A. THOMAS AND SONS, INC.

Dan was very responsive to our initial phone call and came out to give us an estimate. The estimate was more than we could afford, so we scaled down some things to stay within our budget. Everyone at Thomas and Sons was very helpful in talking with us about our options. The job started later and took several days longer than he said it would. The workers were very nice and respectful; worked pretty hard for the most part. They had to remove a couple of fence posts and a gate to our backyard to bring in the equipment, and, despite several attempts, were unable to get the posts re-set properly so that our gate hangs at an angle. They also reseeded the lawn before they came out to place the sand between the pavers, so there is a 1-2" perimeter around the patio which has no grass. I was also not that impressed with the reseeding. Some areas came in very well but other areas were pretty spotty despite thorough watering. I did call once about the lawn, and was advised to keep watering it as some of the grass seed had not germinated. They did say to call back if there continued to be problems, which, in fairness to them, I did not do. I guess I just thought the lawn would turn out as nicely as the patio and retaining wall did, and I was disappointed that it did not and I was very busy at the time, so making more phone calls about the lawn just didn't appeal to me.

Both Bunny and his crew chief spent as much time as we needed to help pick plants that would work well for our site and meet our requirement of minimum maintenance. It took six weeks after putting down the deposit for work to start, but once here, the crew was polite, efficient, and careful -- and all of that in 100 degree heat. They left things cleaner than they found them. The one year guarantee is a plus for us with such a (for us) big job. Could have used better instructions on plant care -- what was given was quite generic. All-round positive experience and very easy to recommend.

BUNNY CHARGED $25 TO COME OUT AND GIVE US AN ESTIMATE. THE MONEY WAS LATER DEDUCTED FROM THE OVERALL PROJECT. HE WAS THE SECOND LANDSCAPER WE HAD COME OUT TO GIVE US IDEAS FOR OUR YARD. WE WERE IMPRESSED WITH HIS OVERALL SENSE OF WHAT SHOULD BE DONE AND HOW LONG IT WOULD TAKE. WE WERE A LITTLE DISAPPOINTED THAT THE WORK DIDN'T ACTUALLY BEGIN UNTIL ABOUT A MONTH LATER THAN WE'D PLANNED ON. THAT WAS DUE IN PART TO THE FACT WE DIDN'T KNOW WE HAD TO PUT OUR NAME INTO A CUE WHEN WE SENT IN A DEPOSIT. WE THOUGHT WE'D HAD A VERBAL COMMITMENT. WE WERE GENERALLY VERY PLEASED WITH THEIR WORK. THE ONLY REAL PROBLEM WAS THE DRAIN THEY INSTALLED IN OUR LAWN. IT WASN'T THE TYPE OF DRAIN WE PAID FOR, AND IT DIDN'T WORK. INSTEAD OF DRAINING AWAY THE WATER, IT CREATED A HUGE GULLEY IN OUR YARD. AFTER SEVERAL PHONE CALLS, BUNNY AGREED TO COME OUT AND FIX IT. HE WAS INITIALLY GOING TO CHARGE US EXTRA BUT THEN TOLD US THERE WAS NO CHARGE (WHICH THERE SHOULDN'T HAVE BEEN TO BEGIN WITH).