var json_comments = new Array("
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Patrick Mize
July 16, 2009 8:50 PM
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That is a real good way to run a business right there. Its nice to see how the guy treats his customers.

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2 replies
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rpm773
July 16, 2009 9:02 PM
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@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.

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ShadowFalls
July 16, 2009 10:04 PM
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@rpm773:

If you aren't a large business and work in a small area, such as maybe a couple of counties, word of mouth can make or break you. Telling everyone your experiences will lead others to no longer do business with them. Even the most loyal customer could be swayed if they have high personal beliefs and see someone else is being wronged.

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Saboth
July 16, 2009 8:54 PM
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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.

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katstermonster
July 16, 2009 8:59 PM
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@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.

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Greasy Thumb Guzik
July 16, 2009 10:23 PM
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@katstermonster:
It depends on the state whether you have to tell them you're recording.
If you're in a \"one party state\" then no.
But in a \"two party state\" NY, CA, IL & many others, then you have to tell them you're recording.
But you don't have to stop if they demand you stop. It's up to the other party to end the call if they don't want to be recorded.
[www.citmedialaw.org]

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katstermonster
July 16, 2009 10:45 PM
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@Greasy Thumb Guzik: The OP clearly states that he is in a one-party state. He also states that this is a local business, so one may assume that the business is in the same state. He didn't have to inform Christy, but he did, and she stayed on the phone.

I was only referring to THIS situation. THIS OP did not have to inform the person on the other end. I was NOT making a generalization about every case of recording over the phone. So...why did you comment?

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CompyPaq
July 16, 2009 11:31 PM
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@katstermonster: If Christy had a problem with the call being recorded she could have hung up. Since she didn't, she must have consented to the recording.

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veg-o-matic
July 16, 2009 10:43 PM
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@Greasy Thumb Guzik: Small point: NY is definitely \"one party.\"

You can thank the Mafia for that.

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wgrune
July 16, 2009 8:55 PM
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I HATE when people call you \"bud\" or \"big guy\". It is really condescending.

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18 replies
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Shaftoe
July 16, 2009 10:33 PM
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@wgrune: No kidding \"Big Guy\"


I'll bet I am the first to find this clever

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dp05
July 16, 2009 9:49 PM
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@wgrune: Take it easy, Turbo.


(Maybe that one's more of a my area thing)

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tinky XIII
July 16, 2009 9:40 PM
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@wgrune: I say, old chap.

Wait... I got nothin'.

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Jetts
July 16, 2009 9:39 PM
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@wgrune: I think you're over reacting a bit, Ace.

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Daniel Davidson
July 16, 2009 10:40 PM
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@The Cheat: I'm not your Buddy, Guy!

/southpark

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katstermonster
July 16, 2009 8:57 PM
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@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.

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katstermonster
July 16, 2009 8:56 PM
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I love when guys posture by using terms like \"bud\" and \"big guy.\" Hysterical.

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4 replies
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MostlyHarmless
July 16, 2009 10:07 PM
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@katstermonster: Theres nothing funny about it, young lady.

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jaya9581
July 16, 2009 8:57 PM
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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.

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Eyebrows McGee (now with double the baby!)
July 17, 2009 12:56 AM
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@jaya9581: While I know a lot of people will dismiss a \"mere\" garden, a lot of states have pretty stringent laws protecting your plants, even if you invite someone on your lawn to do work, because a) it's your property and b) crops are important economic stuff. So he may even be looking at a pretty substantial monetary recovery, depending on the state.

(One of the awesomest lawsuits I ever saw was a guy who killed his neighbor's trees because his neighbor's trees were killing his cabbage.)

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subtlefrog
July 18, 2009 6:15 PM
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@Eyebrows McGee (now with more baby!): Who won the lawsuit??? Did the law protect the cabbage or the trees? (assuming the cabbage would be considered a crop and the tree not so much, depending on the tree species...)

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ShadowFalls
July 16, 2009 10:09 PM
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@jaya9581:

Would agree here. They clearly said they would make it right and reimburse for the plants. This company did not do that, it is open and shut. The most they could do is try and lie to the judge saying they didn't agree to that. Lie and get caught once by a judge and it is over for you.

As you mentioned here jaya, I would be the same. I wouldn't just not use them myself, I would be letting others know not to use this company. By treating two customers so badly, they risk going out of business altogether.

If a customer wasn't interested in doing business we me anymore, I could certainly want to know why and what could be done to rectify the situation. In some cases people are completely unreasonable. But in a case like this where your company screwed up, the least you can do is step up and take care of the problem adding maybe a little something on top for their trouble.

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Trai_Dep
July 16, 2009 8:57 PM
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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.

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6 replies
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amuro98
July 17, 2009 5:29 AM
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@Trai_Dep:

You'd probably enjoy Popcap's latest game, 'Plants vs. Zombies' in which you have to plant a garden of attacking plants to repel waves of zombies trying to break into your house and eat your brains.

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Chris Walters
July 17, 2009 7:31 PM
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@amuro98: You win the prize for first mention of PVZ on Consumerist that I'm aware of--and it's even relevant, which is pretty amazing.

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Snowblind
July 16, 2009 9:02 PM
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@Trai_Dep:

Claymore mines work 24 hrs a day, just in case the carrots go on a bender.

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varro
July 16, 2009 11:10 PM
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@Snowblind: It also keeps pesky rabbit out of your garden.

Just make sure you give the people who tend your garden while you're on vacation an up-to-date map.

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katstermonster
July 16, 2009 9:00 PM
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@Trai_Dep: +1

But I hope this doesn't lead to \"Th NR ncdnt Prt 2.\"

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I_have_something_to_say
July 16, 2009 8:58 PM
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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!!!!

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2 replies
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DaveDidNotPay
July 16, 2009 10:20 PM
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@I_have_something_to_say:

That's awesome. I hope you really sent that email- it sure beats mine.

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EdnaLegume
July 16, 2009 9:25 PM
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@I_have_something_to_say: That made me laugh loud enough to scare the cats.

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Murph1908
July 16, 2009 9:01 PM
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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.

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3 replies
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Megalomania
July 16, 2009 9:20 PM
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@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.

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CubFx
July 16, 2009 9:12 PM
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@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.

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Franklin Comes Alive!
July 16, 2009 9:04 PM
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@Murph1908:

He informed Christy, she didn't hang up. No problem with 2-party consent here.

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Trai_Dep
July 16, 2009 9:02 PM
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Shouldn't they call themselves, Mow-It-All-Right-Down?!

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redfox1
July 16, 2009 9:04 PM
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The story seems kind of odd...I've never seen a vegetable garden that you could mistake for lawn.

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5 replies
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krispykrink
July 16, 2009 10:18 PM
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@redfox1: Tennessee. No such thing as a \"vegetable\" in TN.

Oh TN, how I love you. The only State where I actually had to shoot some d-bag.

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spindle
July 18, 2009 9:33 AM
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@krispykrink: except for the one riding the mower.

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Preyfar
July 16, 2009 9:16 PM
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@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.

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catastrophegirl chooses not to fly
July 16, 2009 9:25 PM
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@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.

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xredgambit
July 20, 2009 6:45 AM
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@catastrophegirl - sometimes makes typos and doesn't care: Maybe they were all color blind. And also didn't have any depth perception. Maybe they are all blind and know the speed of the mower and were given measurements.


Ok, Yeah I want to call this jackass and ask what the deal is (the jackass being the owner, maybe I can give Cristy a hard time.)


Is Roy D Mercer still going? That would be a call I want to hear.

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XTC46
July 16, 2009 9:07 PM
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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

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4 replies
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mister_deez
July 17, 2009 1:23 PM
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@xtc46 - thinksmarter on twitter: I would love to hear the actual phonecall since it is really just a one sided story. Perhaps the OP is trying to figure out all the legal bits before he posts a recording online. From what he said, it didn't seem like he was being rude to Christy at all, he called, told them he was recording, told them he was cancel service, told them why, and told them he would like to cancel ASAP but he would pay for the last day's service if it wasn't possible. I would do the same thing in the same situation. I think it was Christy's rude and unprofessional response that really pissed him off. Then the actual owner of the company calls with a even more rude, condescending, and unprofessional voicemail. I would be just as angry as this dude, and assuming the OP isn't hiding something, I hope Mow-it-right get's what coming to them.

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korybing
July 16, 2009 9:37 PM
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@xtc46 - thinksmarter on twitter: It doesn't matter if the OP was rude on the phone or not, it is completely 100% unprofessional to be rude back when it's your job to take calls and deal with customers.

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XTC46
July 16, 2009 9:10 PM
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@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.

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trujunglist
July 16, 2009 9:18 PM
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@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.

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XTC46
July 16, 2009 9:20 PM
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@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.

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Brent Woodle
July 16, 2009 9:29 PM
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@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.

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lannister80
July 17, 2009 12:45 PM
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@Brent Woodle: Next time don't use an alias, and maybe we'll listen, \"Brent\".

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Brent Woodle
July 17, 2009 8:17 PM
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@lannister80: Great detective work, Lou.

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justintiempo
July 17, 2009 3:07 PM
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The website also states that they do not work with written contracts. If the OP was not informed of this policy, in writing or otherwise, I think he is perfectly within his rights to ask for cancellation of service immediately.

As for the receptionist's excuse of not being able to reach the crews -- If thats true, that's a bad call from the business owner's standpoint and the OP should have been on his property to call off the crew upon arrival. If she was lying because that is the 'policy', still a bad call from the business owner.

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trujunglist
July 16, 2009 9:50 PM
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@Brent Woodle:

What? In no way does the OP suggest that he wasn't being rude.. in fact, I think he acknowledges that he was pretty pissed off, especially because his friend got fucked over, and especially because it was his recommendation. I think you're missing that key factor - it's his FRIEND, what kind of friend tells their friend \"well, let me get their side of the story first.. I do notice that your garden is still missing and you seem incredibly pissed off about it, but I'll just see what's up before making a judgment because I really think they're a decent lawn service.\"
He has an obligation to his friend, even more so than just being his friend gives him somewhat of an obligation to believe him, because he recommended the service in the first place.
Lastly, I believe that the business owner has plenty of room below to make a comment on his side of the story. He also had plenty of time to tell his side of the story on the voicemail he left. The only way the owner is getting out of this one is if it turns out that no one on his crew is responsible for mowing over the garden plot and it was actually all just a scam in the first place. But we know that isn't true, because he states \"I don't think we did Trey wrong at all.\" Yes you did Bret (err, I mean, Chris), yes you did. Whether you corrected it or not is the question. The correct statement there, assuming you've bothered to correct your mistake, is \"We've corrected our mistake with Trey, and if there is any confusion about it, I'd be happy to discuss it with you and Trey.\"

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XTC46
July 16, 2009 11:12 PM
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@trujunglist: I like to know the whole story before I take my friends side. I give my friends the benefit of the doubt, but in stuff like this, people lie a lot. Im not going to trash a company on a highly visable message board before knowing facts.


also, when you are highly pissed off, you have a tendancy to be rude...which is what my assumption was.

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Brent Woodle
July 16, 2009 9:54 PM
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@trujunglist: Re-read my comment, then your reply. It is non sequitor.

I don't think its realistic to post smears on a company and allow their only method of defense to be the Consumerist reply thread. They won't even know about this post unless someone tells them, and by that point the harm has already been done.

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lannister80
July 17, 2009 12:39 PM
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@Brent Woodle: Maybe they shouldn't piss off their customers then. Welcome to capitalism!

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billlnv
July 17, 2009 12:35 PM
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@Brent Woodle: I think that the company would immediately know that there was going to be a Consumerist post if he did indeed congratulate Christy on becoming a Consumerist post. So they would have an opportunity to reply if they feel like they are in the right here. So far I have seen nothing from them. Maybe Christy didn't want her boss to know that they were going to be on Consumerist or maybe she did not know what Consumerist was and just thought that the OP was stupid.

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Rachacha
July 16, 2009 11:44 PM
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@Brent Woodle: COnsumerist has historically been very fair at posting comments/rebuttals from the company that has been accused at doing a customer wrong. Sometimes it turns out that the consumer is wrong, in which case commenters are quick to bash the consumer.
Lets look at the facts:
1) The OP Called to cancel service for what he felt was a valid reason.
2) The OP stated up front that he was recording the call (he now has documented evidence that he requested a calcellation of his service. Recording of phone conversations is apparently legal in his state. Presumably if you were recording the conversation, you would go out of your way to not be rude/threatening.
3) The OP indicated that he was willing to pay for services if they had already been provided. As some have pointed out, the company has a cancellation policy, and the OP did not meet the requirements for his last lawn cutting, so he should be expected to pay for the services that were rendered. The CSR should have advised the OP of their policy and advised the OP that she could not contact the crew, and he needed to provide 24 hours notice of the intent to cancel.
4) The owner of the business calls and leaves a rude message, again, not the thing to do if you want to run a reputable business. Assuming that the OP WAS rude or giving a hard time to the CSR, and the owner wanted to defend his employees, using phrases like \"running your trap\" \"Bud\" and \"Big guy\" is not a way to make friends.


Yes, we have heard only one side of the story, and it would be interesting to know how someone can destroy a garden, and not pay for or replace it is \"doing someone right\" The company is now aware of this post (per spoco's post below), so hopefully we can hear their side of the story too.

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trujunglist
July 16, 2009 9:20 PM
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@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.

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spoco
July 16, 2009 9:08 PM
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just called them and canceled an appointment at a rental property I own.

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4 replies
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Brent Woodle
July 16, 2009 9:25 PM
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@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.

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supercereal
July 18, 2009 12:19 AM
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@Brent Woodle: It's really very sad how many people on this site get so up in arms over a single one sided story, failing to realize that the one bad incident may not be indicative of the thousands of other hassle-free transactions.

I guess most people on teh internets are just that gullible, impressionable, and uninformed...

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spoco
July 16, 2009 10:19 PM
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@Brent Woodle: It was a $40 a week deal. Nothing tricky. Nothing big. They have been doing it this summer and have done a good job. But anyone can do it. Already found someone else.

I did reference this article. Christy told me that I can't always believe what you read and I told her that I can believe what I want to believe and cancel my services with whomever I would like. She was very cordial.

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Anonymous
July 16, 2009 9:10 PM
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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....

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Brent Woodle
July 16, 2009 9:12 PM
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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.

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sabrinad
July 17, 2009 12:20 PM
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It seems to me that a lot of this \"speak English!\" discussion is missing a really obvious point... maybe they can but don't want to. I mean, if you've moved to another country and learned the language as an adult, you're probably not as good at that language as you are with your first language, and if you're spending time with other people in the same boat, why not spend your time with them using that first language? I know *loads* of people who do precisely this, switching back and forth depending on whom they're speaking with.

Thinking that they don't speak English because they aren't, or haven't in your presence, seems like a bad assumption.

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MsAnthropy
July 17, 2009 3:38 AM
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@Brent Woodle:

Also, the INS doesn't exist, and hasn't existed for several years. I do agree, though, that there's something unnecessarily vindictive about trying to screw over the possibly undocumented workers (and how would this guy know their immigration status? Did he ask to see their green cards or something, or do they just look a bit foreign?) to get back at the company, when presumably he was happy enough with their uncertain immigration status until his friend's veggie garden was destroyed.

However... the over-the-top, \"how else can I get my revenge?\" INS comment aside, I applaud what the OP did. It's not just big companies that think they can give customers the shaft with little or no comeback, and I suspect this little exercise in how not to handle a customer complaint is going to come back to bite Chris.

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littlemisslondon
July 16, 2009 10:28 PM
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@Brent Woodle: I just feel bad for the workers, because this is going to inconvenience them much more than the owner of the company. The INS can be assholes even to legal immigrants if they fit the \"profile\" of an illegal immigrant.

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MsAnthropy
July 17, 2009 3:42 AM
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@littlemisslondon: Ahh, I'm pretty sure the \"INS\" gets thousand upon thousand of vindictive \"somebody pissed me off so I'm getting them deported, that'll teach 'em!\" calls every single day. I'm also pretty sure they don't have the resources or inclination to follow up on each and every one, and so my guess would be that Chris's employees, legal or otherwise, probably won't face any more flak than they would if Jason hadn't made that phone call.

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trujunglist
July 16, 2009 10:17 PM
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@Brent Woodle:

Are you serious? I don't agree that he should call INS simply because I wouldn't want someone to lose their job because their boss is an idiot, but it is well-known throughout the country that the majority of this type of work is done by illegal immigrants because, as advocates of this type of thing themselves say, we (Americans) don't want to do the job. Whether you want to admit it or not is up to you, but calling him racist is a bit of a stretch. Next thing you know, you'll be saying that anyone who thinks that illegal immigrants are usually the ones in fruit fields picking our food is also racist. No, it's not, that's just reality. If I see a Mexican guy picking fruit and speaking no English, it would be somewhat stupid to assume that he's NOT an illegal immigrant. What you do with that information is what makes you a racist dick or not.

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KyleOrton
July 17, 2009 12:10 AM
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@trujunglist: He didn't have a problem when they were doing a good job. You don't have to call it racism, but I think taking advantage of their illegal status (getting discount because they are being paid under the table and possibly below minimum wage) until it no longer benefits a person and then using that same once attractive fact to go after them is being a shithead.

Shithead, racist. Both are bad.

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Geekmom
July 17, 2009 1:20 AM
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@futuresuperbowlMVPJayCutler:

You know, a lot of people try to get away with not paying for services when a Hispanic person does their lawn service.

My ex boyfriend ran a lawn care business and he's legal and people just think Hispanic with accent = illegal so it's okay to try to rip them off.

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Brent Woodle
July 16, 2009 10:20 PM
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@trujunglist: well-known throughout the country that the majority of this type of work is done by illegal immigrants

Well known doesn't mean that its correct. Are you aware of legal immigrants?

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MostlyHarmless
July 16, 2009 11:10 PM
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@Brent Woodle: Well maybe he is of the school of thought that all immigrants are illegal and should be sent back.

Also, it is well known that guys with brown skins and beards are muslims.

Further, it is also well known that muslims are terrorists.

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CumaeanSibyl
July 16, 2009 11:08 PM
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@Brent Woodle: Of course we're aware of legal immigrants. Some companies prefer to hire workers they can pay badly, treat like shit, and threaten to rat out to the INS if they complain.

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SatanicGuinea
July 16, 2009 9:43 PM
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@Brent Woodle: How does that make him racist? He could be jumping the gun, but that doesn't mean he is racist.

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Corporate_guy
July 16, 2009 9:40 PM
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@Brent Woodle: Usually it's easy to tell when the people don't speak any English and the whole crew is Mexican. I assume those observations justifies a call to the INS. If the person was paying legal workers, why would they all be of one type of nationality or not speak English?

Acting as if these observations make it racist to act on is a joke. Either he is right and they are illegal, or the business owner is racist and only hires people of one ethnicity.

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veg-o-matic
July 16, 2009 9:44 PM
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@Corporate_guy: You have some insane powers of observation.

Not only can you tell just by looking that someone can't speak English, you know their places of birth too!

It's a good thing speaking English and not being Mexican is required of all citizens, right?!?!?

Congrats to you, \"big guy.\"

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DaveDidNotPay
July 16, 2009 10:29 PM
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@veg-o-matic:
My problem with the INS comment is that if this guy feels strongly about illegals working in the country then he should standby those convictions. If he does not, he should not suddenly become self-righteous about it simply to try to screw someone else over.

The OP definitely sounds like he has malice in this situation. I would like to hear both audio recordings just so we can see how poorly he treated the receptionist. I agree that it is unprofessional to return rudeness when taking customer complaints but at the same time she's a receptionist at a lawn care company- if the guy was rude enough to her I can understand why she may have lost her cool.

That being said, she definitely has a few screws loose if she thinks it's \"stupid\" to make decisions based on the experiences of others. Heck, would the Consumerist even exist if people did not do that?

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Ozyman666
July 16, 2009 10:08 PM
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@veg-o-matic: He did seem to imply that he had no problem with using potential illegals ... until there was a problem.

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Brent Woodle
July 16, 2009 9:43 PM
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@Corporate_guy: You're taking quite a bit of liberties in making those assumptions.

people don't speak any English and the whole crew is Mexican.
why would they all be of one type of nationality or not speak English?

Also, speaking English is not a requirement to be a citizen of America.

Tell me, what relevance does this have to the story?

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jwissick
July 17, 2009 5:16 AM
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@Brent Woodle: Speaking english is required to become a naturalized citizen. How a native citizen could not know how to speak english is beyond me.

You find me a mexican gardener who can't speak english who really is US citizen and I will buy you a pizza. I hope you are not hungry, cause you will be looking a REAL long time.

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jameleon
July 17, 2009 11:18 PM
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@jwissick:

\"You find me a mexican gardener who can't speak english who really is US citizen and I will buy you a pizza.\"

I guess it's a good thing then that an immigrant can spend their entire life in the United States as a permanent resident, with full rights to work in the United States, and there's not a thing that's legally wrong with that.

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veg-o-matic
July 17, 2009 12:46 PM
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@jwissick: You find me a self-righteous white person who can tell not only whether or not someone is a native-born or naturalized citizen but whether they can speak English just by looking at them, and I will buy you 100 pizzas.

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MostlyHarmless
July 16, 2009 10:05 PM
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@Brent Woodle: Do remember, we are talking about someone in TN here.

The same state where it is legal to carry a concealed weapon to a bar.

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billlnv
July 17, 2009 12:40 PM
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@MostlyHarmless: Sometimes you have to protect yourself against beer bottles at the bar. By the way, did you know that it was illegal to sell alcohol in the same county where they make it at in TN?

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MostlyHarmless
July 16, 2009 11:16 PM
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@MostlyHarmless: Though for the record, I love Nashville. Could not care less about Memphis though. Nothing good seems to happen there.

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Mr_Mantastic
July 16, 2009 10:56 PM
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@MostlyHarmless: Not true. Know laws before you start spewing them.

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MostlyHarmless
July 16, 2009 11:01 PM
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@Mr_Mantastic:

And here is the story, for your education:

[www.newschannel5.com]

Know laws before you start spewing crap about others spewing crap.

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MostlyHarmless
July 16, 2009 10:59 PM
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@Mr_Mantastic: Well, I saw it on the news. They just passed it in the last few days. So shut it.

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Mr_Mantastic
July 16, 2009 10:58 PM
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@Mr_Mantastic: Actually, true as of July 15th. My mistake. Most bars will be banning them, however.

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OminousG
July 16, 2009 9:16 PM
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@Brent Woodle:


Lets call it profiling, with an extremely low risk of error ;)

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Mr_Mantastic
July 16, 2009 10:56 PM
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@jimv2000: He's not racist. I'm from Memphis, and trust me when I say that most of the hispanics that you see doing work like this are illegals. These are the same ones that worked at El Porton when it was open.

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RussTheConsumerist
July 16, 2009 9:14 PM
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Call the INS? Really? Punish the workers cutting grass because their boss is a jackass?

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10 replies
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morlo
July 16, 2009 10:54 PM
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@RussTheConsumerist: The owner benefits from his slaves more than the slaves do

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glycolized
July 17, 2009 12:21 AM
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if theyre illegal then apples arent $16/lb.

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Brent Woodle
July 16, 2009 10:15 PM
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@Homerjay here for OxyClean!: And if they aren't, they were just discriminated against.

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rpm773
July 16, 2009 9:49 PM
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@RussTheConsumerist: I think the focus is to nail the uncooperative business owner on the suspicion he's employing labor illegally, not to get after the labor itself. Admittedly, the labor is caught in the middle, but he'll pay fines and have to find a new crew.

As an aside, keep in mind that people like this have been known to charge market prices for their services, but pay their workers shit wages, pocketing the difference. That's a pretty sweet deal..for the owner

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SatanicGuinea
July 16, 2009 9:43 PM
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@RussTheConsumerist: Yes, punish people for breaking the law. Exactly.

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Corporate_guy
July 16, 2009 9:40 PM
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@RussTheConsumerist: Do you know what illegal in the phrase \"illegal immigrant\" means?

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MostlyHarmless
July 16, 2009 11:22 PM
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@Corporate_guy: I utterly dislike illegal immigrants, and they make things difficult for legal immigrants, but my issue is with the attitude of the OP.

\"I dont mind using slave labor... unless they ruin my pumpkin patch... in that case, deport them.\"

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Skin Art Squared
July 16, 2009 11:31 PM
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@MostlyHarmless: \"I utterly dislike illegal immigrants\"

Sorry, but I just have to ask.... is it only the ones from Mexico? Because I know people who say the same thing, yet have no problem with Italian, French, German, or any other illegals, some of which are friends of theirs (and mine). When I ask them \"what's the difference?\" they usually dodge the question because they have no answer that isn't completely racist.

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MostlyHarmless
July 17, 2009 3:11 AM
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@BZMedia: That said though, I am not the \"drive the suckers out\" kinds either. If I came across some poor illegal was desperately trying to provide for his family, I wouldnt report him or anything.

OTOH, if the said illegal was a menace, and I knew for sure that he was an illegal alien, I would probably get his ass reported. And his mule too.

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hamburglar
July 16, 2009 10:50 PM
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@Corporate_guy:
The OP and his friend had no problem with these supposed illegal immigrants, and the OP even felt good enough about them to recommend their services to his friends, until they had a disagreement with the illegals' boss. That's the problem I had with that statement, it's thrown in at the end along with \"we've told Consumerist, and the BBB, and Angie's List.\" Those are reasonable responses to dealing with a consumer issue. But reporting the workers to the INS when these guys clearly had no qualms about personally taking advantages of the supposed illegals' services before? That's just shitty.

Of course, by not mowing their lawns themselves, these guys are contributing to the existence and survival of the market which attracts illegal workers to landscaping jobs.

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Mike8813
July 16, 2009 9:33 PM
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@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!

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MyPetFly
July 16, 2009 9:15 PM
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Mow-It-Right-Over-And-Mulch-It-Regardless-Of-What-It-Is

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scoobydoo
July 16, 2009 9:17 PM
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LOL - their website is \"powered by Vistaprint\". One shady business helping another.

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3 replies
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Kaessa
July 16, 2009 10:02 PM
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@scoobydoo: I would also like to know what's shady about Vistaprint. I've been getting business cards from them for years, and always got exactly what I ordered for a good price.

They send a lot of emails, but that's not shady, just mildly annoying.

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Franklin Comes Alive!
July 16, 2009 9:20 PM
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@scoobydoo:

My wife and I got tons of cheap crap printed for our wedding by Vistaprint. What's shady about them?

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jimv2000
July 16, 2009 9:41 PM
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@scoobydoo: What's wrong with Vistaprint? I've gotten business cards from them twice, and their site was easy to use, and the quality of the cards was good too.

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almightytora
July 16, 2009 9:51 PM
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@Franklin Comes Alive!: @jimv2000:
@jimv2000:

They were sued for charging excessive shipping fees. There was a settlement for discounted business cards (500 for 250 price), but I had too many FREE cards already.

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trujunglist
July 16, 2009 9:23 PM
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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.

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custommadescare
July 17, 2009 12:17 AM
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@trujunglist: Oh, I think he does.

Ref: Brent Woodle (f)

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trujunglist
July 16, 2009 10:07 PM
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@jimv2000:

The OP warned the CSR that this would be on Consumerist. If the owner doesn't know by now, he will soon anyway, since people will reference this when canceling.

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jmurphy42
July 16, 2009 9:55 PM
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@jimv2000: I bet he'll be coming to this site pretty soon, actually, now that customers are referencing it while they cancel.

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Eyebrows McGee (now with double the baby!)
July 16, 2009 9:24 PM
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wow, I would so go poison ivy on their ass.

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lehrdude
July 16, 2009 9:24 PM
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A guy I know in the landscaping business has been known to \"accidentally\" Round-Up lawns of customers like this...

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3 replies
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Bourque77
July 16, 2009 10:08 PM
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@lehrdude: That works great until one of your ex-friends or employees gets mad at you and decides to let people know you did that. Im sure thats really worth the risk though.

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lehrdude
July 16, 2009 10:46 PM
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@Bourque77


It's totally not right! That's why I said \"A guy I know\" and not \"A friend of mine\".


In fact the only reason I'm not giving his name and number is because I'll probably find MY grass mysteriously missing tomorrow if I do...

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italianscallion33
July 16, 2009 9:56 PM
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@lehrdude: What did the customer do wrong? Maybe by not paying for one cutting the company would be out $50-100 (don't know how big his lawn is) but it was to bring their attention to his friend's issue.

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Kyle Hurtley
July 16, 2009 9:29 PM
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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.

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7 replies
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Saboth
July 17, 2009 1:25 PM
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@Kyle Hurtley:

Why is it petty and cruel to send illegal criminals back to their home country? Would you move to Germany and attempt to evade authorities for years, while not paying any taxes and living off the work of others? (Free medicine, schooling, roads,etc?)

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SatanicGuinea
July 16, 2009 9:44 PM
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@Kyle Hurtley: Um yeah, enforcing the law is so petty and cruel.

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audiochick
July 16, 2009 10:59 PM
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@SatanicGuinea: Except that he wasn't so worried about enforcing the law before.

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The Black Bird
July 16, 2009 11:47 PM
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@audiochick: That's where I have a problem with the OP as well. If the owner is hiring illegals and the OP was suspicious of it why did he wait until he was dissatisfied with something before deciding to report it. If something is wrong, it's wrong. It doesn't suddenly become wrong just because you're pissed off at something.

It seems to me that the OP wanted to benefit from the work of the people he feels are illegal but now that he no longer is going to benefit from them he suddenly gets moral indignation.

Don't get me wrong. I believe if the company is hiring illegals the owner should be held accountable and the people should be either sent back or do to them, and the owner, whatever the law says should be done.

Outrage over injustices should not be turned off just so someone can benefit from them and then turned on again when that benefit is no longer available to you.

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tbax929
July 17, 2009 1:43 AM
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@Bogart's Falcon aka Philly Falcon:


My thoughts exactly. He didn't concern himself with the possibility they may be illegals until he was upset about something completely unrelated. He sounds like a douchebag. The fact that the owner called and chided him for his abuse of the office workers leads me to believe that he was less than polite to her, and proably downright rude.

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Corporate_guy
July 17, 2009 1:48 AM
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@tbax929: How does that matter? So what if he didn't care until upset. You still may have a business hiring illegals and undercutting legit business that hire legal workers. Who cares what the motives are. He was wrong before when he didn't report them. He becomes right when he reports them. But maybe the cheapness of the company was the point of info that tipped the scale. Maybe he wasn't sure but the shadiness of the business has convinced him it is more likely to be true.

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Kyle Hurtley
July 16, 2009 9:50 PM
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@SatanicGuinea: It is when the law is unjust.

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RecordStoreToughGuy_starcommandseries.com
July 16, 2009 10:47 PM
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@Kyle Hurtley: Not that I want to turn this into an immigration flamewar, but what, exactly, is unjust about having a system set up to handle immigration, and asking people to abide by it? Please clarify your statement.

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Corporate_guy
July 16, 2009 9:41 PM
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@Kyle Hurtley: I know, the guy only hires illegals and exploits them by paying them less. It's a good thing INS will protect them from exploitation and send them back to their home countries where they can immigrate legally.

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ludwigk
July 16, 2009 9:39 PM
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@Kyle Hurtley: Why is that petty and cruel? Either his workers are legal or they are not. If they are not legal, well, they're doing hard, sometimes dangerous labor without the usual employment rights and protections that they should have, and they are an unfair, illegal competitive advantage MowitRight would have over lawn services that employ legals.

If his people are legal, he should have no problem producing the required paperwork in 20 minutes and faxing it over.

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RogerTheAlien
July 17, 2009 1:36 AM
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@ludwigk: While I'm very much pro-immigration reform (or how about some control AT ALL?!?!), but a previous commenter mentioned the fact that the OP had no problem that supposed illegal immigrants were cutting his lawn PRIOR to the issue at hand. Then, when there's a fallout between business and customer, the OP becomes self-righteous and NOW thinks the INS should get a call. C'mon...that's pretty bullshit from just a morals/hypocrasy standpoint, regardless of the impetus.

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jimv2000
July 16, 2009 9:34 PM
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The guy from the lawn company did have a point. There are two sides to this story, and we're only hearing one. It doesn't make logical sense for a company like Mow-It-Right to screw someone like this when it's a relatively small cost for them to replace the garden. There's something else going on here that we're not being informed about.

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veg-o-matic
July 16, 2009 9:36 PM
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I'd be really, really interested in knowing how exactly our OP is so certain that \"the bulk of his workers are not legal.\"

Please, do explain.

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Brent Woodle
July 16, 2009 9:37 PM
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This is the type of story where Consumerist has an obligation to do actual reporting and get a comment from the company. Lets look at the evidence:

1) A single, second-hand account of a person's garden being mowed down and not replaced in a timely manner by a small business.

This type of press has the potential to hurt a company's bottom line fairly quickly - as evidenced by @Spoco's post above. Wouldn't it be proper to get a comment from the company? Or at least ask the submitter to provide the recording that he made?

Hypothetical situation: What if a competitor made this story up and submitted it?

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trujunglist
July 16, 2009 10:05 PM
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@Brent Woodle:

Every other post on here is a single, second-hand account of something that happened, and 90% of the time it turns out that they weren't full of shit. And we've been through this before - it's called the Consumerist, where consumers go to tell about their problems, many times because they can't get a resolution. Whether you think it's fair or not that people are allowed to write about things that make them angry makes no difference. If I am mad at juicy fruit because it is neither fruit nor is it juicy nor is it a juicy fruit and I complain to the Consumerist and it somehow makes it onto the front page, then you have the right to comment that I'm full of shit and provide proof that I'm wrong. See how it works?
The OP also told the CSR that he was sending his story to Consumerist. I'd say that they know what is going.

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zigziggityzoo
July 16, 2009 9:39 PM
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There is more to it for recording in MI than that recording link implies.

In MI, all parties to a conversation must be notified if there is a \"reasonable expectation of privacy.\"

If the conversation occurs in a place open to the public (a business, outdoors, etc.), then no consent needs to be obtained. If the conversation occurs where one party to the conversation is a public official in the course of their duties (anyone working for the gov't), then the conversation is not considered private, and no notification is needed.

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Corporate_guy
July 16, 2009 9:40 PM
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So where are the recordings?

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Doctor Rockso!
July 16, 2009 9:54 PM
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Jason, Chris told you to give him a call if you had a problem with something his company had done or said. Did you give him a call to discuss it?


From what I can tell of the facts here, there is no issue. You don't want Chris to mow your lawn anymore, and he isn't going to. The only disagreement that there seems to be is that you didn't like the attitude of either Chris or Christy. Which is okay. Just do what you've already done - don't patronize their business any longer.

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2 replies
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DaveDidNotPay
July 17, 2009 3:08 AM
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@Doctor Rockso!:

You think \"there is no issue\" ?

If this Chris's company did indeed mow down a vegetable garden I would have to disagree with you. I would call it a mowing company competency issue.

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Corporate_guy
July 17, 2009 1:50 AM
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@Doctor Rockso!: I think he is also upset they are treating his friend like crap. Businesses don't get the luxury of treating every customer separately. Word of mouth matters. People talk.

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italianscallion33
July 16, 2009 9:54 PM
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Wow, the voicemail was the topper. Who the heck talks to a customer like that?

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4 replies
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god_forbids
July 17, 2009 2:42 AM
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@italianscallion33: I had a shady electrician leave a voicemail threatening to \"kick [my] ass\" after I voided the check I had to give him to get him out of my house. The secretary was his wife and had failed to inform me of the \"minimum $150 charge\" for coming out, just the hourly rate ($40).

The voicemail (he gave his consent to be recorded by recording it) was forwarded to RICO [the state's Regulated Industries Complaints Office] along with a full description of the complaint (extortion), and CC'd to the business. Never heard from them again. :)

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Homerjay here for OxyClean!
July 16, 2009 10:45 PM
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@italianscallion33: Someone who knows the customer is no longer a customer.

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Corporate_guy
July 17, 2009 1:52 AM
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@Homerjay here for OxyClean!: Actually someone trying to scare a customer to try to control PR. Not realizing they would make it worse. It went from losing two customers to losing many and maybe being investigated for their hiring practices.

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admiral_stabbin
July 16, 2009 10:09 PM
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@italianscallion33: Creepy dudes that own lawn mowing companies with unoriginal names?

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Jetts
July 16, 2009 9:57 PM
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If any Canadians are wondering like I was: recording is covered by federal law, and so is one-party notification for all calls originating in Canada or intended for someone in Canada.

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Homerjay here for OxyClean!
July 16, 2009 10:04 PM
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Though I don't think threatening to turning in illegal aliens is necessarily wrong, I do find it interesting that he didn't really care about their legal status until he had a beef with the business that employed them.

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2 replies
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DaveDidNotPay
July 17, 2009 3:23 AM
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@Rachacha:

We already know Jason is a bit of a questionable character himself.

* he threatened to call the INS (boo Jason, boo)
* he made a fuss about service being canceled partly through a day
* he made a point to mention Consumerist to someone who most likely has no idea what this website is
* he recommended a vegetable-garden destroying lawn service to a friend

Perhaps he is a terrible consumer but this does not excuse Chris's condescending voicemail. While I wouldn't expect a small-time CSR to be professional I would hope that the business owner himself was.

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Rectilinear Propagation
July 17, 2009 1:46 PM
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@DaveDidNotPay: But I do agree that the INS thing is extremely questionable. \"Questionable\" is putting it mildly.

WTF, dude? Why even bring that up?

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jh
July 17, 2009 7:09 PM
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@Rectilinear Propagation: [en.wikipedia.org]


I know it doesn't translate well on the Internet, but sometimes it's just so obvious you HAVE to get it.

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Rectilinear Propagation
July 17, 2009 12:35 PM
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@DaveDidNotPay: But he didn't know that they would destroy the garden when he recommended them. It's unfair to say that it was questionable of him.
I don't think mentioning the Consumerist is questionable either. He should have explained what the site is but she could have asked if she didn't know.

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zacwax
July 16, 2009 10:05 PM
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everything is fine except the INS thing, that ruins other peoples lives, not just the company's

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Corporate_guy
July 17, 2009 1:53 AM
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@zacwax: Actually it helps people's lives. Companies that hire legal workers will get more business.

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veg-o-matic
July 17, 2009 2:09 AM
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@Corporate_guy: Because teh illeguls are just property.. right? So it's ok to not care about them as people.

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Corporate_guy
July 17, 2009 8:53 PM
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@veg-o-matic: No one said that. But they do not have a legal right to work in this country. If they don't like it they can go back to their country.

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grebby
July 16, 2009 10:15 PM
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This business is most likely just one guy (Chris) and a relative/friend (Christy) who answers the phones and the day laborers he hires. Why not try treating him like a person and not a faceless corporate behemoth?

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hamburglar
July 17, 2009 12:40 AM
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@grebby:
Or just maybe Chris and Christy are the same person! What if \"Christy\" is just Chris talking on the phone in a fake lady-voice?

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AT203
July 16, 2009 10:21 PM
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I presume this is the company in question: [www.mowitright.com] , I checked and they say they service Shelby County, which is in TN. The OP indicated that this happened in Memphis, TN.

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bilge
July 17, 2009 4:37 AM
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@AT203: So you're just providing confirmation that the website is accurate?

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Corporate_guy
July 17, 2009 1:55 AM
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@AT203: There is a map right on the front page with Memphis right in the center with a star. Next time look at your own link before commenting.

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Skin Art Squared
July 16, 2009 10:23 PM
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I just re-read the article, and I'm gonna have to go ahead and disagree..... yeah...

You're calling up this company and giving them crap and orders based, not on your OWN account and the service you've received, but because your friend had a problem. Your friend is the one that should be dealing with them about his account.

Telling them you're recording it just sounds like you're trying to intimidate them or something. There's nothing in that conversation that I can see warrants recording. If you wanted to cancel, just call and cancel. Declarations about recordings and posts on Consumerist were self serving.

Plus you expect them to halt the crew instantly on the day your service is to happen. I've had professional landscapers for over a decade and I can tell you, while they may have Nextels or cell phones, they usually stay in the truck because they can't hear it over the equipment anyway, so she was telling you the truth about not being able to get ahold of them, whether they have communications or not. YOU were being unreasonable. You could have simply waited another day, or told her that today's service would complete your business together. But no..... you opted for drama instead.

If I was the owner of that company, I'd be disappointed at losing a perfectly good account, but grateful to be rid of a customer like you.

Have a good one big guy.

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bilge
July 17, 2009 4:38 AM
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@BZMedia: They can't get a text on their phones?

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y2julio
July 16, 2009 10:50 PM
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@BZMedia: I would hate to have a friend like you.

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Skin Art Squared
July 16, 2009 10:52 PM
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@y2julio: \"I would hate to have a friend like you.\"

If he was such a good friend, why didn't he cancel service when they cut down the garden instead of waiting 2 months?

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y2julio
July 16, 2009 10:58 PM
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@BZMedia: Because the owner had promised his friend that he would replace his garden. His friend did try to get the issue resolved before the company suddenly cut communications with him. That's why.

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Skin Art Squared
July 16, 2009 11:04 PM
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@y2julio: Okay, but what purpose did it serve to call and cancel service on the day they are supposed to show up? Revenge? What purpose did it serve to start off with \"I'm recording this\" and ending with \"You'll be on Consumerist\"? Just to rub it in a little?

If Consumerist is about being a good consumer, this guy was definitely not one. He waited several weeks for them to resolve it. He could have waited one more day to avoid all the problems he cited about not paying and getting ahold of the crew on the day of his service. He didn't HAVE to cancel THAT day. He chose to because he knew it would cause a problem. Not because he was \"defending his friend\". He could've just as easily defended his friend without all this drama.

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Rachacha
July 16, 2009 11:55 PM
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@BZMedia: \" What purpose did it serve to start off with \"I'm recording this\"\"


I will often times record calls when I am canceling a service/order. This way I have my own evidence that I canceled the service and it is no longer a he said-she said issue.


Advising the business that you are recording can be a cover your butt move if you were not 100% certain of the law, and to put the CSR on notice that they should watch what they are saying and to simply cancel the order rather than saying it got misplaced.


The OP went into the call with the opinion that the company was unscrupulous because of the way his friend was treated, I would probably do the same just to cover my butt.

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trujunglist
July 16, 2009 10:38 PM
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@BZMedia:

Problem is, according to OP, the friend already tried to deal, and was unsuccessful. I wouldn't want to continue if my friend got screwed over, and I'd make sure they knew why I was canceling, especially because they asked. Whether they can handle that or not, oh well, that's their problem. As far as the services go, I'd make sure I'd read the contract to understand if I would be paying or not, but I certainly would express my hesitation at allowing them to service my lawn anyway, considering that they could potentially screw it up and then not correct the problem like they supposedly did to his friend.

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Skin Art Squared
July 16, 2009 10:41 PM
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@trujunglist: And that's fine. If you want to stand by your friend and cancel service, there's nothing wrong with that. But he waited what, 7 weeks for a resolution, and then decided to cancel it in the middle of the day of service. That's just being shitty. He was asking for a confrontation, and it looks like he succeeded.

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anduin
July 16, 2009 10:27 PM
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I never get this, are people just too lazy to take care of their yard ? I live on a small lot and groundskeeping takes maybe 1-> 1 1/2 hrs per week and I get some activity out of it. Move your butts

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catastrophegirl chooses not to fly
July 16, 2009 10:45 PM
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@anduin: I can't be outside in the heat or i end up paralyzed from my multiple sclerosis. local laws say i can't mow my lawn past ten pm [also, i can't see sticks or dog poop in the dark]
hrm, if i'm going to have a well maintained yard, i have to hire someone to do it for me.
[which, incidentally, is why i plan to kill the lawn this winter]

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Skin Art Squared
July 16, 2009 10:39 PM
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@anduin: \"I never get this, are people just too lazy to take care of their yard ?\"

My home in Maui took a crew of 3 professional landscapers 4 hours to maintain. Once a week. If I tried to do that myself, not only do I not have the proper tools, nor am I climbing an 80' foot coconut tree or have the means to haul it all away, it would either take days to complete or kill me in the process. Not to mention, my time is worth far more per hour than to spend it dicking around with yard work. My clients would not be happy.

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Bryan Fernandez
July 16, 2009 10:52 PM
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@wgrune: Hehe, you amigos are funny.

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William Chuang
July 16, 2009 11:01 PM
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It's petty and cruel because he decided to follow the law only when it benefited him. It's hypocritical for him to take advantage of cheaper labor and then decide to enforce the law when he wanted revenge.

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Skin Art Squared
July 16, 2009 11:09 PM
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The whole bit at the end about calling the INS is just plain shitty. Maybe someone should have the IRS check into this guy and see how he likes being probed.

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SNForrester
July 16, 2009 11:13 PM
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It seems like the OP was mad at the lawn mowing company and successfully provoked a confrontation on behalf of a friend whose story we don't know.

IMO this issue could be easily and justly handled in small claims court. The only thing that really matters is the actual contract that this company uses with its clients and whether the contract covers unintended damages, like mowing over gardens, and the amount of lead time necessary for cancellations (in regards to the OP's situation).

I'm not sure the public pressure of The Consumerist is really appropriate for what is likely a very small local lawn mowing company. Small claims court is easy and cheap. I think the court would reach a more fair decision than snap judgments from the internet peanut gallery. (Sorry guys!)

Maybe I'm alone in this, but I don't think The Consumerist should necessarily be the first stop on the road to justice.

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JiminyChristmas
July 17, 2009 12:50 AM
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@SNForrester: The problem with small claims court is: What are the actual damages for having one's vegetable garden mowed down? That's the only compensation you would have a chance of getting and it likely wouldn't amount to more than a couple hundred bucks.

Consider the filing fee and half a day of your time filing the papers, showing up at the hearing, and collecting a judgment and the whole exercise is really only to make a point...just as this whole story does.

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SNForrester
July 17, 2009 5:07 PM
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@JiminyChristmas: Well the filing fee in Tennessee is $71 which is expensive, I grant you. In many other states it is in the $20 range. If you win, you can get that money back as part of the judgment.

Getting back a couple hundred bucks for damages sounds pretty fair to me. I wonder what the garden owner expected for fair compensation.

Yes, the court system may take a few hours but I still think it's more fair. The OP is causing more than a couple hundred in damages to the lawn mowing company to make his point and we still don't know both sides to the story.

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ovalseven
July 17, 2009 12:17 AM
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Anyone else reminded of this?


7:50 mark


[odeo.com]

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JiminyChristmas
July 17, 2009 1:09 AM
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I had an analogous experience a few years ago when my neighbor hired some people to take down a tree that had to be removed due to Dutch Elm disease. These jackasses drove their equipment across my lawn without asking permission. They then dragged tree sections out through a different part of my yard, which destroyed a bed of plants we had put in mere days beforehand. The plants were orderly and the bed was mulched so, to anyone paying attention, they were plantings, not weeds.

Being compensated for $10 worth of plants and mulch wasn't my main concern. What I really wanted was something to do with my blinding rage at these unscrupulous morons who damaged my property.

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not_amused
July 17, 2009 4:52 AM
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I would like to clear something up on behalf of the customer who had his vegetable garden mowed down. I live with him and his significant other. To those saying that people need to stop being lazy and mow their own yards, he works very erratic hours and usually does not have much time to do yard work because he is on call often. She was pregnant at the time. I offered to mow the yards for them, but he said it would not be needed since he had decided to give Mow It Right a try. I have witnessed the garden both before and after the mowing. The tomato, pepper, okra, and other various food plants were roped off with neon orange rope on stakes and there was a grape vine and wysteria on stakes next to the fence and the gazebo. Not only did the Mow It Right employees run the mower over the vegetables, they either mowed the grape vine and wysteria or used a weedeater on them. Bits and pieces of both plants were strewn about by the stakes they were tied to. The garden owner had communicated these areas as off limits to the owner of the mowing service. Communication between the owner and the workers failed somewhere. Chris, the owner, did indeed say he would replace the damaged plants and all he did was bring over a tiller on loan. He did not even offer to have one of his crew or himself operate the machine, instead he stated that his rates were normally $80 an hour for operating the tiller, but the lowest he could go was $50. The garden owner ended up using the tiller himself and injuring his shoulder. He also tried to remain in contact with Chris concerning the replacement plants which never came, and then the communication dropped.

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JustinSane07
July 17, 2009 3:49 PM
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@not_amused: I don't think anyone was questioning the customer's beef with the company. But I am glad to see additional details.


The question is whether or not the OP was being a vindictive prick or not. I think he was, for the reasons BZMedia laid out.


At the same time, the friend should take these guys to court and make them pay to have another gardening service plant new plants.

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Rectilinear Propagation
July 17, 2009 1:22 PM
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To those saying that people need to stop being lazy and mow their own yards...

@not_amused: Don't worry about those people. The story could have been about the OP finding a structural problem with his home and they'd blame him for not building the house himself.

...he stated that his rates were normally $80 an hour for operating the tiller, but the lowest he could go was $50.

So he expected him to pay them to fix their mistake? WTF?

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Anonymous
July 17, 2009 9:13 AM
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In making business decisions such as suppliers, perception of truth is as valid as whatever really happened. One side, the other side of any story - both will be subjective.

Fact is that company has failed on two counts: Failed at damage control, not just by no resolving an original issues, but by making promises to do so and not delivering on them.

And failed once more when dealing with the OP: Obviously OP was unhappy when he called, but there are CSR techniques do defuse such situations, and escalating with accusations, threats and patronizing comments such as \"we don't want customers such as you\" is not one of them.

Even if you discard everything else, Mow-It-Right lawn service has shown an utter lack of professionalism.

And if you take the OP claims at face value, it has also shown a rather unpleasant, patronizing attitude, and an unwillingness to accept consequences of their mistake and repair damage their negligence caused..

I do not believe the customer is always right, and as a service provider, there are times when you must say \"no\". There will always be customers impossible to satisfy. But there is a way to handle such matters, too!

With the cost of recruiting a new customer by rule-of-thumb sevenfold the cost of keeping one, and the contagiousness of an unhappy experience (such as OP) in a world of instant 2.0 communications, I suspect Mow-It-Right lawn service may not be around for long unless they learn to do better, quick...

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GreatWhiteNorth
July 17, 2009 1:13 PM
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Good for him in ensuring the company knows exactly why the service is being canceled. Mow-It-Right needs to get their collective heads out of the company sphincter and fix the problems.

I had a similar experience when a lawn maintenance crew were working the common grounds in the complex I was living in. I had a thriving herb garden, fenced off from everything else, plants labeled and obviously well cared for... but apparently the dumbass with the high powered gas weed-wacker had been exposed to too many fumes and clearcut everything. The crew boss was equally stupid when asked why this had happened. \"We were told to cut all the weeds.\"

Folks there are more dumbass's in this world than you can imagine.

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gttim
July 17, 2009 1:14 PM
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Is the guy sure it wasn't rabbits who ruined the garden. Sometime when they eat everything, they remove the stakes, rope and fencing hoping you won't notice the missing garden.

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Rectilinear Propagation
July 17, 2009 1:15 PM
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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.

How is that possible unless Chris is now claiming that they never damaged Trey's garden? Nothing Trey might have done or said during that seven weeks would change the fact that they did wrong him by destroying the garden.

That the company now thinks they've done nothing wrong makes them very suspicious, in my opinion.

The voice mail should be submitted to passiveaggressivenotes.org. Chris telling the OP he's more than welcome to call him before tell the OP not to \"run his trap\", accusing him of breaking the law, and, in true PAN fashion, ending it with \"best of luck big guy\".

As far as the OP giving Christy a hard time we'd have to hear the call to be sure. There's a difference between being angry and being abusive.

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mem002400
May 1, 2011 1:17 PM
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Jason I to had a problem with Mow It Right I hired a company to come and get all my leaves out of my yard the first one didn't do a good job at all. So I called Mow It Right and talk to Christye and told her I wanted to come and rack my yard and she was like yes we rack all yard all the time I was like good really wanted that. Come home 2 days later and see bag out in the yard and was like good they came. Went and check the yard and there was not one mark from a rack on my ground they used a leave blower and that was all left 2 pile of leaves in the yard I called them right then and got a run around and that they would call me back soon never did. About 2 week later they came to my house with out asking and mow my yard and charged me for both this company is a scam and dont do a good job and Christye need to learn how to talk to people because she was not nice at all when I talk to her.

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