What are my options after poor landscaping work?

[HoneyBadger]

Here's the story:

I had a professional landscaper come and landscape my new house. Most things were done in an acceptable manner, but the sod they gave us was pathetic. I have spent hundreds of dollars watering it and in 2+ months, none of the grass has grown enough to even warrant a mowing. I followed the watering directions that the landscaper supplied exactly, but the grass is not growing, and in some places I can't even tell if it is alive. Every time I've seen sod laid, it is thick and dark green and healthy, but the sod we received from the landscaper was not thick, dark green, or healthy. All the other new homes on my street have healthy sod and ours is pathetic.


I wrote a check to pay the landscaping company when the job was completed about 6 weeks ago, and they told me that the grass would be just fine and not to worry about it.

This is a well known and reputable company that has done hundreds of landscapes in my neighborhood and a lot of landscapes in nicer neighborhoods, such as Cordera, Mountain Shadows, and several areas of Monument and Black Forest. I have a lot of outreach where I could damage their business reputation in my neighborhood and around town, but I'd rather not go that route...



What options do I have?
I don't want to do something rash that would leave me without options, but this is about 1300 sq ft of sod that I paid for and i'm getting pissed.

It's probably too late in the season to lay new sod. I'm also worried that if I wait until spring to say anything or do anything, then I definitely won't have any options apart from buying new sod.

[asmo]

1) write a letter to the company complaining and ask for whatever it is that will make you happy
2) wait
3) see 1

If that doesnt work.. take them to small claims court.

[Brian]

Have you already called and asked the owner to come take a look? Would definitely start there. Sounds like you've been calm so far, and if you keep things reasonable, a good company would take care of you and offer to put in replacement sod in the spring if it's not performing as expected. I would definitely get him out there ASAP however if you're not happy. Approach it as if you know they will take care of you, and stay positive and friendly until you need to be otherwise.

That being said, I've seen bad sod set down that grows like crazy in the spring. You may still be ok.

[Gman]

That being said, I've seen bad sod set down that grows like crazy in the spring. You may still be ok.

This^^^ Grass has been going dormant for the last 2 months. It won't improve in color at this point. I'd ping them about the issue now, and if it doesn't come back in the spring, then I'd push them to replace it.

[Aloha_Shooter]

What Brian said ... try to resolve it amicably with the company first. They may not realize just how bad the sod was -- it could be their supplier had inadvertently let the roots dry out or something they didn't realize. Take pictures now -- and scan your utility bills to show how much water you used -- in case you need documentation of the current condition but definitely get them over to see it before taking any other steps.

[HoneyBadger]

Approach it as if you know they will take care of you, and stay positive and friendly until you need to be otherwise.
That being said, I've seen bad sod set down that grows like crazy in the spring. You may still be ok.

This sounds like the smart approach that I was looking for. I'm just worried that I'll be out of a bunch of $$$ when spring comes around and the sod is all dead.

What Brian said ... try to resolve it amicably with the company first. They may not realize just how bad the sod was -- it could be their supplier had inadvertently let the roots dry out or something they didn't realize. Take pictures now -- and scan your utility bills to show how much water you used -- in case you need documentation of the current condition but definitely get them over to see it before taking any other steps.

This is kind of what it looks like. I've noticed that a lot of the water I put on the grass runs off very easily. I have digital copies of the utility bills from CSU and periodic pictures of our grass compared to neighbors' grass.

Okay, a little more background: The project manager from the landscaper admitted that the grass looked "pretty anemic" when he did the final walkaround before I wrote the check, but he assured me that it would get better. This was verbal and I have no other record of their acknowledgement. Sorry to get your riled up Tim, but the company SHOULD be aware. Maybe not. I'll call and see if we are even on the same page before I do anything else.

This is exactly what I was looking for. I was getting myself worked up about it while missing the obvious and potentially simple approach. I'll follow up after I call. I have a tendency to get enraged when I feel slighted, so I needed your level heads to keep me from being an idiot. Thanks.

[Tim K]

Why worry about extreme solutions when you haven't even called yet? As a business owner, it drives me nuts when customers get all pissed off about something but haven't bothered to tell me about it. It's true that the bad contractors out there have tarnished the reputation of us all. Some people assume that all contractors are shady and not interested in fixing problems. Please don't paint us all with the same brush. There are lots of reputable guys out there who will stand behind their work WHEN THEY KNOW THERE IS A PROBLEM. We aren't mind readers and we don't know customers are having problems until you tell us.

It's possible the guy is a jerk and you will have to go to extra lengths to get your problem fixed, but most businesses don't get big by being rude.

One last thing. You starting out friendly will go a long way towards getting your problem solved quickly and well. Generally speaking, the customers who start out pissed off and antagonistic instantly ratchet up the stress level and make everyone's lives miserable. You'll probably get better service if you at least start out being friendly.

[anaphylaxis]

Why worry about extreme solutions when you haven't even called yet? As a business owner, it drives me nuts when customers get all pissed off about something but haven't bothered to tell me about it. It's true that the bad contractors out there have tarnished the reputation of us all. Some people assume that all contractors are shady and not interested in fixing problems. Please don't paint us all with the same brush. There are lots of reputable guys out there who will stand behind their work WHEN THEY KNOW THERE IS A PROBLEM. We aren't mind readers and we don't know customers are having problems until you tell us.

It's possible the guy is a jerk and you will have to go to extra lengths to get your problem fixed, but most businesses don't get big by being rude.

One last thing. You starting out friendly will go a long way towards getting your problem solved quickly and well. Generally speaking, the customers who start out pissed off and antagonistic instantly ratchet up the stress level and make everyone's lives miserable. You'll probably get better service if you at least start out being friendly.

This. This. This.

I deal with the same thing. A client has an issue, and doesn't let me know about it, until it's an emergency. Then they get pissed off because the problem they didn't tell me about, doesn't get resolved right that second. Really?

Or the other people who go out of their way to act like an ass. Really doesn't help anything, and in fact encourages me to do the absolute minimum to resolve the matter. It's not like I would want to deal with such a client again, so why would I put any extra effort in?

[HoneyBadger]

This. This. This.

I deal with the same thing. A client has an issue, and doesn't let me know about it, until it's an emergency. Then they get pissed off because the problem they didn't tell me about, doesn't get resolved right that second. Really?

Or the other people who go out of their way to act like an ass. Really doesn't help anything, and in fact encourages me to do the absolute minimum to resolve the matter. It's not like I would want to deal with such a client again, so why would I put any extra effort in?

Very good points. Thanks!

[Great-Kazoo]

Very good points. Thanks!

So did you contact them?