Barry's Sod

They have strung me along for three weeks now promising an estimate but have been coming back with one excuse after another for why they can't (I lost your number, sending it today! I sent it to the wrong number, sending it today! It's coming this afternoon! It's coming right now!...) when it's apparent they really don't want to do the job (sodding our backyard). If you don't want to do the job, just say so.

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I found Barry's Sod online through a search engine and they looked well established in Tulsa and very professional. After I called, they came out to survey the area, ask what I was looking for, and provided a quote on the service to be done. He indicated that he could get the sod installed the same week, and could start the initial prep that day. I wanted to get this project complete as quickly as possible so I gave him the go-ahead without getting other estimates. He then asked me to mow that area down as far as possible and he proceeded to spray some type of Round-Up on the area and said they would be back in a few days. A few days later, just as promised, Barry and another person came back with the load of sod a bit late in the evening. No problems, again I was looking forward to having it done. They laid the sod with break-neck speed, finishing the 1100 square foot area in what seemed like under an hour. I was a little concerned at this point because they had done zero soil prep other than spraying Round Up a few days earlier. The ground was hard as a rock and I would have figured that it would need to be tilled or broken up to give the new Fescue sod a chance to root. They were very nice and seemed like they knew what they were doing though, so I didn't raise an issue. I asked questions about post installation care and was given a watering schedule and instructions on checking to see if it was properly watered. They even had an irrigation company they work with come by to test the sprinklers and make sure that the area would get proper coverage. Everything checked out okay. The next week, the entire area started to turn brown despite a religious watering schedule and frequent checks to make sure there was proper moisture. I called them to ask for advice and was told to give it a week to see how it does and call back if there was still a problem. The next week, it looked worse than ever. I called multiple times since then, sometimes talking with Barry or someone else directly, and sometimes leaving a voicemail. In every instance I was kind and polite - I just needed their expertise in figuring out how to bring this sod back to life - be that paying a bit extra for additional service, or having them stop by to offer advice on next steps. Sometimes my calls were completely ignored, and on two occasions they told me they would come by the next day to take a look. I never saw them, and they stopped responding to my calls. I finally gave up - and now my entire side yard is mostly dead grass and bare dirt - looking 100 times worse than before they started the project. I know that grass sometimes just doesn't grow where you want it to. I know we had a pretty warm April, and there could be a host of contributing factors outside of their control that resulted in the complete failure of the sod. But, for the lack of ground preparation they did along unresponsiveness to problems after the install, I feel like Barry's Sod is way overpriced at nearly $1.30 per square foot. I won't use them again, and this fall I'll be renting some equipment and doing all the ground prep and install myself to ensure that it's done right.