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Cowboy Landscaper Experiences

Last year an elderly neighbour had his tennis court removed and turf laid over the top.
Despite frequent watering, it quickly dried up and died during the summer, leaving a large brown rectangle in the middle of his otherwise attractive garden.

He asked me to have a look at it this spring, and upon inspection, the turf only had 1-3 inches of soil beneath it. Below that was the hardcore base of the tennis court.
A new company came in and removed 60 tonnes of rubble before replacing it with soil, and unsurprisingly the new grass took root and is now thriving.

Unfortunately the chap who was conned isn't able to handle the stress of trying to reclaim the money he spent.

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  • Hi Sam

    There are plenty of rouges out there but there are also plenty of good sole traders and companies (many of whom are on this site) that carry out work like this on a regular basis.  Its down to the client to carry out due diligence and ensure that the work specification is the one quoted against and that quotes are sought from companies/individuals that are local and or recomended by others.  Your right our industry and the tree industry is blighted by cowboys but the public gets what the public pays for and until the public stop using them they will still operate.    

  •  See this a lot. 

     Also see it from the otherside. I've been asked to qoute the cheap way then the correct way. Can guess which qoute is normally accepted. If this is the case it's always documented that the client has wanted to take this path

    • There are inherent problems with the idea of giving two quotes like this. The more expensive way will be the proper professional way of doing things which will produce the very best results and critically, will last, looking good for many years to come. The cheap quote will nearly always mean bodging the job, as is the case in the example on this thread. It may look okay to start with but is unlikely to remain looking good over time. The client may then need to have the work either re-done or amended in some way further down the line, meaning it wasn’t so cost effective after all.

      The cheap way is more attractive due to being much cheaper, so giving the client this option in the first place is wrong. Any sensible client will understand the work involved particularly if you communicate this to them. If I am going to do a job then I will do it properly or not at all. It isn’t in my nature to bodge things, which is why I am so busy and am still in business after nearly 29 years.

      More importantly what happens when the ‘cheap and quick’ job starts to look bad and everyone that the client knows asks him ‘that lawn looks terrible, who the hell bodged that up for you? To which the client responds by naming you. He probably hasn’t even waited to be asked, he will have voluntarily told everyone about how bad it looks and who did it. How will that impact your reputation? The client is unlikely to tell them that it was he who opted to have it done on the cheap.

      No, I have never gone down the two quotes route. But then I have also never had to go back to a job. I also won’t work for the kind of person who wants something for nothing, because I am unable to sell my professional services so cheaply and recognize that these types of people will be trouble.

      There are two jobs I did, one done four and one done six years ago, which I see regularly. One levelling and re-turfing a lawn and one putting down decorative stone over an entire front garden. They look as perfect now as they did then. Neither of them were cheap but they do look fantastic. The clients still comment to me how delighted they are.

      I think everyone on here will operate on this basis and have similar stories to tell of jobs well done and happy and satisfied clients.

      •  I also don't supply two quotes or touch jobs who ask for both. 

         Unfortunately two quote clients are about. 

  • PRO

    Earlier this month I visited an elderly lady locally for the first time (thank you Bark) - over the summer she had got 3 small raised beds for flowers put in her garden - I suppose requiring 18 sleepers and a couple of bags of soil. Apparently the 2 guys were on site for 3 weeks and took her for £7.5K !!!!

    I reckon it was less than 3 days work for one person... apalling.

     

  • Oh dear, if i had a pound for every poor job I have seen etc.....!  I have seen so many changes in the landscaping industry over the past 40 odd year that I have been trading. The advice I would give is to set your standards and keep to them, let the 'cowboys' have their fun and easy money, they will always be there and there will always be gulible souls who fall for there pitch.  

    The 'best' one we encountered was a good while back when crazy paving was 'the thing'.  We were in the process of carrying out a long drive, down the side of a bungalow, continuing onto a raised patio and garden paths - quite extensive and requiring a lot of prep work with a reinforced concrete base. Next door asked me to quote for an 'in-out' drive 'while we were there', which I did and explained the need for good prep and a sound base. The next day another 'landscaper' was measuring up..... two days later a massive lorry rolled up and 6 guys piled out and started skimming off the lawn. They used some of the hardcore out of our skip to use as a base! Day 1 - prep was done. Day 2 - they all roll up with the tarmac and by the end of the day, it was 'job done'.  Day 3, a smug neighbour was telling me how much he had saved on my price! Three weeks later (we were still on site next door) he asked me to pop round as there were some 'bumps' in his tarmac, strangely following the line of his borders! You've guessed it, the daffodils were ready to pop through! A week or so later it was dandelions from the old lawn.  A year later, the whole lot was ripped up and re-done properly - although he didn't have the nerve to come back to me!

    • PRO

      Karma :)

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