David Gardner The Gardener

"Thank you member, for the kind words and trust you gave me. We'll find out how well things go come rainy season, and I'll be at the ready if you need any additional help. If you read my last report, which since writing my response I've spending a few hours going through: phone records, files, e-mails -- anywhere that may have record of getting voice mails from the "F" giver, I can not find a trace if his call? I even looked up his address and it appeared as new construction. With so little of that going on, I'd remember that? What I wrote toward the end of the note, regarding the unexpected bunch of requests, (I'm grateful, just wish they were a little more spread out) Your'e job was at the very begining of that seven day a week work, no time for billing, and I pray "never again," crazy period of my life. When doing your job, and reviewing your needs, I was in a manic/panic stage, knowing I couldn't keep up with the requests though wanting to please them all, and in constant fear of a bad report, one that could spoil all that work I've done; earing a reputation for customer service, quality work, and creative solutions. Near 21 years of painstakingly building it: never going to court, returning calls no matter how inconvienient, re doing things for people if they were not happy, the list is endless. (Funny thing life is, as it did happen; my fear came true, and I got my first "F," Not an earned one, not from someone waiting too long for an estimate, or whom I'd done shoddy work, not someone who I'd not shown up for an appointment with, or someone with any other "real reason" that I can think of that would lead anyone to rate a company they've had no experience with in such a way; even if he truly believes he had left me two voice mails and had no response. Why not send an e-mail, or call Angies, or try again and tell me what I had done. With trouble seporating feelings between personal and work, it hurts emotionally, and also with my ability to provide for my family.) Member, I wanted to let you know that I enjoyed what little time we spent on the phone together, and truly love your very beautiful home. It's a privilage to work on that home, and to help someone whom since we finished, that I've heard from the lips of several of my friends and clients about your reputation as generous donators of both time and money to causes you believe in. I truly hope, if you ever choose to make any changes to your landscaping, that you will give me the opportunity- or at least a chance- to be a part of them. Though I've been enthusiastic since birth, nicknamed by an Aunt who cared for me several months a year as "nervous norvous," a name I've come to look at fondly as I do my Aunt, I'm not normally quite as manic as the person you dealt with, and I also don't wait two months to bill either! If you've taken the time to read this, thank you. I hope everything is going well for both you and your husband this summer. David Gardner"

"This is a fun project, and a fun owner to boot. I'm grateful for the trust. The owners, original since the home was built 30+ years ago, have been weekend gardeners doing the best they could with the budget they had. Lots of interesting solutions they had thought of, and from what she says, they enjoyed the process. Now its time to have the yard done professionally, and bring it up to neighborhood standards. It's a nice place to live, and soon their yard will have what she's dreamed of: A rose garden, raised bed veggies, a small orchard, pretty plants that go together and don't take too much water or time to care for, and it will all flow together into one unit. I'm enjoying working with her and the design process that continues to evolve. Thanks for the kind words,process David Gardner "The Gardener""

"Thank you for taking the time to fill out the report, I'm grateful for the praise, and am glad I've been helpful regarding your projetcts. David Gardner"

"Member, I'm glad to hear an "old farmer" like you is still kicking. Makes my day. Thanks for the kind words. David"

"The Member's job was relocated, forcing him to rent his home -- right after installing his landscape himself! He needed someone to take care of his new baby, especially his numerious carefully planted roses, hoping they would not deteriorate during his absence. Speaking with him, it was obvious he had put his heart and sole (and much hard labor) into installing what he was originally planning to enjoy. To find the right person, he wisely chose Angie's List. BEING AN ANGIES LIST MEMBER HAS GREAT POWER; although his home was out of my normal service area, but knowing he found me on the list, I took time to review his needs; check the irrigation, plants and drainage, and then shoot a video his yard so we could discuss his needs in detail by phone. I'm happy I was helpful; being so is important to me: it gives meaning to my life and career choice. Twenty years of hard work in the same field payed off this time. Thanks again Steve, for the opportunity, and thank you Angie's List. David Gardner "The Gardener""

"Thank you, I feel the same way about working with you; enjoy the interaction and time we've spent discussing the problems with both the landscape; but also the world. See you soon. David G the G"

"Thank you for the report. As I've said before, I wish all the people I've helped would be so kind as to take the time to do so. It was, is, and hopefully will continue to be a pleasure to serve the two of you. Most of all, thank you for the trust, it means everything to me. David G the G"

"Thank you very much for the praise! We are truly grateful for the trust given to us, and will continue to do whatever we can to maintain it. My "team" and myself value our clients, and are committed to continuing providing a service that truly helps people. It is good to know that we were able to use some of our practical knowledge and hard earned experience to your benefit, although the guys at the Hardware Store may have less to do because of it. Thanks again, David Gardner "The Gardener" and crew. :)"

"Thank you for the report. I'm glad I was helpful. David"

"Thank you for the three "A"s. Unfortunately, there seems to have been a communication problem regarding the rest of the report. I really wish she would have called, e-mailed or written me with her concerns before posting the above response, I had no idea that she was not completely satisfied. I am a believer in Angie's List, and at times the referrals I've recieved have made the difference of whether or not I am able to provide for my wife and children. I go two steps beyond for the people who get my name here, and work as hard as I can to earn good reports. She first called me on Monday 3-23-09, explaining that she was having trouble with her irrigation with brown spots on the lawn. She was going to be leaving on vacation for three weeks on the 31st, so it was urgent to get it repaired before she left. We were in the midst of a spring rush of calls but I promised to fit her in. I also explained that my minimum service call for the city of Orange was $69.00 plus any parts. On Saturday, 3-28, my foreman left his helper on a job in the morning and drove out to check out the work to do, and was there from 10:10 a.m. to 11:25 p.m. She had a Irritrol Rain Dial controller. They are usually very reliable, so my foreman did spend some time to see if it was one of the ten sprinkler valves or a short in the wiring to be sure that it was the timer that was the problem. At lunch time he left and picked up his helper, returning at 12:10 p.m. to fix a broken sprinkler and write a list of zones, what they watered, along with a list of parts needed to repair the controller and - if chosen - to upgrade the existing irrigation. She had 2 inch pop ups that were getting blocked by the lawn and had expressed interest in doing more work on the system when she returned. They left her house at 1:20 pm. I think I was off that weekend, so on Monday 3-30, I reviewed the video that my foreman had shot, along with the list of to do's. Before calling her on Monday, I called the irrigation supply to get a price on replacing her controller with the same one. The retail price on that clock was $371.00 plus tax, what I thought was too much money. I got the price for the Rainbird ESP modular controller with 10 zones and called her and explained the options. I gave her the price of $244.12 for the controller plus $79.00 to $120.00 to install and program the clock (plus the previous service call, repair and diagnosis). Knowing she was leaving, we stopped what we were doing, picked up the controller and brought it over and installed and programmed it on the same day. Normally, I wait to get the paperwork back from my foreman to do someone's bill. She wanted to pay before she left and said that she would call me when she returned so we could meet personally and go over the sprinkler upgrade, so I did some quick math and said I'd be fine with a check for $400.00. At the end of the week, I put her invoice in her file and awaited for her call when she returned, planning on giving it to her by hand. Some period of time later, I gave her a call and left a message asking if she was intending on doing the irrigation work, I received no return call. In the meantime, I had completely forgot about the invoice in her file (my mistake), had I realized it was important, I would have mailed it. Funny thing is, when I read her post, I remembered her name and found the Christmas letter I had sent to her that had been returned by the post office undeliverable. Looks like my wife had a hard time reading my writing and wrote the wrong address. Oh well, can't win them all I guess. Thank you for your time. David Gardner "The Gardener" P.S. Angie's List clearly states that I do not take credit cards."

"I am really enjoying working for this client. She is allowing me creative control over the project and I truly appreciate it. I'm sure the final results will be terrific."

"WHAT A CHALLENGE! WHEN I FIRST MET THEM, THEY HAD OBVIOUSLY "GIVEN UP" ON WHAT THEY HAD ORIGINALLY HAD IN THEIR YARD. IT WAS UNDERSTANDABLE, THE PLANTERS WERE UNDER IRRIGATED RESULTING IN DRY SPOTS AND DEAD PLANTS. ADD TO THAT, RABBITS SEEMED TO HAVE MADE THEIR FRONT YARD THEIR NEW WORLDWIDE HEADQUARTERS. THE HARD WORKING COUPLE HAVE A BEAUTIFUL HOME THAT DESERVES AN EQUALLY BEAUTIFUL YARD- SO THAT'S WHERE I STARTED. WITH CAREFUL PLANNING, WELL PLACED IRRIGATION AND WELL INTELLIGENT PLANT USAGE (AS RABBIT RESISTANT AS POSSIBLE), MY GOAL WAS TO BE SURE THAT THEY DID NOT "GIVE UP" ON THEIR YARD EVER AGAIN. THEIR PRIORITY'S. WIDEN THE DRIVEWAY TO ACCOMMODATE TEEN DRIVERS ALONG WITH EASY MAINTENANCE AND TO REPAIR ROOT DAMAGED RAISED PLANTERS. THEY ALSO WANTED IT TO BE "PRETTY," ALL WHILE KEEPING WITHIN A REASONABLE BUDGET. THE EXISTING HARDSCAPE, MOSTLY BRICK, WAS IN GOOD CONDITION AND OBVIOUSLY INSTALLED BY A SKILLED MASON. UNFORTUNATELY, AS WITH MANY MASONRY JOBS, THEY USED PLENTY OF BRICKS BUT LEFT SOME AREAS WITH ALMOST NO ROOM FOR PLANTS, DRAINS OR IRRIGATION. REPLACING THE MASONRY WAS OUT OF THE QUESTION (AND OUT OF BUDGET) SO I HAD TO BE CREATIVE IN MY PLANT AND SPRINKLER USAGE. I THINK I LIVED UP TO THE CHALLENGE. THE ONLY THING I WOULD DO OVER IS TO MEET BOTH OF THEM (HUSBAND AND WIFE) TOGETHER BEFORE DRAWING A PLAN. THE HUSBAND SEEMED INTERESTED IN A LAWN FREE FRONT YARD, SO I CREATED A PLAN FOR THE FRONT YARD BASED ON HIS WISHES. UNFORTUNATELY, HIS WIFE (WHO'S BOTH KIND AND BEAUTIFUL) WAS NOT OF SIMILAR MINDSET, SO I DREW "PLAN B" AND WENT WITH IT. THEY PLACED A GREAT DEAL OF TRUST WITH ME, ONLY ENCOURAGING ME TO WORK HARDER TO LIVE UP TO THAT TRUST. DURING THE PROJECT, I REALIZED THAT THE REPAIRS TO THE PLANTERS WOULD BE A TEMPORARY FIX, THAT THE ROOTS FROM THE MATURE QUEEN PALM WOULD SOON BREAK IT AGAIN. THE SOLUTION? REMOVE THE PLANTER COMPLETELY IN THE AREA AROUND THE PALM TREE AND HAVE THE NOW SLOPING PLANTING AREA FLOW OUT TOWARD THE LAWN. THE CHANGE WAS A FINANCIAL BREAK EVEN BUT THE FINAL RESULT IS BEAUTIFUL AND LONG LASTING. MY PRELIMINARY "GUESSTIMATE" WAS RIGHT ON THE MONEY, EVEN WITH THE INEVITABLE UNSEEN PROBLEMS, THOUGH THE FINAL DECISION TO ADD QUALITY LOW VOLTAGE LIGHTING PUSHED THE FINAL DOLLAR AMOUNT HIGHER THAN WHAT WAS HOPED FOR. WITH THE NEW LIGHTING (WE EVEN RAN A VERY NARROW SPOT LIGHT FROM AN EVE TO ACCENT THE ADDRESS LETTERS) THE RESULT IS NEAR MAGIC. EVEN THOUGH THE LANDSCAPING IS NEW WITH IMMATURE PLANTS-- THE HOUSE LOOKS FANTASTIC-- ESPECIALLY IN THE EVENING HOURS. I AM PROUD OF BOTH THE FINAL RESULTS AND THE PRAGMATIC APPROACH WE TOOK. I ALSO ENJOYED WORKING WITH THE OWNERS WHO TOOK A HANDS OFF APPROACH. I LOOK FORWARD TO RE DOING THEIR VERY LARGE BACK YARD SOON."

"WORKING WITH HER WAS A PLEASURE. SHE GAVE ME THE TRUST AND CREATIVE CONTROL I NEEDED TO CREATE A ONE OF A KIND, HOME AND OWNER APPROPRIATE DESIGN THAT WILL ONLY LOOK BETTER AS TIME GOES BY. TOO BAD THE PHOTO'S DO NOT SHOW WHAT THE FINAL RESULTS WILL LOOK LIKE IN A FEW YEARS--NOT AN OVER PLANTED LANDSCAPE THAT WILL NEED MORE WORK WHEN THE PLANTS GROW IN. MANY OF THE PLANTS USED REQUIRE "NO PRUNING," WITH THE REMAINDER ONLY NEEDING SEASONAL PRUNING. BESIDES SETTING THE SPRINKLER TIMER AND PULING WEEDS, THE ONLY THING SHE WILL HAVE TO DO IS WATCH THE GARDEN GROW. I THANK HER FOR THE OPPORTUNITY TO APPLY MY CRAFT."

"ONCE AGAIN, I HAVE FOUND A GREAT CLIENT. ALTHOUGH THE FIRST SET OF PLANS I GAVE HER MATCHED THE HOUSE, THEY WERE NOT APPROPRIATE TO HER TASTES. SO, I RE DREW THEM WITH A MORE ECLECTIC LOOK THAT SHE REALLY APPRECIATED. SHE WAS WORRIED THAT I WOULD BE UPSET ABOUT THE RE DRAWING, BUT I AGREED WITH HER THAT THE ORIGINAL PLAN DID NOT MATCH HER PERSONALITY AND I WOULD HAVE CHANGED IT ONCE WORK GOT STARTED ANYWAY TO FIX THAT. I AM VERY PLEASED WITH THE FINAL RESULTS AND AM NOW MAINTAINING THE YARD TO ASSURE THAT IT WILL CONTINUE TO LOOK GREAT. THANKS AGAIN FOR THE WORK AND TRUST!"

"THE MEMBER WAS CONTACTED AT 8:30 A.M. ON THE MORNING THAT THE DEMOLITION WAS TO START, INFORMING HER THAT IT WOULD NEED TO BE RESCHEDULED. IT WAS THE MORNING THAT I FOUND OUT THAT I MIGHT HAVE CANCER AND NEEDED TO GO TO GET A BLOOD TEST IMMEDIATELY. I AM A 42 YEAR OLD FATHER OF TWO WITH A 20 YEAR MARRIAGE. THE THOUGHT OF HAVING CANCER SCARED ME ENOUGH TO BE DISTRACTED AND LATE WITH CHANGING SCHEDULES. THE MEMBER WAS AWARE OF MY SITUATION AND THAT IT WOULD HAVE NO EFFECT ON THE COMPLETION DATE. IT WAS THE FIRST TIME IN 15 YEARS THAT I HAD NOT FOLLOWED THROUGH WITH THIS KIND OF COMMITMENT. I TAKE PRIDE IN BEING THE CONTRACTOR WHO "SHOWS UP." I'M ON TIME OR I CALL."