Fire Sparrow Landscaping

Vendor declined to quote

The work was done well: thank you.

they did not do the work.

We bought 8 hours of landscape work ($299) on June 26, 2016. Four and a half months later, the work is yet to be finished. On July 16, the owner and one employee showed up and worked for 1 1/2 - 2 hours. Was told that they would return to finish the work on either August 3rd or 4th and would call confirming a date. On August 8th, I still had not heard anything and emailed to find out when they would be out to finish the work. On August 11th, I received a reply saying "I will look for a space on the schedule for you". I heard nothing else from them until Sept. 20th (nearly six weeks later). They apologized for the delay in response and said that we were important to them and they "would like to do whatever we can to make you satisfied". I responded and told them that we were considering asking for a refund for the unfinished portion of work but would be willing to reconsider if they could rectify the situation. They replied saying that they wanted to "make our landscaping beautiful and for both of you to be happy". Also that they wanted our business and were willing to make it right for both of us. I replied that they could finish the remainder of the time we had already paid for and that the bark could use replenishing. We have a small lot and felt like that wasn't too much to ask based on them "dropping the ball" (their words). His reply (on Sept. 24th) was..."Let's talk on the phone this up and coming week". Two weeks later (Oct. 7th), I received an email asking if I had received their email. I said that, yes, I had and was still waiting for a phone call. At which time they said that they did not have my phone number and that what was meant by "Let's talk on the phone this up and coming week" was for me to call him (Ghee, the owner). Several things......One, I was told by Angie's List that they send phone numbers of customers to companies when a deal is purchased. Ghee, and his staff, said they never received my phone number. Which if that was the case, why didn't they email me and ask for my phone number?? They waited two weeks before even contacting me. Second, why was it my responsibility to call them after waiting (at the time) three and a half months for a service I had already paid for??!! At this point, I emailed them and said that we would like a refund. Even though we felt like asking for a full refund was warranted, but would be met with resistance, we asked for half of the initial cost for work not done. On Oct. 7th, Ghee left a message on my answering machine saying that he was sorry we couldn't do business but "he didn't understand why I couldn't have picked up the phone to call him". So in other words, his apology wasn't really an apology but was using the whole phone issue as an excuse. I felt like I was being blamed for not calling when the bigger issue was the fact that I had paid for a service back in June which still hadn't been completed in three and a half months. In his phone message, he stated that "out of the goodness of his heart" he would send us a refund. Now four and a half weeks later (and four and a half months since our initial purchase) we have not received a refund nor has the work been completed. We have been more then patient and have given them every opportunity to correct the situation...even offering to just take a refund for the remaining work if they didn't have the time or resources to take us on as a client. I have worked in customer service for many years and have a lot of experience in dealing with unsatisfied people. Although we were told, several times, that we were important and they wanted our business and would do what it took to keep it, their actions proved otherwise. I have purchased several deals through Angie's List and have been happy....until now.

The project ran on schedule and budget, with a rain delay rescheduled in a timely manner. There were times when Ghee and his team were an hour or so late, but he kept us informed.

To start, after purchasing the deal, it took almost two weeks for Fire Sparrow Landscaping to acknowledge the purchase and get back to me. Let's all face it, when one purchases something online, we all expect to get some kind of response quickly. Like minutes, NOT WEEKS! After wondering and worrying for a week-and-a-half, I actually had to contact Angieslist to find out what to do. They suggested that I initiate contact (since the supposed professional didn't do it) and kindly provided the phone number. By the time I had the chance to call (a couple of days later), Fire Sparrow Landscaping FINALLY contacted me. The earliest the owner (Ghee) could come for a consultation was OVER three weeks after initial purchase. Good enough, I thought...as long as the project gets done. Ghee arrived, as scheduled. I was at work, but my husband was there to meet him. My husband called me later to tell me that it didn't go well. He told me that Ghee went on and on about how he didn't know that Angieslist was taking 30% of the purchase price, and the project would cost a lot more than that. By the time I got involved, my husband was thinking that Ghee was not going to give us the 120 sq ft for the price we paid. From work I called Ghee directly. He once again started rambling on about Angieslist taking 30% of the money I paid. I had to ask him three times before he consented to give us the 120 sq ft for the price we already paid. When I finally got this commitment, I also told him that we needed an estimate for the rest of the job within three days. I said this VERY POLITELY and ONLY because the 30 day money back guarantee from Angieslist was ABOUT TO EXPIRE, and I wanted to make sure we didn't lose our $1399. Ghee said that it wouldn't be a problem. Two days later (and not hearing from Ghee) I emailed to remind him of our deadline for the estimate. On the3rd day (and two hours before the last moment we could request a refund), Ghee finally emailed me to say he didn't want the job. His exact words were: "First off, I want to say what a pleasure it was to meet XXX, you have a very kind and respectful partner. Secondly, I would like to apologize for not addressing your account sooner and had no awareness of a deadline need, to get you information so you could make an informed decision on keeping your purchase. Truly sorry for this. Finally, as much as we would like to complete your project for you, our schedule is so booked with fantastic clients like yourself, that we might have difficulty getting to you soon enough to allow you to enjoy the work this fall. I would encourage you to receive a refund and if they will not do so for you. I will press the issue and make it happen. Truthfully, we want you to be happy and satisfied and don't want a bad review because we can't constructively make that happen for you and Bob." NOT SURE WHAT GHEE WAS TALKING ABOUT AS I ONLY NEEDED AN ESTIMATE (WITHIN 30 DAYS OF PURCHASE...NOT AN UNREASONABLE REQUEST). I NEVER GAVE A TIME LIMIT ON COMPLETION OF THE PROJECT! Anyway, it was quite clear that Ghee didn't think he was making enough money on this project and he clearly didn't want to do it! The funny thing is this is the EASIEST paving job imaginable. We have done ALL of the "excavation" and prep work. All that ghee would have had to do was put down sand and lay the pavers. Again, I reiterate that probably the reason they turned down the job is their belief that they weren't making enough money on the job. They made it very clear to us their dissatisfaction with Angie's list taking 30% of our payment. Of course, that is not our issue. We paid for a service. Ghee and Fire Sparrow Landscaping refused the job. They were very unprofessional and I cannot with a good conscience let them get away with it without telling other potential customers of his unprofessionalism. Fortunately, Angieslist did give us a full refund. Update, 2/11/17: It went terribly! This is a response to Fire Sparrow's response to a negative review that I placed after an awful experience. Ghee, the owner of this company, is a liar. He claimed that some of the things I posted weren't true. Well, he can claim what he likes, after all this seems to be the era of "alternative facts," but the reality is my post was exactly what transpired. I kindly gave Ghee every opportunity to fulfill the contract that he agreed to when he decided to do business through Angie's List. What I received in return was terrible service, lame excuses, and outright lies. Ghee is NOT a reputable man and he really shouldn't be in business.

It was perfect!

Met with Ghee onsite and walked the property to discuss the project. Very professional and courteous throughout the meeting. Our schedules couldn't line up, so I did not use his services.

We hired Fire Sparrow to help improve the curb appeal of our property. Ghee gave us a wide variety options in his bid, from basic to comprehensive, and he clearly had a creative vision that matched our goal. The team worked FAST and we are very happy with the result. Our yard is clean, sparkling, and looks better than ever! Thank you, Fire Sparrow!

Owner is very nice and responsive. I particularly appreciated how flexible he was with scheduling.?He even squeezed us in right away?for additional mulch needs. We had to do some path cleanup afterwards and the driveway?where they dumped the mulch now has mulch in the stones (should have put a tarp down first. Overall happy with them and would use them again with out hesitation.?

unknown

Great. Ghee was very responsive and kept me informed of what they could do and couldn't do. He offered suggestions and cautioned me not to cut too many limbs off because it might cause harm to the tree.

I would not recommend this provider. Initially, he asked me to provide a detailed list of what I wanted done; I provided it. When he first showed up, many weeks after my purchase, he had “forgotten” it. So, I printed it out, again. He didn’t do one half of my list. Or even one third. He did do things not on my list, like prune my roses. I can do that. But did almost nothing that was on my list. And he left my yard basically looking not that much better than when he arrived. I will NEVER hire this vendor, again.

Signed up for an Angies List deal and was put on the schedule for about 3 weeks out. I stayed home from work on the scheduled day to show them exactly what I wanted done. They no showed (no call). Called Ghee to find out why and was told it was a mistake because they are so busy and he rescheduled for the following week. Second time they showed up. After the work was complete, was called by Ghee and given an extensive explanation of how he couldn't do 8 hours of work because he has a family to feed and there is a high cost of doing these deals and he'd go out of business if he actually did the 8 hours as agreed upon - so he calculated what he could afford based on the deal structure and his team only did 7.2 hours on the 8 hour deal. He said if I'd buy more work from him it would be a good deal and it would offset this. Basically he took no responsibility for performing the agreed upon work or ensuring he had structured a deal that he could honor, and blamed others. He also said all his other clients are fine with this, they are happy he is so honest (note he did not mention this when we spoke on phone before the work was done, nor was it mentioned in his email), and he said I was the first to not be ok with getting less than advertised. He seemed genuinely confused as to why someone would be unhappy with not getting what was agreed upon. I need much more work done, but I was not thrilled with the lack of ownership and responsibility, so I'll be using someone else next time even if they cost a little more.

Schedule an appointment, Was very pleasant and knowledgeable on phone. He did not show or call to explain.

Great: Ghee and his team did exactly the work I wanted, perfect yard maintenance. I am still waiting for a quote for ongoing maintenance but I am very happy with the results of this one time yard cleaning.

Gee did a fantastic job!! He showed up on time and his team worked very hard the whole time. Gee was very friendly and knowledgeable. The finished job was better than I expected. I will be using Fire Sparrow Landscaping again!

Bought an Angie's List deal for 8-hours of service. Scheduling the appointment took a little back and forth (they explained it was due to large number of deals sold and they were trying to coordinate routes), but everything else went smoothly. Ghee, the owner, and his crew did a good job clearing a section of my garden that's completely overrun with weeds, pruned my roses, added organic fertilizers to existing plants, and gave me advice and suggestions on new plant choices and care. As a matter of fact, they were so efficient that they finished the job with time to spare. I now have an 1.5-hour "credit", which Ghee said they'd be happy to come back a 2nd trip after I pick out the plants I want from the nursery! I'm happy with the quality of service provided and would recommend them to anyone needing help with their yard.

I have used Ghee in the past so knew we could trust him to do an awesome job with the new lawn installation. Ghee came out to look at what we wanted done. He provided us a couple of options and once we informed Ghee which option we wanted to go with, Ghee and Chris started the job about a week later and were finished in about three days. They were both a pleasure to work with. Very professional and courteous and they made sure we understood the steps they were taking so we felt we were a part of the process which was important to us. Ghee and Chris did an awesome job installing the new lawn and reinstalled the stepping stones. It looks beautiful. Fire Sparrow Landscaping is on the top of my list for all of my landscaping needs.

Went great! Ghee is meticulous and a very hard worker.