Re: [OT] Way OT - Lawn Treatment Woes - AVOID GREENTHUMB

["domdevitto" <dom@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

Which area was this in - I live in Poole, Dorset, and this relates to
that franchise.

My experience of Green Thumb is:

The come out, assess your grass (expertly) and prescribe a treatment
to specifically sort out your issue (e.g. exact weedkillers for just
the weed you have).

They come out (for a pittance - similar or less than the cost of
getting weed & feed from Tesco/B&Q/wherever)

The treatment plan *works* faultlessly, but is usually applied by a
=A33.5/hr student, who may be smoking a joint as he works.

They have a real issue giving more than a couple of days notice, and
often say they are coming on Wednesday, but then come out on the
previous Monday. Most people complain when plumbers don't arrive, but
it's still a PITA when they leave a note to say they couldn't get in
to the back garden, and you have to call to explain to then that it
was because they arrived on the wrong day!  They didn't charge for
returning though.

So, all in all, the expertise of the franchise holder (who presumably
attends a training course) is faultless, and he comes and does the
important stuff.  The treatments are cheap per m2, and work amazingly.
My lawn *never* looked so good.  However they are disorganized and
treatments are applied with cheap staff - though does this really matter?
They always got the bill right, and accepted cheques by post.  Most of
the aggravation was around getting them to arrive when they said they
would.=20

Overall, I would recommend them, nationally (though obviously local
franchises may differ) as they are highly effective, and cheap.  I'd
never by fertilizer (weed & feed) again, as they are simply more
targeted, and cheaper - their literature says they use slow-release
fertiliser, which takes months to be used up, but is more effective in
the long term, as opposed to off-the-shelf fertilizers which are
designed to look more effective quickly, but 'burn' and damage the
grass for longer term growth.

I think if you got screwed you should have handled things differently
- can you actually sue them in the small claims to get your money
back?  It seems like you didn't fight this 'right'...


Dom
--- In ukha_d@xxxxxxx, "Stuart Grimshaw"
<stuart.grimshaw@...>
wrote:
>
> Might be worth writing to Which?
>=20
> On 10/10/07, John Murray <John@...> wrote:
> > Are they a franchise?
> >
> > FWIW I've been using the local branch for over 6 years.  =C2=A350
around 5 times per year.  No problems whatsoever.
> >
> > Once they have you on their books as a client, they just come and
do the work, then leave you an invoice with an approximate date of the
next treatment date.  I've never tried to cancel, so I'll make sure I
get the cancellation confirmed if I do.  Thanks for the heads-up.
> >
> >
> >
> > [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
>=20
>=20
> --=20
> -S
>=20
> Follow me on Jaiku: http://stubbs.jaiku.com
> Sports Photography: http://www.stuartgrimshaw.co.uk
> Blog: http://stubblog.wordpress.com
> Flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/StubbsUK
>