7 Lawn Care Service Complaints Companies Try to Hide (or Won't Talk About)

Finding lawn care services in Ashburn, Aldie, or Leesburg, VA can feel like a difficult decision when there are so many lawn care companies to choose from. Of course, you want to find a company that is going to give you great results so that you won’t have to go through the hassle of canceling (and then finding a new company to work with). You may have heard from friends or neighbors that they’ve been dissatisfied with lawn care services that they’ve hired but you may not know why.

You might wish you had a crystal ball so that you could predict what issues could arise or what lawn care complaints you might have if you choose the wrong company. You’d rather understand them now so that you can avoid making a poor choice.

Of course, lawn care companies go to great lengths to hide (or at least not openly talk about) problems or complaints that other clients have had. But we’ve heard from prospective and current clients who have opened up about their past experiences with lawn care companies and shared some of their gripes.

That’s why we’re revealing some of the most common lawn care service complaints that tend to arise. Understanding these common concerns can hopefully help you avoid dealing with them yourself.

1. You’re Stuck with a Canned Lawn Care Program

It’s one thing to have a solid lawn care program that really works and to apply those effective principles to your customers’ properties—but it’s a whole other issue to have a program from which your lawn care provider will not deviate. Unfortunately, the latter often happens with large lawn care chains or national franchises in which there is a prescribed program that must be followed.

What you really want is a lawn care program that has the flexibility to develop a customized approach when it’s needed. Lawn care services that include a soil test in all of its packages will ensure that your program fits your specific needs. For instance, if a soil test determines your lawn’s pH is out of whack, it can be adjusted appropriately.

2. The Lawn is Never Green or Thick Enough

A lot of lawn service complaints also have to do with results. When you’re investing in professional lawn care services, you expect professional results. However, some programs don’t get a lawn very thick or very green and it can leave homeowners wondering if they could have achieved the same results (or better) on their own.

One of the big reasons for this is the fact that many lawn care companies just throw fertilizer down but don’t take any steps beyond that. But this is rarely enough to achieve the great results that you desire.

What you want is a lawn care company that goes further, performing soil tests to see exactly what your lawn needs and providing additional services like aeration, overseeding, and topdressing.

Some lawns are in such bad shape that they need even more than that. Slice seeding can help restore a lawn that needs extra help to become lush, thick, and green. If the program is being followed exactly (and you’re following any recommendations the lawn care company has left behind for you) and grass is still not performing well, you want a lawn care company that is going to get to the bottom of the reason why.

Of course, there are also some lawns that will never grow grass in certain areas. Some lawn care companies will keep treating (and taking your money), even if it’s not working. But you want a lawn care company that will be honest with you if grass is never going to grow.

3. The Lawn Care Company Has Limited Solutions

Lawn care services that solely offer lawn care treatments may lack some of the additional services that your lawn needs to perform optimally in your individual environment. Sometimes, you need a full landscape company that not only offers lawn care services but other landscape services as well.

The fact is, certain lawns are simply never going to perform optimally in their existing conditions. For instance, when it comes to a heavily shaded lawn, you can throw all of the lawn care products down that you want and it’s never going to fix the fact that the grass needs more sun to thrive.

A landscape company that can offer tree removal services or can even extend planting and mulch beds in areas where the lawn won’t perform will be able to help you in those circumstances.

4. The Lawn Care Company Uses Cheap Products

Lawn care complaints that have to do with results are sometimes a matter of the types of products that a company uses. All lawn care products are not created equal and higher quality products will yield better quality results.

However, this is an area where some lawn care services in Ashburn, Aldie, or Leesburg, VA will cut corners in order to save money. If you get a quote that’s a lot cheaper, it’s possible that the company may be using cheaper products. Unfortunately, as with most things in life, you get what you pay for. By spending less, you may get subpar results.

5. The Lawn Care Company is Not Thorough Enough

Even if they’re using a good quality products, are they applying them properly? When the technician has thirty lawns to service in a day (common for national companies), they might be rushing through the job.

This could lead to skipping some areas, missing edges or certain areas of the lawn (such as behind the shed), or even putting down a fraction of the product that they should be. This can also lead to subpar results and subsequently, lawn care complaints from unhappy customers.

6. There is Poor Communication

Poor communication is another common lawn care gripe that Northern Virginia homeowners have. A lot of lawn care complaints have to do with the fact that the lawn care company never seems to answer the phone (or return their calls). If there’s a problem, it can be difficult to reach someone or to get it resolved.

(Turf's up's clients in Loudoun County, VA)

With large companies, they may be easy to reach, but it’s through a call center. To a massive national call center, you could be nothing more than a number. They don’t get to know you or your specific needs the way a local company would. It can be frustrating to feel completely out of touch with your lawn care company.

7. They Routinely Lose as Many as 20-30 % of Their Customers

Lawn care services that frequently have customers drop their program are obviously getting lots of lawn care complaints and have lots of dissatisfied customers. It’s a shocking truth that this is pretty common in the lawn care industry, particularly of large, national chains. Of course, these companies will go to great lengths to hide the fact that they lose customers so frequently.

The best way to determine how happy customers are with a particular lawn care company is to turn to online reviews or “social proof.” Third party sites like Facebook or Google reviews cannot be controlled by the lawn care company and are therefore a good source of honest, unfiltered information.

While even the best lawn care companies will have some dissatisfied customers from time to time, you should look for lawn care services that have positive ratings and comments for the vast majority of their reviews.

Finding the Best Lawn Care Services in Ashburn, Aldie, or Leesburg, VA

Choosing the best lawn care company that won’t have a lot of these lawn care complaints, means knowing what to look for in a lawn care service. While you obviously can’t predict the future, with a little bit of research, you can at least narrow down your choices in lawn care services and make a wise decision.

At Turf's Up, we perform services in a manner that doesn’t leave us getting a lot of lawn care complaints. Because we offer soil tests for every single customer, we know exactly what each lawn needs and how those needs are best met. That allows us to make customized recommendations beyond our traditional programs—when they are warranted.

We also use the highest quality professional products on the market and we don’t cut corners. While our program could cost a little bit more than our competition, most customers find that we also produce superior results. Plus, with lesser quality services, you could end up even spending more money in the long run. Customers have told us that the money they put into fixing problems could have been avoided if they’d just used better solutions to begin with.

If you’ve invested in hassle-free lawn care services, you shouldn’t have to still be worrying about receiving subpar results or having various complaints. You also shouldn’t have to worry about going through canceling or finding a new lawn care service.  When you hire reliable lawn care experts, you just want to have peace of mind that they’re handling everything the right way.

That’s how it ought to be.

By making a wise choice, that’s how it will be. That means your time can be put to better use than constantly trying to reach your lawn care company to complain and to demand better results. When you’re already receiving great results you’ll know that you’ve made a wise investment from the onset.

If you’re ready to have a hassle-free lawn at your Ashburn, Aldie, or Leesburg, VA home, talk to an expert, choose a solution that rocks, and then get ready to finally have total satisfaction with your results.