Complaints

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• Initial Complaint

  Date:03/17/2023

  Type:Service or Repair Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  On 3-16-23 I received an email from the Lawn Doctor that contained a "Service Summary". We had gotten 2 emails earlier with a bid for their service this year. Because of the damage they did to our lawn, and their lack of a resolution to that damage, in the last 2 years we had them, I did not resign with them and hired someone else. I didn't hear from them again so I assumed it was taken care of. Since we did not sign up with Lawn Doctor this year I immediately sent them a reply stating that we do NOT have service this year with them and that they are to stop servicing our property immediately. I got an automated reply stating someone would be contacting me. When I got home I had a voice mail stating I needed to cal them to finish cancelling our service, a service we didn't sign up for. It was too late to return their call so I planned to call the next day. Before I even had a chance to call back I got another call. **** stated that their service infinite, i.e., you are signed up until you cancel. He stated that that's just how lawn service is - just like a utility- everybody knows that. That was news to me. I had never been told that this was a lifelong commitment and that they could just decide what service I was going to get and start applying it without my permission. We have no contract with Lawn Doctor. He acknowledged as much but said it didn't matter. Since we have already has a treatment of fertilizer and weed control applied to our lawn this year I don';r know what damage their application may do to our lawn. **** also told me that someone had called before they arrived to perform the service on 3-16, and that they had also texted me ahead of their arrival. Both are untrue. I never got a call or a text prior to them arriving.

  

  Business Response

  Date: 03/24/2023

  Mrs.
  ********,

  
  Sorry
  to hear of your dissatisfaction with our service. We try very hard to take care
  of not only the lawns that we are hired to manage, but the homeowners as
  well.  Your complaint seems to reflect a miss in communication. I am
  unable to agree with your summarization of the events, however. I believe they
  leave out several key details that change the picture.
  
  You hired
  us in March of 2021. In the initial phone call, we discuss our service, and the
  nature of it with you. Our service, like any other service mentioned in your
  original complaint, is not a service that requires a contract. We accept a
  verbal authorization to begin work. We discuss that on the initial call. We
  also discuss the fact that the service continues month to month, and year to
  year. You can cancel at any time, though we hope to work with you for years to
  come.  The annual lawn program is just that, an annual program. On one
  hand, you do not call each month to order the next application, it's scheduled
  as part of a sequence. We also tell you then that we return year after year.
  That is supported with a confirmation email that says in it " Lawn
  service is a continuous service. You aren't under a contract, but like any
  service it goes from month to month and year to year unless you change it or
  cancel. Though we hope to work for you for years to come."  I copied
  and pasted that statement from the confirmation email that was sent to the same
  address all other email communication went to on 3/22/21.We began service on
  your property on March 26th, 2021. We performed your last service of 2021
  on  11/23/21. We left a schedule of services for 2022. 
  
  We
  serviced your property for the first time in 2022 on March 23rd.  I see
  that bill was paid on March 30th.
  
  I
  have notes that you contacted us in May of 2022 regarding the tire tracks. On
  that recorded call you stated your feeling that the machine did not just leave
  tire tracks, it had left ruts. In speaking with **** you had stated you were
  going to send pictures of the track that you were noting as ruts. We did not
  ever receive those pictures.  We sent a man out to your house on May
  9th, 2022. The same day you called us. We asked him to assess and rectify
  anything he found. I have notes he found a couple of spots where the turf tore
  a bit, and he added seed and worked it into soil repair it. We never heard
  anything else of any dissatisfaction until the time of this complaint. 
  Yet you continued service with us through the rest of the year. There were
  communications, though largely either confirming your aeration and overseeding,
  or paying a bill. I am unable to solve something your unsatisfied with if you
  do not make us aware of it. 
  
  Fast
  forward a to 11/10/2022. That is the date of your last service of the 2022 year. 
  You received two payment reminders via email, and on November 28th you emailed
  us stating that you had paid that bill on 11/10/2022. We received a check on
  12/5/2022. At this point we had received no notice that you wished to cancel
  any future services.
  
  In
  typical years with the last service of the year we leave a schedule of
  services behind. That service letter details all the services and or programs
  that are scheduled for your property for the following year. It says quite
  clearly "These are the services that you have scheduled for your property
  next year"   It does not, in any way, mention or even infer that
  it is a proposal. It states these services are scheduled for your property. As
  noted above that same letter was left for you at the end of 2021, and now again
  at the end of 2022. In 2022, we emailed them. Yours went to the email address
  we had been using on 12/22/22 and again on January 10th, 2023.
  
  
  So,
  at this point we have discussed it verbally, as well as included it in your
  confirmation that includes your program detail. We left a letter at the
  end of 2021, and again at the end of 2022. We sent the emails with the 2023
  schedule on 12/22/22 and again on January 10th 2023.  In addition to that
  we employed an automated call the week prior to your March 16th, 2023, service.
  That call was designed to leave a voicemail on your cell phone in hopes that
  even if you didn't listen to it, your phone would transcribe it for you to
  read. It let you know that we would be out the following week to allow you some
  time to do a little spring clean-up before their first application. It stated
  if you'd like to make any changes to your account to press one and you would be
  connected to the office. It too clearly stated that we are scheduled to come
  service soon. 
  
  In
  addition to that, our lawn tech texted your phone on Wednesday March 15th at
  3:55 pm. He identified himself and stated he would be out the next day to
  service your property.  This text the day before was done, as it had been
  for all the previous services over the last two years, per your request. Our
  records indicate you wanted that prior notification because you have a locked
  gate. I do not know if that pre-notification reason is accurate, I just know
  that you requested it, and we obliged. I know that you did not reply, however
  it is customary that people, yourself included, often do not reply to those
  messages. 
  
  So
  yes, we serviced your property on March 16th, 2023, at 12:11
  pm. That was a whole lot of communication that you ignored.
  
  We
  serviced your property in all of 2021, we followed the same procedure at the
  end of 2021 that we did in the end of 2022. he first 2022 application was
  performed on March 23rd, 2022. You paid that bill on 3/30/2022 as you normally
  do. 
  
  At
  no point in the time, we have done business did you reply to the schedule left.
  You did not reply to the emails sent offering an opportunity to save a little
  money by paying in advance. You did not reply to the pre-service notifications,
  You also did not call to "re-start" services. or re-sign up as you
  stated. In 2022, We serviced as we normally do, and you paid the bill from the
  service as you normally do. This all appears to me that we behaved the exact
  same way in 2021, 2022, and 2023. Yet somehow you had a different understanding
  of the service you agreed to in 2023 than you did in 2022.
  
  How
  would we even have a reasonable chance of knowing this? I could make a case for
  your "surprise"  had this been your first year with us. Your different
  response in 2022 and 2023 is quite confusing from this side of this
  conversation.
  
  We
  communicated. through multiple channels. Last year you wanted the service, this
  year you do not. As noted by two opposite actions by you.
  
  While
  I hate to hear that you were not satisfied with our service, I am unclear on
  what more I could have done to avoid a conversation like this from happening in
  the first place.
  
  I'd
  still love the opportunity to discuss and rectify any situations that you may
  have regarding your lawn, and possibly even continue to work with you in the
  future. 
  Due to the
  fact we behaved the same way in multiple years, and this year you had a
  different expectation, I would say that the absence of communication does not
  indicate that you do not want service.

  
  I
  believe paying the bill for the services rendered is in fact the appropriate
  expectation at this time.  
  
  
  
  

   

   

   

  Customer Answer

  Date: 03/29/2023

  I disagree with your story regarding the service from Lawn
  Doctor.  While your start date and dates
  of service were correct, that is where it ends.
  My original call was on 3-19-21.
  At that time I asked **** several questions, that he answered. Never during
  that conversation was I told that this service would be in perpetuity. As you
  noted, the service began in March of 2021.  I am attaching my original notes from that discussion. As you can see,
  nowhere was the never ending service mentioned. Additionally, in all of the
  conversations I have had with Lawn Doctor employees, none of them ever
  mentioned that the service was forever.
  On 8-12-21 I called regarding the
  nutsedge, clover, and crabgrass that was still prevalent in our yard even though
  it had been treated. I also requested aeration, overseeding and a lime
  application.  I was told that a service call
  would be scheduled to reapply the weed killer, etc.
  On 5-7-22, crabgrass and weed control
  was put down, leaving the yard a horrible mess.  I called Lawn Doctor on 5-9-22 and poke with Paul.  There were ruts all over the front and back
  yard; the turf was torn up. There were large brown circles in the front yard,
  looking like the grass was dying. **** acted like it was no big deal, it will grow
  back. He asked me to text him pictures to 636-410-9952, which I did at 2:44PM
  that day.  I have attached that text
  string as well as the pictures that I sent to Paul. Why you say I didn’t send
  them, I can only guess.
  Someone did come and put down some
  seed.  However, that seed didn’t take
  hold. It took about a year for those spots to repair. Instead of improving our
  lawn, you were destroying it. And, you are correct, I didn’t call back after that
  because of the flippant attitude **** had that day, as he has every time I talk
  to him.
  You state in your response that, “In
  addition to that, our lawn tech texted your phone on Wednesday March 15th at
  3:55 pm. He identified himself and stated he would be out the next day to
  service your property.  This text the day before was done, as it had been
  for all the previous services over the last two years, per your request. Our
  records indicate you wanted that prior notification because you have a locked
  gate. I do not know if that pre-notification reason is accurate, I just know
  that you requested it, and we obliged. I know that you did not reply, however
  it is customary that people, yourself included, often do not reply to those
  messages. So yes, we serviced your property on March 16th, 2023, at 12:11
  pm. That was a whole lot of communication that you ignored.” Was the gate
  unlocked when you got here?  No it wasn’t
  unlocked. I didn’t unlock it because no one ever texted me, and you were not
  hired to service our lawn.
  And, yes, you did service our
  property in 2022 because I had called to find out why we hadn’t seen any
  improvement in our lawn since your service started. When **** had his usual
  dismissive attitude I asked to speak to a manager. At that time she told me
  that it takes about 2 years to turn a lawn around.  Because of that I told her to go ahead and
  service our yard for 2 years and we would see how it looked then.  Again, never was I told that this was a
  service in perpetuity.  So this year I
  did not respond because we don’t believe your service has improved our
  lawn.  While the front grass looks somewhat
  better, the sides and particularly the hills, look worse that when we hired you.
  As for the billing, you attempted
  to imply that I just didn’t pay you for the 11-10-22 service.  What you conveniently left out of your
  statement is that I didn’t receive an invoice on the front door as we had
  before for the service.  When I received the
  email bill, I paid the bill via ebill pay on my bank web site thinking it would
  get to you faster than mailing a check. When I got the second invoice I went and
  checked with the bank and they explained that since they have no working
  relationship with Lawn Doctor, they have to process and mail an actual check,
  and that takes a little longer. You are trying to paint a picture that I am
  somehow negligent in paying my bills.  That is pathetically dishonest.  You continue to twist and leave out the facts.  I also have documentation for this transaction
  in my files.
  I received no text message from
  anyone at Lawn Doctor on March 15. If I had I would have texted back or called to
  tell Lawn Doctor not to come.
  You also state, “Lawn service is a
  continuous service. You aren't under a contract, but like any service it goes
  from month to month and year to year unless you change it or cancel.”  Because you say that doesn’t make it so.  I have NO other services, zero, that continue
  in perpetuity without a contract. NONE. The company that cuts our grass doesn’t
  just start showing up year after year. Nor does the HVAC maintenance company,
  the bug spray company, or any other service company just show up because they’ve
  been here before. 
  In summary, things you stated that
  are fabrications:
  -You stated that you didn’t
  receive text messages and pictures on 5-9-23 regarding the damage you did to
  our lawn when you did.  **** responded to
  me multiple times.
  -You stated that you called  my cell phone and left an automated message,
  with options, the week before you serviced our lawn without our permission. Not
  true.
  -Nor did your technician text me
  on 3-15-23 to say he was coming the next day. There is absolutely no record of
  Lawn Doctor calling us this year at all - on my cell phone or on our home
  phone.
  If we don’t want your service, we
  don’t ask for it.  That is exactly how we
  handled this: appropriately. You left us a proposal, we ignored it.  As is commonly understood, that means we don’t
  accept your offer. You stated that yourself – we didn’t respond – because we
  don’t want you at our home. As I said, I talked to a manager and let her know
  that we were giving Lawn Doctor 2 years to do what we hired them to do.  They failed so we stopped doing business with
  them, as is our prerogative.
  I can see that you have a talent for attempting
  to degrade and belittle your customers, as well as accuse them of being liars.
  You accuse them of doing everything wrong as you seethe condescension. Often
  when people lie and twist the truth, it is because they are trying to make
  things appear other than the way they really are. I believe the reasonable
  solution is for you to rescind your illegitimate invoice and move on.  What happened to your promise “If you’re not
  100% satisfied – we’ll make it right.  It’s
  that simple.

• Initial Complaint

  Date:09/21/2022

  Type:Service or Repair Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  In the process of aerating my lawn, the technician severely damaged my 3-year old driveway. A supervisor named *** came to my house to inspect the damage, and while on site agreed they had made a mistake and did in fact damage the driveway. After consultation with his owner he reversed what he apologized for and now claims they didn’t do it, even though the tracks from the aerator exactly where the damage is located.

  

  Business Response

  Date: 09/30/2022

  We offered the consumer a reasonable accommodation by waiving the fee for the aerator when he originally complained about the track marks.  He refused and wanted us to turn it in to our insurance company.  We went and inspected the driveway closer and we noticed that the aerator was not what caused the damage but were tire tracks.  It is not in the pattern of the aerator also the reported damage is throughout the driveway and not between the tire marks.  We do not know what caused the damage to your driveway, but it was not an aerator.  Since you turned down our reasonable accommodation, there is nothing left for us to do with this complaint.  We did not cause it nor will we now adjust our billing for something we did not do.