Mow-It-Right Mows Down Vegetable Garden, Won't Replace It
Jason hired a lawn company in Memphis, Tennessee, and then recommended them to a friend. He regrets that now, because they mowed down the friend's vegetable garden, and seven weeks later they still haven't replaced it and have stopped communicating with the garden's owner.
This story is an example for any small business owner who wants their business to fail.
I live in Memphis, TN, and the summer heat can be quite stifling. I've never been one who has enjoyed yardwork, and this spring decided to hire a lawn service to attend to my lawn care and finally avoid hours of sweaty drudgery. After comparing several local services that didn't seem to be fly-by-night, I chose Mow-It-Right lawn service (http://www.mowitright.com/). Service began, and was satisfactory. Quite frankly, a cut yard is a cut yard to me.
A friend and co-worker of mine was looking for lawn care as well, and I mentioned Mow-It-Right, as I had no negative experience yet. They showed up when they said they would, and billed me what they said they would. [My friend] began lawn service with Mow-It-Right.
The fourth week they came to mow, the workers mowed over his vegetable garden. The garden that happens to be his wife's primary hobby and a decent source of food for his family. The garden that was clearly staked and roped off with bright orange rope.
Trey was understandably upset and called to speak with the owner, Chris. Chris apologized, blaming a "new crew" for the foul-up. Chris also offered, of his own volition, to replace the plants that had been destroyed. Fair enough, right?
If that were the end of the story, would I be writing you? J
Seven weeks later, my friend has no garden, no new plants. A string of broken appointments, the supposed inability to find extremely rare botanicals such as tomatoes, peppers, and okra, and finally stonewalled silence have been all that has come to, um, fruition in the interval. Mow-It-Right has been given the opportunity to make good on a promise they proffered and has not even made a good faith attempt to do so, so today I called Mow-It-Right to cancel my service based on the treatment of a friend to whom I had recommended their service.
A woman named Christy answered the phone for Mow-It-Right. I informed her I was recording the phone call. I explained that I was cancelling, and when asked why, informed her that I would not patronize a business that had done a good friend of mine so horribly wrong; that they had a clear idea of what it would take to rectify the situation, had been given ample time to do so, and obviously had no intention of doing so. Also, that if the crew had not made it to my house yet to cut my lawn today, call them off, and that if they arrived after the phone call ended (~3:30) I would not pay for the service. If they had already been at or were presently cutting, I would pay for the mow and that would be the end of it.
Christy then proceeds to tell me that she cannot get in touch with the crews around town, that I have declared I my intent to defraud the company by not paying for service, and that recording the phone call was "illegal." (TN is a one-party notification state, so I didn't even have to tell her.) She tells me that "we don't need customers like you" and "why would you cancel a service you're happy with (big assumption) because of something that might have happened to someone else? That's just stupid." I laughed, congratulated her on becoming a Consumerist post, and hung up the phone, figuring that unless another charge went through on my card, that was the end of it.
Half an hour later, my cell phone rings. I am at work and ignore it, and was left this voicemail, transcribed verbatim:
"Hey Jason, this is Chris with Mow-It-Right lawn service. I just wanted to give you a call and tell you that your yard already has been cut for today, and if you've got a problem with something my company has done or said, you are more than welcome to give me a call @ [phoneNumber]. I definitely do not appreciate you calling and giving Christy a hard time, and I think you should learn both sides of a story before you start running your trap. That really is what I believe there, bud. And by the way, if you recorded that conversation, it is illegal to record a conversation without both parties knowing, and if you did you'll hear from my lawyer. We try to do people as right as we possibly can, and don't think I did Trey wrong at all. You know one side of a story.
[and then the coup de grace...]
Anyway, I hope you have a great day, best of luck to you big guy, have a good one.
In addition to the Consumerist, we've sent a complaint to the BBB, submitted a negative review to Angie's List, and we're likely going to call the INS because of the strong suspicion that the bulk of his workers are not legal. I'm waiting for a Mow-It-Right charge to show up on my credit card this week.
Wow. Even in other countries they have tomato plants, we're pretty sure, so unless he's hiring the legally blind we can't understand how someone would julienne an entire vegetable garden, orange barrier and all.
Don't ever let a business intimidate you out of recording a phone call. You can determine whether recording a call is legal in your state, and what sort of notice is required, at this site. Also check out our list of tips on recording calls.
(Photo: Shmoomeema)
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Comments:
Hmm he notified them the call was being recorded, and yet they both said it is illegal, when obviously both parties knew of it.
Sounds like your typical redneck company though. I've had no amount of trouble here (VA) getting contractors to even return calls or do any business at all...everything from getting my wood floors redone, to getting trees cut down...they act like they are doing you a favor to return your call or show up for an appointment. Thank God my dad does home improvement work and I don't need to find one of those guys whenever I need something fixed, or I'd pull my hair out.
I HATE when people call you "bud" or "big guy". It is really condescending.
I love when guys posture by using terms like "bud" and "big guy." Hysterical.
Sounds like your friend has a nice small claims suit.
If I lived in your state, I would not hire them based on this post. When customers are canceling because of a complaint, you should be trying to find out why and rectifying the situation. They had the chance to save two customers here; instead, they've now lost countless.
@wgrune: Haha the juxtaposition of our comments is great. I'm a girl so it doesn't happen to me...although I HATE when people call me things like "sweetie" or "young lady" in a condescending way.
That's why, before leaving my carrots & rutabagas alone, I make sure they're competent with firearms then leave a .22 in each of their leafy, verdant hands.
...An armed vegetable garden is an unmolested vegetable garden.
That there sounds a like a really professional organization. I sent them an email asking if they are available to mow down my garden sometime next week. Those damn vegetables keep sprouting up!!!!
@Saboth: Yeah, not only did he inform them, he didn't HAVE to inform them! I love stupid people. If you don't like your call being recorded, you have a right to do this thing called...hanging up. Made my day.
FYI, as long as both parties are in a 1-party state, you are fine. But if you are in a 1-party state and you call a 2-party state, you must abide by the 2-party laws.
This sounds like a local company, so all might be well. But if you happened to call someone out of state, be careful.
@Patrick Mize: He probably has customers coming out the ear. In the landscaping companies I've dealt with on behalf of my grandfather, the successful ones aren't too concerned about losing a customer or two. It might give them an extra half-hour of sleep on Sat. morning.
Shouldn't they call themselves, Mow-It-All-Right-Down?!
The story seems kind of odd...I've never seen a vegetable garden that you could mistake for lawn.
Their website states cancellations must be made 24 hours in advanced, so even if they had not been there yet, the OP would have had to pay and threatening not to do so is threatening theft of service.
Also, the owner is right, we do only know 1 side of the story. This is all jsut hearsay, the OP isnt even the one it happened to. I see nothing wrong with his call.
The receptionist, may have been rude, but im guessing the OP was as well
just called them and canceled an appointment at a rental property I own.
@xtc46 - thinksmarter on twitter: Also, I applaud the owner for returning a call when it was not necessary and offering this guy a chance to talk to him if he has a problem.
Our owner is the sameway, if somone is rude on the phone with staff, we are told to not be rude, but let our boss know, he will then contact the owner of the company we had a problem with and let them know that if there staff cant act in a professional manner, we wont do business with them. Our customers DO NOT yell at us or be rude to us. New customers might once, but that ends quickly.
I think Chris needs to go back and read his own company policy that is on the mow it down website. "What about property damage? Please contact us immediately if there is any property that is damaged by our crew. The most common damage is sprinkler head, drain cap, or valve cover. Upon your notification, we will repair the damage in a timely manner. We will not honor any request for repair expenses for damaged property that we were not made aware of, or allowed to repair in a timely manner. If we are unable to repair the damage professionally, we will make arrangements to hire someone who is qualified to make the repair. To report any damage please contact us by phone or email office@mowitright.com." Or take it off the website....
@Murph1908:
No, you must abide by the laws of the state you are IN.
I am in a 1-party state. If I choose to record a conversation, as long as I know it is being recorded, I am OK. It doesn't matter where the other party is, I have to abide by the laws of MY jurisdiction.
The entire point is moot, however, since he stated at the beginning of the call that it was being recorded.
I have a bit of a problem with this comment: and we're likely going to call the INS because of the strong suspicion that the bulk of his workers are not legal.
Either you have material information to support this suspicion or you are a racist.
Call the INS? Really? Punish the workers cutting grass because their boss is a jackass?
Mow-It-Right-Over-And-Mulch-It-Regardless-Of-What-It-Is
@redfox1: Depends on how well developed the garden was, whether it was plotted out, etc. The mower may have mistaken it for a patch of dirt with weeds. Who knows. Kind of wish there were pictures to go along with the story.
LOL - their website is "powered by Vistaprint". One shady business helping another.
@xtc46 - thinksmarter on twitter:
So it's OK to be rude to someone but not OK to expect the same behavior back? To me, and this is the case in my own experience 99% of the time, the OP explained that he was pissed off and canceling, and then the CSR got angry because she felt personally attacked. That's not the OPs fault; he was stating his purpose of business, and if you don't want to know why, then don't ask. Simple.
Obviously your boss telling you not to be rude doesn't make the woman from this company act the same way.
@Murph1908: That ruling specifically dealt with calls into California (and was made by a court in California). But, Tennessee isn't exactly next door to any 2-party states so it's highly unlikely to be an issue.
@xtc46 - thinksmarter on twitter:
Additionally, if a friend of yours said that something happened say at Best Buy and they were getting screwed over, I take it you'd automatically side with Best Buy since you didn't get their story? Uhh, no, you'd side with your friend, because generally you believe your friends over complete strangers, and especially complete strangers that are businesses trying to get your money.
@trujunglist: no, it is absolutely NOT ok for her to be rude. But Im guessing if this guy started the conversation with "im recording this" he was being rude. She should not have been rude either way (and she was rude), but I doubt he was innocent.
Id like to hear the recorded phone call.
My wife and I got tons of cheap crap printed for our wedding by Vistaprint. What's shady about them?
One side of the story? Well, why not tell your side of the story? How about right here Chris? You have the perfect opportunity to let everyone know exactly what you did to set Trey right after you destroyed his vegetable garden. I've left plenty of space below this post for you.
wow, I would so go poison ivy on their ass.
A guy I know in the landscaping business has been known to "accidentally" Round-Up lawns of customers like this...
@Preyfar: he did mention it being roped off with bright orange rope. i wouldn't want to hire a lawn crew that couldn't tell the difference between neatly planted rows that are marked off from the rest of the yard, and a patch of weeds.
@spoco: The Internet is a powerful tool. I hope you don't put this amount of faith in everything you read online. We can assume that the OP is telling the complete truth, and nothing but the truth, but we do not know.
@xtc46 - thinksmarter on twitter: I second this.
OP, you obviously made the point to tell them you were recording for a reason. You acknowledged that you had no obligation to do so. You summarized the telephone conversation from your POV but provided his response verbatim - that is not a fair, tit for tat, comparison.
Lets hear the tape of your conversation with the receptionist and we can draw our conclusions. Also, I wouldn't mind hearing the business owner's side of the story. I must stress, this isn't because I think you are lying, but we truly are only getting one side of the story. I'm sure the business owner would say **something** in response to the 7 week wait.
Yeah, I was with you till this: "...and we're likely going to call the INS because of the strong suspicion that the bulk of his workers are not legal."
That's just beyond petty and cruel.
@RussTheConsumerist: Yeah... I was enamored with this story right up until I read that. One guy messed up (albeit BIG time) and hacked up his friend's veggie garden.
Let's get them all deported!
That is a real good way to run a business right there. Its nice to see how the guy treats his customers.