Alternative Landscapes and Snowplowing LLC

see above

Matt was prompt and professional when we engaged him for an estimate in December of 09 to quote the work.  He gave us a very attractive price, we did not even feel the need to consult with other companies.  Over that winter, he and his team moved our Playset from our old home to it's current location.  During the spring of 10, he and his crew began work on our landscape.  They struggled with wet conditions and did not have the ability to dry the area out sufficiently to get the patio installed.  Once installed, the grade put in by our builder kept flooding the back yard and patio.  I had concerns over grading and had consulted with him on whether drains were needed to supplement the installed swale.  He concurred with our builder that this would be unnecessary. 

Fast forward to June.  All bed work, patio and bed plantings were completed.  The beds and plants were done well.  We have had very little die off.  Patio was thermal blue stone.  Alternative had never worked with this material which I found surprising.  The patio is just OK, it is now settling more than I would expect and some of the stone is calving on the edges.  The installed firepit is not attractive and the step solution into our home is a little strange, but we did approve what he suggested.  We still has not had our turf installed and were now "backed up" on Alternative's list.  The swale was not draining water correctly at all, but again I was assured by Matt that once grass was growing it would be fine.  Hydroseed was done mid June and I was assured it would come in if we watered frequently.  The grass did not come in in any density and much of what germinated died in the heat regardless of constant (4-5 times per day) watering.  We should have waited until the fall to plant the grass - advice I would have expected from a competent landscaper.  The final grade was not signed off on by our local inspector, a drain was necessary after all. 

In the fall, Alternative returned to install a drain paid for by our builder.  I had concerns about the end point of the drain as it was emptying into our beds.  Once again I was ensured that this would properly drain away by Alternative.   The yard (what there was of it) was ripped up to install the drain.  No grass was seeded due to the need to allow settling and lateness in the season (I was told by Alternative).  A second drain was required in the spring and several low spots required additional topsoil because they were not properly leveled allowing pool of water to sit after irrigation or rain.  It took Alternative until mid July of 2011 to finally address the seeding of the drains and dumping and leveling of topsoil on the low spots.  I was told they were "too busy with other customers"  The low spots I had to seed myself because I did not want to wait any more. 

I am now in the process of getting estimates from other landscapers to fix the turf, drainage and one bed that needs totally redone because it was oversprayed with hyroseed and is full of grass.  I will not use Alternative in the future and cannot recommend them for any work other than bed installation to anyone else.  I think they may have bit off more than they could handle with our work.


Update:  It has been 2 years since our initial landscape install and we have had only 3 pines die off out of all the plants installed.  This was much better than I expected based on the amount of vegetation we had added.  This also appears to be much better than many of the other newly landscaped lawns I have observed in our area around the same time.  Matt gave us a 2 year warranty on our plants, so I contacted him to replace the 3 pines.  He confirmed the species and the replacement trees were installed within the time frame he set with me.  I have adjusted the overall grade up as well as the quality based on how well this massive planting has fared and the responsiveness on replacement trees.

 Originally I phoned alternative landscapes in May 2011 for an estimate on a spring cleanup and weeding. Spoke with matt, and he explained to me because of all the rain this spring, his business was behind with his regular customers and it would be awhile before he could commit to us. I told him not a problem, I understood because of all the rain it might be awhile. Matt did stop by within a few days though to survey the yard work I wanted done, and he understood I had a budget to stick with. Matt then called me to explain what could be done within my budget, but still wasn't sure when he would be able to do the work. Matt was very fair and up front  and I was very understanding up to this point But then a couple of weeks had gone by and I had not heard anything from Matt. So I called him, he did promptly call me back, still not sure as to when he could do the work . A few more weeks had gone by and we were now in the month of June, I had to call him again to see what was going on. Matt still couldn't give me a set date, but said he would try to get a couple of guys over to work on the weekend in the near future. I said great if they could at least start the work. 
         On Tuesday June 28, 2011, Matt leaves me a voice mail saying he had two guys over the past Sunday worked from 11:30 to 4:00pm and that they finished well within my budget. Matt said he was hoping I was happy with the work completed and he would send an invoice in the mail within a few days. He was very polite and genuinely happy they completed the job within my budget.         
The problem was, no guys were at our house on Sunday and there was DEFINITELY no yard work completed or started or anything.My husband and I were both home all of Sunday actually working in the yard ourselves.My husband called Matt to tell him the bad news and Matt became very angry on the phone. He kept repeating our address to my husband and my husband told Matt either your guys stiffed you or maybe they went to the wrong house. Matt just kept repeating how irritated he was. At this point my husband said goodbye and hung up the phone.           
         I thought long and hard before I decided to write this letter, because I truly believe Matt is a good guy and a hard worker. Thats why I was willing to wait to get the work done. I believe he is a honest man. But he didn't even apologize to us for what happened, or in this case what didn't happen! So terribly unprofessional. Being a business man I would think you would check up on the work your guys say they did.And maybe you need to evaluate the men you have working for you.  Maybe after this you will!