Kaestner Lawn Care

I dealt with the owner of the company, Jake Kaestner.  He exhibited 2 totally different personalities; your best friend who would do anything for you and then,  your worst enemy who wouldn't return your calls, blamed you for bothering him when you asked him to complete the job he promised and arrogantly presented himself with the attitude that his time and schedule was the only one that mattered.
At the first meeting with Jake he couldn't have been nicer, very personable and professional (this all quickly changed).  After reviewing my project he sent a 2 phase proposal that included:  1) remove the old railroad ties and built a new stone retaining wall; and 2) fill in the driveway where the driveway had to be extended for his wall. 
The 1st part was completed on time in December 2013 and without incident.  Then things quickly changed.  Jake told me that he could not do the asphalt part of the project until the weather warmed up in the spring or summer.  I understood and was OK with waiting.  Around April I called him to remind him that the asphalt work still needed to be completed and he reminded me that he needed warmer weather and that this part of my job was quite small and he could not schedule it.  Instead, when he had a slow day or it was raining he would call at the last minute to let me know he was coming over.  That call never happened.
Over the summer of 2014 I would occassionally  call him (because he nevered called me)  to see when (if) he could finish the job.  In a rather firm and rash manner he made it very clear that my job was not important and he would get to it when it was convenient for him and that I just needed to be patient.  I guess waiting 4 months wasn't patient enough for him.  
Well, the summer came and went and never a word from him.  Once when I tried to reach him on a couple occassions it took him 4 days to get back only to raise his voice explaining how angry he was at me for  bothering him while he was on vacation.  Of course he did not leave an extended absense message on his cell phone and stupid me; I guess I should have known he was on vacation and did not want to be bothered. 
When I reminded him one Monday that I have been waiting over 4 months for him to complete the job he said he had a crew in my area and he would send a couple guys over to do the work.  I waited all week; no phone call; no crew; no work.
This was the last straw.  I threatened to have my lawyer call him if he did not do the work and, as expected,  he just responded in kind and said he no longer wanted my business.  No problem:  Since I already given up on him  I had found someone else to do the work. 
Overall, my experience with Jake was a negative and frustrating one.  His arrogant attitude that his time was the only one that was important and that calling him after a couple months was a bother and made him angry was very revealing on how he really feels about  his customers; people he can ignore when it isn't convenient for him to follow up on what he has promised.  The old adage that "the customer is always right" doesn't exist in his world.   From reading the other reviews about this company at least he is consistent in his self-centered, self-absorbed attitude.  One would think that a company baring his name and carrying his reputation would entilce and encourage him to be the best he could be.  Unfortunately, it does not.  Or, sadly, I guess this is the best he can be.
There are many lawn and landscaping companies out there that would be eager to have your business,  work hard to earn it and value it.   Jake Kaestner and Kaestner Lawn Care is not one of them.

First off for the positives.  I feel that the 3-man crew working on our project worked hard and generally constructed the retaining wall according to the project plans.  However, when their work was hurried by the company management quality of the finished project lacked.  The "office management" did not support the working crew or provide direction to complete the project correctly. Fortunately as a home-owner familiar with retaining wall design and construction I stepped in to make sure that the retaining wall was constructed properly.  Without my involvement the wall would have been incorrectly placed on the site, would not have been constructed on properly compacted base material, would not have been backfilled properly, and wouldn't have been constructed to the designed height.  I imagine that Kaestner  would be competent to construct a short landscape wall, but if the wall is more than a couple feet in wall height beware!  In addition at the end of our project many items were left without being completed, including fence replacement that was part of the original agreement.  So overall the quality of the work completed was good (but I would guess without my perseverance and knowledge that it would be marginal at best).  In fact one of the workers indicated that they would typically cut corners, but weren't on my project because I would call them on it.  The price for the work was fairly reasonable, although they failed to provide any project oversight or management during the 12+ day project. The project was also started 9 weeks behind the start date quoted.  As a minor distraction Missouri One-Call was not contacted and they cut through our cable line, fortunately the utility service disturbed was not one that would cause injury to a worker. 
Now for the looming negatives.  The lack of professionalism and business practices of the firm and its managers.  Fist of all, we should have demanded a signed contract before work began (our failure) instead of signing the contract part way through the project.  We paid for the project in two installments, both ahead of the contract requirements (to aid in their cash flow since this was a larger-than-typical project for their firm) yet still received very unprofessional at-the-door demands for intermediate payments during the project.  I just wish I would have been home at the time of that time to talk with their manager at our door instead of him intimidating my wife.  My only recourse was to inform him and the his boss that he was not to be allowed back onto my property.  Also beware of their "Consult of Owner" statement in their contract and demand lien waivers from suppliers before you make payment to Kaestner.  You don't want to pay twice for the same work.  I certainly should have considered a more reputable firm for my landscaping project.  
Now with that a year behind me we have had what appears to be a minor repair required for the retaining wall.  After 6 weeks of trying to get a response for them to check the problem out they still haven't evaluated the problem.  I certainly don't expect a quick or courteous response to my needs.  Too bad my expectations are so low.  I could continue to comment on Kaestner, but I think I have painted the picture.  Please do your dillagence and check out the BBB reviews before thinking about hiring Kaestner Lawn Care, LLC (or any other names they go by including KLC, K.L.C. Retaining Walls, KLC Concrete & Hardscapes ...)  My hope is that this review will help inform you of this firm's performance before you get your home improvement project going.