I called Lawrence Park Garden Care because their trucks and vans are always in my neighbourhood during gardening season. They were one of three quotes I received to re landscape part of my backyard. I wanted removal of plants, relocating decorative stones, covering the area with artificial grass, and opening up my deck by adding an extra stair and removing a railing. Lawrence Park quote was not the cheapest but their rep seemed very knowledgeable and had a good manner. I went ahead with them. The day of the work a team 3-4 came to our house. The head landscape artist Larissa was excellent. She had great vision and communicated everything clearly and openly along the way. However, the work on my deck was different. Apparently Lawrence Park had to outsource the deck (wood work) to another company. I learned later that company was owned by the husband of one the sales rep who put together our quote! Anyway, I did not get I writing exactly the work they would be doing so on completion I was chocked to see that a huge gap was left all along the new part of my deck. Whereas we had no gaps before. The gap was about a foot and a half high and ran all along one side of the deck, right under he BBQ. When I asked about the gap I was told it was not part of the original quote and that if I wanted it boarded up, I would have to pay $1000 extra! I was so upset, so let down by the company. If there was extra work to be done I expected to be advised along the way, not stuck with unfinished work at the end AND handed a bill for extra payment. I future I will be crystal clear of what finished work should look like. In writing to be sure. Unfortunately this bad experience with the deck overshadows the good experience with the landscaping I received with this company. I am not sure if I would be recommending them to my family and friends.
- Approximate cost of services:
- $4,000.00
- Company Response
We are quite surprised to see this mixed review posted more than a year after the work was completed. We have been unable to connect with this client to discuss her concerns in person, so will do our best to address them here.
First of all, it’s wonderful to hear the great feedback about Larissa. She is a very talented and experienced landscaper who truly cares about her work.
It’s true that one of our staff is married to the carpenter who handles many of our carpentry contracts. However, we feel that this partnership benefits our clients, as he is a master carpenter who has worked with us for over a decade and he happens to have a vested interest our projects which go above and beyond what you could expect of any outside contractor. Also, to clarify, the cost of the additional skirting board on this project was $165, not $1,000. This client was never asked for a $1,000 additional payment.
We would like to note that despite the $165 additional cost on this job, there was no concern regarding the service done on the property, or the quality of the work which was done for a fair price. We took great care to give this client excellent service and to keep her informed of the different trades as they worked seamlessly to complete her project. The carpenters took away some extra debris at her request and fixed her sticky gate (at no additional charge) to ensure she was well looked after. Furthermore, all of the trades ensured a spotless cleanup job after the work was complete and even worked around her infant’s napping schedule.
The following are quotes from this client as the job progressed:
“Please not before 10am. The baby sleeps. His room is right above the deck. FYI the guys were super courteous about that. I really appreciated it!”
“Hi again, deck is all done. Beautiful! The guys were excellent! However I now have a couple of gaps beneath the new deck part, see pics. Can you let me know how you would cover it ...and cost. Thanks!”
To sum up, we felt this client was well looked after, and received a quality job for a fair price. We always welcome feedback about our services and we try to work with our clients to come to a mutually satisfying solution. We will endeavor to ensure our clients are notified regarding the sub trades on a project as well as ensuring that our carpentry quotes are more thorough.
Thank you for your review.
Lawrence Park Complete Garden Care