LANDSYSTEMS LANDSCAPES

The entire job took approximately ten months, from the first meeting regarding design, to installation of the last bushes. The results were phenomenal. Our yard is one of the most beautiful in the neighborhood, if not the town, and not a week goes by where we don't get some comment from a neighbor or passer-by about our beautiful gardens/flagstone. The workers were great, efficient, polite and very knowledgeable. Tim Vine is a wonderful designer, and hires wonderful designers to work with him. Our project manager was a mixed bag. He is very personable, great listener, but not particularly effective in communicating about the negative aspects of our job: e.g.: explaining delays or unannounced changes to the plan, or how problems were going to be solved. I was more involved in day-to-day project management than I expected I would be, given the price. On the other hand, this was our first huge project, and I wasn't particularly informed about the role of the owner.

BEWARE OF THIS COMPANY! They charged $5000 for a preliminary paper design that they priced at 3 times the agreed $80K budget. They sued in small claims court to collect this design fee, after refusing to negotiate. My experience is not an aberration. Between 1986 and 2003, Landsystems and owner Tim Vine have been party to 78 small claims court cases and 41 civil court cases. They have sued to collect design fees from irate customers, or have been sued by customers who received substandard work, or by subcontractors who were never paid by Landsystems. These court cases are a matter of public record in San Mateo and Santa Clara counties. Beware!