CM's A Cut Above

They mow the lawn for our whole community.

It went great. It was expensive, but given the sizable scope of the project, was worth every penny. Our landscape looks the best it's looked in 20+ years. From initial design through project completion, CM was a pleasure to work with. The crew was professional, courteous, and highly competent. They removed some large mature shrubs and a tree, planted approximately 90 new shrubs and trees, and transplanted some existing shrubs, all within about 8 hours. If you need some landscaping work done, from planting a tree to a complete landscape installation, look no further than CM.

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Very efficient & great clean up after the job was done

Let's see...where do I start? Josh was very responsive and seemed to listen to our ideas and wants for that area, he returned phone calls promptly, etc. Once the contract was signed, I didn't feel we received the same attentiveness. Out of the four trees delivered, one wasn't what I thought it was going to be, one looked half dead (but they insisted it would come back in the spring, it didn't). The third one was awful looking and I refused to accept it. There were numerous perennials that were not planted deep enough and within a couple of days we had to replant them ourselves. In the spring a couple of the trees and numerous plants did not come back. We had to repeatedly contact them to have them come out and replace them. There were more issues but bottom line we felt that for the amount of money we spent we expected better service and quality of plants/trees.

Wonderful. The price is rite. We received bids from 30$-70$. We are very happy with the professionalism of the lawn crew. My lawn looks awesome.

We were very pleased with the work. Even the owner came out to answer any questions. Will definitely use them again.

Outstanding service!

Dan Z listened to what we envisoned and made suggestions to make our concept a realality. Work crew was professional and courteous, completed the job on-time and cleaned-up afterward. After the install, discovered a minor flaw - Dan Z. made it right after a few days. Overall I was very satisfied and have already started working with them for another project.

Our project manager did a very good job of communicating to me and also did excellent work while they were at my house. They were very quick and the work was very well done. I have had multiple follow up communications with him and they are really on top of their customer care. I will use them again in the future.

Once the contract was signed, communication from the project leader (same person that finalized the contract for the company) was dismal; so much that we had to do a significant amount of follow-up to insure the work being done represented what we had contracted the company to do. Examples:

1. The team was supposed to be onsite Monday morning. It had rained overnight and the start date was moved to Tuesday, but no one called to inform us the start date was moved until 2:00 PM on Monday - after I made two calls inquiring about the status. If teams are not out working then someone should be able to contact the customers and let them know.
2. When the team arrived Tuesday morning, the project leader appeared to be reviewing with the 2-man team what needed to be done and then he left. He knew I worked from home, but made no attempt to talk with me about "the plan" for the day. I introduced myself to the two workers and asked the foreman if the project leader indicated what they were to do with the existing brick edging. He said "no". (I knew this to be the case b/c the project leader was supposed to check with me that morning.) I let the foreman know and the team kindly stacked the bricks elsewhere on the property.
3. After the initial wall and edging were installed around the mature trees, I noticed the team was putting the river rock back into the bed. I approached the foreman and asked if the project leader told him that the landscape fabric around the trees was supposed to be replaced. The answer was "no". I suggested he discuss this with the project leader because I didn't want them to have to rework what they were doing. A few minutes thereafter the project leader arrived and confirmed this with the team.
4. The project leader agreed to meet with us at the end of the first day of work. When his plans changed, he sent an email instead of calling. We left a voice mail on his cell phone expressing our disappointment that he let us know this by email instead of calling and that we wanted a call back. We also left a message at the office for the president and a vice president stating we wanted someone else to meet with if the project leader could not meet with us that evening. Shortly afterward, the project leader called and said he would meet with us.
5. Toward the end of the first day, we felt that the results were not meeting our expectations as discussed with the project lead when finalizing the contract (i.e., the wall was supposed to go across the front and around each front corner and stop at or just past the front trees, there was significant spacing between the stones). As part of the meeting at the end of the first day, the project manager agreed to have these items addressed. The next day when the team was re-working the wall, I noticed that there was still significant spacing between the stones and asked the foreman whether the project leader talked to him about tightening up the space between the stones. He said "No".
6. During a meeting with the project leader, he acknowledged that all the stone from the company's yard had been brought to the worksite and that he probably under-estimated the amount needed. He was going to contact a supplier the next day to see if they had more of the stone. That day came and went with no contact from the project leader, team or company about the additional stone. On Thursday morning, I called the project lead to inquire what the plan was for moving forward and learned that he had a family emergency the day before. He did, however, send someone else to the supplier's location and that he was going to have to make a trip there himself. I am sympathetic to the family emergency. Life happens! But here is another opportunity where someone else could have and should have made a call to the customer to communicate the status of the efforts.
7. When the team completed the work, no one let us know they were done. The team left and the project leader never contacted us to confirm the job was completed nor inquire whether we had questions/concerns or were satisfied.

Additional points:

• The project was estimated to take one day with three employees; it took 3.5 days over one week.
• Prior to the final day the team worked on our property, I verbally discussed with the project leader that all debris would be cleaned-up from the property (as stated in the contract). However, after they left the property and for the next few days, I spent approximately 1-2 hours picking up debris and river rock throughout the front yard.

Summary:
All the company's employees were polite, respectful and professional. When the team had to change directions due to a lack of information/communication, they did it. At one point they broke a saw blade trying to shape the stones so that spacing was not an issue. They yard team worked hard. The final product was good/acceptable, and we are generally pleased with the results. However, it took an insane amount of time, effort, and follow-up on our part.

I took the opportunity to speak with the company president and share the positive and negative experiences. He was very receptive to my comments and apologetic for the frustrations we experienced. He said he would review my feedback with the team so they could improve their customer service. Later, he provided a $250.00 credit to the final balance owed on the project.

Avoid this company! There are many other lawn care companies around that actually appreciate your business - no need to put up with the lackadaisical, rude service from CM'S Custom Lawn and Landscape. I had contacted CM'S Custom Lawn and Landscape two weeks ago to aerate and power rake our lawn so we could renovate it before the winter. I also made arrangements for them to do my parents? lawn as well. They assured me that it would not be a problem. A week later I called again to check on the status of the job, since I had not heard from them at all. They said that the rain had delayed things and they would get to it this week. This morning I called them and left a message. Contrary to their slogan, they did not call me back. Frustrated, my parents called CM's and finally reached another person, who told them that the service would be delayed at least another week. This, of course, contradicts what they told me last week. This time they said that the Labor Day holiday was the cause of the delay. Which is odd, because surely they would have known about the holiday last week, right? When my mom told the person that the lawn needed to be seeded by Sept. 15th, and therefore the aerating and dethatching needed to be done ASAP, the person on the other line at CM's Custom Lawn and Landscape rudely told her that she was incorrect. My mom is a Master Gardener who has worked with John Fech, a well-known turf expert from UNL. She is very knowledgeable about lawns and has decades of lawn and garden experience. In fact, my parents? yard has been on more than one charity Garden Walk. They know their stuff, and they do not need to be treated the way that CM's Custom Lawn and Landscape treated them. But here?s the worst part - my mom was in the middle of asking them politely to take their yard off but to leave ours on the schedule, when they HUNG UP on her! I can?t believe it. If they had apologized or tried to make things right, I would not be writing this review. I need to warn anyone looking for a lawn care company, however, to avoid CM's Custom Lawn and Landscape.

Cm's Custom Lawn & Landscapes did a very professional job on my sprinkler system. They were very prompt for their appointment and the workers were courteous. They were very knowledgeable about these systems and did a very good job. I was happy to see that they moved it to a location where it could still do its intended work.

I would say that this company does a good job. I am pleased with the services that they provided to us. When there is any type of problem, they make us aware quickly and correct the problem even quicker. I would also say that they have incredible rates for their service. They take their time and do a good job while being friendly. It is a great company.