Boston tree service company blames tree death on lack of water

Published on October 1, 2009

Tree trouble

COMPLAINT: Peter Lawner, Belmont, Mass.

I hired A Yard & A Half Landscaping to plant trees in my backyard. Only one of the three Hemlock trees looks decent - the other two haven't filled out and one looks diseased. I followed the directions for watering, but the trees never thrived.

When I call, Eileen [Michaels, the owner] is impatient, blames me for the problems and has been rude. They came out and said that the trees appear to have been dying because of a lack of watering, and they even replaced the trees with the same negative results.

DESIRED RESOLUTION: I would like A Yard & A Half Landscaping to take responsibility and plant three healthy looking hemlocks in my backyard.

RESPONSE: Eileen Michaels, owner, A Yard & A Half Landscaping

We take great pride in our customer service and it's never our intent to be rude or impatient with our customers. We planted three hemlock trees for the member in 2006. In 2007, we replaced two hemlocks that had died. In 2008, we replaced one hemlock that had died.

In 2009, the member informed us that two of the hemlocks looked terrible. Even though his guarantee had expired, we took samples of the hemlocks and sent them off to a plant lab, at our own expense, to find out what the problem was. The lab test results indicated that the plants were not watered adequately. The member was sent a copy of the lab results and given instructions on how to save the suffering hemlocks.

STATUS: Stalemate

Ruffled lawn

COMPLAINT: Claire Martin, Brookline, Mass.

I called [Giancarlo Bianchi], who was busy and couldn't address my small lawn, so I hired another service provider. However, Giancarlo Bianchi showed up on a Saturday, blew weeds, dirt and debris all over my neighbor's property, created a tremendous mess, and generated a lot of noise.

Then I received a phone call from the lawn service provider that I had hired, saying they'd stopped by my house and my lawn had already been cut. Giancarlo Bianchi then returned to my property - leaving their number for me to contact them and demanding payment.

DESIRED RESOLUTION: I want a statement showing no balance.

RESPONSE: Giancarlo Bianchi, the owner

I did the work myself and no one talked to me about throwing things in their yard. I'd been sending bills, contacted her six times and got no response. She never complained about the service. She moved to New York and didn't pay her bill. I feel that since she moved out of town, she decided not to pay. Have her call me and I will correct it immediately.

STATUS: Resolved