Weed control and lawn fertilizer
I have been a Weed Man customer for the past two years, but due to a continuing poor quality of service, I will not be renewing my contract next season. I have several major complaints about working with Weed Man, here are just a few:
[1] Weed Man oversells themselves enormously. From the moment I ordered just one basic service, I was constantly being pressured to order costly additional services. I've often had to fend of multiple calls from Weed Man in the same week trying to sell me a service that I had already said "no" to several times.
[2] Weed Man likes to show up without warning. Weed Man supervisors and technicians typically do not notify you when they enter or leave your property. So, unless you happen to see them walking around your yard or unless they leave a notice in your mailbox trying to sell you more services, you may never know that they were there. If it's important to you that someone call before coming to spray your lawn, then you have to let the call centre know. Also make sure you tell them that you wish to be called every time someone comes (not just once), and that you want some kind of notice from the technician afterwards once he/she is finished.
[3] Weed Man's 24-hour service guarantee is really a 3-day service guarantee. When I signed up for Weed Man initially, I was promised unlimited spot treatments on my weeds throughout the season. I was repeatedly told that all I had to do was call and someone would be on my property within 24 hours (this is also pushed as a major selling feature while on hold with the call centre). When Weed Man fails to meet this promise, I am told by the senior staff that 24 hours really means 24 "business hours," which could be up to 3 days (depending on your definition of a regular work day). When I asked why Weed Man promises a 24-hour turnaround time when they don't really mean it, I was accused of nitpicking. I guess they just think it sounds better, even if it means misleading their customers.
[4] Weed Man employees need better communication skills. When I recently called for a weed treatment on my lawn, it took nearly 3 weeks and 4 phone calls to get the job done. First I was told that a rush order would be put on my next fertilizer treatment and that my weeds would be sprayed at the same time. A week later, a technician showed up but didn't bring the right treatment, so he said he would send someone else. Several days later someone else showed up but since it had rained the night before, he said the treatment would be ineffective and would have to be done another day. I asked the call centre about this and they said it was not true, so they sent a supervisor to my property. The supervisor also told me that weeds should have been sprayed and that he would send someone else (evidently he didn't bring any weed treatment either). After hearing nothing for several more days, I called Weed Man again. This time they sent a supervisor and a technician to my home with the proper weed treatment, but failed to leave any notice on my lawn once they were done. Less than an hour later, another technician showed up and started spraying my weeds without telling me. I managed to stop him before he finished and he assured me that a double treatment would not harm my lawn because it was "organic." I asked the call centre about this, but they would not confirm whether this was true or not. Within only a few days, my lawn changed from a lush green to a deathly brown (see photos). Weed Man fully admits that there has been damage to my lawn, but they have so far refused to apologize for it and I have been forced to fight them for any form of compensation.
So, in classic Weed Man rhetoric, it has definitely not been an "amazing" day at Weed Man and no, you may not "amaze" me ever again.
- Approximate cost of services:
- $300.00
- What could this company do to improve their services?
- [1] Weed Man could improve their services by spending less time trying to sell new treatments to their customers, and instead focusing more time on maintaining a satisfactory level of quality on the treatments that their customers have already purchased. [2] Weed Man needs to start treating their customers with more respect and stop exaggerating with misleading promises they either can't keep or don't intend to keep. [3] Most importantly, Weed Man needs much better communication skills both within its own organization and with its customers, so costly mistakes don't keep happening. Note to Weed Man: I am not going to order any new services from you if you can't even deliver the services I've already asked for and paid for in a satisfactory manner.
- Any advice to offer fellow homeowners facing a similar project?
- My advice for anyone dealing with Weed Man is to never take anything they say at face value. Confirm the details of what you are told with at least two separate sources because everyone at Weed Man seems to have different answers to the same question. If you can, get a hold of a senior supervisor for the real truth. Make sure the call centre knows that you wish to be notified whenever one of their supervisors or technicians comes to your property, and be forewarned that you may have to keep constant checks on them to make sure they do their job as promised. Note that Weed Man seems to care more about taking advantage of your wallet than taking care of your lawn.