Schmitt's Lawn Care Inc

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The bottom line? After a year with Schmitt?s Lawn Care our lawn looks worse than before we hired them. I could not in good conscience recommend them to anyone based on our experience. <br /> When I say that they ?worked to contract,? it?s not meant to be a compliment. We paid a premium price for what we had hoped would be premium service. What we received instead was the minimum required by law. <br /> For example, when the contract read, <em>?A policing of the grounds for the removal of fallen branches & light litter from the lawn areas,?</em> what that actually meant was that the crew would remove any branches that might interfere with their machinery. The ?lawn areas? did not include any of the areas where there were shrubs, flowers, or mulch. Picking up sticks in those areas would require an extra charge. <br /> Another example. When the contract read, <em>?Hand weeding will be done to keep weeds out of mulch beds,? </em>that meant, ?if you don?t point it out, we don?t do it.? Or, when the contract read, <em>?The collection of leaves and removal from site,?</em> that meant ?vacuum the leaves and dump them at the back of the yard.? There was no ?removal from site.? <br /> The contract read, <em>?In the event of damage...to property, the contractor will report the incident to the customer within (24) hours of such occurrence.? </em>When our birdhouse was damaged by a collision with their equipment and the post severed from the ground, I witnessed a member of their crew trying to tamp the post back into the ground as though nothing had happened. The following day the owner of the business came with a posthole shovel and stuck what was remaining of the birdhouse post back into the ground. We were never compensated for the damage nor did we receive so much as an apology. <br /> At the end of the season we discovered that a significant patch of lawn had been worn bare and muddy by the mowing equipment repeatedly using the same path to reach the rear of our property. When we called this to the attention of the owner, Greg Schmitt, he immediately became defensive, argumentative, and, frankly, plain rude. He admitted to no responsibility, offered no apologies, and claimed to have met the terms of the contract. And yet the contract stated, <em>?The contractor will monitor the property for the duration of the contract and alert the customer of any adverse circumstances as to the general condition of the lawns or health of the living material in general.?</em> This never happened. We discovered it ourselves and realized, too late, that we had misplaced our trust for a premium price. <br /> I?m hard pressed to be positive, but <em>there are some good things to be said</em>. The crew did come weekly, weather permitting, to cut the grass. They worked swiftly and efficiently, were always pleasant and polite when engaged. The mulching of the beds and garden area was done neatly and attractively. We have a fenced-in area for our pet and the crew was always careful about keeping the gates closed and properly secured. They were careful with their machinery around our vehicles in the driveway and never blew wet clippings onto our car. The walks and patio were always blown free of clippings and made presentable when the crew left. Mr. Schmitt was polite and personable as long you agreed with him. However, he refused to discuss or exchange anything in writing outside of the contract and demanded instead that all concerns be addressed orally. He was was unreceptive to criticism and would become belligerent if you disagreed with him. <br /> Overall? I?d say you can receive the same or better treatment without paying a premium price or having to deal with someone who seems only interested in ?working to contract? as he sees fit. <br />

He had to completely restore the front lawn where there was an auto accident, including my cement mailbox.  The rescue squads and other vehicles completely ruined my yard.  It was pouring rain and icy.  Greg had quite a job to do.  He restored and leveled all the ruts, and waited till the spring so he could see what all needed to be reseeded.  He couldn't do it immediately because he couldn't tell where to put it until new grass started to grow.  You would never know anything ever happened there.  He didn't even have to do anything with the mailbox, but he volunteered without me asking.  He replaced it and the entire yard is restored.  He did a wonderful job and he was very kind.