I was exasperated from my previous gardener as it seemed that they got too big to fast and forgot how to take care
of the yard. It had obviously become a "cookie cutter" operation. So, sometime in late 2012, I contacted Diego and explained my concerns for my yard - the lack of attention to detail, the damaging of sprinkler heads, the weeds in the lawn, the dead patches, etc. Diego visited my home and assured me that he could/would have everything taken care of properly. We agreed on a monthly
charge and also agreed on a price to, find the hidden / buried sprinklers and make repairs. In as much, Diego also assured me that if they damaged any of the sprinklers moving forward it was on them. Needless to say, I was happy about that!
Beginning with the attention to details, the first cut was "ok" at best. Subsequent cuts were "ok" as a general overview. After a month+
of service, my wife and I walked the yard and saw MANY lingering and even NEWER issues. Areas I asked them not to cut so that the grass can grow were not only being cut, but edged out. A door mat outside the covered patio door was never
EVER moved or cut around which allowed grass to grow over it. The grass was also being cut so short it was (to use
their industry term) being "burned". I emailed pictures and my concerns to Diego. Now one thing you need to know about Diego, is that he likes to keep his banker's hours and will travel out of the country for an extensive period of time (approx 6 weeks) here and there. He becomes next to impossible to speak with outside of those times. If you are not home during 9am-5pm Monday through Friday, Diego cannot accommodate you to meet with you and survey the issues in person. That, incidentally, is why I had to email pictures and descriptions.
Once Diego and I discussed these issues, he assured me that he would have his employees do the work properly from here on in. Loooooong story short, they didn't. I specifically asked them to skip at least 1 cut to allow the grass to grow. 2 days later, I happened to be home sick and here come is workers (who?s legal status I'm not sure of after conversation with them) on their gigantic ride on mower starting to cut my lawn at full throttle. I ran outside and stopped them. I called Diego on the spot who then said, "I don't know what happened, I told them not to go to your house". I then told Diego, this happened in Mid-March, we need to take a break. I need to reclaim my lawn. Weeds were abundant - which I also asked him about SEVERAL times and he told me that it wasn't time for the "Weed n Feed" yet. Then when it was, and I didn't get the notice from him, he didn't do my yard... as if I hadn't expressed my burning desire to rid my yard of weeds for months to him... I told Diego to discontinue service until further notice. He asked about starting again the first week of April, I said no. I told him that I would contact him when I was ready.
Since then I had a man named John Cross (whom I found on Angie's List) come and inspect the grass and soil condition. He found mites, fungus, burnt grass, poor soil quality, etc. Our plan of action to help this turf was to hand mow the yard (not a ride on mower) and a series of bio-fertilization and pesticides - none of which have been coming cheap. I found an independent gardener who is
cutting with a traditional hand mower and together we all had built up quite the turf. The new gardener was here this
past weekend Saturday and we began to marvel at what was becoming of the lawn. Less weeds, more "plush", etc. Then, today, I came home to a seared lawn! I wish I could post the pictures I have. There was also a bill in the mailbox from Diego's company for services this month. The most upsetting thing is my 2 months of effort, hard work and money has been destroyed. I called
Diego and he so flippantly dismissed everything I told him. He said at one point "It's grass, it will grow back". That speaks volumes to me, proving that he has no concept of lawn care and is nothing more than a guy who has some immigrants working for him going around hacking up lawns.
He is not a "Landscaper". People throw that word around like it's nothing. Landscapers are artists and look at their work and will be proud of what they've done. This crew barely qualifies as a lawn service company. And the attitude of Diego will soon catch up to him as I know, you cannot stay in business without customer service and quality work. Neither of which are intact with this group.