MASTERPEACE GARDENS

Working initially w/Chris was seemingly positive. She promoted the attestion on her website that she 'personally oversees each project from start to finish'. This was not the case. Several times I had to call Chris to either let her know that her crew had not shown up at the house altogether one day, that the Supervisor was not onsite and the crew was sitting idle, or that a sod installation mistake had been made, to name a few examples. As the project progressed further, Chris chose to make her son's aspiring acting endeavors priority over her commitment to her client. Onsite visits became very minimal, thus leaving the work to her staff and husband. On planting day, the most important day in terms of bringing the design to life, she opted out and sent her husband. I hired Chris because she promoted herself as the Certified Master Gardener, not her husband. She began increasingly relying on email as her primary means of communication, often not returning calls. By the end of the project, we we forced to deal soley with her husband. Upon completion of the project, several issues with the plants arose. I consulted with two full-scale landscape maintenance companies and presented the findings to Chris in the following email exchange:----- Original Message -----From: Chris Canaday To: Lori Givens Sent: Wednesday, July 04, 2007 8:11 AM Subject: Re: Invoice #070107 Lori, * expletive YOU, * PRE-emergant WAS used on your garden you cheap piece of * expletive *. ONLY because we want you OUT of our lives SO badly as you have been the BIGGEST PAIN IN THE * expletive * CLIENTS WE HAVE EVER DEALT WITH, KEEP YOUR PRECIOUS 250.00! Very sincerely, Chris----- Original Message -----From: Lori Givens To: Chris@masterpeacegardens.com Sent: Tuesday, July 03, 2007 7:40 PM Subject: Invoice #070107 Chris and Howard, Since Masterpeace Gardens 'completed' its job, I have hired a full-scale maintenance team to care for our yards. This team has advised that at least two of the ferns are now dying because of poor placement, in other words they were planted in an area of the yard that is receiving too much sun. This is further evidenced by the other fern plants that are thriving and which have been planted in other areas of the yard receiving less sun exposure. Additionally, two separate landscape maintenance teams have both advised that a pre-emergence treatment should have been completed by the company that installed the new yard (Masterpeace Gardens) Based on these added costs and the questionable survival of other plants (e.g. two shrimp plants et al), I will be applying the $250 retainer to cover my expenses. Plants should survive and thrive longer than 1-2 months after initial planting. I consider this matter closed. Sincerely, Lori Givens. In closing, her behavior was APALLING and extremely unprofessional. Chris clearly needs to learn how to deal with challenging situations and/or clients in a professional manner. Beware!