Envirogrow

I purchased a big deal through Angie's List for lawn aeration and over seed. There was a bit of a mis-communication when they came out to aerate the lawn and apply the over seed. I was able to contact the company and they took care of everything right away. My lawn looks great this summer!

They were efficient and effective. The yard looked great. Definitely worth the money!

I contacted this company to do seeding/feeding, aeration and clean up of flower beds. Dealing with this company was at first pleasant, Larry, who give the quote, was knowledgable and honest. But it quickly turned into a NIGHTMARE. Avery, the scheduler, never returned messages or emails to schedule the job. I had to repeatedly call until finally I got her on the phone. It took weeks to finally get someone on the phone. That should have been my first indication not to use your company and go with the someone more professional. When I finally got a hold of Avery, she said that I would be the first one of the day and that the crew would arrive between 7:00 and 8:30. When they hadn't showed by 10:30, I had to cancel because I couldn't wait all day for them. The second attempt was made by, I believe, Brandon. He was very nice and showed up when it was raining. The men he had with him were also good and started picking up fallen branches as Brandon and I talked. But we concluded that it was too wet and I would have to reschedule. The crew that finally came out on a Saturday were NOT good. No one on the team spoke english and didn't understand what needed to be done. They didn't pick up the debris in the yard. The left without doing the aeration in the backyard, as described in the contract and after I talked with one of them about it. He nodded his head and implied he understood, clearly he did NOT. I had to clean away dead leaves in the flower beds while they were here, since they were clearly not "cleaning the leaves." I had to schedule yet another appointment with Avery to make sure they came back to do the work they didn't do the first time, the backyard aeration and cleaned up the flower beds. They did the aeration, but still did not clean out there flower beds. The quote states, "Spring Cleanup Blow beds and remove leaves sticks and winter debris all beds front and rear." There were still large branches and sticks in the yard and leaves around the plants in the flower beds. They blew the leaves to the back of the yard and didn't pick them up. I sent a check for the amount minus the leave/debris clean up. I sent numerous emails and calls explaining that I was not happy. I received emails back saying that they returned several times because of my choice and not their lack of follow through. I paid the final amount under protest because they sent it collections.

I used these guys before for leaf clean up last fall. That went well and decided to use the deal to get more work done. They arrived in am and I had to leave for an outpatient back surgery that day, so wasnt there when they finished. Looked good except they missed a part of one bed with mulching. Emailed and they showed up and finished. Left debris in the yard. Was willing to let that slide but then the billing was ridiculous. Got a bill way over the estimate which was given after they came out and saw the scope of work. When I contacted them and got a call stating yes I had been overbilled by 4 hrs and a new invoice would be sent via email. It never showed up. I got email month later with same invoice. When I wrote back that the billing hadn't been corrected, got email from owner who stated that the original invoice was correct. Finally he agreed to compromise and knock 2 hrs off the invoice and stated they had new billing people so he hoped I would use them again. Emailed and told him I was still not happy the bill was higher than estimate and that they weren't willing to stand behind their employee's statement that I was overbilled by 4 hrs, but that I would send a check the next week. Sent the payment from my checking account bill pay as I promised. The next week, I got harassing calls from their billing dept wanting to know where the payment was. She told me that my payment was months overdue and that I owed for the whole invoice. I was upset that I was being accused of not paying my bill and that she again had the amount incorrect again and explained to her that I had been emailing with the owner of the company over a billing dispute which had just been settled. She wanted to know my bank information and the check number. I explained it was bill pay so they are no real check numbers and I wasn't going to give her my bank account info. I called my bank and they opened an inquiry because it hadn't arrived by end of business that day but the payment arrived to them soon after. Overall disappointed.

It was a mess, I'm no gardener and I don't even have a lawnmower. They cleaned it up beautifully, and now I'm having them trim and maintain it weekly.

These guys were great. They did exactly what I asked them to and did a great job!

We are pleased with the result.

The first meeting went very well. On time and very professional - we walked the property and discussed what was needed. I received lots of good suggestions and I felt confident I was working with competent provider. They left and said we would have an estimate by the next afternoon. 5 days later and nothing. I called to check in...they said they would send the estimate out that afternoon (and did). No acknowledgment or apology for the lateness was given. If they had said the estimate would have taken a week I would have been fine with that - but the communication was just not very good. I should have taken that as a sign. On the day the work was to be done, the very friendly crew leader reviewed the hand drawn plans and his interpretation of them. His interpretation was not the same as our interpretation. He said he would call the designer but that he was normally very busy and wasn't sure he could come down. He did end up coming down and everything was straightened out. On the one hand we were happy that this was all reviewed and settled before the work was done. On the other hand, it was an unnecessary stress for us and it seemed unprofessional to communicate between the designer and the crew in a way so subject to misinterpretation - this is what they do for a living right? The work ended up looking very nice and we are generally happy with it. However, there were a few follow on issues: Part of the work was doing a weed treatment on our brick patio (roundup). We noticed a couple of weeks later the weeds growing back up. We sent them an email and they said they would "reapply" the treatment. A week later we saw no change. I sent a picture this time and the next day is was clear roundup was finally applied. Was this a miscommunication with the crew? Were they hoping we'd just give up? Who knows...again no apology or acknowledgment of fault was given. Seems like such a trivial thing to get wrong. Another issue is that a mulch trench (i.e. the border between the grass and the mulch bed) was dug along the side of the house. This trench happens to be the lowest point in the drainage path between the two houses. When it rained, the mulch flushed out over the lawn and we were left with a muddy mosquito breeding puddle. On the one hand, I would have expected the landscaper to predict this type of thing (that's what I'm paying them for)...but I'll put that aside. I sent them an email asking them to come look and let us know how we could address this issue. "Sure! I'll be by tomorrow". He never came. I sent a follow up email a few days later....no response. I sent a follow up email a week after that. No response. The behavior of this provider is perplexing. They have very good reviews here on angie's list so maybe they're too busy to deal with their work load, or maybe they're too busy to care about my satisfaction. Based on the work completed I would have given them very good reviews, but if communication and responsiveness are important to you I wouldn't use them.

I was happy with the front yard, but I don't think they did a good job on the back yard. I bought a $149 big deal which included them doing so many square feet. It did not get any grass up and it did not have any plugs up so I was not sure whether they did it or not, but I did see it in the front. I was out of town when they came, that was the problem. It was a good price.

It was very good. They came on time and did a good job. Everything was good.

I bought a big deal for this service and, as I recall, it was fine. My husband worked with them and he did not complain. He did not say anything so I assume he was happy. The big deal price was fine.

It was fine. There was a little mix up. They billed me for it afterwards. But after a few back and forth conversations, they understood that I had the coupon code. I kept giving it to them and then they got it. But, they did good work. The gentleman who came to see the work that I wanted to have done was very professional and very nice. They did a good job. I was at work the day they came. But they did everything that they said they would do, just remove leaves. The confusion was kind of annoying.

I bought a big deal for this service and they did a good job. It went fine. It was not the most difficult work.

Basically, they came out on the day scheduled and performed the service. The result has been grass in areas where there was not grass before and stronger grass overall.

They were quick and courteous.

It was challenging to get the spring cleanup scheduled. Once the team arrived, we were quite happy with the work they performed.

I bought a big deal for this service and it was wonderful. We were very happy with that. The service worked. Years ago we tried this, also shade because we have a lot of trees and a lot of shade. This is the first time we really feel like we have thick, green lawn. It was excellent.

Aeration and fertilization went well. Late October was too late for the over seeding.

They only worked on part of the lawn, which is less than half an acre. They never talked to me about the scope of the work when they said they would.

They arrived on time and started right in on the work we needed. They did a very professional job on the trimming. The house looks great!

The crew did an excellent job and my mom was thrilled with the results. They also cleared her flower beds, trimmed the bushes, and cleaned up the yard beautifully.

Purchased an Angies list special from the company. It took a long time to get scheduled. I wanted two things done. Wanted a new planting bed dug up and compost worked in and wanted the growth on the fence trimmed back. I spoke with the person that sets up the jobs about the two items. By the time they came, over a month from the original conversation the growth on the fences had doubled and I thought with the time allowed that they would not have time to do the bed. I told him that I did not think there would be time to do the bed and to not bring the compost. They showed up with the compost so I told them to go ahead with the bed, he asked what else I wanted done. I showed them the fence and told them if they had time they could do a little clean up along the fence. They divided the workers, and did do a nice edge around the plants, but they just unloaded the compost and spread it and did not work it into the soil. The black compost did look nice but has been washing away every time it rains, so I have been working it into the soil little by little. They cleaned up some leaves in the back yard and cut back the growth on part of the fence and picked up some of the clippings but not all of them. What they did looked good but they probably should have concentrated on the bed only instead of doing two things half way.

Business was prompt to set-up the appointment and performed the work on the scheduled day. Overall, a great experience. I wish my experiences with other Angie's List Big Deal companies were as easy.

We have now used Envirogrow twice - in the fall of 2014 and spring of 2015. Both times, the crews accomplished way more than we would have thought possible AND they were prompt AND they were professional and friendly.

In summary, the work was done well. The effort involved in getting the work done was quite ridiculous. The following transcript for the entire interaction is edited only for presentation, not content except for the removal of a video link. Reena & Andrew 11/18/2014 Please advise on availability during week beginning Mon 1 Dec 2014 after 11:00 (13:00 on Tue 2 Dec 2014). Envirogrow 11/19/2014 Hi Reena & Andrew, Envirogrow wishes to thank you for your Big Deal purchase on Angie?s List. We are delighted to have an opportunity to serve you. My name is Larry Conrad and I am the Sales Manager for Envirogrow. We have reviewed you request for schedule and will have a crew at your property on 12/2 in the pm after 13:00 hours. Please provide some details about the services you are looking for the crew to perform so our schedulers can insure the crew is prepped and ready for your project. Pictures can be very helpful. Feel free to attach them if you want. If you are hiring us to perform leaf removal services we can bag the leaves and leave them at your residence curb side or for an additional $50.00 we can bring one of our leaf vac trucks by and vacuum up the leaves. This allows you to get maximum efficiency out of the four hour window under the big deal parameters. If you want more time we are happy to provide the crew for longer as stated in the advertisement at a rate of $45.00 per man hour. The crews performing leaf removal will be equipped with backpack blowers and push blowers. We are also offering specials on both our naturally aged and premium dyed double shredded hardwood mulch- Price per yard including new crisp bed edges installed is $60.00 for natural and $70.00 color enhanced black, brown or red mulch. This is ten percent off our normal everyday price. If you wish to use the four hour window for mulch installation we can supply the mulch at $30.00 for natural and $40.00 for a dyed product. There is nothing that looks better throughout the winter in a garden after leaf cleanup than nicely mulched beds. A cubic yard of mulch spread at two inch depth will cover approximately 170 square feet of bed space. Should you have any questions regarding this service or any other you can reply through Angies List, or contact me at the office at 703- 876-8470, call my cellular phone at 571-228-8844 or send me an email at larry@mulchsolutions.com Thanks Larry Larry Conrad Sales Manager Envirogrow/ Mulch Solutions P.O. Box 2864, Merrifield, Va. 22116 2931 Mayberry Street, Falls Church, Va. 22042-yard 2820 Dorr Avenue, Suite 215 Fairfax, Va. 22031-office Office: 703-876-8470 Fax: 703-876-8471 Cell: 571-228-8844 Reena & Andrew 11/19/2014 Larry, I asked you to "advise on availability during [the specified] week". You appear to have unilaterally scheduled the service (at an unspecified time). The attempt to upsell those five items (along with the additional man-hours already mentioned in the offer) in response to my attempt to schedule the service purchased is not appreciated and I am disappointed that you are trying to charge an extra 30% for leaf removal which is clearly covered in the price of the offer under "Deal could be used for leaf and stick removal". Please refund the $169. -Andrew- PS. Trying to read one long 357 word unbroken paragraph to identify relevant details is quite unpleasant. Envirogrow 11/19/2014 Andrew, I apologize for your displeasure with a number of items. Based on what you wrote it appeared you wanted either a December 1 or 2nd date. I thought we were correctly placing you at 1pm or 1300 hours on December 2nd. Our attempt to up sell is not a correct statement although it may appear as such- when we pile leaves into a bag it takes alot of time- Many customers have large yards and are delighted to have the use of a leaf vacuum to speed up the process- Unfortunately I cannot provide a refund. The refund is made through Angies List. Again my sincere apologies. I have copied the line that provides the schedule date so you do not have to search through the entire document. see below We have reviewed you request for schedule and will have a crew at your property on 12/2 in the pm after 13:00 hours Larry Reena & Andrew 11/19/2014 Larry, Thank you for your reply and for making it easier to read. What I wrote was, "Please advise on availability during week beginning Mon 1 Dec 2014". This means "Please tell me when you are available during the week which begins on Monday 1st December 2014". It doesn't mean "Please schedule me for 12/2 in the pm" or "Please schedule me for December 1 or 2nd". I am sure that customers are delighted to have the use of a leaf vacuum, however this in no way addresses the fact that - as I pointed out - the deal I bought "could be used for leaf and stick removal" yet you said, "If you are hiring us to perform leaf removal services we can bag the leaves and leave them at your residence...". Leaving something at my residence is the opposite of removing it. If you are still interested in letting me know your availability so I can schedule a service which includes removing leaves from my residence (in whatever manner you deem appropriate) then please do so, else let me know and I'll have Anglie's List process the refund. -Andrew- Envirogrow 11/20/2014 We can schedule you December 1st or 2nd in the morning or afternoon - please advise which works better for you. The Angies List advertisement which we do not create and which we have no control over states that material will be bagged. Bagging is a time consuming operation that uses hours of purchased time to bag and leaves bags at the street. We offer our leaf vacs at a flat fee if a client wants to use it- This is a value added option for a client with a large property and is not an up sell. Please let me know if and when you wish to schedule. Thanks Larry Reena & Andrew 11/21/2014 Larry, Confirmed for 13:00 on Mon 1 Dec 2014 including leaf vac*. Work needed in decreasing order of importance is: 1. Trim all hedges surrounding house 2. Clean up all plant beds around househouse 3. Clear and dispose of all debris from front and back yards Please call 703-968-0605 with actual E.T.A. prior to arrival. *[Please process fee for leaf vac through Angies List if possible, else send me an invoice.] -Andrew- Envirogrow11/21/2014 Andrew We have you scheduled for the 1st at 13:00 hours Thanks Larry Reena & Andrew 11/21/2014 [Reply required by Angie's List] Reena & Andrew 11/30/2014 Larry, Video of the property taken a few minutes ago for your review: http://youtu.be/[omitted] -Andrew- Envirogrow 12/1/2014 Hi Reena & Andrew Thank you - currently you appear to be on schedule for 1300 hours- we will update you as needed. Thanks Larry Reena & Andrew 12/1/2014 12:30 - Call from Envirogrow saying that they had arrived. Met Hector and two workers. Discussed priorities and indicated 1. Trim hedges 2. Clear debris from under hedges 3. Clear debris from around the house 4. Clear leaves from front lawn 5. Clear leaves from back lawn Reena & Andrew 12/1/2014 12:40 - Noticed worker was blowing leaves at the corner of the back lawn. Advised Hector, pointing out that this was the least important area to clear in the available time, but Hector assured me that it was OK because they would clear it all [paraphrased]. Reena & Andrew 12/1/2014 13:33 - The back lawn is almost clear of leaves. No hedges trimmed, debris cleared from under hedges or work on the fron of the house that I can see so far. Reena & Andrew 12/1/2014 13:45 - Took a quick look around the house. Hedge trimming has begun on one side and debris has been cleared from under some of the hedges (though those hedges are not yet trimmed, which seems inefficient). Reena & Andrew 12/1/2014 14:20 - Knock on the door by Hector. He reports that they are out of time and that more time will be needed to finish. Walked around house with Hector. Items 1, 2 and almost 3 are done, with hedge trimmings not being cleared with the leaves at the back. The front lawn is still covered in leaves including leaves blown from the back. Hector advises that they can finish the whole job in 30 minutes, so agreed to an additional 30 minutes. Reena & Andrew 12/1/2014 14:52 - Knock on the door by Hector. After a brief discussion to resolve a confusion over hours vs. man-hours, annotated sheet and signed for one additional man-hour. Leaves are still piled at front of front lawn, but Hector advises that they will clear them (which I see they are now doing with the leaf vac). Envirogrow 12/2/2014 Thank you for your all the comments. We will share with the crew for discussion. Larry