D'ALESSANDRO'S NURSERY-LNDSCP

The initial phase of the effort went very well. The owner (Tony) came by, took measurements and pictures, later returning with a nice photo-shopped example of what the property would look like after the work was done. He made great suggestions for plants and cover that would be low maintenance and were very attractive. There was a little sticker shock, but we decided to go for it. That part went very well. When the day came, a fleet of workers arrived and set to the task with gusto. They took care to not damage the existing lawn by laying down wood and tarps to protect the grass. All the work was done in a timely manner, and the end result was a near perfect match for what the original proposal photo said it would have looked like. That part went very well. If the story ended here, they'd be getting A's for every aspect of the work. Within a couple of weeks, we discovered that our basement now would have gallons of water pouring in from one of the basement windows when it would rain! For the entire life of the house, neither us or the prior owners had ever had a problem with water. It turns out the new terracing of the land cause water from the roof to now flow directly to the basement window well, where it would fill up like a swimming pool. Getting Tony to now come and visit was like pulling teeth. When he did show up, he was stand-offish and defensive, taking absolutely no accountability for the problem. We'd go around and around, agreeing that the terrain was causing the water to flow as it did, but he would not budge in his position. If I wanted this problem fixed, I'd have to pay for it. Getting sick of the problem and just wanting a solution, I agreed to the additional $300. Once he got me that far, he re-thought the number and jacked it up to $350. Cash. He did not want a paper trail for any of the money spent, either for the original project or for the correction. The story's not over. The river-stone cover that he promised would never need attention is COVERED with weeds. So much so, I can't see the stones for large sections of this. Basically, he lied. I now have to spend more time weeding this than I did before. Bottom line? If he'd have assumed responsibility for the problem his design, proposal, and execution had created, I'd be one of this biggest fans. Because of his argumentative posturing and refusal to acknowledge in any way the problem, I'll never use him again.