Spartan Tree And Landscape

"I saw red flags from the beginning of this project that Laurie had no intention of paying for the work performed. To begin with, she negotiated hard to lower the price claiming she had "this guy and that guy" offering to do the work for way cheaper. She was also insistent that the work be done right away. As it was still the end of winter/early spring I bit my pride happy to get the work. Even leading up to performing the work she was trying to negotiate the price lower. I made her aware that if we removed the trees while the lawn was still wet (and also on a day that it was raining) there would be minor lawn damage. She insisted that we move forward. The removal of both trees was a success. There was minor lawn damage that could have been fixed with raking and seeding. There were three small branches broken on a tree that was directly under one of the other trees as I had warned her there would be before starting the project due to the proximity. This "very mature exotic tree" was simply a common maple tree that was directly below the tree being removed. As for Laurie other complaints: landscape lighting is always removed from under a tree so it is not crushed by falling debris (this is lighting with stakes that you simply push back into the dirt.) I did not witness any of my employees relieve themselves in the woods behind her house. The "trespassing" we did in her neighbor's yard was to remove tree debris from the tree that was 50% overhanging her neighbor yard. Laurie left a pile of spring cleanup in her yard that she insisted we removed for free because "we would already be there." I told her we would be happy to remove it for an additional $50, which she balked at and told us not to bother with. This is the mess she complains we left behind. The "circles" that were driven in her lawn were simply the navigation done to remove 20,000 lbs of tree debris with equipment. Upon completion of the work, Laurie insisted that she would not be paying for the work that we should simply accept this nonpayment due to her nitpicking complaints, and that if we expected to get paid we should "see her in court." I offered to come to the property to address any complaints and make any desired repairs, but she insisted that if I did I would be trespassing. I would not recommend Laurie to any landscaping company, or to any contractors, in the future."

"The removal of Richard's tree, the stump grinding, and the grinding removal all went perfect. When we were done, we laid new topsoil in the stump hole and laid down grass seed. We warned Richard that because the soil was on a steep hill not to overwater it. Two weeks later I received a call to come back because the grass wasn't growing. I arrived to see that Richard had overwatered the area and washed all the soil and seed down the hill. I told him what he had done, but wanting to keep a customer satisfied I redid that entire portion of the project for free even though it was not covered by our contract. Two weeks later I received the same phone call and arrived to see Richard had again over watered the area and washed all the dirt and seed down the hill. I told him I would not fix it a second time. I drove by again a few weeks later and saw it had been redone and the new company had installed a sprinkler on a timer- thus removing the human error from the situation and solving the problem. I was disappointed Richard was unable to follow my instructions which led to him having a negative experience."