M & M LANDSCAPING

Verbal estimate was given originally for a larger job.  I requested the owner reduce the size of the job and he made a fair change in the cost.  He asked for half of the fee up front so he could purchase materials.  He completed the job in a timely manner but the quality was not spot on.  The workers accidentally spread some chemical on my lawn that killed it in a few places and didn't do a very good job at cleaning up the worksite afterwards.  There was no written contract provided or requested - my mistake for not requesting.  I noticed that the automatic watering drip lines that were originally installed were no longer visible.  I made several calls to the owner to request if these lines had been removed or connected.  He never returned my calls or responded to messages requesting this information.  He never came back to the job site either.  Once he collected the rest of payment due, he never came back despite several calls and messages about the drip lines.

My lessons learned here:  get a contract, don't finish payment until I've verified the job is done to my satisfaction.

UPDATE:  One of the small palms installed in the front yard died about a year after M&M installed it.