Zingrone Landscaping
About us
12 employees. Cost determined by the job. Additional information: lawn mowing for the South Hills area and Shadyside and Squirrel Hill areas of Pittsburgh only. DO NOT CALL THE PHONE NUMBER CONNECTED TO ANGIES LIST, with the link. PLEASE CALL. 412-886-9818 ONLY. Thank you and we look forward to working with you.
Business highlights
Services we offer
Landscaping - design & installation, retaining walls, construction & repair, bobcat service, water features, concrete, hardscaping & pavers, patios, french drains. Tree service - removal & trimming. Lawn care - mowing, seasonal cleanup, leaf & snow removal, mulching.
Services we don't offer
new chain link fence install but may repair
Amenities
Free Estimates
Yes
Warranties
Yes
Accepted Payment Methods
- Check
Number of Stars | Image of Distribution | Number of Ratings |
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88% | ||
6% | ||
2% | ||
3% | ||
2% |
Filter reviews by service
There was some delay in getting under way (about a month to a month and a half later than we had originally discussed) however, this spring and early summer the weather was pretty uncooperative and Joe was pretty good about keeping me updated on the delays. Eventually we projected an early July start date. My only minor quibble was that the crew arrived without a prior phone call. I usually like to be there the day any projects on my home begin. Joe did explain that a last minute window to start had opened up, so I ended up being OK with that.
The crew had to deal with intermittent bad weather, but they did a great job and I'm quite happy with how the projects turned out. The 'crew chief' on site (Tim) was very good about explaining processes and other options for the future. I was initially not happy with the way the pavers near the pond were reset (I still thought there was too much of a slope) and they readily agreed to reset them to my liking.
This was excellent (A grade) work across the board in my opinion, though I've never had to hire anyone for landscaping work before. The punctuality 'B' grade was just for the lack of the arrival phone call mentioned above, but that was really a minor issue. As far as price, I'm still surprised at the cost of landscaping projects, but that's probably just my inexperience. I will say that when Joe originally came out and gave estimates I had gotten several others for the same projects and while Zingrone Landscaping was slightly higher, all were in the same ballpark. I went with Zingrone because I just had a better feel from the time and personal communication with Joe up front.
Upon receiving my first review, I did receive an immediate call back from Joe.
"Sir We met on the 15th of July and I sent you the proposal on 7-21-15. I actually put a lot of time into your project. I called you today 8-18-15 to tell you that I was resending it and if someone would please call me back to verify the email address. No one has called back, so I resent it and it came back undeliverable. Nothing is more frustrating when you spend the time and effort and end up with negative results. I did everything I was supposed to do on my end. Regardless I have had your proposal all along. I do not come out to meet with people just to waste their time and my time."
"Hello sir. We never came out to your property this year June 2015. I think you have me confused with someone else maybe. Your dates are not correct. I remember your job well. I even looked up the proposals prior to writing this. On 9-24 -2012 we completed the job which consisted of the retaining wall work, Planting small shrubs and medium to large (10 ft tall maple), removing shrubs as well as other items but not to install landscape fabric to the existing beds but only to weed them. On 4-24-14 I gave you a proposal for redoing your river rock beds. Which consisted of lifting up and setting aside existing river rock, installing new landscape fabric, reinstalling river rock and supplementing with new river rock where necessary for $1205.00 but you did not accept the proposal and we never performed that work. When we finished the job in 2012 for you, you were very satisfied with the work I remember . That must be someone else who did work for you in 2014 and someone else who came to your property this past June 2015. We may be higher priced then some of our competitors but I know we offer a quality product. 4 time Super Service Award winner Zingrone Landscapes & Construction est. 1993"
They did a great job - very courteous, professional, and patiently tolerant of my specific requests. When I was concerned that too little mulch had been laid in some areas, Mr. Zingrone responded immediately to my concern by sending his crew back with more mulch, wanting me to be completely satisfied! We are 100% happy with the results and it was a great pleasure to do business with such professional and kind people.
Bad - so he rings the doorbell on Friday afternoon at 2:30 - my wife who was working from home that day was on a conference call meeting and because he kept ringing the bell, she had to answer the door. He asked her if I was home and said no, he doesn't get home until after 3pm, he immediately said he can not wait that long and does she know what needs done - she said yes, but she was on a call and couldn't talk to him and asked him to wait for me to show up at 3pm - he said he can not wait and was rude about it.
Customer service is the first step to showing your customers are important.
"First of all Sir NO services were performed, we did absolutely NO work for you. You are being very misleading by saying that we actually completed work or performed any services, when in fact we did not. I'm sorry sir but I had an appointment to meet with you at 2:30 on a Friday afternoon. I had a another meeting after yours that I really could not be late for. You should NOT have told the office that you would be there at 2:30 when you obviously knew that you were not going make it and try to force me to wait till you got there. I rang the doorbell ONLY 2 times and was about to leave when your wife answered the door very perturbed that I was there bothering her. How would I have known she was working? After all that's what I was doing too, was working. As I recall it was your wife that was very rude. As the door opened I was greeted with a look of confusion and agitation. She told me you wouldn't be there till 3 and that she couldn't show me. Then she stated "I'm trying to work but I am not now because I'm talking to you" was what she told me next. I simply said "he will have to call the office and reschedule" and left. Normally I would have attempted to postpone my next appointment but she was just too rude and condescending. I will not put up with rude and unprofessional people that think their time is more important then someone else's. Sir just like you and your wife's time is important, so is mine. God luck Sir"
"Its very unfortunate but there was an emergency that came up this Saturday and requires rescheduling. That's why we notified you yesterday April 28th. Four days in advance that it would need to be rescheduled. That was the best we could do. We have all been in a situation where suddenly our schedules change without much notice. I did however have the office call immediately to reschedule. Good luck with your project. Sincerely Joe Zingrone"
"Thank you very much for the job. It was a pleasure doing business with you"
e asked him to widen the gardens along the edge of the driveway and it was hard to tell what he did .
"The gentleman’s complaints do not make any sense. Over 2 years ago we performed a beautiful grading and hardscape job (steps) for this gentleman. We were there for over a week. He was happy and shook my hand when we finished. The gentleman was moving and was giving the home to his son who had recently graduated high school. The son was to have watered and weeded from that point on. I drove over there today 10-05-14 to see what type of condition the property was in and to no surprise it was an overgrown mess with a for sale sign in the yard. The customer never called about any concerns he had about a dying plant. So over 2 years go by and he decides to sell the home and he finds out that his son has not been keeping up with the maintenance so they blame the contractor!"
"Dear [Removed name], You are leaving feedback for the wrong Contractor. We have no record of ever speaking with you nor working with you at all. We have not ever worked or looked at a job in your zip code nor have we ever heard of (let alone worked with) the landscaper you reference in your review. We would greatly appreciate you reviewing which contractor you truly worked with and we ask that you remove this slanderous and inaccurate review of our company. You are doing a disservice to the paying members of Angie's List by posting inaccurate reviews."
While Zingrone Landscaping was not the cheapest quote we received, we were confident that the final product would be worth the additional cost. Joe was very detailed in explaining his process and setting forth end product expectations. The quality of the job was outstanding, the wall and staircase look beautiful, and Joe and his team were very responsive to all of our questions or concerns.
I was somewhat disappointed with the degree to which my yard took a beating from this installation. I expected some damage, since the trees were planted on a small steep hillside, and four men were needed to move each tree, but I was surprised that all of my tulips, lilies, crocus, allium, and scilla were trampled and the vinca minor, which had covered the hillside, was ripped out / buried so that the hill ended up looking like a solid clay surface. They didn't mulch around the new trees. I've now spent a few hundred dollars and a couple of weekends to restore the hillside.
The trees were not trained, so they have more of a wild and unpruned look, which could be an aesthetic preference, but inner branches of birch are supposed to be pruned back during dormancy to avoid branches knocking together, which can damage bark and attract the borers to which white birch are susceptible. Both trees are larger than I expected, and it's nice to have them already look like an established part of the landscaping.
Overall my experience with Joe was good, and I would call him again for other jobs -- I just wasn't so impressed by the way this job was finalized.
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