TruGreen
reviews and complaints

I have two very big complaints.
1) The sales representatives are the most pressure driven people I have ever worked with. I heard ever sales pitch, gimmick, and trick in the book working with these guys. They don’t ask you if you are interested, they tell you that you are interested. I had a guy call me and tell me about aerating and seed product. He went on and on about how I had to have this done for winter and it will do all these wonderful things. Then he said when would be the best time to get this taken care of. The way he pitched it made it sound like it was included with what I already paid for. I ask if it was included and he tells me it’s just over $100 dollars. Then he went on with the same “you have to get this” crap again. I rejected it 3 times before he took the hint.
2) I would wake up at 8am to see if Tru Green came and they didn’t. Then at 10am I would go to work. They put a bag on the door and signs in my lawn. I would call and the operator would tell me the drive knocked but there was no answer. Ok maybe I was in the shower or something. I got the same story for 4 months in a row. That is bull. I would go out on the lawn and feel no product on the grass, no foot prints, no chemical smell. I would wait and see if the weeds dry up like they are supposed to and only a few patches would be taken care of. So I’m paying to have my whole lawn sprayed but all they do is spot spray. I have yet to see them spray while I was home. I just suddenly have their signs posted in my lawn and a note that says please water grass more.

Trugreen is a big huge rip off. Although they serviced my lawn they ended up letting chinch bugs, sod web worms and various weeds ruin my lawn. Now it will have to be resodded. The Trugreen in Fruitland Park, Florida is worthless. I called and got a snotty and rude branch manager that said my lawn problems were "hot spots" and and "act of God". Even though each assessment of my lawn said it had good growth and color. What Bull. A worthless business! I hope they end up BANKRUPT. I have worked and worked on a lawn that will never be the same. I am sick about it.

I began working with TruGreen and signed up for the scheduled lawn service for the summer. Keep in mind this is supposed to be scheduled. During this time they billed me incorrectly and when each service is supposed to occur it does nbot. I have to then make numerous phone calls with each time the CSR telling me they will be there tomorrow. Guess what they are not.
For what is supposed to occur ever 30 days goes at least 45 days and results in new weeds growing. Worst part is AI have to spend multiple phoen calls to get a service I am paying for. My advise is use another company.

Please see attached letter which has been sent via USPS (X3), emailed (X2),
and hand delivered (X1), and a documented 20+ phone calls over the past 7
months with nothing but excuses such as "we'll have someone call you back",
" I'm not the guy to handle this", "it's another employee's problem", "you
did not water enough" (though local water company -EA bills dispute this
claim, "it was a tough summer", and the most recent statement "the water
table is really low".

I requested the last technician on 12-16 to please have customer service
contact me as the letters were going unanswered. He stated he would make a
note of request.

No one called

My wife called on 12-29 and spoke with Josh, Chris Stone, Charles Taylor and
was told that they would be back in touch.

No one called

My wife called on 1-5-07 and Charles Taylor said he would be out and did
show up @ 1700, took soil sample claimed we did not have St. Augustine grass
in our back yard (which was the sod originally planted in 2001) and said it
was Pete's problem.

Here is letter written to the VP. As of today, no response:

November 26, 2008

Cannon White, Regional Vice President
Tru Green Lawncare
P.O. Box 2729
Suwanee, GA 30024

Dear Mr. White:

On September 22, 2008, I received a bill for a lawn treatment for $35 performed on August 25, 2008. I never received this treatment. I called on September 24, 2008 and talked to Gregory, explained that I had never received this treatment. He said that he would send someone out on Friday, September 26, 2008 for a free treatment. I asked Gregory if I should pay the bill I had received and he said no because this would be a free treatment.

A month passed and I received the same past due bill in the mail. I called your office and spoke with Nina. She explained that I would not have to pay for the treatment in September because it was free, but, I would need to pay for the treatment in August, that I never received. Nina asked me if I understood and I said no, she snickered and explained again. When she was finished, I told her to cancel my service. Please tell me what is free in this scenario?

I, as a customer, do not like being belittled and if this is a representation of your customer service, then I do not want to be a customer of Tru Green. The quickest way to lose customers and have them tell all their friends and neighbors about it is to provide poor customer service. Is it worth $35?

Enclosed, please find a check for my final bill for September, not August as indicated on the bill. Please adjust your records concerning this error.

Used TruGreen in 2007, at the end of the season all of a sudden I owed another $59 that wasn't paid during the season. I checked my records and compared them to theirs and found that I had in fact paid. Explained that to their accounting dept but no one investigated on their end. In January 2008, while I was in FL with my Father (who died of cancer that month) TruGreen kept calling my house and telling my husband we owed $59. I told him not to pay it. They called his daily until he finally paid. In 2008 season, I told my husband not to use them but he did anyway. The first bush and scrub application was made on a day that we had 15+ mile per hour winds. I hope my neighbors liked the free bush and scrub application cause it was blown all over the neighborhood. At the end of the season they called an talked my husband in to a treatment they said cost $211. What they didn't tell him was that it was $422 (oopps $211x2). When I called they blamed the mistake on my husband not their phone sales person. In 2009 after receiving the contract for the 2009 season, I called TruGreen and told them we were going with someone else and to take us off their calling/mailing list. They called once a day for the next three days and then sent us two letters dated for the same day. I guess they misunderstood me, I said DONT CALL not call and write me every day!
I was never happy with the service or the quality of the lawn for the amount of money we paid to TruGreen.

Overfertilizing and unnecessary treatment required replacement of my lawn. Unnecessary fertiziling in March 09, Jan 09 Dec 08 Nov 08 contributed to my lawn dying. They also sold me an aeration treatment that was not necessary. My lawn is primarily sandy and very porous. Aeration was a waste of money but they insisted I required the service at $125.00. Plus $45.00 a month to over fertilize.

Paid in full for 1 year of Trugreen service. Arrived home this year to find they sprayed my yard and left a bill for $76. I called because services were not approved and was told they are like the utility company that provides service from year to year unless cancelled. This is the first time I've used a lawn service and was not aware of this clause. They claim it was explained to me when I paid for the services the previous year, nothing was sent to remind or pay in full after the previous year. Once the services that were paid for were complete, that should have cancelled any future treatment unless paid for or acknowledged.

Hi,
My whole lawn died because of chem lawn. They are terrible! They had the nerve to try to charge me for three months after the lawn died. Now, they continue to harass me for payment and they literally call my phone at least 20 times per week! I spoke with a woman on the phone and told her not to call me and that I am not paying for them to kill my lawn and they still continue to call back. If you don't believe me google their name and find out for yourself!

I contracted with this company to treat my lawn, but told them it would be a month before I needed treatment, since I was planting seed. The CS rep said "No Problem!" A week later, two days before I was scheduled to plant the lawn, the driver treated my lawn with a weed killer, which made it impossible to plant any more grass. They apologized, said they would give me two bags of seed, and I wouldn't have to pay for the treatment. I was then billed for the treatment, which I had to call about. They finally took that off, AND THEN TREATED MY LAWN AGAIN. I had no lawn by then, so they sprayed dirt. And billed me for the treatment. I never received any grass seed, told them to stop, and paid the bill, just to get them off my back.

This year, I had a weekend scheduled to plant the seed, then lo and behold, I come home from work on Thursday before...THEY did it again! So, no seeding done, another summer of dirt and weeds (oh yes, apparently the weed killer only killed the last living grass that was there). I never asked for the treatment, told them to stop the year before, and they did it to me again. And while I was arguing about the first bill, they treated my lawn again, and said I owed them 80 bucks.

Now, eight months later, I just had to pay over $100 so this bill wouldn't be on my credit report. What was 80 bucks became $120, but they "settled" for $100. I jsut decided it wasn't worth the knick on my credit report for a hundred bucks. No, I never got the grass seed, they told me they wouldn't come again, but who knows?

Stay away from this horrible company. Based in Northern Kentucky, they also take care of Cincinnati area.