New Jersey Best Lawn Sprinklers and Fencing LLC

Horrible service. Planned for an AM appointment for a quote and the individual decided to show up the day before late evening. Needless to say, the quote was promised that night and wasn’t delivered until two days later. In closing, the pricing of the quote was double based on their highest quoted competitor pricing. I should have just turned down the representative when he showed up, as that was the tell-tale sign that this was not going to work. After reading reviews on google, the BBB Boards, and Agni’s List it is apparent that they need help getting their acts together, and a more aggressive approach to their pricing approach. Thanks for reinforcing for myself that I should have gone with my gut and just said I no longer need the quote on your timelines. I’m the buyer and i have a choice. I choose your competitor.

The tech people are excellent. The office people not so much. I had an appointment for Monday between 6-8 pm. No one came. Called Tuesday and was told Thursday between 8-12. No one came. Called the office and was told it may be between 1-3. I was also told the tech would call me when they were on the way. No call but the tech showed up about 1:20. It would be great if the techs and office people communicated with each other if they were running behind. There is no excuse for the lack of communication.

I employed the services of New Jerseys Best and found them nothing but professional and courtious. Always punctual in their arrival and conscientious of my neighbors, their outdoor pets and the quality boy their work is superior! Highly recommended!!!

Not a company I would do business with. They rescheduled me twice without notice. They were suppose to turn on my sprinkler yesterday and did a complete no show this is after rescheduling me from April 25 th. Spoke to them this morning and was told I was rescheduled to June 6. I waited the entire day and spoke to them in the morning and was told I would be serviced between 3 and 5. Anyway now waiting for my refund.

New Jersey Best was great to deal with! Jon was quick to provide a quote and flexible on the installation date. They showed up as expected and completed the job in less than one day. I highly recommend this professional and reputable business for all of your home improvement projects.

unknown

This company has been doing my start-ups and shut-downs for years. Every year there is at least one or more "bad heads" and I pay to have them replaced. This year I paid $481.57 for seven new "bad heads". That's more than half of them. The next day I woke up to this horrible splashing sound and one of the heads was shooting water like a geyser all over my car. It turns out the head was missing. I called them and they came out. They man said he wouldn't charge me for the head because he couldn't figure out how it happened, though admittedly he didn't think he left it like that, but since we couldn't find the head anywhere he said "don't worry about it." I got a bill for $85.60. When I called they said  "He shouldn't have told you that. We're a big corporation now. Every item in inventory is accounted for." 
Next up, installing new zones in my backyard. They gave me an estimate of $1,444.50. When I called to say I would have the work done the original sales rep wasn't in so the manager sent me the estimate which miraculously jumped to $3,421.43. This included all the basics that I already had in place, like the timer, etc. So I called. Oops, sorry, we made a mistake. They sent the correct contract. The contract for $3,421.43 was itemized down to the screw. It had warranty parts and labor, digital timer, backflow, copper pipes, heads, sprays, rain sensor which written on the contract says "state law" in parenthesis. The contract for $1,444.50 was blank except for the words "Install 3 zones in backyard only. Install Hunter PGP Ultra Rotors". 
I had the work done and within a week I noticed one of the new heads was leaking. They came out and said nothing to it, just some adjusting. He went away and it kept leaking. A man came out and told me one of the old valves, to which they connected a new head, was leaking to the tune of $135.89. He wanted the money on the spot. I sent him packing. I disputed the charges and a nice man came out and explained to me that in order to line up all of the zones so they wouldn't cross over each other they used old valves for new zones and reconnected the old zones onto the new valves. Now I'm no irrigation genius but why not put the new valves on the other side of the old valves so they wouldn't have to do that. 
So here's my issue. They can't have it both ways. When they say that the old valve caused the new head to leak because the old head was bad, why did I pay to replace seven old heads that were connected to these old valves? Shouldn't they have picked up on the fact that the valve was bad when they saw all those leaking heads during the start up? Though I actually understand the double talk about the zones and heads and valves, this "BIG CORPORATION" should have said enough is enough, we soaked this customer enough for one year, lets cut her a break and honor the original tech's statement not to charge me for the replaced head, ANYTHING. So to date I paid $481.57, $1444.50, and now they want $85.60 and $135.89. To recap, the first charge is start up and replacement of leaking heads, the third charge is for replacement of a replaced head that was nowhere to be found and which I was told on the spot "you won't be charged", the second charge is an installation of three zones, and the fourth charge is to replace an old valve that was used for the new zones though the leaking head was not a "bad head" but due to the valve and the seven leaking heads weren't due to a bad valve, but rather were "bad heads". 
PS: I still don't have a rain sensor "by NJ State Law". 
This big corporation will never get my business and I will slam them to anyone and everyone I can. They are greedy and most likely dishonest. My original system contained 13 heads over four zones, 4, 3, 3, 3. If I replaced one or two heads every year in the ten years I've been here, and then another seven heads this year, by my count I have replaced all the heads twice in ten years. I think they are told to find "bad heads" at every start up every year. Either that or Hunter should be out of business by now for making nothing but "bad heads."

I paid $300 for this sprinkler line to be repaired 3 weeks earlier.  After 3 weeks, the line again had a serious leak.  They sent the same technician that "repaired" the line the first time.  He swore it had nothing to do with his previous repairs and I would be charged $120.  I had taken pictures of him working the first time he was on my lawn and it is clear that the area he made the "second" repair in was exactly the same as the first.   This company changes their name every 5 years, something is wrong with that.....  Stay away.

They showed up late on a winter evening, daylight was already running low.
Once the repair was done, a part of the fence broke again and I saw a difference in the way the fence was installed initially and later fixed. I called them to fix and they claimed that the install was done properly and they would charge me $150 to come out and fix it. I tried convince them but they would not listen. I finally spent two hours and fixed it myself.
I had not come across Angie's

Had no contact with this company

My overall rating was primarily influenced by the repeated failures, miscommunications and general "omissions" made by the front office and pre/post install staff throughout the process.  It made me feel better that I wasn't the only one after reading through several of the reviews on the Angie's list site as well as others places on the web.  For 90% of the problems, they could have avoided if they had a competent office staff that was actually responsive and engaged.  The other 10% was related to install issues, that for the most part, when identified and discussed were resolved by the field team.
Pre-Sales/SchedulingThe sales and scheduling process was problematic as the company repeatedly couldn't find the quote to submit to schedule the installation.  (Salesman was helpful and helpful when he came to measure and determine the quote but after that it was somewhat difficult to get in contact with him to obtain assistance with issues)  According to the salesman, it apparently didn't get uploaded and delayed things for several days requiring back and forth phone calls with the sales rep to resolve the issue.   (We should have taken this as a sign of things to come.)  
InstallationTo start, the crew showed up at 4:45PM to start removal of the old wood fence around the pool (supposed to arrive somewhere around 10-10:30am based on the discussion with the front office, typical during the entire process - repeated calls throughout the day to understand arrival were met with made up times and general excuses day after day).  Prior to starting the job, they told my wife they were going to remove the fencing and then come back tomorrow to put up the new fence.  When my wife inquired as to how they were going to enure that no one was going to be able to enter the pool area with the fence removed, the installation foreman stated "That's not a problem as we'll be back in the morning."  Obviously, he doesn't understand NJ Homeowner Liability laws.  My wife told them to call their boss to either come up with a solution or don't bother starting.  After having the foreman call into the office, they were told that temp snow fencing would be run out by 7:30PM to allow them to replace the existing fencing.  Needless to say, the install team nor we were happy with the timing.  They removed the fence and erected the temp fencing by 8:30pm.  (Aggravating as we were told it would be a one-day installation, first on the list for the day and we made specific arrangements  only to wait around an entire day for them to show up)
The next day the crew didn't show up til 11:30am.  (Again, told by the front office team that they were on there way at 8:45am to start the job and were cleaning out the truck.)  After the install team finally arrived, the physical install proceeded without issue.  At the end of the day, the install was almost complete minus a primary access door that couldn't be installed due to the cement supporting the post not being set.  The foreman let us know they would be back tomorrow to complete that final step and to place and level the post caps.  In their favor, I did not have significant issue with the price/material quality as it was competitive and the materials were of higher quality and installed securely level/plum.  Upon getting home from work and going outside to see the progress, we noticed that all the landscaping rock that was around the perimeter of the yard along with mulch and dirt were raked up against the bottom of both sides of the fence to cover a two inch gap under the fence.  Not only did they destroy our landscaping but ripped up my neighbor's yard in the process as it ajoins the fence line abuting the property line.  We later found out that they cut through my other neighbor's drain pipe for their pool.  
After I made several calls to the company going through various "administrative staff", the owner did contact me to come out to see what had happened and determine how to address the issue.  To resolve the landscaping issue, he provided landscaping services and sent a repair technician to replace the piping.  The landscaping issue was addressed to our satisfaction but the pipe repair was not properly fixed as it was repaired but not placed properly as it was before so the water from the drain that went down my neighbor's driveway previously now a significant amount drains into my backyard.   (I had made myself available to the repair tech and showed him exactly where it should be placed the previous day but when they came back to do the work, it is obvious they wanted it to be done and over with rather than providing the correct fix in this situation.)
PaymentWe had additional problems with the administrative staff regarding the terms of payment.  As they offered the six month interest free deal, we had made it clearly known that we were looking to take advantage of the plan.  My wife on two occasions after the completion of the installation and resolution of issues, told the staff and each time she was told we'll put the paperwork in the mail to you to complete.  Needless to say, the paperwork never arrived for us to complete.  
After about a week after the issues were supposedly resolved, my wife received a call late in the afternoon from the company asking that she call regarding the fence.  She assumed that the issue was related to payment and was about to call them back later the next day when she saw a $3250 charge from the company against her debit card that was used for the initial down payment.  She called to understand what had happened and were told rather nastily that "We had that card and were entirely within our rights to charge the pending amount."  When she inquired about the paperwork for 6 months interest free, she was told in again a nasty response "We don't have any record of you calling and requesting that paperwork."   I re-contacted the office manager to resolve the issue but she tried to state that I had approved full payment against the card when the owner came out to meet for addressing the issues with the installation.  (THAT APPROVAL WAS NEVER GIVEN IN CONVERSATION WITH THE OWNER!!!)  We were able to resolve the issue by working out a substitute payment option with the office manager. (Never got the 6 months but I am glad we are no longer engaged with the company)  When I pointed out that many of the frustrations we had with the company were due to the office staff (i.e. wrong information, never getting called back after repeated calls, messages never received from direct emails/phone calls, misleading information, general gruff interactions with office staff when making inquiries regarding installation, etc.), I was met with the response "I DON'T KNOW WHAT TO SAY!!"
SummaryAs I said, the physical install is solid but to get to this point cost far more than the installation price.  Based on this experience, we will not be looking to employ them for other services we might require.

Gret work, neat and thorough

They are friendly and come on time. They charge a reasonable fee for what they do. I will continue to use them in the future.

Wouldn't suggest them to my friends or family.

I had a good experience with this company. Their price was the best. The salesman that came was very professional. He went over everything with us, gave us an estimate and measured. He was on time the first time he came. The second time he came he was a little late but called ahead of time to let us know. We will be using them again in the future.

I joined Angie's List specifically to warn others about this company. Note that this company also does business under the name New Jersey Best Lawns, Sprinkers & Fencing. I only found this other name on Angies List because they have the same address and phone number and do the same work, so I believe it is the same company.

Issues included:
1. Failed to check the water pressure before installing, which meant the system didn't work. They told me they could get it to work if I installed a special water pressure pump for $600, which I did because I did not know about the problem until after the system was installed, so I would have wasted $2600 without the pump. The installer left that day without showing me anything about the system - where the timer box was located, how to work it, etc.
2. Charged my credit card for more than I authorized. On the day the system was installed but before the pump was installed, I was reluctant to pay for it since it wasn't working. The installer told me I had to put something down, so I authorized them to charge my credit card for half the fee. (I wrote the specific dollar amount to be charged - $1300 - and signed my name with the date as authorization. Legally, this is all they can charge.) The company then charged the full fee to my card. When I called their office to check on this, the person I spoke with argued with me about my right to not pay in full. She was unpleasant and did not refund the difference even though I assured her I would pay once the system was operational.
3. The pump was later installed (and I took yet another vacation day to be home for this). The system still did not work.
4. Although the system did not have pressure to make the sprinkler heads work, it did have a enough pressure to create a small sinkhole in my yard where the installer had cracked an irrigation pipe during the installation, causing it to leak.
5. A third representative came out on another (vacation) day and changed out the sprinkler heads to a ligher version. He also repaired the leak. The system does not work exactly as intended, but if I give each zone more time, I get enough water to the grass and shrubs.
6. Today, the electrical inspector came to close out the permits, and the installation failed inspection because the person who installed the pump used one of those electrical connectors that turns one plug into two to fit all the connections instead of installing
a second outlet as he should have. When I called the office to tell them about this, I was informed that they are not electricians and I would have to take care of it myself. (Had they installed the timer in a different location we could have avoided this problem.) The bigger problem is that the person I spoke with was the same person who gave me a hard time about the credit card overcharge, and again her position was that I was in the wrong. This company appears to lack a customer service orientation.

I'll get a different company to fix the problems and do the fall shutdown, spring startup next time.

They did a lot of work for me.  They were very punctual.  There were one or two issues the following day, but they came back right away and addressed it.  I’ve been very happy with them.  They were very responsive and professional.  I would use them again in the future if need be.         

In summary, the experience from the point of giving the go-ahead with the sales person who does the estimate onward was not a disaster but most certainly not a positive one.  Ultimately, the system for the first few days of use appears to be functionally correctly and doing its job well.  

Here is breakdown of why I provided the ratings in this review:

OVERALL rating based on:The sales person who also performed the estimate was more than willing to answer questions and was quite responsive.  He provided details of the product and how it would be installed and assured me that this would be no more than a 1 day job.  After agreeing to the proposed contract, I was forwarded to their main office to be scheduled.  From here on out, things are not as positive.  So, when I average the upfront experience, the install and hassle in-between, the overall finished look of the job site and ultimately the functionality of the system (which is probably the most important), I came up with a middle of the road "Fair" rating.

PRICE  rating based on:I obtained a handful of estimates from installers based on research from both Angie's List and the BBB website.  Although every company had slight variations based on proposed zones, number of sprinkler/spray heads, responsibility to mark utilities and responsibility to file permits, all the prices were within $200 to $300 with NJ Lawn falling right in the middle.  I opted to go with NJ lawn based on my sales person interaction, "sample" properties I could visit and their proposal included taking care of permits and utility markings.  So, I felt the price was good for the product and proposed services in the contract.

Here's a somewhat end to end view of my experience after we OK'd the contract and move onto scheduling the job which give a view on how I arrived at the ratings for QUALITY, RESPONSIVENESS, PUNCTUALITY, and PROFESSIONALISM.  Since I interacted with a number of people with different roles, the rating again is an average of the overall experience.  The QUALITY rating based on looking at the overall workmanship during install and worksite after install (The system appears to run well at this point, but only time will tell after a season or two.):

1. I was offered a Saturday PM appointment and told due to the earlier job being a "wrap-up" job, the crew would be there before 1 PM and would give me a call before they arrive.  Later, in talking to another person to confirm the appointment on the Friday before install, I was told between 1 and 2 PM.  On the day of install, I called the office before their closing and was told the crew had a morning job and to not expected them until at least after 2 PM.  They arrived 3:45 PM to start and I had received no call ahead of time.

2. There were some inconsistent utility markings as compared to the last time we had markings done which ended up being OK.  The issue is I voiced this concern via phone and e-mail to NJ Lawn and received e-mail back that they would call in a mis-mark.  On Friday before the install, I called again to say the utility company never came out to check things out but NJ Lawn indicated that they were not aware until I re-read off the e-mail exchange providing specific times and dates of the exchange.  The person replied that it must have been someone else until I read the e-mail address which turned out to be her e-mail address.

3. On the day of the install, 1st issue is they didn't have enough copper pipe to run the water line to the exterior of the house.  The lead installer asked me "Which day is better for you, Monday or Tuesday?".  I went to check my calendar, confirmed with him Monday at which point he told me "You need to call the office because they do all the scheduling."  When I e-mailed NJ Lawn with a list of available days I could take off from work, I asked them to call so we could confirm a install completion date.  I received an e-mail back saying the crew would return on Thursday and call me on their way to the house.  I asked for clarification if it would be AM or PM and received yet another terse response saying "afternoon".  On the Thursday of the install, the crew showed up at 10:45 AM and did not call ahead either.

4. 2nd issue with the install, the installer used the plug in the basement for the sump pump.  When they left, they unplugged their tools but never plugged in the sump pump.  We had 4 inches of rain the next day and luckily I was in the basement when I noticed the water starting to rise.  This could have been a pretty bad clean-up if it were left un-attended all day long.

5. Once the sprinkler heads were installed, I was told the install is done and we were about to start the paperwork when the installer told me that they did not have a rain sensor with them which is required by law.  The wiring was done, but someone would come out to install the actual rain sensor on Friday or Saturday at the latest and I would not need to be home.  By Monday, nothing was installed so I called the office.  They were not aware the install was yet again incomplete and scheduled me for the following Thursday and said I did need to be home just in case wiring was wrong, etc.  So a "no more than 1 day  job" has now spanned 3 separate dates.  For this appointment and others, you don't get a firm time frame when calling.  Instead, you get a specific day, and then around 6 pm the day before, you get an automated call giving you a 3 hour time frame.  My time frame was between 3 to 6 pm the next day even though I thought I conveyed that I could stay home as late as 5 pm on any given day.  Once the rep did arrive, turns out the original wiring was wrong so he had to fix the wires at the sprinkler control panel, so turns out it was good that they asked me to be home.

6. While walking the property a few days later, I noticed in at least 2 spots, the poly pipe that feeds the sprinklers were left protruding from the ground or at least at grade.  This is no where near the at least 6 inches I was told to avoid any issues with aeration, etc.  This would be the 4th time someone would need to come to address the over install.  Now we're up to the 4th appointment.

7. Finally, the contract states that NJ Lawn would re-seed disturbed areas.  This is was merely throwing some seed on top of the soil and not actually working it into the soil or anything.  After the irrigation system ran once or twice, the water put down from the sprinkler heads washed away most of the seed anyway.

Some positive notes though... the install crew and lead were all quite friendly and while they were here, hard working and efficient.  The lead took the time to show me the sprinkler heads and how to use the timer in detail which I appreciated.

As I said, nothing here to say this was a disaster since the system is installed and working.  But if the people at the office were a bit more professional in both their demeanor and follow-up and the crews would show up on time (or actually call ahead) with all the parts they would need for an install job so a homeowners is not making 3 appointments for a 1-day job, then I'm sure their customers would have a much more positive experience.

At the time this report is being written, I have not yet received the permits from NJ Lawn yet nor have the repairs to the exposed poly pipe been addressed (my appt is next week).  If there is a need to update after the inspection or next service call, I will update this review.

They were very friendly and seemed like nice guys.

They were very prompt and they followed up. They came on time. The crew was very professional and the office staff was also very professional. They did a very good job and after they finished the job they explained in detail how to use it and the different options because it was new to me. I was very happy with what they did. They were not the cheapest but their price was very aggressively for me. They were willing to accommodate my schedule also. It was like a straight forward transaction. They did a good job and they also gave me six months no interest payment plan. They were very good in responding to questions and concerns.

I originally selected this company based on other reviews here on Angie's List.

Fabio and his team of installers did a great job of installing the system before my sod was put in.  He also showed me how to use the controller and we walked though what area each of the 10 zones control. After the sod was put in, I had them come back to move some heads, change some heads that were overspraying, and raise the control boxes.  I had to convince them on the phone to bring some "toro" spray heads, which are much more adjustable than the Hunter spray heads, which they normally use exclusively.  The Hunter sprayers were watering way too much of my driveway rather than the planting beds.  The first time they came back, they did all of the work except for raising the boxes, as they didn't come prepared with the supplies they needed in order to do that, so I had to call them come back yet again.  They also missed a head completely that was buried under the sod and clogged (the flag was there).  When they come back for a final check, they need to be a little more thorough and a little less in a hurry to leave.  The third time they were back, they did finally raise the control boxes and fixed the rest of the problems, however, I did still find one sprayer today that was buried under the mulch (which was added right after the sod).  Each time they came back, they sent a completely different crew, so none of them were that familiar with the initial setup.

Overall, they do a very decent job and their price was very good compared to other quotes I got.  I would recommend you do a thorough walk-through of each zone of your system before they are done, especially if you are adding Sod or Mulch after the system is installed.

Update 6/7/11: I just discovered they cut thru one of my drain lines on the property, even though it was well marked out!!  It cost me $250 to get it repaired and I'm sending them the bill!!

It was ok. When they installed the irrigation system, they cut through my cable line during the installation. The cable guy repaired the damage at no charge but he cut through one of the irrigation system's pipes. NJ Lawn charged me to get that fixed. The first valve that hooked up the system to my water supply broke after going through one winter but they replaced it at no charge. I haven't had a problem since.

They cut my grass and take care of my sprinkler system. They are very good and are there when you need them. They will call and com the next day or 2 days later if I have a broken head on the sprinkler system. They are here every Monday and cut my grass and take away the clippings which is very important.

They did a great job, and left our yard in good condition. Their follow-up service has been good. They have good customer service. It is wonderful to know the lawn will be watered without hauling sprinklers.