After interviewing several landscapers in 2006 we hired Visionary Landscapes. By the time we realized we were in for trouble they had torn up too much of our two acre property for someone else to come in and take over. My wife literally project managed the entire job. Workers were lax and came and went at will, deadlines were never met, we suspect money we paid was spent on other projects. This company took on too many big projects and was spread too thin. After the work was finished (a 6-7 month job in 19 months), we spent this summer, 2008, repairing stonework that literally fell apart because of poorly mixed grout and replacing trees and shrubbery that were planted incorrectly. We also had to hire another company to make repairs to the new gunite pool. Bruce Maclaren's intentions and visions are good; however, he doesn't have the business sense or the labour force required to ensure the quality of the finished product. Buyer beware...the pictures are beautiful but the frustration and stress involved in getting to that point is huge. Also, he maintains that he cannot stand behind his warranties because he has no money. We wouldn't use him to make any further repairs after he "fixed" our stone front porch three times and it fell apart yet again.
- Approximate cost of services:
- $300,000.00
- What could this company do to improve their services?
- He needs to hire a fulltime project manager, labourers who know how to do the jobs involved and then he needs to stand behind his warranties. He also needs to focus on only one big job at a time.
- Any advice to offer fellow homeowners facing a similar project?
- Hire someone else!
- Company Response
We have been in business for more than 25 years with countless successful projects and happy clients. It is very regrettable this project did not go as planned. There were numerous issues this client created which interfered with our work and we have taken this as a learning experience to be more adamant about our policies and recommendations when we feel they are essential to the success of the project. It was a difficult decision, but after repeated insurmountable issues we did have to walk away from this job after delivering all the services that were paid for up to that point. It is too bad and we feel that this client is retaliating. Many of the statements in this review are simply not true, we absolutely stand behind our work and have been running a successful pool and landscaping business for many years. We regret this one client feels this way, but we hope they can understand our position and we wish them all the best.