Kingstowne Lawn & Landscape
About us
Kingstowne Lawn & Landscape was established by Krisjan Berzins and Phil Williams in 1997. Both graduated in 1993 from Mount Vernon High School in Alexandria, Virginia, and were members of the varsity football team when they began their friendship. Phil attended Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C., where he studied sociology. Krisjan attended Randolph Macon College in Ashland, Virginia, where he studied international business. Krisjan’s experience working in grounds maintenance at the Mount Vernon Country Club and Phil’s discipline and strong business sense formed the foundation for an ideal partnership, and the two began working together in 1997. After only 10 years in business, they had grown Kingstowne Lawn & Landscape into one of the most recognized landscape brands in Northern Virginia—with annual gross revenues of more than $5 million. In early 2008, Krisjan purchased Phil’s share of the corporation and became sole owner of Kingstowne Lawn & Landscape. While he was disappointed to see Phil go, Krisjan knew that he was ready to write the next chapter of the Kingstowne story. Today, nearly 20 successful years of business, Krisjan and his wife, Mayra, head a strong company with over 50 employees, 25 trucks, and 13 acre corporate campus, inside the beltway, in Alexandria, Virginia. Their company’s success lies in the firm belief that every customer should be treated as the “only” customer!
Business highlights
Services we offer
Landscape design & installation, custom woodwork, drainage systems, driveways, fencing, landscape lighting, lawn maintenance, lawn mowing & complete grounds maintenance., masonry, patios, retaining walls, walkways
Accepted Payment Methods
- CreditCard
| Number of Stars | Image of Distribution | Number of Ratings |
|---|---|---|
| 79% | ||
| 11% | ||
| 6% | ||
| 2% | ||
| 2% |
The crew arrived on schedule and did an excellent job clearing, planting and building a low stone wall. It took 2 days to complete and they cleaned-up and watered the new plants. It was a well organized crew.
"Thank you for your thoughtful response!"
"Dear Sir, I think you may be confusing us with another company. According to our records, we received a call from you on October 9th, 2009, more than 19 months ago. During that call, you requested a quotation for Aeration & Overseeding and Fertilization of your front lawn. I see that we promptly sent an Account Manager out to your property, at no charge, and left an estimate for the services requested. This is our standard procedure. We do not require your presence during such site visits. Also, it is not uncommon for our Account Managers to survey the property and suggest other services while they are there. However, our maintenance contracts are "a-la-carte". Therefore, no one is obligated to select any service that they don't want. Our records show that we never provided you with any services. I am very sorry any confusion or misunderstanding. I do hope that you will consider our company in the future when searching for a lawn care provider."
"I am very sorry that you feel that way. We pride ourselves on providing outstanding service. It is imperative to us that our customers are satisfied. I would like to explain the reasoning behind our $50 Landscape Consultation fee. We have 3 experienced, highly skilled, Landscape Designers on staff. In order to ensure that our clients have a guaranteed date and time for their consultation...we have found that it is best that we charge a small, $50 consultation fee. We have done this for more than 10 years and it has been a very successful policy. It has enabled us to retain some of the industry's top talent. Our small, $50 consultation fee also ensures us that our clients are committed to giving us an hour or two of time out of their busy schedules. The great thing about our consult fee is that it is credited back to you if you sign up for any project totaling $1000 or more. I have spoken with both ladies that you dealt with on the phone. The reason why we needed to call and check with the Designer prior to scheduling something with you was because your home is located outside our typical service area. I apologize for the misunderstanding. However, I want to reassure you that we were simply trying to accommodate you. Lastly, yes, our $50 consultation fee is typically non-refundable. We do this because our Designers' schedules fill up quickly. Therefore, we really try and discourage folks from scheduling something and then canceling 1 week later. That sort of thing really plays havoc on our schedules. The more consistent our schedules are...the happier our clients are. However, in your case, you called back after scheduling a consultation and, despite our policy, we agreed refund the $50. In reviewing this incident with my staff, I feel that we did everything we could have done to accommodate you. Unfortunately, things didn't work out. I wish you the best of luck in your search for a professional and reliable landscape company."
"Thank you so much for your kind words. Quite often, in our business, no news is good news. It was a pleasure reading your comments."
"Thank you for taking the time to post this report. We very much appreciate your kind words!"
"Thank you for taking the time to post this report. We very much appreciate your kind words!"
"Thank you so much for your kind words. Quite often, in our business, no news is good news. It was a pleasure reading your thoughtful comments."
"Member, Thank you so much for taking the time to post this report...and thank you for your kind words...they are very much appreciated. As I always say, "It's easy to do good work for good people.""
"Member, Thank you for taking the time to post this report. We very much appreciate your kind words!"
"Dear Member, Thank you so much for your kind words. Quite often, in our business, no news is good news. It was a pleasure reading your thoughtful comments."
"Is it possible that you are confusing us with another contractor? Our records indicate that we completed a $3238 landscape project at your home on May 2nd, 2008. Your report says that we completed a $20,000 project in July of 2007, however, both the cost and the date you reported are incorrect. I thought perhaps you were adding up the total of all work we completed at your home in 2008 and 2009, however that total is $4,109. The work that we completed was some new planting along with quite a bit of transplanting of existing plants. As you know, we offer a 1 year warranty on new, woody plants that we install, however transplanted material is not warrantied. There are many factors that cause a plant to fail, most of which are beyond our control. However, we do stand behind our work with a 1 year guarantee. Our records also show that you called our office on April 17th, 2009 stating that you were concerned about a few of the plants that we had installed. We immediately dispatched a crew on May 20th, 2009 to replace the warrantied plant material, at no cost to you. Our records also show that we dispatched a crew on June 6th, 2009 and August 19th, 2009 to address some pruning issues. Both visits were completed at no charge to you. We have no further record of communication with you after that. However, just because the warranty has expired on the new plants that we installed back in May of 2008, doesn't mean that we won't work with you. We stand behind our work and we are always willing to work with our clients. The happiness of our clients is of UTMOST importance to us. Please don't hesitate to contact us so that we can work towards an amicable resolution."
PATIO INSTALL IN LATE MARCH (WRITING IN JUNE): It has been nearly three months since the work was performed. We are pleased with our decision to get the work done and to have Kingstowne Lawn & Landscape do the work. We went with them in the end because of their professionalism, their high standards, the stability of the company, and their competitive (but not inexpensive) prices. When you spend a good amount of money to get work like this done, you want it to be done right and you want it to last. The install looks great.
Looking back, some specific experiences that shaped out overall impression are:
1. Kingstowne Lawn & Landscape were patient with us while we shopped around in February and early March, while at the same time keeping us informed of possible delays as the season kicked-in while we were shopping around.
2. Kingstowne Lawn & Landscape answered our questions thoroughly and over e-mail. The latter helped out a lot, because after the consultation, we didn't have large blocks of time during the weekdays to discuss things over the phone or in person.
3. Kingstowne Lawn & Landscape worked with us when we went with someone else for the fencing job. They advised us on what arrangements for coordination would allow them to perform efficiently their much more expensive portion of the work.
4. Kingstowne Lawn & Landscape (specifically the designer we worked with in consultation back in January and throughout the install) accommodated us in a small design choice that they thought was likely unnecessary and a little bit of a hassle for the install, but we wanted anyway. It was important to us that a professional opinion was expressed and explained and that they were able to accommodate a different choice.
5. Kingstowne Lawn & Landscape went out of their way to contact us when something came up during the install. Due to no fault of their own, they were unsuccessful in contacting us, but they (the designer, the crew) wisely made the "command decision" and proceeded with the work. And it was the decision we would have made if they had been successful in contacting us. It wasn't a tough call, but it others might have seen an opportunity to delay work.
6. Kingstowne Lawn & Landscape answered questions about the install after the install.
7. The patio, seating wall, and everything else looks great (awaiting the rest of the work that we wanted to do ourselves!).
8. The only component of the experience which I was surprised about was the equipment costs for the lighting. The mark-up seemed a little high, over what on could get (same brand, same model) if you were willing to install it yourself. Every consumer should read their contract carefully when paying what was for us a good chunk of money. Kingstowne Lawn & Landscape worked with us through multiple versions of the contract without even the hint of impatience or complaint.
"Dear Member, Our goal is to keep ALL of our clients happy. Although it may not always be possible, it is something that we work very hard to achieve. Based on your comments, it is clear that you are not happy. Therefore, I would like to work with you in order to resolve this issue. Our records indicate that we did 2 phases of planting at your property. The 1st phase was completed in July of 2008 and the 2nd phase was completed in September of 2008, more than 2 1/2 years ago. As you probably know, we extend a 12 month guarantee on virtually all woody plants that we install. I have reviewed your account and we have very meticulous notes of our correspondence with you. However, for some reason, your account shows no record of a call or email from you regarding the dead plants. I'm not sure why that is...but...we can still work this out. Please do not hesitate to call or email me so that we can work towards a resolution to this matter."
"I sent the following email on 11/24/10 Dear Member, I am in receipt of your report on Angie’s List. This is the first I have heard of your problems with our company. We pride ourselves on providing an excellent service, however, it seems that we did not do a very good job of that with you. I am interested in hearing the details of the issues you encountered. I would very much appreciate your response. Thank you very much and I sincerely apologize for the inconvenience. I sent the following email on 12/07/10 Hello Member, I just called and left a message on your cell phone. I think I may have been disconnected during the call. I wanted to speak with you about your concerns. I also wanted to explain the most recent billing statement that you received. Based on your email and our records, you canceled your mowing service on 11/13/10. However, the statement you are disputing is for 1 mowing done on 11/03/10, exactly 10 days prior to your cancellation. I have attached a copy of the statement, with my notes, for your review. I have reviewed the email history between you and your Account Manager, Mike Perez. I would still like to speak with you about your concerns and hopefully find a way to work this out and earn your business back. Please do not hesitate to call me on my direct extension at (703) 339-8706 x.9220 I look forward to hearing from you soon. Sincerely, Krisjan Berzins President & CEO I am waiting to hear back from the Member."
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