Eagle Eye Lawn Care

They did a far better job than I would have done!

Always does nice job; I like the mobile text invoices

The work of Eagle Eye Lawn has typically been fast and acceptable. The first job he did for me in September 2014 was actually quite good - and reasonably priced. 
Recently, however, the service and professionalism has been severely lacking.  On February 25, Joe and his team removed old shrubs from 3 beds.  We didn't realize until this weekend that they wacked several of the shrubs off at the base, leaving the full root and stump structure behind which of course restricted us from planting anything in their place until these were also removed (by another service).  I was willing to let that go, but yesterday, April 6, Joe's unprofessional behavior was so unacceptable, I decided I needed to warn other potential customers.
I asked Joe to remove a tree and the massive root structure - which he agreed to do for $350 "early next week".  After followup texts on Monday 3/30 and Tuesday 3/31 to find out when he was coming, he responded on Tuesday "tree removal tomorrow, stump grinding later this week".  True to his word, the tree was gone on Wednesday 4/1.  On Friday, however, there was no activity on the stumps so I texted him again.  He responded that he was unable to get the stump grinder until Monday.  It would have been nice for him to tell me that proactively, since I was holding 9 azaleas in pots and trying to keep them hydrated until the bed was ready for planting.
On Monday afternoon 4/6, about 3:00, Joe and one crew member arrived with the equipment to grind the roots and stumps.  The other worker did most of the work while Joe sat in his SUV on his phone.  They left about 5:30, leaving the stump grinder and tools under my front deck.  The grinder was wheeled over the garden hose - restricting me from using it to water the azaleas that evening.  There were mud-tracks on the driveway from the equipment and I also discovered a chip in the driveway where the stump grinder had apparently nicked the concrete.  I was not able to check the bed to see if the roots were removed effectively and planned to do so Tuesday evening.  Joe texted me at 7:29 pm Monday - and what follows is the transcript from our text conversation:
Joe - "Were done at your house! left the stump grinder there can you leave me a check under the mat in the morning?"
Sherry - "Unfortunately, the machine was rolled over the garden hose, restricting me from watering the azaleas tonight.  Assuming the hose isn't damaged and everything looks good in the daylight when I get home tomorrow evening, I'll put a check in the mail."
Joe - "I will be there in the morning to move the machine! your hose wasn't damaged and it does look good! We worked our a** of and we're very careful.  I hope I'm not sensing an attitude from you tonight!"
Joe - "I'm not happy with the text you just sent me! I expect a check to be under the mat in the morning!"
Sherry - "I don't appreciate your attitude, not customer friendly.  I've never delayed paymont upon receipt of an invoice.  I'll pay you when I can confirm the job was done to my satisfaction with no damage. I paid you $300 to remove the shrubs a few weeks ago, and assumed that meant full shrubs including root and stump structure. We removed a truck bed full of stumps and roots yesterday with more to go before we can use the center bed.  Going to have to pay another service to finish the job before planting.  Payment will be made upon receipt of an invoice and confirmation of job completion."
Joe - "Will drop off invoice in the morning and expect to be paid or I will put a mechanics lien against your house doesn't matter to me either way"
I can't believe this lack of professionalism Joe demonstrated last night.  He made no apology for the unfinished work from February, nor did he comment on the fact that I couldn't use the garden hose.  How does he know it wasn't damaged until he wheels the heavy equipment off of it?  In addition, I have never delayed in paying him nor given him any indication that I would not pay for work completed.  The fact that he threatened me with a lien before he's even finished the job (removed his equipment) and given me the opportunity to pay in a timely manner is absurd.  There is no excuse for this kind of customer treatment.  Needless to say, I won't be using Eagle Eye Lawn Care for any future landscaping needs.

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They are remarkably fast. I haven't made any special requests, other than to avoid weed eating around marked new plants, and they complied. However, I believe he would be cooperative if I did make some special request. His fees are reasonable, and our yard certainly looks better. I love that he edges around our front azalea bushes. It's the first time they have ever resembled a bed.

Joe Eley, of Eagle Eye met with me and agreed to cut and edge the lawn of my and frac14; acre yard and to clear clippings from pavement and to trim shrubbery for $45 per visit, approximately every two weeks commencing in the spring of 2013. Eagle Eye was chosen by myself based upon Angie’s List reviews and agreed to pricing which was a few dollars less than three other estimates I received at that time and the reviews seemed to be superior to those of another company who was charging the same price of $45.

The yard is not complicated. It is a flat wedge shaped lot with 3 small gardens in the front and 2 small gardens and 1 larger mound garden taking up a portion of the back lawn. It includes typical shrub plantings along three sides of the house. There are approximately 5 deciduous trees (larch, sweetgum, hickory, maple) on or bordering the yard and two holly trees at the front corners of the house which stand approximately 15 feet high. There are no pine trees. The lawn consists of a combination of Bermuda, caterpillar and other grasses and unfortunately weeds to which I personally apply feed and weed products. The lawn is not irrigated and I rarely water so growth is not rapid. At no time from the day we agreed to the work, through the calendar year that this company was used, did Joe from Eagle Eye or any of his employees pronounce verbally or in written or electronic form any concerns over the yard or any problems he or his men might, or did, face while maintaining the property.

The speed at which they would arrive, perform their work and be packed up and driving away was extraordinary, however I am not sure that this was beneficial as concerns arose after only a few visits. This included less than uniform cutting of the lawn (a few small areas missed) which I did not address as it was not entirely significant and something I considered to be a minor oversight. However, on June 16, 2013 I requested that they no longer “weed whack” my gardens as newly growing flowers (asters and others from bulbs) were cut down in the process of eliminating weeds.

On at least one occasion, I personally asked that the lower shrubs be trimmed as they had not been trimmed in over a month, and was told, that they were running late and/or it was late in the day and they would do it next time. This resulted in at least six weeks (or more depending upon inclement weather causing justifiable delays to the next visit)of growth during the warm growing season. When I asked for the holly trees to be trimmed, I was told they did not have the necessary equipment with them and they would do it the next time. When it was done, this resulted in an additional $40 fee. When I wrote on that bill (all of which were paid promptly and in full) that I was surprised at the additional charge (for something a previous landscaper had included in the base price), I received a text message from Joe stating in part, ““you have to be crazy to think that there would not be an extra charge!” (quoted with exclamation marks). I was somewhat surprised by his stating that a client “must be crazy”, whether in jest or not, as it is not something I would consider to be professional by any business operator although I do understood his reasoning for the additional charge. I followed this days later by asking in a text, “…could I reduce my rate if I choose to trim my own shrubs?” as this is something I do not mind doing and received the simple text from Joe, “40 per visit”.

On August 12, one of my coiled garden hoses was found to be sliced open near one of the gardens in the backyard when I went to water plants immediately after the crew left the property. When I texted Joe to let him know, he replied, “My guy said he moved the hose I don’t know how we could’ve cut it!” indicating to me that his employee was immediately aware of which hose, of two on the property, was under consideration when Joe asked him about it. Joe did appropriately agree to replace the hose or have me deduct the cost of a replacement and submit the receipt to him to deduct from that month’s payment. I did the latter.

The biggest problem arose in December of 2013 when the Eagle Eye crew, with Joe, did winter cleanup of the leaves in the yard. Instead of blowing, raking and bagging the leaves as most yard companies appear to do here resulting in a minimum of eight typical paper yard waste bags needing to be placed on the curb, the leaves were mulched by being run over with their lawn mower. This method of making the leaves less bulky seemed logical. The leaves were blown from all of the gardens excluding the largest garden in the back yard and from alongside the south side of the porch. Those two areas of leaves went untouched and were still there after the crew left. One plastic bag of mulched leaves from the backyard was taken away from a backyard that was literally wall to wall leaves. This was after Joe had one of his workers bring a large orange colored, fan blower, on wheels into the backyard which was used to blow a vast quantity of the mulched leaves purposely and with obvious forethought onto the surface of pond at the back of our property rather than being bagged and removed for proper disposal at my curb or elsewhere. This caused distress for not only myself but for my neighbors who spoke to me afterwards who share the pond view, as it resulted in the pond with having a brown coating of dead leaves on top of it for yards which lasted two days.

At this point, it became apparent to me that even though the price for the work done by Eagle Eye was lower than or equal to others, the quality of work and pride in work on my property was considerably lacking. It was outweighed by the haste and obvious need to simply get the job over with as quickly as possible. I sent a note to Joe on January 4, 2014, with a final payment explaining the above concerns and that Eagle Eye’s services would no longer be needed. Joe replied as follows in a text: “Got your little note! that’s fine! And just to let you know the things I don’t like about you and your yard far outweigh the list you gave me! Good luck!” Again, I was somewhat surprised by the unprofessional tone of this text as well as the fact that during the months that Eagle Eye serviced my yard, no mention of any dissatisfaction or problems was ever brought to my attention by Joe or his crew. I can only wonder if they had brought such matters to my attention in a professional and courteous manner deserving of any client/customer relationship, if this could have been worked out to the satisfaction of both service and client.

In summary, Eagle Eye’s service was perfunctory and the rapport established by this business was considerably unprofessional in my opinion based upon the factors declared above. Joe often replies to postings on Angie’s List, however, regardless, I stand by my points here as documented fact, not merely opinion.

Joe and his crew arrived as scheduled. They did an excellent job pruning all of my bushes as well as cleaning up the natural area in my backyard. I would definitely use him again.

Very professional purchase and installation of mulch at two different times and in two different locations. Very prompt response and best price. Excellent cleanup.

The firm performed beyond my expectations. The yard looks super. Although the initial charge sounds like a lot, I can honestly say it was more than fair given the tremendous amount of work they did.

I found them to be very courteous, upfront with their price and negotiable.

They are great, really really good. No complaints.

They are really easy to get in contact with. I have his personal cell phone so if I need them to do anything extra I can text them, get a price quote, and they can do it for me, no problem.

They always do a really good job. We pretty much have a set date. Sometimes it fluctuates a little bit depending on the weather, but they're fast. They're in and out in less than ten minutes, and they clean up the grass when they're done.

They are very affordable. Not much more than you'd have to pay a kid down the street to do it.

Thorough cleaning the areas afterward.

Joey and his crew are like magic. They come and mow, edge, disperse clippings, and blow off driveway and patio within 19 minutes. It used to take me 1 3/4 hrs to do the same job, and they do it better...I hate to admit it.

He responded immediately. He gave me a great price, and they do great work.