Desert Designer Landscape & Development

Sadly, it was a poor experience. I came with designs, spoke with someone at Desert Designer (who will remain anonymous). Without hesitation, the man I spoke with said they were interested in bidding. I sent the designs immediately. After two weeks, they emailed and said they were behind. I said we were accepting bids for a few more days and asked if they were still interested. I received a response that they were, "looking for a relationship" and did not want to be a third bid. I was clear that I was getting bids for a design from the beginning, and shared the designs immediately. I, too, was looking for a good relationship with my contractor, so I'm not sure why he thought otherwise. It was a shocking response from a company that said they were interested. If they weren't interested, I would never have sent the designs, and we could have avoided this friction. Look - all the reviews indicate that Desert Designer is a good company. I'm sure they employ many good people. In the same way that this company should not be thought ill of just because of this review, it should also not be lost that they have an employee that did not treat me respectfully. If someone from Desert Designer reaches out, I'd be happy to change this review. But for now, my experience with them was very poor.

Design is right in the name and that's what sets Rob and his team apart. They came up with a significantly better design than we could have imagined and much better than the other companies we tried to work with. You have to be diligent to review work and ask for little fixes, but no more than with any other good contractor. They were responsive in fixing everything to my satisfaction with an exceptional final product.

Unfortunately we cannot recommend Desert Designer. We hired Desert Designer a year ago for a major backyard renovation project in Scottsdale - hardscape and landscape. The experience had been a truly excellent one - smart design, highly collaborative, pleasant and professional. But I made the mistake of - at the contractor's request - completing the final payment before the project was done. From that point forward, we found Desert Designer to be highly unresponsive and disappointing on every dimension. The project dragged on for months and months. Contracting errors were extremely slow to address, and often had to be addressed repeatedly. At the end, the company's owner declined to address our concerns, and at times company representatives were unpleasant and, oddly, even hostile. I have never written a negative review before (and my wife and I have owned homes in Brookline, Mass., Washington, D.C., Great Falls, Va., and Scottsdale over the past 30 years and have owned our Scottsdale home since 2005), but I felt obliged to write this as a warning to others. It is a shame since the entire experience - up until the end - was highly positive and professional. Very disappointing.

We are so happy with our homes landscape now. When we first purchased our home the landscape was a nightmare. We worked with Rob on our landscape project and he did a fantastic job. There were some aspects of the design we weren't too sure about, but we trusted in Rob's design and it turned out even greater than we imagined.

Devon is a great designer. My front yard had a number of challenges including an oddly placed water meter. Devon was patient and provided several design versions for my front landscaping until picky me was satisfied. I had contacted a number of companies for design recommendations and Devon's were the most unique and stunning! The team installing the landscape were professional and courteous. I was able to work from home during the installation and everytime I freaked out Devon was available to address my concerns and offer solutions or reassurances. The price for the landscape was about the same for all the companies I contacted. I wish I had found Devon before I had my backyard done! I would've hired him for that as well.

Overall the experience was great! Rob Plowright (co-owner) was the point of contact throughout the entire project. Rob was prepared from the start. At our first meeting he did his homework, came not only with ideas but with knowledge about our property. He was very upfront about how he approached a project. He has a dedicated crew and when he starts the project the crew is on site for the duration so it gets done in a timely matter. Rob checked in daily and was easy to get a hold of. Rob takes the upfront time (lead time) to design, discuss and put down to scale the project, materials and cost. Our project was big enough and he even broke it down into sections so we were able to make an informed decision about the cost and the work. Our original idea included several walls, a very nice BBQ area with a formal fireplace, some pavers, rock landscape and a side area for trailer/RV. When we got the quote, Rob had broken it down into sections so we could decide if we wanted to move forward with each part of the project based on our budget. Rob was professional and down to earth. He would listen and discuss any options we brought up and gave us honest input. He did not over promise and delivered. Bottom line, we have done several renovations, both interior and exterior on 3 different houses. This by far was above all the best planned and executed experience...not blowing smoke up here...BTW, we have never had a project go perfect, nor should you ever have an expectation that nothing will go wrong, no matter how minor. The true test is, if something doesn't go right or it did not quite turn out as expected, how well does it get corrected...Rob and his crew get flying colors! We did not have any major setbacks due to at the detailed planning by Rob. Were there hiccups? Yes, but they recovered and exceeded our expectations. Absolutely would hire him again!! Rob knows what he is doing, his crew is skilled and the outcome is exactly what we wanted!

This is the 3rd time I've hired Desert Designer to do a project for me (2 at previously owned homes). We completed a new build in May 2017 in Buckeye on bit of a hillside. I gave our designer, Cory, our inspirations for a zen backyard. It isn't a large yard and I wanted to create a calm relaxing space. Additionally, I wanted part of the yard to serve as a pollinator area for bees and butterflies. Cory came up with a fantastic solution. We went back and forth on a few of the details and he worked within our budget. The finished project is just as amazing as our prior projects. Thank you so much!!! Now, time to think about some work on the front yard.

We worked with Rob and Devin to redo our front yard. Rob created a great design, Devin made sure that work was progressing well, the workers did a great job of building our new yard. This was a big project. Retaining walls had to be removed, new walls built, and a lot of dirt hauled away. There were no surprises along the way. Any questions I had were answered quickly. Rob even had a great design tweek in the middle of the project that made a lot of sense and made the yard look even better. Before and after pics attached. Will look even better once the new retaining walls are painted. We are very happy with the work and the way our new front yard looks.

Rob Plowright  602-550-8074 started with a consult and asking questions to understand what we wanted to accomplish. He was patient and offered alternatives and creative ideas to enhance our understanding on the scope of the project design and tight timeframe we had to accomplish the work.

He scheduled a follow up meeting to review plan designs and recommendations with cost estimates (on a line item basis) for all variables that we were introducing to the process.  The visibility into the cost per item and overall scope made the process very easy for us to understand and make choices as the process unfolded. Every step of the process felt as if we had a trusted advisor or partner and never did we feel that we were being "upsold" or "oversold" on items or labor. 

Upon selection of materials and design scope, Rob introduced us to his vendors at various locations to confirm materials, design and availability.  This was a unique perspective to allow us to speak with others that confirmed or brought up other questions for consideration. He spent time unselfishly with us and that was the biggest part of building trust and developing a true partnership between vendor and consumer.

During the work, Robert was present every day to check in with the workers and confirm that both the process and quality of the work was meeting our expectations. As requested, modifications were made and costs were clearly displayed in advance to the work being completed. His crews were the most professional and polite of the crews that were involved in the entire process. Safety & professionalism were never an issue with his personnel and our comfort with his teams was very high.

He came out to the house after the work process was completed and reviewed the punch list to our satisfaction and insured that we were satisfied prior to his departure.

Rob was excellent to work with. He was very creative with the design work and knows a lot about desert landscape. He was very professional and did all the paper work and present to the HOA. The crew was hard working and paid attention to detail. The rabbits ate two of my plants and they replaced them. They really did an excellent job and Rob and his crew had pride in there work and wanted to make sure we were satisfied with the job There became a problem with the irrigation system and they came back and fixed it. . I would highly recommend this company

Rob was incredibly helpful. The team arrived on time and was able to complete the work and clean up in 2 days.They were amazing. Since the installation I've called for help with sprinklers and plant placement. Rob has always responded quickly and took care of the problems.

Excellent! The stone work is beautiful and the bench looks great. They were able to reuse some of our existing landscaping, fix some irrigation issues. We used a walnut travertine to march some previous work this vendor had done for us the prior year. It matched beautifully and has added much value to our home.

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No details since no quote was given.

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After reviewing numerous landscapers on Angie's List, I contacted Rob Plowright of Desert Designers because I liked the reviews I had read.  Of course cost was a priority, but I especially liked the repeated remarks about how easy Rob and his crew were to work with.  I have had experiences in the recent past where working with contractors on other projects had been a nightmare and I didn't want to go through that again.  Rob was able to come out within a few days to view my situation and listen to my "wish list".  He was
very personable and professional, gave suggestions and options when I asked for them.  He told me that he would go back, draw up some plans and get them back to me within a few days.  I assumed he would need a check to pay for the plans, but I assumed wrong.
I had intended to interview another landscaper I had picked out from Angie's List before making a decision, but I was so impressed with Rob and what he had to offer that I told him that if he could have the plans back to me by a certain date (the date I had set up for the other interview), and if I liked what he showed me, I would cancel the other interview.   True to form, Rob indeed had the plans to me in a few days and I liked what I saw and heard.
Rob initially told me that the startup time would be three weeks since they were in the middle of other projects, but he was able to move it up to one week, working between other jobs.  I thought it would be a long, drawn out project since they were squeezing me in, but it ended up taking one week from start to finish.  The crew started work at 7:00 each morning and usually stopped between 4:00 and 5:00 each afternoon.  On the first day Rob introduced his foreman and crew members and explained that he would be on site each day to oversee the work, answering my questions or concerns, and directing the crew.  He would then go on to other projects, but he emphasized that I could reach him by phone any time I need to and he would come back to my project if needed at any time.   This proved to be accurate.   The crew turned out to be extremely polite and skilled workers.  They always cleaned up at the end of the day, never leaving tools or trash laying around.
The scope of the project was installing new pavers, new plantings, pea gravel, watering system, lighting system and a barbecue island.  I met Rob at a stone company to pick out the pavers which I really appreciated since he had experience and knowledge which I didn't have.  I'm very pleased with the pavers which were laid in a herringbone pattern, making my small space look elegant.  I had approved the plants which were on the plans (looked at them online first), but when they were delivered I wasn't happy with some of them so Rob had them returned and we decided on some alternate plants.  Again, I limited my choices because I'm partial to some colors over other colors but Rob had options for me to choose from.  Rob even came back to hang some trellises I purchased for the vining plants.  It's great to have a watering system that works, not having to worry while I'm gone on vacation.  The barbecue island Rob's crew built for me is spacious, has a pull-out drawer for the propane tank, and lighting for use at night.  Several lights were also installed in the landscaping which shine on the tree and several of the plants.  They thought of everything!  
I would definitely use Desert Designers Landscapers for any future outside project I might have, and would recommend them to anyone needing a landscaping/lighting job done.

Scheduling him to come out was very easy. He was prompt, courteous, upbeat and very professional and had a good outlook on things. He knew the business well. I plan on using them in the future.

I found them on Angie's List. I was very satisfied with their service. They were very good and I would use them again. I think that they did a very good job. It was a very difficult job. They were professional. They were working on a slope and they had muddying problems when they were installing the drainage. That's why it was difficult.

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Desert Designer was referred to us and contacted in early May 2014. We met with the designer late June and worked out a design plan with some modifications.  In July we were told we were on a ?list? which indicated the work was about six weeks out.  On July 17th we met with the designer in Chandler AZ to pick out travertine tile for the patio.  Then we got notice that the work was
scheduled for late August.  At that time we asked for an earlier start date in order to re-schedule a short vacation.  On August 18th we were told the project was set for September 7th. All of their responses were prompted by us.
 Within a couple of weeks after the project was finished, five plants were dying and Desert Designer was contacted for replacement as per their warranty.  The plants were replaced October 24th.  The replacement plants were in terrible shape
and one is now dead.  We could have bought bigger and better plants at Home Depot or Lowe?s.  The entire project was frustrating to us.  The travertine patio and artificial turf look nice.

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Very friendly and efficent, work was done well and on time and budget