As a landscape company owner, I’ve heard so many depressing stories about landscape companies being so unreliable for simple things like just showing up, being on time, No ETA updates and not doing a thorough job? My theory is this: when Customers call for the service of a landscaper and they respond, they're giving their most knowledgeable opinion on an estimate to complete the task at hand. Keep in mind the only commodity landscapers have to offer is their knowledge and time which is very important to anyone.
At this point, many customers start a negotiation process? (whoever said the estimate was negotiable)? When the customer ask for a price lower than given by the landscaper, their reply is usually the last guy did it for less. The landscapers response is usually...well where is that guy? If the estimate is not acceptable, a suggestion for the homeowner should be to ask what items could be removed from the original request to make it more affordable? This way the worker is not accepting a job that he feels is not equal to his time. If the landscaper does accepts the job (at the original request) at a lower price, you might expect a not so complete job if it’s done that day. If it’s scheduled for another day (between that time) if the next estimate completed for another customer is higher than yours that a good probability for a "no-show" on your job.
Any time a landscaper shows up for your job it’s very important to keep a few things in mind. Many landscape company workers either don’t have health insurance or if they do it’s a high deductible. In the event of an accident and the landscaper shows up in the emergency room and doesn’t provide health insurance coverage information the hospital staff cannot lawfully turn them away. On several occasions I have visited the hospital emergency room (for an injury) to have observed other injured landscapers there. I was surprised to hear a very common story: ID and medical insurance card was left at the job site. During the intake period (sometimes in the hallways due to overwhelming patient intake) the medical staff kindly ask a few questions: (1) How did the injury happen? (2) Did this injury happen at home? If it's reported the injury happened on the job, the billing department may follow up later with the homeowner in pursuant for payment reimbursement thru homeowner insurance.
When landscapers are working on your property, it’s important to be diligent about their time in the sun. It's should be a courtesy (of the homeowner) to always offer water to circumvent dehydration. Workers are usually good about providing their own water, but if it’s the afternoon time of day they may be running low as jobs usually start around 7am. It should be noted as a professional "courtesy" on the part of the homeowner to have the fire department's phone number handy in case the landscaper encounters an accident with falls, injury by equipment or with rodent-reptile elements.