In early 2007 my husband and I retained the services of TruGreen in Rocky Hill, Connecticut for lawn treatment.
We initially retained TruGreen's services because our lawn had suffered a serious bout of grubs. As a result, we had lost a good portion of our front lawn. Due to the severity of the damage our lawn suffered, it required professional care.
We received our first treatment in April from TruGreen. After a few treatments, we did notice some improvement. We then decided to sign up for aeration and over seeding services to begin the growth of new grass to replace what had been lost from the grub bout. They aerated and over seeded our lawn for the first time in August. I was already disappointed by the manner in which the individual performed the services. He was sloppy, paid no attention to detail and did the job so quickly that I wasn't even sure if he had done every thing we had paid for.
We followed the instructions that were provided on our invoice and saw no change in our lawn after approximately a month had passed. I placed my first complaint with TruGreen on September 24. It took an additional 2 phone calls before Tim from TruGreen finally called me back on October 5 and informed me that some one would be out to look at our lawn on October 8. The individual from TruGreen that came to assess the condition of our lawn agreed that our lawn did not look as it should as a result of the over seeding that had been done back in August. TruGreen redid the over seeding, free of cost, in October.
At this point, my husband and I were hopeful that by the next season (meaning spring/summer of 2008) we would see improvement in our lawn.in January we renewed our service with TruGreen for the same applications along with a repeat of aeration/over seeding as we had done in 2007.
The first application was applied on April 1. On August 20, a representative from TruGreen aerated and over seeded our lawn. He left an invoice at our door with a description of services along with instructions.in the instructions he explained that watering should be down 20 minutes a day for the seed to germinate. We have a very large yard and have a well. We watered 15 minutes per day.
After a few weeks, I saw the same thing was happening as last year. There was absolutely no change in our lawn at all. No new grass had come up and in addition, the general condition of our lawn was poor and my husband noticed the return of grubs/moles in our lawn. I placed a call to TruGreen on September 4. I spoke with Jasmine. I explained my disappointment with the condition of our lawn and gave her the history of what had been taking place. She was very courteous and sympathetic and told me she would get some one who could help me. I then spoke with Tammy. I explained everything to Tammy as I had to Jasmine. I also requested that TruGreen reimburse the cost of the most recent aeration and over seeding that had been done because our lawn had experienced no improvement and that my husband and I would like to cancel our services with TruGreen.
Her response was that TruGreen would not credit the aeration and over seeding just like that. She said she would have to have a representative come out to our property to assess the condition of our lawn first. I explained to her that I didn't understand why a representative had to come out to look at our property given the history of our account with TruGreen and that we no longer wanted to retain the services of TruGreen. She reiterated that a credit would not be given for the aeration and over seeding. I admit; I got agitated at this point. I explained to her that although our lawn condition was poor, my husband and I were still willing to pay for all the other treatments we received this year and that all we ask for is a credit on the most recent aeration and over seeding and to discontinue our relationship with TruGreen. Tammy, in turn, raised her voice to me and said that would not be done. I replied that I no longer wanted to continue the discussion with her and requested to speak with her superior.
Mike then came to the phone. I again, for the third time, explained our situation and made the same request. He said he would have to send a representative out to our property to assess our lawn and asked me if we followed the instructions given on the invoice after the aeration and over seeding. I said we watered 15 minutes per day and still after weeks saw no new growth. He replied that 15 minutes was no where close to what was needed to germinate grass seed. I informed Mike that the instructions stated to water 20 minutes per day. Mike then replied that TruGreen would not credit the service of aeration and over seeding. The only thing they could do would be to send a representative from TruGreen out to assess the condition of our lawn, credit our most recent treatment (which was done September 4) and cancel our account.
I said that was unacceptable given all of the complaints I placed with them last year regarding the aeration and over seeding and the present condition of our lawn. He said they had no record of any complaints on our account. Only that a second over seeding was done last year.
I explained to him that I had every thing documented and he basically had no interest. He said, and I quote, You're being unreasonable, TruGreen will not refund the aeration and over seeding and this phone call will end. I have to say, I have never been treated so poorly by any vendor that I've retained the services of.
After ending the conversation with Mike at TruGreen, I immediately called TruGreen's corporate office. I explained the entire situation. She was very courteous and explained that while she understood my situation, protocol had to be followed. She took down all of the information and informed me that a representative from TruGreen would come to assess the condition of our lawn. She also told me she would look into the treatment I received on the phone by the individual's at the Rocky Hill, Connecticut office.
Finally, on September 17 I received a call from TruGreen's corporate office. She is the representative I placed the complaint with on September 4.
She informed me that a TruGreen representative came out to our property to assess our lawn's condition. I have no idea when the representative came out to our property. We were not informed as to when he/she would come out. We had no proof that any one even came to look at our lawn. She said the representative determined that the 5 minute difference in watering (15 minutes versus 20 minutes) would make a difference in seed germination and that the bald spots we had were from lack of watering. As a result, we were to be held responsible for the cost of aeration and over seeding which was done on August 20. She made no mention of my other concerns, i.E., weeds, crab grass, moles/grubs and the treatment I received from the representatives at the Rocky Hill, Connecticut office on September 4.
I told the representative that I was flabbergasted. I continued to say that I had never been treated so poorly and asked if any thing was being done regarding the treatment I received by TruGreen's personnel on September 4. She had no response. I further told her that I was pursuing other avenues to dispute this matter. As I was speaking with her she abruptly hung up on me.
In closingmy advice to any one who wants to improve the condition of their lawn, do it yourself. TruGreen is definitely not the company you want to use!
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