Where do I start?
We purchased our new home at the end of last year, based on Yelp reviews I had Eduardo come out to give me an estimate for a yard clean up. $600 later the yard looked much better and he assured me all my plants had irrigation and that we would wait to Spring to begin yard service.
Spring approached and he came out again to do some work on my irrigation, much more affordable than some of the larger companies I called. Later I realized all my aloe plants were turning brown and the centers of the plants had died. I had Eduardo come back out where he informed me those plants did not have irrigation, obviously annoyed, he added the irrigation to them (the center of the plants never came back, they are still dead, the outter leaves are starting to come back and turn green). I also stated that I wanted my grass to be green, it was very brown. He said they would fertilize it, etc. to get it going.
Later we started yard service with KO's, mainly because I thought his prices were good ($65 every other week) and they provided decent service even though it was clear there were some communication issues. By this point Summer was approaching, my plants were blooming and flowering, things looked great, but my yard was still brown. Turns out they never did the fertilizer, once I inquired, he said they would need to up the water/irrigation on the yard because of the heat and that they would in fact fertilize. This did help, but I was bothered because I feel like my lawn service should be telling me these things in foresight, not telling me they would work on it and not following through or waiting for me to notice the problem and then them backtracking. Also, they were supposed to reseed the lawn and completely missed that window, so I still have big patches in my yard where no grass will grow, apparently I'll have to wait til the Fall for this.
When things were starting to look nicely, plants flowering, etc. one day I come home and everything had been cut back. I called him and stated I NEVER wanted the flowers trimmed off or cut back. Fast forward one month, finally blooming again, I come home and they were all cut off again. I was not happy. Everyone else in my neighborhood had blooms, but us. Now here I am having to wait another month for flowers.
There were other issues, the crew not coming on the right day, leaving my pool a mess with debris, Eduardo telling me he would come on a certain day or time and not showing. We also had an issue with a potted plant. They were supposed to plant a palm in a particular place (centered), Eduardo actually placed the pot where the plant was supposed to go and his guys planted it a foot to the right. We literally pulled it out of the ground and replanted it in the correct place, I will say they did not charge us for that which I appreciated.
Bottom line, KO's biggest problem is the communication. There is none, you can speak to Eduardo, but half the time he forgets and you have to remind him or it doesn't translate correctly to his crew, or a completely different crew comes out the next time and has no idea. I want my lawn service to be proactive, someone that tells me what needs to be done, not me asking them all the time and having to play catch up. If your plants and grass are dying when you have lawn service something is wrong.
I have now started with a new guy, recommended by a friend and I have to say it's the same price, even less for fixes on the irrigation, etc. and it is NIGHT AND DAY. He was here 3x longer than KO's and got EVERY weed, it's perfection honestly and he knows not to cut off my flowers and to let me know if something needs attention before it starts dying, etc. which I obviously appreciate!