i asked for an estimate to replace a sprinkler head. six months later a bill out of nowhere!

Talk about above and beyond!! Wow! The Allen Outdoor Solutions team blew me away with AWESOME SERVICE!! They have maintained our yard and landscape for many years so we asked them to install an irrigation system. The installers were VERY PROFESSIONAL and CLEAN! Our yard was put back in better condition than when they arrived. We chose a HUNTER HYDRAWISE system, which is operated from our Smart Phone. SUPER COOL!!! I also want to mention the office staff and coordination team. We were informed every step of the way before installation and also receive a follow-up call a few days after to make sure everything was operating correctly. THANKS!!!

The entire experience was excellent. The owner Steve, personally came to my house to look at my project and give me his bid. He listened to what I wanted, made some suggestions, very professional. The office workers were very good about scheduling and payment options. I was not home to witness the installation, but Ron the foreman called me to let me know the project was finished and gave me watering instructions and answered all my questions.

Generally, everything goes well. Occassionally, I get a bit ansy as I would like them to come quicker, but it is because they are fairly busy and they always figure out a way to wedge me in somehow. I would recommend them for anyone needing any landscaping, outdoor lighting or irrigation work.

Dennis came out to bid the work. He was informative but did not listen to what we wanted. He told me what we needed and would not even look at the prior proposal I tried to hand him that spelled out what we were looking for. Got their bid and it was high and not at all what we were looking for. I asked for a redo on the bid for just the replacement of the retaining wall and he explained he’d have to come out AGAIN in another week to relook at the property and then wrote another bid. We declined their services.

I have been meaning to write a review - although I did not use their services I was very pleased with the effort and time they took to come out to look at the scope of work and bid it. I have recommended them to friends and family since they came out to my house - even though I didn't have the opportunity to use them - which was only because they were not available as quickly as I needed them.

Allen Outdoor installed and maintains my irrigation system (since 2003). They also did some landscape for me. The technicians and installers have all (without exception) been professional, accommodating and courteous. They fix things right the first time, explain the work well and deliver when and what they promise. Any "call backs" I have had to require (very very few) were handled, promptly and with a "do the right thing" attitude. I simply can not say enough good things about this organization from the techs to the office to management. I highly recommend them.

Technician Shelby arrived on time and called in advance (as requested) before arriving. Shelby and I walked the lawn and I described in detail the issue. Shelby then went to work - increasing the water flow of certain sprinkler heads and then we together reviewed the zones and the water flow into each zone. Shelby was (is) a customer service professional. His knowledge (20+ years) and positive attitude were very much appreciated. My experience with Allen Outdoors has always been positive. From Steve (President) who designed my system and negotiated the price - to Melissa (Service Coordinator) in the office - to the various technicians (Shelby, Tim and others) who have worked on my system - all have a strong focus on customer service and getting things right. I would strongly recommend this company to others considering a new sprinkler system or requesting service on an existing system.

Great. Required some troubleshooting to locate problem. Very professional.

Saw an improvement immediately, well worth the cost.

No problems. This is our second full irrigation system from Allen Outdoor Solutions as we were happy with our other system at another home. High-quality services, and the crews are always professional. We would not even consider doing business with anyone else.

Generally the work went pretty well. However, although I am unable to prove it, I am 95% sure that a member of the crew stole a $200 toolset from my basement, so I have to give them an F. I had the toolset for several years, they were working a few feet from where I keep the toolset, I had used the toolset a few weeks before the work was done, and I discovered the toolset was missing one week after they did their work. I reported it to the owner, and he didn't really do anything about it because of course I can't prove it. Very disappointing. Pretty sure they have a crook on their crew.

the jobs were completed on time and as expected.

Very nice work. A high quality product that was meticulously assembled. Job went a little over in time but the end result was well worth it.

Notice pooling water near foundation of my home where the water supply line ties into the backyard side of my sprinkler system. Contacted AOS on Thursday and scheduled early service appointment for the following Tuesday. The technician, Shelby, arrived right on time and began excavating in the area of the leak, found source of the problem and completed the repair in just over an hour. Shelby was polite, professional and competent explaining to me what the issue was and what he did to fix the problem. I have had a lot of engagement with Allen Outdoor as owner of my town home and am generally very satisfied with their responsiveness and proficiency. I would recommend to a friend.

Changes make easily but somewhat lack of choices in fixtures. Mapping of layout was incomplete and partially inaccurate.. Wiring connections were good for the most part, one connection difficult. Not gentle on plants next to fixtures.

Very pleasant crew took longer due to unforeseen issues with the lot but very pleased with end result

Representative named Dennis arrived on time, however I felt like I was talked down to, my opinions did not matter, was told that I couldn't take care of the small amount of landscaping I had. Ended the consult after 5 minutes. Called main office about my experience. The owner did call back promptly, offered to come out personally. Owner excused employee's behavior as "being from Boston he may be misunderstood". Unfortunately first impressions set the tone and I will go with someone else despite recommendations from others.

Good. The only concern was we had to reschedule due to weather and there was already a few week wait and our basement flooded during that time we were waiting, but that isn't completely their fault.

It went well - professional and punctual.

My window of time was 10 am-2 pm. The technician arrived around 4 pm. The office said it was their problem, not the techs. After completing the work, the technician said my total was $160. When I called to inquire about pricing, I was told the sprinkler start up was $ 80 for the first hour. The sprinkler start up didn't take an hour, so I asked what the additional charge was for. I was told it was an additional $80 for the backflow test. This amount was never mentioned when I called the office. Once the sprinklers were running, we noticed that they were not getting all areas of the yard correctly. Allen Outdoor Solutions did come back to correct this issue. Due to the fact that they were two hours late and charged me double the amount I was told, I would not use this company again

They never even bothered to respond to my request