The Yard Crew
About us
Landscape Design/Maintenance Contractors. Five crews and 10 employees. Member of BBB/ OPRF Chamber of Commerce. Fully Licensed and Insured. Specializing in hand drawn designs utilizing native plants to the Chicago area as well as custom patios, knee walls and driveways. We use both clay and Unilock pavers as well as natural stone.
Business highlights
Services we offer
Landscape Maintenance. Mulch Installation., Patios, Ponds, Residential & Commercial - Landscape Design. Landscape construction, Snow removal, Sod, stone work, walkways
Amenities
Emergency Services
Yes
Free Estimates
Yes
Accepted Payment Methods
- CreditCard
Number of Stars | Image of Distribution | Number of Ratings |
---|---|---|
47% | ||
32% | ||
5% | ||
0% | ||
16% |
That is way over any amount I could have imagined & I was not even happy with the work. This had company come for a spring clean up earlier this year it was $175 and I was very happy with the amount of work done for that. When we discussed $65/hr I thought we were talking about 2-3 hours, and I did not intend for them to pull up ALL the plants in my beds -- weeding is pulling out weeds, not pulling everything out. I never authorized over $500 worth of work when all I wanted was weeding of the edges of the beds. The areas I noted on the phone that were a priority was not even done.
This was the response:
"We weeded around the edges of the beds as you requested in your email. You also spoke on the phone with our supervisor in detail about the service, and we did exactly as you requested. Our crew pulled out 3 cubic yards of weeds/weed trees around the edges of the beds. This was not a small job and without you telling us a maximum amount of money you intended to spend, our only assumption could be that you wanted the job done thoroughly and completely.
My hope is that you can see that we sent crew to do the service that you requested and exactly as was requested by you. Between labor cost and disposal fees we make very little money from offering weeding service. I will send over statement shortly via email."
If she really wanted to run a business that was customer friendly, she would have come out to see what they actually did -- which was not weeding the edges of the beds -- it was pulling everything out. And I do not interpret our communications as authorizing a "sky's the limit" understanding that they can work for unlimited number of hours. They should have provided a number of hours estimate for me to approve. Bottom line, don't use this service. If you feel the need to, get a firm estimate beforehand!
slow to respond
"This member took 60-90 days to pay her bill, at which point she twice claimed that some services were not performed. Our slow response is better described as moving on to better clients that pay for services. 2013 was our second year providing services. I told my office to not send a renewal contract for the second season and it was sent by mistake. We only provided fertilizer and a two cleanups, hardly a body of work large enough to assess our quality of work over time. It's too bad that people like this are allowed to bash my livelihood."
The worked very hard. The garden had gotten very bad, because I had not been able to keep up with it. There was quite an infestation of thistle (with it's small though painful, needle-like prickles). I got the impression the crew didn't know what they were in for, because they didn't bring any gloves. Given that, they did the best job they could.
The garden looked great after it had been mulched. Though the thistle has returned, the rest of the perennial weeds have not, so I am better able to track down the nasty thistle and dig deeply to get as much of the root as possible.
With the installation of the French drain, I was able to establish lawn in the barren area. There was a small problem with it leaking above ground, which became apparent witht he first rain after it's installation. I sent John an e-mail, and he sent someone out to check it out. A little work needed to be redone, which was handled expiditiously.
The estimate was spot on. There were no surprises. It was relief to get the garden cleaned out, and I thank them for their effort.
I hired the yard crew for my summer/fall lawn maintenance. Their crews were always professional and came on scheduled days--even in the rain. I have been disappointed by the fall services and clean up of my beds. Basically I expected better clean up during the fall on and quot;regularand quot; days where the rates went up by $10. They did come back once on my request to remove more leaves. They agreed to do this work if I signed up for the more thorough fall clean up which to my understanding, included clearing out the flower beds, dead heading plants etc. They came while I was on vacation and I just found out. I did not know they had been here and was waiting for them to come--until I got my bill. They have assured me they came and did their job. I am not sure how all my leaves blew back into the beds, but not onto my neighbors beds. I think this is a major case of different expectations. My neighbors yard has consistently looked better and I will be hiring their landscaper next year..
"The member initially declined services that included Fall bed work, despite being offered such services in the Spring with her service agreement. We were contacted in the Fall by the member to explain why services including plant bed maintenance were not being performed and that furthermore she thought should be included. We referred to her agreement which clearly outlined services as she requested. At this time she requested additional Fall maintenance services. The matter of leaves blown back into her beds could have been addressed at no cost to the member had we been contacted and informed of her arrival home after vacation to find leaves blown back into her beds. There were two days during late November in which we had sustained winds over 40 mph and gusts up to 60 mph. We returned to numerous homes in the area on our own accord to address the leaves that blew back into clients yards as a courtesy and attempt to provide great service. We are a small local business that prides itself on attention to our clients. It is unfortunate that in place of a phone call which would have provided a simple remedy, we have received a less than stellar professional evaluation of performance based on an assessment of taken days or weeks after service was performed. We will contact the member today to offer at no charge an additional visit to address the areas of her concern. Our reputation is important and we go out of our way to satisfy every client. Patrick Jones President"
"The Yard Crew did provide the proper grass seed as requested. It was not a matter of quality, rather the germination process of new seed that led to the different color initially. Newly germinating seed with display a different texture and color. As this member pointed out, the newly planted seed did blend in and match the established grass. Patrick Jones President"
"This member was a lot of fun to work with. As a project, an Asian evergreen inspired serenity garden with a custom built Tea House gave me the opportunity to design an outdoor living area that most designers dream of creating. It was very fulfilling professionally to see such a design implemented! Thank you to the member for being so creative to request such a project and Angie's list for bringing us together. Patrick Jones President"
"This member wrote a later response in which she points out that the grass blended in and looks the same in it's second year. The texture and color of germinating seed is always different that that of established grass. We did use the seed as requested by this member and perform work always as promised using professional grade materials. Patrick Jones President"
"Since this project, we have hired an office manager to attend to emails in a more timely manner. We have all three supervisors with Blackberry phones capable of email and use them now constantly. As a company, the slow response to email that this member encountered was part of our growing process that we recognized needed attention. At the time I was running the office, drawing designs, managing the crews and providing estimates. I was a little slow at getting back to emails. I love talking on the phone with clients, but email at this time is probably the most efficient and quickest way to contact The Yard Crew. Patrick Jones President"
Licensing
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