Groundworks

Small customers are a no-go for them. Of course, we did not know this until weeks after being in email correspondence, sending them photos of ideas, having them out for a site visit, and receiving a written quote for work from them. They wasted our time in a colossal way. If your job isn't going to make them $$$, don't bother contacting them and if you do contact them for a job, be ready for your verbal estimate given at the site visit to be quite different that the written one. We know how to hire companies and others have the foresight to be honest and not waste time - if the job is too small, they just say so at the initial contact point. Not this business. They will waste your time and then after weeks of discussion and effort on everyone's part, just say, "No thanks. We can't make enough money from your job." And you are left wondering, "What just happened here?" This occurred after we asked them why their written quote was $600+ higher than the verbal estimate they gave at the site visit. When we asked them why, their response was to walk away (politely, of course, but still...). Most businesses give a verbal ballpark and when the actual written quote comes in, it's within range of that verbal quote. Not the case here. There was nothing in the ballpark of the initial verbal quote. So that is confusing too for a potential customer. And when you ask "Why?" rather than discuss more, they bolt. While companies need to make a profit, and we understand this, Groundworks just does not show respect for the "little guy" needing a small job done and apparently it is okay to waste peoples' time and make believe they matter as a potential customer. PROS: When they did come for the site visit - they were on-time. Their email response time was good too. And, Gary is friendly and helpful. He was able to see some grading issues we needed to correct, which we appreciate. CONS: The level of professionalism of treating a customer's time respectfully is absent. Be forewarned, verbal quotes may vary widely from written ones. OVERALL: We won't be looking to them in the future when we DO have larger jobs. So short-sighted. We won't be recommending them either.

Let me start this by saying that I'm a detail oriented guy. I work in the mechanical trades, and I'm very familiar with the practices used by contractors. Both good and bad. With that in mind, I needed to hire someone to redo a very poor landscaping job that I inherited. I looked at a small handful of companies that I knew to have a good reputation. Groundworks is a family operated business. I met initially with Gary, who owns it along with his wife. He provided an initial estimate, and was clear about what would be done. He uses his own employees, no sub-contractors or temporary help. In fact, his son Chris was the crew leader on my project. With more than 20 years of experience, I was in good hands with Chris. The scope of the project was initially smaller than the end result due to the hidden issues that were uncovered when work got under way. Gary and Chris worked with me to correct those problems at a price that was more than fair given the time and effort involved. His crew was polite and wasted no time sitting around despite the brutally hot weather. The end result was beautiful. Do yourself a favor and give them an opportunity to provide an estimate. People like this are few and far between. I won't hesitate to recommend them to family and friends. Charles Rapp Lakeville

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Gary was very informative in regards to what was going to be taking place. Gary was very patient with all my questions and concerns. It was nice to see him on site at times too helping out and making sure things were going smoothly. Gary's wife was very good at responding to me emails and making sure I had what I needed for information. Chris and the other crew member(s) were very polite and would ask me questions in regards to what I was expecting or wanted instead of just doing it. I would HIGHLY recommend them for any landscaping and plan on having them back to perform further projects.

Mr. Bauer is always prompt and takes excellent care of my parents. I cannot recommend him highly enough.

Everything went really well. Chris was very professional in his work and lets you know if there is anything that comes up and needs to be addressed. I would recommend Groundworks to anyone who is looking to have any landscaping done. They are reasonable, professional, and the quality of work is excellent. They are very punctual and work with the homeowner with their needs.

It went very well. They completely cleared the driveway and turnaround. They were on time.

Beautiful! Groundworks installed a retaining wall for a steep side of our driveway in 2009. This winter, the other side of our driveway started eroding and we called Groundworks. This week they were able to build a shorter, lower wall, matching the 7 year old wall. Then they finished off the entry with a stone-step hosta bed bringing all together with matching rocks and style. Their design work, creativity in suggesting solutions, workmanship and final clean up are excellent.

I have had them plow my driveway for more years than I remember. Their service is reliable with every "plowable" snowfall. Their price is very reasonable. I would recommend them.

I HAVE A HARD TIME GETTING ANYONE TO DO SERVICE WORK WHERE I LIVE. I LIVE JUST OUTSIDE PRESCOTT WI, WHICH IS ONLY A STONES THROW FROM MN. HOWEVER SO MANY TWIN CITY BUSINESSES THINK THAT WE LIVE AT THE END OF THE EARTH AND DO NOT WANT TO COME OUT THIS FAR. I NEEDED A LOT OF LANDSCAPE WORK DONE...SO I LOOKED IN THE PHONE BOOK AND DECIDED TO CALL GROUNDWORKS. (THEY ARE LOCATED IN HASTINGS MN) JUST ACROSS THE RIVER, ABOUT 12 MILES. I REALLY LUCKED OUT....THE WORK THEY DID WAS EXCELLENT....WORK I THOUGHT FOR WHAT I HAD DONE WAS REASONABLE. WHEN I FIRST CALLED, THE CALL WAS RETURNED WITHIN A DAY....CAME AND DID THE WORK WHEN THEY SAID THEY WOULD...CANNOT SAY ENOUGH GOOD THINGS.....SO IF ANYONE LIVES ON THIS SIDE OF THE WORLD AND NEEDS LANDSCAPING, (WALLS ETC) I WOULD HIGHLY RECOMMEND GROUNDWORKS...THEY ALSO DO SNOWPLOWING IN THE WINTER. DID THE LAST PART THIS APRIL 2004 FOR $4000. THE REST WAS DONE LAST YEAR AND IN 2001...TOTAL COST WAS 14000.00.