My Landscaper - Keep or Fire Him?

Fire him. I have learned this lesson in the past. If you are having trouble getting someone to START the job, it's not going to get better. I would hold off on paying him right now. What I have found is that it may be very difficult to get someone who will agree to pick up a job that's halfway through (ie they don't want to be responsible for what the 1st party may have done), and oftentimes, the amount the 2nd party will bill will essentially be for the whole job. Just a word of advice from someone who's been there, done that (though mine was a contractor remodelling kitchen/baths).

Pay him a fair amount for work already done....then move on. When you are calling out other co's for estimates - ask how much $ you should pay the first guy. The first guy is only going to lead to problems. Move on.

Landscaper, you're fired! <----Donald Trump voice and finger pointing :o)

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Cut him loose, he is screwing you. He is not a professional or he would have had equipment. You do not have to pay him, and you should most certainly report him to the better business so he can not screw others in the future.

Fire him, I doubt that's $1000 that he didn't "realize". Sounds like he's trying to screw you. You could have a different landscaper come and evaluate how much work was done at what price to pay him for the work he's done, but that is ridiculous to "not realize" a grand of work. My main feeling of him screwing you is because of how he was putting you off and not following through. I mean, come on, 3 months to START on a project when he said he'd do it back in March, next please.

Update:
I think that's more than fair. If he quoted the 2 at $220 then 1 is $110. Just tell him you appreciate his work, but you are not happy with the time it is taking and the surprise cost (if you want to be nice haha, I see myself saying that through gritted teeth).

I think you already know the answer to your question. Fire him.

Tell him to get off your property and if he ever comes back you will have him arrested. He is trying to take you for as much money as you will give him. Also, he isn't useing proper tools for the job---big red flags all over. Say no to this one.

M

Fire him. Incommunicative, hard to reach, inaccurate with estimate? Fireable offenses all of them. Pay him for the work he did so far -- perhaps using the first estimate as a guide -- then ask around and get real recommendations for a replacement. Online ratings are shaky, as its possible that they are posted from within the organization, not real people. Get more than one estimate, and pay attention to your gut feelings about the people.

I'd call him and tell him his estimate was for $700. If he wants to do it for $700, then he has two weeks to have the job done or you'll hire someone else. Then go to the web site that had the 5 out of 5 ratings and give him a 1 and tell why. Take pictures of what he has done and save them and explain why you are dissatisfied. Note the number of times you called him, etc.

With the next group, get your estimate and establish a time frame to have it done by. Then have written requirements and deadlines. One of them should be a penalty for not having the work completed on time.

Good luck to you and yours.

My husband owns a landscape construction company. I see that you are from Illinois and your weather is usually somewhat similar to ours (I'm in Ohio). This spring, we had the rainiest months of April and May in recorded history. Usually, my husband will put in about 80-90 hrs/wk during those months. This year, he was lucky to put in a 25-30 hr week. That alone, should explain the delay on your work. With my husband's business, his regular customers typically schedule their spring clean-ups or new projects in Jan/Feb for Mar-May. For customers requesting work in May, their jobs usually begin at the end of June through the month of July. Landscapers get VERY backed up (especially the good ones!) and that is just a fact.
My husband has been in the business for about 15 years and most of the time, he is relatively accurate (w/in about 5-10% margin of error) in his estimates. On occasion, he runs into a situation where he has underestimated the cost of materials or labor. It IS possible. Your guy seems to have GROSSLY underestimated though. I have to be honest. A $700 job is barely worth the time/labor/effort to show up (which I'm sure has contributed to his procrastination on showing up). Sometimes my husband will pass on a job that small because after you pay labor and materials, there are virtually no profits.
Anyway, I doubt he "bait-and-switched" you with his estimate, but if you're uncomfortable, you should call him and tell him about your concerns. My husband is almost always willing to work with his customers and if he can't, he just cuts his losses and moves on. But beware, you might have trouble finding someone good to come out this late in the season in a timely fashion. You might end up waiting another few weeks- but this time you have a torn up yard.
Good luck!

PS I wouldn't bother reporting to the BBB. BBB is absolutely bogus. All a company has to do to bring their ratings back up is pay a nominal fee- then they're right back at a great rating. I know this from a couple of business owner friend's personal experiences.

Well, it was an "estimate". Did you get other quotes that were around $1700? I think its reasonable that that could happen. I wouldn't be happy about it, but I could see how when you start doing something that its more than it initally looked. If you got other quotes around the same cost and this guy has a good reputation and you can pay the $1700, I would probably just do it. Good luck!

also check BBB and see if he's listed there - leave a report if you wish there as well!

I'd say you probably do have to pay him for the work that's been done already, I've seen these cases on Judge Judy, lol.
Definitely look for someone else. Pay this dude for the hours of labor and be done with him. Better post him on Angies List too-- as a negative.

His estimate was ridiculously low in the 1st place. That tells me bait and switch. He hasn't been professional or timely. You have no reason to believe he is going to finish on time or do a good job. I would pay him what you owe him for the day and then be done with him.

oh thats a shame. you tried to give him work and he jacked it up. I'm sorry. 130 is more than fair.

I wouldn't pay him for that! If there was no contract then I would keep looking. He's obviously not serious or it would of been done a long time ago!

If you didn't sign anything I would drop him like a hot potato. He obviously is over rated by someone. Yes there are a lot of things going on now, storms, maybe his wife is leaving him and he is depressed, etc. but if you have a contract then he has to stick to it, however he does it. No contract and I would tell him thank you very much. Goodbye.I suppose there are verbal contracts but that would have to be witnessed and with very detailed information. It doesn't sound like bait and switch it sounds like he over extended himself, misrepresented himself and still thinks he will do the job if you pay him that amount. But you didn't agree to that amount in the first place, verbally or written so...it just occurred to me that he might have left a big mess outside if he already started. I would suggest you get him to put it back, tell him to cover what the original cost and report him to the BBB (better Business Bureau). You might ask him what happened? You said you told him he was hired but was there any paperwork? If so then that would hold ((oh hopefully not)) in court. He said $700 and that is what it should be. Oops, just read your last post. He should be happy with that $130 dollars. And I will leave this information as it may be helpful for someone else.And I want to add something else: being an immigrant from the same place doesn't mean they are honest or good workers. We recently had someone work on our car from the same country my husband was from and the car was there for six weeks (YES), we were inconvenienced that long, paid lots of money and it isn't working the same at all and now we have to get other repairs.

I would also give him a scathing review on service magic. I have had this problem with numerous landscapers so you are not alone.