Josie from Pickering-2067

We had been using Algonquin on a weekly basis for at least 8 years. We were very happy with the service until two years ago when their key gardener, CHRIS, left. He was just fantastic and in my opinion, he made the company. Since he left, we were given crews that lacked in knowledge and workmanship and attitude, and we also noticed cut backs on our services such as weed control on grass and interlock, which we had pre-paid. A good week was rare, most of the time the property did not meet the standards to which we were accustomed. In two years since CHRIS left, we have lost a number of shrubs and bushes do to improper care, blooming on most shrubs has stopped, and all the natural shapes of the shrubs and bushes are lost. The last straw came when we lost two, and possibly a third, beautiful mature evergreens due to neglect - the trees were left to choke on wires that were placed around the trunks to keep then upright when they were planted. Their expertise that we apparently paid for should have alerted them to the fact that these should have been removed before this could happen but they didn’t. As a result, one tree snapped in half and toppled over, another is half dead (the trunk has grown around the wire), and as for the third, it is not known at this time if it will survive. I had complained many times to the company with little response, and no response at all to the lost trees. The only thing they did was cut off the lower half of the tree and took the whole thing away, leaving the huge trunk and root in the ground. They have since been fired, but have left us with the cost of taking down the remaining trees, removing the roots, and replacing them which will cost us thousands of dollars to do. De-stumping alone is $500. No response from Steve Bell the owner, who has proved to be extremely cowardly and arrogant. He has not responded to our phone calls and did not come over once through all our complaints to see for himself. We now have a new company that we are extremely pleased with. Don't give your business to a guy that doesn't know what he is doing and can potentially damage your property, whether it is commercial or residential. There are a lot of other GOOD companies to choose from.

We purchased 10,000 worth of appliances, and all the extended warranties totaling about another 1,500. The delivery was botched, they sent their worst delivery guys who refused to move our old fridge (as agreed to at the store), and left the new fridge in the middle of the kitchen leaving it to us to put in place. Our double oven was left in front of the back door leaving it inaccessible, and the next day when the installers came, they found it was damaged. Sears would not deliver another for 2 weeks. That meant we had to keep the damaged oven in the middle of our kitchen for 2 weeks, and could not access our yard. We asked sears if they could at least pick up the damaged oven sooner and they would not. When I expressed how inconvenient it was without an oven, they suggested I use a toaster oven, which I don't even own. The manager Andrea was aware of the problem and was extremely unhelpful. This was the second time this manager would not help. In another situation, I went to the store to buy an additional 4 chairs for my dining room (I had previously purchased 8 from them). She was to get back to me on an issue and didn't even bother to call me back. Here we were, customers with money to spent and she could care less about making a sale. We will not shop at this store again. Sears is not what they used to be. If you are looking for peace of mind and willing to spend more, you won't get it here.

This was the most regretable and worst purchase experience we have ever encountered. This store held a 1,300 down payment for approx 6 months and we came out of it with only our money back, no side board and months of stress and aggrevation. On Nov. 9, 2008, we purchased a custom sideboard for our dining room. We spent over an hour discussing size, features, trim, legs, etc. We were promised delivery in 10-12 weeks. At 16 weeks, we had not heard from the store. This began a serious of weekly phone calls and visits to the store only resulting in many broken promises. At 20 weeks we were assured the piece was finished and would be on the next delivery. Again nothing. At 22 weeks, I left a message for customer service. I heard back after 1 week and only after I had complained to my salesman. Customer Service, Amanda, called me back and said she would look into it and get right back to me. Another week passed, no call back. At 24 weeks, I called the store and asked for the sales manager or store manager. The receptionist, Linda, was like a brick wall between customer and store. She refused to put them on the phone, stating they were both busy, (the store was always empty when I dropped in) and would not give me the name of the owner. She was extremely rude and at that point I decided we needed to get our money back and get out of this nightmare. Later that day, the owner, Greg Stewart called and said the piece was located in Ohio with damage. It would be repaired and he would call me the next day to let me know exactly when it would arrive. Greg Stewart never called me back and after 5 more days we went into the store to demand our money back. We were promised a check in the mail but refused it and prefered to remain there until they promised to have a check ready the next day for pickup. The next afternoon we picked up the check. To this day, there has not been an apology from Greg Stewart. I would never recommend this store. Their furniture is expensive, and they show no respect or appreciation for customers and their hard earned money. There are a lot of good and worthy places out there, you don't have to go through what we did.