Looking for Lawn Care Professional

[Brucebotti]

I wasn't sure where to post this, but here go's.

I always have done my own mowing, seeding, fertilizing, etc. I still intend to do my own mowing, but need a little help with the fertilizing. The growing season is when I am the busiest at work. It seems like I never have the time when the conditions are right for applying fertilizer. If I put down weed killer, a freak storm will wash it away before it can do any good. Or I'll get up early on a weekend morning to apply it, and for the first time ever, there won't be any dew, and it won't stick, etc, etc.

I started to look at the lawn care places like TruGreen, Scotts, and Turf Masters. When I look at the on line ratings of six different companies, the highest rating was a 1.6 out of 5. Three of them had a 1.0 rating, and that was with 10 or more reviews. I've never seen any companies rated that bad. Plus, these were lengthy credible reviews.

What do non-professionals do to find someone decent to do this type of work. I know I would never hire any of the companies with a 1.6 or lower rating.

Thanks,
Bruce

 

[exotion]

Ask friends or family or co-workers someone probably has a recomendation for you. That's how I would find someone

 

[wjjones]

Ask friends or family or co-workers someone probably has a recomendation for you. That's how I would find someone

Angies list is pretty good.

Angie's List | Find a Local Business, Ratings, Reviews, Deals |

 

[exotion]

Angies list and yelp are trash around me. Lol

 

[wjjones]

Angies list and yelp are trash around me. Lol

Never heard of yelp? Are they about the same?

 

[LoCo86]

I wasn't sure where to post this, but here go's. I always have done my own mowing, seeding, fertilizing, etc. I still intend to do my own mowing, but need a little help with the fertilizing. The growing season is when I am the busiest at work. It seems like I never have the time when the conditions are right for applying fertilizer. If I put down weed killer, a freak storm will wash it away before it can do any good. Or I'll get up early on a weekend morning to apply it, and for the first time ever, there won't be any dew, and it won't stick, etc, etc. I started to look at the lawn care places like TruGreen, Scotts, and Turf Masters. When I look at the on line ratings of six different companies, the highest rating was a 1.6 out of 5. Three of them had a 1.0 rating, and that was with 10 or more reviews. I've never seen any companies rated that bad. Plus, these were lengthy credible reviews. What do non-professionals do to find someone decent to do this type of work. I know I would never hire any of the companies with a 1.6 or lower rating. Thanks, Bruce

Well for Tru–Green to be so bad they're the biggest lawn maintenance company in North America. Just there fertilizer side of the business grossed almost a billion dollars in 2012. So they must not be that bad. Everyone is quick to write a bad review when something happens, but when a company does something consistently good as it is expected to it will go overlooked. On a side note they are probably cheaper than doing it yourself.

 

[exotion]

A fifty pound bag of 21-21-21 is only 30$ will last most of the season for most lawns

And yelp is like angies list but more for resturants and places to go but has the contractor side to

 

[LoCo86]

A fifty pound bag of 21-21-21 is only 30$ will last most of the season for most lawns And yelp is like angies list but more for resturants and places to go but has the contractor side to

Whoa that's a heavy mix. I can't find any granule fertilizer that's fifty pounds for under $40 and most yards in this region are at least one acre. So it goes quick around here.

 

[exotion]

Ya I use that every 6 weeks during summer. Right now I'm using 30-0-1 to kick start my lawns. Most lots here in spokane are about 1/4 acre

 

[Brucebotti]

Well for Tru–Green to be so bad they're the biggest lawn maintenance company in North America. Just there fertilizer side of the business grossed almost a billion dollars in 2012. So they must not be that bad. Everyone is quick to write a bad review when something happens, but when a company does something consistently good as it is expected to it will go overlooked. On a side note they are probably cheaper than doing it yourself.

That's what I would have thought, but these "1" ratings were all in depth, well thought out, well written complaints. They were all pretty consistent, claiming the companies would apply "extra" services without their consent or never show up and still charge, etc. Usually you can sort out the genuine complains from the bogus / frivolous ones. It looks like I will be applying it again myself this year. I usually end up spending about $500 for a four step plan + grub killer for my one acre lot.
Bruce