Rudy Montijo

I am including a letter I wrote to Mr.Montijo two months after the work had been done to which he never responded. Additional contact information and comments follow the letter.Mr. Rudy Montijo P.O. Box 5485 Tucson, AZ 85703    Dear Rudy,   I am writing this letter to provide some feedback regarding the recent work your company did for me. I am not asking for anything, I just wanted to share some thoughts with you that may help you improve your business.   First of all, I must admit that I am not happy with the Bob Sod that was laid in my back yard. In just four short months, you have had to replace two sections of grass and now another area needs to be replaced.  I should have taken the responsibility to do research to find the kind of sod that would be more durable, dog friendly and able to tolerate both sun and shade. However, I relied solely on you to make the decision. I had hoped that you would have taken all this into consideration before purchasing a sod. It appears to me, though, you chose the Bob Sod because that is what Home Depot sells.  With future jobs, I would recommend that you talk with the customer about the usage and the shade vs. sun issues before choosing the sod.  Frankly, I would have been willing to pay a bit more to get a better quality sod than to be disappointed with what I have.   Secondly, I have been disappointed in your customer service.  When there has been a problem, I have had to call several times before you would return my calls. Then we set a time for you to come and look at the grass but you did not show nor did you call. I again had to call several times before getting a response.  When the second area needed to be replaced, we set up a time for you to bring new sod but when you arrived you had no sod and only made suggestions on how to water the grass and asked me to call in a week.  As a businessman who wants to provide quality work, you should have taken the initiative to call me to follow-up instead of expecting me to call you again.  After the additional watering, the grass still did not improve.  Finally, you sent two of your workers to replace the area. The grass was replaced but they did a very sloppy job and did not have enough grass to replace all that needed to be done.  I know that my yard was a small job for your company, but whether it is a small or large job, all customers should be given quality work.  I would recommend  1)that  you discuss with your customers what follow up you will provide 2) return calls promptly 3) show up for appointments  4) follow up to see if your customer is satisfied 5) treat all customers equally   Thirdly, when the grass was originally laid, it did not appear to me that the ground was adequately leveled.  Dirt that was taken out was left in a mound in the back corner of the yard and covered with rock instead of being hauled away. That to me is sloppy work. I would recommend that you discuss with your customer the option of leaving dirt in a pile in the backyard or hauling it away.   The letter is intended to give you constructive feedback for your company nothing more. I know small businesses rely heavily on word of mouth referrals.  Unfortunately, I will not be able to refer you to any of my friends.   Sincerely,     Carol Buuck
By August the new lawn was 80% dead. I once again contacted Mr.Montijo solely to ask for a copy of the receipt from Home Depot so that I could get a refund for the sod. I was not asking  for a refund from Mr. Montijo or for any other service from him. When I asked for the receipt Mr. Montijo stated that he did not have a receipt nor did he have any documentation on the sod purchase. In my opinion this was questionable business practice. At this point Mr. Montijo became belligerent and accusatory claiming that it was all my fault that the grass died and that I was more trouble than I was worth. I told Mr. Montijo that he needed to provide the documentation I requested or do the right thing and make this right. I have not heard from Mr. Montijo since.