Acacia Landscape Services of SD, Inc.
About us
You will meet with the owner Dave Ryden, who has a BA in Landscape Design and 40 years of residential experience. He will be your estimator, designer and project manager and your partner in having an enjoyable and worry free experience landscaping your home. He thinks from the big picture, i.e. how could this concrete patio I'm providing maybe pose later problems for any future plantings, lighting, drainage, sprinkler access, etc. He is noted for listening well, providing the desired proposal and then delivering. He doesn't change prices once the contract is awarded unless work is added by the customer (which incidentially does occur in 75% of our jobs once people see us work). We will start and finish the project when we say. Much detail is considered before the bid is offered so there are a limited number of surprises once work starts. We are a small company and typically 1-2 jobs a day and we are there everyday once the jobs starts. We do not do gardening so we don't occasionally disappear to do our 'route'. We do almost all work with our own employees so full control of the job progress is in the our hands and not tied in with some subcontractors problems. The most skilled of processes (ie stamping concrete or fine carpentry) are done by highly skilled technicians employed as a one day occasion. This allows us to keep our operation costs low and the quality high. We do jobs from $300 and up to $150K. We are knowledeable about the latest advances in sprinkler nozzle design, low water planting and water conserving designs. 6 Employees. No Subs Used. Cost Is Determined By The Job.
Business highlights
Services we offer
Bar B Que's, Concrete, Decks, Irrigation & Drainage., Lighting, Patios, Residential Landscaping
| Number of Stars | Image of Distribution | Number of Ratings |
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| 94% | ||
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Dave came up with some awesome ideas. Not just with the landscape design, but also adding outdoor rugs, pots, etc.
We also utilized him to provide us with contractors to complete the work. All the vendors he recommended were great. Our job was completed ahead of schedule!
I gave Dave a sketch of the plan I desired and we began a tour of the lot. About 10 minutes into the tour our discussion stalled on our different approaches to handling surface drainage on the plan. His proposal for handling surface drainage for the pavers in the side yard did not coincide with the plan. He then stated he wouldn't be interested in taking the job and left.
"Based on what the you said at the time, I assumed that you had accepted my sincere apology and explanation for missing the appointment, but judging from the grades, I wonder what was really going on. You had very strong opinions about the work and insisted that the drainage be performed your way. As a contractor with close to 40 yrs. of drainage experience, I'm always responsible for the effectiveness of the work I produce and am responsible for redoing the work if it should fail, no matter whose 'good idea' it was. I did not agree with your approach to do the project. Most people are interested in hiring someone like me for this type of project because they feel it would be best to have an expert do the project. Some people feel they know best so they do better hiring a laborer and managing the work themselves. Given you seemed more committed to doing what you thought was best versus what I thought, as the expert in the field, I said I wasn't interested, thanked you and left. I believe being professional includes being honest and upfront with people. I can only guess that you must have really wanted me to give you a quote but based on your opinion versus mine and when I turned down the project, you were offended."
We will definitely contact Apollo for future projects and highly recommend them to anyone contemplating improvements involving interlocking pavers.
We have now used Acacia on numerus occasions and I wouldn't hesitate to recommend them to our friends.
"What you failed to mention is that in our first meeting we agreed that I would develop a FREE design and price estimate for other work you wanted done to be performed by a General Contractor that I also worked with. That work included adding two bedrooms, laundry room and a 2-car garage - many hours worth of work. At our meeting we discussed that this work was important to do as a first step, due to drainage issues that might occur in the landscape once the remodel work was complete. So I proceeded to work on that design and estimate. When I called you, I told you I had finished drawings for the floor plan design and had done that estimate. To that, you simply said don't worry about that part of the job, I've already hired another company to do it and they have started that work. Given your disregard for the work I had done for you, at no charge, and your lack of keeping me informed of going a different direction with that part of your project, I felt it would not be a good fit to work together. So instead of continuing, I choose to drop the project at this point. I guess I figured you weren't that interested in working with me as well."
On the 3rd visit (after he got the sprinklers working again, it became obvious that one head was broken), he replaced one of the garden sprinkler risers that was broken.
Dave is great about calling back the same day and being able to come out late in the day or on a Saturday. He can also work independently when we are not home which is really helpful for busy homeowners. The prices for labor and parts seem reasonable and he mails an invoice so we can pay later. I have found him to be a nice honest guy, very humble and easy to work with.
"Some jobs are done on a contract basis where there is a specific amount set for the whole job. And some jobs that are more complicated are done on what's called 'Time and Material' to better manage the costs, which is beneficial to all. Sorry you didn't express any concerns you had at the time. We are very proud of the work we have done for close to 40 yrs. throughout San Diego and for how happy our customers are in the quality of our work, our customer service and delivering on their expectations. Most people let us know their concerns during the decision process. I'm confident we could have worked it out, if you had shared with us your concerns."
Licensing
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