Premier Landscape & Irrigation

The initial proposal and sales pitch by Adam seemed great.  The pricing seemed appropriate for the work that was done and he was quite personable.  We liked his attitude and approach.  Settling on the terms, contracting and scheduling went with no hitch.  They arrived on time and cleaned as best they could with as big of a project as we had.  
All projects were completed.  there were some challenges making changes along the way, but that was not the issue.
Issues began with the firepit being added last minute.  Though the individuals that were doing the pavers staed they could build a fire pit, they could not.  It initially was in the shape of an egg, but that problem was rectified quickly, but with an air of annoyance.  I never ordered it to look like an egg.  When that was rectified, they forgot to place in air vents.  So for the longest time we did not know why all we were getting was crazy amounts of smoke.
Retaining wall looks great, except for the edges.  They are staggered and unfinished looking.  Pretty disappointing.  Everytime we mentioned that something did not look right, we got huffed at.  French drain work was done nicely and quickly.  Sod looked great.  He made a suggestion of a strip left unsodded to help with ease of mowing.  Not a great suggesstion for us, but could be for someone else.  
More problems arose later that summer.  Apparently the mix of new topsoil was way to heavy on sand.  As a result, we had over a 90 foot dead strip of grass on top of where the french drain was installed.  It was argued that we were not watering things correctly.  Unfortunately, the rest of the lawn was green except this nasty landing stripe.  Tis was brought to h
is attention about 3 months after the job was completed.  though he came out to look, he staed it was our fault.  For next year we sent email after email. call after call to get him to come out and fix an obvious install error on their part.  Anytime he would even pick up te phone and schedule something, his girlfrined, not him, would call out sick for him Happened 3-4 times.  
Finally, he agreed to fix the problem.  Apologized for the troubles and stated that there were family issues.  Totally respect that - family ALWAYS comes first.  But a little communication would have been helpful.  Work was done and appears to have been fixed appropriately.  As a token of good will, he offered to give a free $750 credit for lawn cleanup.  That was already taken, but we were able to negotiate changing toe project to work on the front yard.  After more negotiating and adding a few projects.  We agreed to move forward with the project.  Last monute we had some financial constraints and could not get the extra projects done, but still needed the sod removed.  As soon as we said we were not going to spend more money, adios Adam.  Never heard form him again and he totally nixed on the gesture of good will.
Awful, horrendous experinece.  Granted this was not the biggest landscaping project ever, but at close to $20k, you would think there was a little bit of follow up and care.
Some people continue to work in an area that they have no right to do.  Adam and his crew should not be allowed near anyone's home.  He is an immature business owner who knows nothing about landscaping.  Check out the state records and you can see NUMEROUS issues with previous licenses, revocations, liens, etc.  Get out of this business and go bag groceries.  Now as we move forward with the projects that he screwed up we will never ever EVER use Adam or his "business" again.
PLEASE BE WEARY OF THIS COMPANY!  I'm sure that they are even in process of changing their business name again.

Our list of complaints, and the story is long.  He did not do the work in the manner that we had discussed.  The first time the paver patio was installed, it was so bad, I insisted that it be removed and redone.  There were numerous 'mistakes' in his written quote, that ended up costing us more money.  They did not remove the debris that was left behind as they were supposed to.  But worst of all, the landscaping was not properly sloped to provide drainage, so our new back yard is a swamp, and there are parts of the yard that are sloped to bring water towards the house in clear violation of the building codes.  Adam continued to promise that he would fix things, but just never did.  Ended up with a small claims judgement against him, which he has not made good on.  Oh, why did it end up in court you ask? Why not go after his licence and bond? Because although he stated clearly that he was licensed and bonded he WAS NOT.  License had been suspended and bond cancelled due to prior violations, and he continued to work and represented himself fraudulently.  PLEASE, do yourself a favor, and go to https://fortress.wa.gov/lni/bbip/Search.aspx to look up the trail of wreckage left behind in the prior incarnation under licence number PREMILI937K1 before he renewed under his father's name with a new licence number PREMILI908JM to keep the con going.  Interestingly, as of 4/13/2011, the new license has been suspended as well.  Not clear why, but maybe the authorities have caught up with him again. Do yourself a favor, and run. Run fast in the other direction.

I worked with Adam Harper who was a very friendly guy and easy to work with. His price was good, right in line with a few other bids, but I chose him ultimately because we seemed to communiate well with each other and I got the sense he would make things right. I probably wouldn't have hired him had I read the one review posted on Angie's List, but good thing for him I didn't end up looking here first. To start with we ironed out a few things in the statement of work and contract, it was very complete and I felt comfortable I knew exactly what I was getting. Adam was agreeable to all the changes and that part went smoothly. They did a good job of flagging the site out and letting me know exactly what they were going to install where before starting, which was important to me. Also, while at the site and doing the work I got a phone call from Adam explaining an issue he need to work around...kudos to him for being very communicative instead of just making some assumptions and moving forward. Once the install was completed there were a few trouble-spots where things weren't getting watered well. I told Adam about these and 2 days later he had come back and fixed it which was a good experience. Three relatively small issues I did have using these guys: - Adam could "go dark" for a few days easily where you wouldn't get any email communication from him and would have to email again to get a response. - There was a very clear expectation that he would replace the normal sprinkler heads on one side of my driveway that was lower with SAM (sealed) sprinkler heads to prevent the water from draining back through my system, but when he came out to make the adjustments he only replace a few of the heads with SAM heads and not all the ones we had agreed to...I didn't fight back on this one but was very disapppointed and wished I would have put it in an email rather than done it over the phone verbally. - They didn't do a great job of putting my site back together like they found it. They didn't compact the dirt into the holes they dug, didn't rake so the ground was "clumpy", and didn't replace the mulch in a lot of places in my beds which I ended up doing myself after they were done. I'd probably use these guys again but it's not a sure-thing at all. They were good but not great.

Inaccurate estimate, lack of proper design, poor workmanship, lack of professionalism, unresponsive to customer needs, lots of unfinished tasks, unnecessary and unscheduled delays. I want to add few things for future customers: The work was finally completed with some quality issues. If you do decide to work with this landscaper, please get every thing in writing, get a commitment before you pay (put a clause to protect your self). His website say 10 years overall experience, but the actual work is performed by someone else and he is rarely on site to supervise the work. He shows up only to pick up checks.