Thanks so much for taking the time to place this very nice review! It was a pleasure working for you creating a functional and beautiful front yard parking pad. Many years of enjoying the convenience of your parking pad.
I'm sorry that you feel this way about our service.
January 21 was our initial meeting and a design contract was signed.
January 27th - we received a deposit and you were told it would take 3-4 weeks for the design presentation.
On Feb 24th the design was presented. It took exactly 4 weeks for us to present the plan to you.
At this point, during our meeting, it was mentioned that the balance of the design fee was due, and you agreed to send the payment for the balance. Despite a few more reminders, we did not receive payment from you until after we gave you a quote for the build.
March 3rd We received an email with the request for changes after the design was complete and changes were to be made you mentioned ..."I understand costing is the next step but we are firm on keeping this project at $30K max so would like the designs to reflect this reality. If we are completely off base, please let us know!"
Our reply was: "It's hard to determine exactly the cost without going through the process. I would suggest that we make the changes and send it to Peter for the quote and then if we need we can adjust the drawing if need be. I can respect your request and we will do our best to try to accommodate from our end and if we can't make it work on our end the way it is designed then we will do our best to find an alternative way to get it done and still give you a beautiful yard."
March 14 you poked me for an update.
On March 15 I sent the revised design.
March 16 you had a few minor questions and asked for a 3D revision as well. As I mentioned this was not part of the design scope however I provided them as per your request.
March 17 I responded to your questions
March 17 you asked if I could accommodate your request for the 3Ds and I said I would do that for you.
March 20 you responded
March 22 - 2 days later I had the 3ds revised for you.
March 23 almost 3 weeks later we were still waiting for the contract fulfilment regarding payment. Once payment is made in full the costing process is put on the front burner. We do not usually apply the next phase of pricing if payment is not paid in full.
As you can see, we had had no lapse in timelines from responses and requests you had made. Once I heard from you I always responded in a timely manner. It is quite normal to have a design process with revisions take 4-6 weeks.
In response to the budget, it was clearly pointed out to you what things might cost in an email sent on January 22nd which was after you had signed a design contract but before you had sent a deposit. The budget requirement we gave you was considerably more than your stated budget yet you proceeded with a design anyway. Since that time lumber has doubled in price and other materials have been increasing 30% in some cases.
When there is a wish list, we do our best to keep the budget in mind, but prices and wish lists can play out against each other. Prices are what they are and that is out of our control.
Regarding being all in for signing a contract, We would remind you that you waited almost a week before sending the deposit to the contract. We did not push you or promise the world to you. My advice to you was that you need a good plan to do it right. There was no pressure from our end at all.
Regarding the delay in providing the quote, you hadn't actually paid for the design, even after being politely reminded several times to do so.
We do thank you for paying now, but you only did that after we provided you with a quote for the installation.
Would any business provide a timely quote if you haven't paid for the original work?
I'm sorry that you felt the need to try and tarnish our reputation. I wish you luck with your project.
Right Guys, Right Price, RIght time!
Thank you, Stanley, for placing this really great review. You were a great client to work for! Glad we could be there at the right time for you and complete the new house landscaping that you needed. Hoping for many happy years in your new home.
Front and backyard landscaping
Thanks for the great review! It was a pleasure working for you as well David. Glad the project turned out nice for you.
Front parking pad and landscaping
Thank you for taking the time to place this great review!
Thank you for taking the time to place this review! Glad you were satisfied with the work done.
Judgement + Experience + Knowledge
Thank you, Neil for taking the time to write this review! It is much appreciated.
Green Apple is terrible and does not deliver
We are very sorry that you were not happy with our design and our pricing. We looked back in our records in order to figure out who you might be, using the timeline you gave in your review, and that you said it was for back deck design. We only found one client that matched this timeline and description. If we have this correct, you had hired us to design a deck with a plunge pool for your backyard. You had not hired us to build your deck. We had no idea that you were not happy with our design service as you had not expressed that to us till now. If you had communicated, at the time, that you were not satisfied, we would have tried to do something about it.
We designed your backyard, revised it twice as per your feedback, and then gave you quotes for us to build the job multiple ways. You then asked us to break down our pricing and we communicated the breakdown in terms of material cost, labour, and overhead. When a wish list exceeds a budget, clients can be upset sometimes.
We are unsure of how we were rude to you. To be upset because another company is cheaper than us is unfair and unreasonable I think. We strive to be a high-quality builder and not a low cost one. Just because we could not build your backyard for the price that another contractor may have is no reason to give us a poor rating like this.
Our design fees are based on property size and intricacies of the design and for your property, therefore, it was $3,500 plus HST which included a scaled 2D plan that any company can use to build the job and 3D plans with pictures showing what the project will look like from multiple angles allowing you to know what your backyard will look like before it is built.
For those reading this, please read all our other positive reviews.
Amazing front yard & parking pad buildout
Thank you, Shamir, for taking the time to place this great review! Getting approval for your particular parking pad was definitely the most difficult one that we had to navigate in over 25 years of getting front yard parking permits for clients but the satisfaction of succeeding was also greater. Enjoy the new front yard makeover and your new legal parking pad.
Front yard, porch and walkway overhaul
Thanks Greg for placing this great review. Enjoy your new front yard.
Category: Landscape Contractors and Designers.
Modern Landscape Design. Toronto's premier modern landscaping company.
Your modern lifestyle, outdoors. Creating usable, functional and refined environments with a modern aesthetic.
Green Apple offers a complete residential landscape design and build service in GTA Toronto, Etobicoke, Mississauga, Vaughan, Woodbridge, Kleinburg, Nobleton, Caledon, Richmond Hill, and Thornhill. With over 30 years of landscaping experience and a portfolio of award-winning gardens, we are dedicated and passionate about creating the perfect garden for our clients.
We are now pleased to offer three dimensional (3D) plans as part of our design process. This is in addition to our standard two dimensional (2D) plans. The 3D plans provide you with the opportunity to visualize your landscape makeover in photorealistic 3D pictures of your designed landscape and actually see what your landscaping will look like before it is built! See our 3D designs on Homestars and Houzz.
