CRYSTAL GARDEN & LANDSCAPING

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It went well. Delivered and dumped where I wanted it.

Let me preface my experience by saying that I messed up at the beginning. I didn’t get a written contract on the work to be performed. Everything was verbally agreed upon and confirmed with a hand shake. And the most stupid thing I did was to pay cash BEFORE the job was complete. Complaints about the work performed: I was told there would be about 2 feet of crushed stone behind the wall for drainage. I only received 6 to 10 inches of stone. I complained, but was told not to worry. I was told the plants behind the wall would be dug up and put in buckets. And then transplanted back after the wall was complete. Didn’t happen. I had to get my own buckets and did my own transplanting. One plant fell behind the wall and was covered in stones. I was told I would be compensated for the plant. Never happened. The wall is NOT straight. The wall slants inward and there’s a bow in the middle. I was told the wall bows because my concrete steps that run along the side of the wall are not perpendicular to the driveway. The old wall was straight, why not the new wall? I can’t believe there wasn’t a way to make that wall straight. There was to be a fabric barrier installed between the stones and topsoil. Never happened. I was told the top soil would reach the top of the wall. Didn’t happen. After paying cash all work stopped. I had to make numerous calls to get these people back out and finish the job. A fellow finally did show up after making yet another call. He quickly finished the work (didn’t do a good job) and left a receipt in the mailbox. The front door was open, and he must have known my wife was home. He never came to the door. Without a doubt his guy wasn’t happy to be there. I was told I would receive a 5-year written warranty. Didn’t happen. What I do like: The wall is thick, heavy, and will hopefully NOT fall down in my lifetime. That’s exactly what I was looking for. The old wall would fall down every 10 years. The contractor made a good choice of block style and color. If you don’t notice the wall not being straight and the bow, the wall is very eye appealing. The person building the wall was friendly, a hard worker, and worked late into the evening. After paying cash to his boss, however, he disappeared. I’m sure that wasn’t his fault.

WHEN CALLED THEY DELIVERED THAT DAY (OCTOBER 2004). 3 CORDS WERE REQUESTED, AT LEAST 3 1/2 TO 4 CORDS WERE DELIVERED (128 CUBIC FEET/CORD). THE FIREWOOD WAS SEASONED, APPROPRIATELY SIZED (16 TO 18 IN.).

THEY WERE VERY RESPONSIVE ON THE PHONE AND ANSWERED NUMEROUS QUESTIONS. I REQUESTED DELIVERY ON THE DAY I ORDERED, AND THEY CAME WITHIN TWO HOURS.

DELIVERY WAS MADE AT THE SPECIFIC TIME THAT IT WAS PROMISED. STORE STAFF AND DELIVER PERSON WERE VERY POLITE AND HELPFUL.