Menu
For Business Write a review File a complaint
CB Lawn Mowers TruGreen trugreen killed my lawn
TruGreen

TruGreen review: trugreen killed my lawn 33

D
Author of the review
5:59 pm EST
Featured review
This review was chosen algorithmically as the most valued customer feedback.

Over the course of last year, TruGreen completely killed my lawn - it literally disintegrated. This was despite the fact that I bought a couple of their upgrades and "needed treatments" + watered and kept the blades high on my mower.

A manager was supposed to come out and look at what is left (dirt) but of course never showed up. Unbeliveably they continue to call and try to get us to renew our service. The latest call was tonite. I told the guy who called me that there was nothing left to spray - he told me (quote) - "Well I have no idea what could have happened to your lawn, we don't send guys out to your house with ray guns." Then he told me that since we cancelled, we weren't customers anymore and he couldn't do anything for us.

TruGreen is all about selling you as many services as they can and could care less what happens to your lawn - and whether or not you are satisfied. The guy who called tonite was so cocky I think he thought he was doing me a favor by being part of his solicitation calls for the night.

If TruGreen calls you, hang up immediately.

33 comments
Add a comment
H
H
Hal Edwards
Jun 12, 2008 11:05 am EDT

We had a similar experience with TruGreen ChemLawn and a separate division Leisure Lawn in Florida. They are relentless telemarketers, even though we are on a "Do Not Call" list. Despite the fact that we cancelled their service because they ruined our lawn, they kept coming and applying treatments. When we refised to pay the last bill, they turned us over to a collection agency so now we are receiving collection calls AND more telemarketing calls to reinstate the service or to hire "Leisure Lawn" which was represented as a completely different company.

M
M
Mike Willis
Jul 15, 2008 6:09 pm EDT

I just observed a TG rep exit his vehicle, load up his broadcast fertilizer and spend all of THREE minutes doing a laughable treatment of the lawn across the steet. No wonder that lawn is never lush or green in all areas. How can home owners be so ignorant.

TG reps sometimes go door to door and will attempt to sign you up for everything you probably don't need, and most certainly at outrageous prices.

Do yourself a favor; for $50 or $60 you can purchase all of the lawn fertilizer, weed killer and tree/shrub feed for most
1/4 acre lots for a season. Doing it yourself (2 treatments/yr) might take 3 hrs or so but you can be certain it is done right. Service companies could end up costing you $400 to 500/yr and there is no assurance it will be done correctly.

Tell the reps (door to door or callers) to give you the addresses of 5 customers in your neighborhood and then go look at their grass. When I pointed out the grass across the street (TG customer) wasn't as green as my lawn the rep was ready with a generic excuse, claiming that customer didn't water her lawn suffciently, which of course I knew was BS.

B
B
bob
Aug 27, 2008 3:45 pm EDT

Not only did trugreen destroy my perfect lawn, they also ruined my trees. I signed up for the tree and shrub service also and all my expensive trees look sick

B
B
bob
Sep 02, 2008 2:55 pm EDT

I had them aerate and seed my lawn. They only aerated about 1/2 the lawn, threw a little seed down then left. They stuck the bill in the door and charged me $180 to aerate and another $135 for seed! They threw down about $10 worth of seed in 3 minutes, . Complete ripoffs, dont hire trugreen chemlawn. Get this, my husband asked why there are large patches og dead grass and the tech said "lawnmower wheel marks"! We asked the service that does our neighbor to look at it and he said it was dollar spot and another fungus. Trugreen are ###s!

U
U
unknown
Sep 12, 2008 3:10 pm EDT

ok lets begin first off trugreen is a very good company that does good work but if you are to lazy to follow directions then the results are on you my friend. they do not put down a magic potion that will make your lawn green if you are not watering and were not getting rain. guess what u have to get off your couch and do something and anyone who reads this garbage they these people are writing are idiots and ignorant lets go by facts trugreen is the biggest lawn care company in the u.s hmmmm must be doing something right but a small hand full of people are crying that they didnt get results let do the math here people.
if you want the result you need to put some work in to it to and do some homework on what needs to be done.
im sick and tired of well they killed my lawn but when if fact they had grubs or another issue that they ignored cause it cost more and now there lawn is dead to those people i say good you got what u deserve. and last everyone crys about all the calls well people need to work right and people need money right? well thats what they are doing providing for themselves and there families and you rude people want to critise them when in fact they probly make more money then you so think twice next time. so in the end before u point the finger of blame do your homework and stop being so lazy

S
S
Steven
Oct 31, 2008 7:26 am EDT

Trugreen is a very good company? OK lets say you ignore the hundreds of complaints online alone, have you seen the BBB? Have you ever heard of water restrictions? The company I use changes the types of applications due to weather conditions and watering schedules. The fact is you can expest good resuts from quickly spraying a little liquid down on the lawn. My tech started treating my lawn before a Trugreen tech started a lawn down the street, he said watch how many they do before I am finished. They had done 3 homes similar sizes before he had finished because he took the time to service properly. Trugreen is the largest lawn care company because of the millions they spend on advertisement and the fact they have to buy out there competition to stay in buisness. I need to work and make money but the difference is I take pride in my job and I dont screw people!

M
M
michael roberts
Kennesaw, US
Dec 30, 2008 1:31 pm EST

ive worked for trugreen now for 8 years. ive also worked for four different competiting companies. Trugreen is the largest lawncare company in the country by a long shot. Scotts was about a fourth the size of trugreen and is coming to its demise. Because trugreen is the largest lawncare company in the world they can afford to apply the most expensive products and in the largest quantities. Lawncare isnt very profitable because of chemical costs and fuel. Thats why most companies which promise the world of satisfaction dont last very long. In order to be lucrative a lawncare company has to get at least 20 to 30 stops per day per technician just to stay in business. One bag of fertilizer cost about 30 dollars now for a fifty pound bag. Thats just one thing. That doesnt include other weed killers whether post or pre emergents, water, fuel, insurance, uniform, payroll, and bills. Regardless of the company they all have to do a high quantity t0 make profit to stay in business. Trugreen spends the most money on training and products and materials and buildings and equipment of any of them. Trugreen is the originator and the most knowledgeable and expertised. Many hours days weeks and months are spent to train the technicians. It all comes down to the technician treating the property. There are good and bad technicians no matter where you go. Ive seen them all. All companies apply basically the same things and the same program. What trugreed does is try to make life easier for you. You dont want to do it yourself thats why you payed trugreen to do it for you. Trugreen isnt responsible for mowing or watering your lawn. You are responsible for that. Trugreen is only going to see you once on average every 4 to 8 weeks. Thats it. Some lawns need mowing twice a week depending on grass type and growing zone. The correct speed for application is one thousand square feet per minute with a broadcast spreader or spray solution. Anymore time taken could burn the lawn. Ask any company how many square feet should be treated in one minute and they will say one thousand square feet. some companies who ive worked with do twice this amount. so with trugreen if you have a small three thousand square foot lawn then it should only take the tech three mintutes to broadcast the lawn. If you have grassy and such that cant be treated with the regular broadcast treatment then trugreen does it at no additional charge. if they dont then you may call for a free service call to have it done. other companies charge extra for this. Trugreen is also among the cheapest in lawncare because they are so big and therefore can afford everything at a much cheaper price wholesale factory direct. The key is getting a technician which has at least two years of experience. If theyve made it that long they are probably good at what they do for most technicians dont last that long. The second thing is communication. Its your lawn and you see it everday, a tech may see it once every 30-60- days or so. you will notice things much more often than your tech will. If you notice things its a good idea to call the office for help. Follow instructions. Technicians are required to write detailed notes about what they applied, observed, and what you can expect. There isnt a magic potion. Temporary yellowing is common and may happen after grassy weed treatment. Most weeds need at least 2 to 3 weeks to begin to die. Some weeds need 2 or 3 repeated treatments to control. Not all weeds can be prevented and can only be treated after being visible. Different weeds and scenarios occur at different times of the year which is why its important to get at least 7 treatments in a 12 month period and you can always get more treatments. Finally, mistakes happen as with any other company. weve seen them happen with large banks, financial corporations, lending institutions and government. Trugreen is responsible for damage that they do. It has to be proven that trugreen did the damage if there is damage and the customer willing to accept that accidents happen and allow trugreen to fix the issue. Trugreen is where they are because they are the best at all that they do. Listen, research, observe, pay attention and be patient. take advantage of free service calls and do your part.

L
L
lagrl89
Jacksonville, US
Feb 06, 2009 7:10 pm EST

Ive been working at trugreen for about a yr and believe me i have seen the best and worst, I do believe trugreen has the skills the make the lawns look awesome if the product is applied correctly and the customer follows through on their part for instructions. I also know that it is a luxery to have lawn care svc the way the economy is but people cannot think that their lawn will just be perfect after a couple applications. Trugreens staff is always willing to help their customers b/c they value them the way most companies dont value their customers. I think that trugreen gets to many negative reports from people who just want someone to blame. customers have to do their part to get the best results. we will do the rest.I believe trugreen is an awesome company with awesome values and stands for what they believe. I am proud to work at Trugreen!

N
N
nouch
US
Feb 28, 2009 3:18 pm EST

I just started using TruGreen and my entire lawn is weeds/crabgrass before they have done anything.

I'm hopeful that working with them within 1 year my lawn will start to look better. All I want is my lawn to keep improving over time. Hopefully I will be satisfied with the services that TruGreen applies.

T
T
tommy
lakeville , US
Mar 03, 2009 4:02 am EST
Verified customer This complaint was posted by a verified customer. Learn more

True green chemlawn has consistently harassed me for a payment for the last year. I tolf them i wanted to cancel my service because they were killing my lawn and they continued to come and spray their hazardouse chemiclas ON MY DEAD LAWN!

This went on for many months i actua;;y almost got into a physical altercation throwing the chemlawn man off my dead lawn! these people are insane and i am in the process of suing them! stay away from trugreen chemlawn!

D
D
DMata
60067, US
Apr 02, 2009 11:06 pm EDT
Verified customer This complaint was posted by a verified customer. Learn more

you guys are ignorant... Your home was full of weeds and crabgrass BEFORE they did anything hmmm? Wow... FOLLOW UR RECOMMENDATIONS ! We HELP it grow, we DONT MAKE IT grow... we dont water it, we dont mow it ! Not only is it the best company for lawn care, its also backed up by the HUUUGH GREAT company of Servicemaster...

M
M
mike
South Holland, US
Apr 21, 2009 8:39 pm EDT

I own a chem Lawn care company near Chicago it is amazing how many accounts I get because trugreen is horrible. I had a few frends that works at turgreen for a while and it makes me sick to hear the stories how they would scam there coustemers. My fav is they would knock on the door, if the people were not home they would stick a flag in the yard and leave with out doing anything, They get paid on commision so the more they get done in a day the more they make. Thank you Tru Green for continuing to do a crappy job, its really helping me to grow my bussiness!

O
O
ohdadda
Willoughby, US
Jun 29, 2009 1:32 am EDT

To Mike: You're full of ###! Know what youre talking about before you comment! I work for TruGreen as a Route Manager. Techs DO NOT get paid any kind of commision at all...PERIOD! They earn what is called a retention bonus. This bonus is obtained by KEEPING customers in their route. If too many customers cancel service, the Techs get NOTHING! So your comment on "the more they get done in a day, the more they get paid" is ###! You're a typical fly by night chump with a second rate company banging on others to try and get customers. Know what you're talking about before you open your mouth!

K
K
klizruss
US
Sep 11, 2009 6:00 pm EDT

I completely agree that Trugreen Lawn Service does more harm than good (an understatement--I am being generous here). Like many others, our lawn was nearly killed off after a mere 3 months of service by Trugreen. Reason for hiring them and all we wanted to do was eliminate some small areas of weeds and add a little iron to green up the lawn. If your goal is turn your currently-green lawn brown, and thin it out drastically, then Trugreen is the company for you. And they'll do it in no time flat! They sent out a different technician every time, so the left hand never knew what the right was doing/had done. Every technician said something completely different about why our grass was suddenly going downhill--the district manager (who never came out for a look) even said the grass must be too dry--this, in one of the wettest FL summers in memory with our lake nearly overflowing into the yard... what a joke. I could go on and on, but suffice it to say, we hope we terminated service in time that we can bring our lawn back to health with a little loving care. STAY AWAY FROM THESE QUACKS and treat your lawn yourself with guidance you can download from numerous reputable websites with no hidden agendas (e.g., university/agricultural college sites). kaymr

V
V
Vince mark
US
Sep 28, 2009 11:58 am EDT

Trugreen sucks.. All it do is get your money. Just go a head buy fertilizers at homedepot or lowes and I guarantee you that you will save a lot of money and you will see the real true green. I paid trugreen 50 dollars a month and i do not see any improvement on my lawn. Don't trust trugreen..

Z
Z
za balla
Daytona Beach, US
Oct 07, 2009 5:48 pm EDT

i am with trugreen in daytona and i agree with my fellow workers a lot of these people are crying but the truth is a lot of these same people are the majority cause of their own problems excluding the fact the weather has a huge portion to play with it

S
S
sploont
Palestine, US
Oct 21, 2009 11:59 pm EDT

I contacted TruGreen in March for a fall aeration. They told me it would be $65 and they would be out in September. Well, September came and went and nobody showed up...nobody called. I know I COULD have called and inquired, but who is working for who here? I shouldn't have to call Tru-Green to remind them of their job.
Since it is now in October, I gave up on the idea of getting my lawn aerated this year and figured I would try another company next Spring. Well, lo and behold on OCTOBER 21ST, they finally show up.
I also received about 10 or 15 sales calls after I signed up with them. One guy got sort of pissy with me and told me he couldn't understand why I was refusing their pest control service. I told them that it was because I DON"T HAVE BUGS OR PESTS! He basically just hung up on me. I received about 10 calls after that, but when I saw TruGreens number on the caller ID, I ignored it...no message was ever left meaning that it was just another sales call.
I will pay for my aeration, but as far as I am concerned, Tru-Green is a complete waste of time and money!

T
T
truworker
US
Oct 31, 2009 4:32 pm EDT

So i decided to look at the complaints online for trugreen...ive been working there for three years now and never did..all the complaints i see are not from the area where i am which is good i think...this is my thought...If u have out service and you get a tech who is an ###, Im sorry. The company goes through many employees because they all come in and figure out hey i can make money and not do anything(ripping people off) saying they do things they dont...eventually they all get caught and fired. There are good techs out there who take pride in there work and like what they are doing. I will do what ever i can free treatments, hand pulling weeds, free aerations( if needed), seed, Ect. for my customers. i have about 650 that i take care of myself. It is tough to make everyone happy. If you take the time to listen talk with your tech...request that u meet He or she first also ask that he be the only one who treats ur lawn use the free service calls even though we hate them. but they are good. You can have a good relationship and a nice lawn...Also remember YOU GET WHAT YOU PAY FOR! the more you pay within reason depending on the size of your lawn the better the work is. Most of the time

E
E
Elyria_resident
Elyria, US
Nov 30, 2009 12:47 pm EST

Here's my favorite --- I was a lawn treatment customer, I have a bunch of flower beds with all kinds of perennial flowers and vegetables.

About once a month, I would get a phone call, "yes, Mr. so and so technician was servicing your lawn last week (this was already a true statement) and noticed some [fill in the blank with some kind of horrible sounding disease] on your shrubs and trees. We advise a TruGreen shrub and tree treatment."

Of course, I don't have any shrubs or trees, just flower beds and grass. So, there is no way "Mr. so and so" noticed anything at all about shrubs or trees on my property.

The first time it happened, I wrote it off as a paperwork mistake. The 2nd time, I asked that a note be added to our file so that TruGreen could keep it straight. The 3rd time, I realized that this is just a telemarketing phone blitz, and they don't really care what I do or don't have on my property.

Ended my contract, will never use them again. The unfortunate part is they did good work on my lawn...but once you lie to me, you're out for good.

K
K
kidd1975
Nicholson, US
Feb 23, 2010 5:21 pm EST

trugren sucks enough said

D
D
DoctorDL
Tampa, US
Feb 24, 2010 5:44 am EST

I hope someone else reads this and does not enter into ANY agreement with TruGreen. A year ago, TruGreen offered me a discounted service. I agreed, but said that I was to be notified and APPROVE any application. They dutifully called me each month and obtained permission, but when the trial ended and I decided to stop the service, they CONTINUED to call and try to sell me more services. I told them I wanted to be on a DO NOT CALL list - they agreed, but then continued to call. A week ago, I find their little plastic pole in my yard and a note on my door that since I wasn't home, they performed the service WITHOUT PERMISSION. I now have a bill that I will protest. Their sales techniques are deceptive, high pressure, and relentless. Their service is (for Florida) ineffectual. Their billing practices are unethical. Do yourself a BIG FAVOR - DON'T ENTER INTO ANY TYPE OF AGREEMENT WITH TRUGREEN!

Y
Y
YoBob
cinc, US
Apr 19, 2010 11:04 am EDT

Truegreen is SO UNPROFESSIONAL. They stopped by door-to-door once and when I politely told the rep that I wasn't interested - he sarcastically said "Well GOOD LUCK!".

I made the STUPID mistake of asking for a free survey - and changed my mind after reading dozens of complains all over the internet about Trugreens terrible customer service.

Well, the guy calls today and starts off by telling me "We're the best in the nation and we take care of Arlington Cemetary. We're number one and we're the only company endorsed by the EPA". I tell him that I decided to go with another company and he starts telling me about how "They must have given me an outrageous price... and who knows what chemicals these smaller companies are using... and Trugreen is all green and blah blah blah" I thanked him for calling and he nearly hung up on me.

God only knows why I'm polite when some unprofessional rude person is calling and harassing me!

M
M
Mooma
US
Jul 13, 2010 5:52 pm EDT
Verified customer This complaint was posted by a verified customer. Learn more

I agree with the complaints. Chemlawn destroys, and has a no sod relacement to replace the areas of destruction that they have caused. But didn't take me long to fire them. Didn't matter that the manager came out and gave me a BS story, and said "look it's starting to grow back", sure the weeds you mean? Didn't matter that they did answer the phones. The grass was only 2 years old, now I got to dig out and replace, waste of my time and money. Jerry Baker here I come!

C
C
CTunstall
Berlin, US
Aug 21, 2010 9:58 am EDT
Verified customer This complaint was posted by a verified customer. Learn more

Truegreen knocked on my door and sold me a year worth of service. They are under contract to make sure my lawn stys healthy. I had 3 week old sod at the time. I decided to keep it healthy and told them I wanted then to be extremely careful not to harm the new grass. they quickly pointed out the nutsedge and crab grass that would slowly pop up. They also told me they had 30 years of expereinece and know what they are doing. They treated me with a quick spray missing half of my back yard. I could tell where they missed because some of the weeks curled up while others didn't because they hadn't been sprayed. I had them reapply and the did a couple of weeks later. The next three weeks were very hot I got an e-mail to water more and I did. My lawn was starting to die off in sections. Remember they are the ones with the expereinece. I was watering daily due to the hot weather and worried about the grass being new. The tech came out and applied lime during this period. He did not inspect the lawn as noted he would. If he had he probably would have diagnosed that I had a fungus killing the grass in large spots. Although I have an untrained eye. I knew something was wrong. The tech should have pointed this problem out. Now 25 % of my lawn is dead and I will probably loose another 30%. I am so angry. At this point the entire lawn is dying of fungus and they siad they will be out Monday when I called them on a Thursday morning. I guess they are not worried. But they are replacing my lawn with new sod! That is why I put it in in the first place for immdeiate satifiaction! The last picture is three months earlier. So Sad!

I
I
ImAtALoss
Hoffman Estates, US
Sep 15, 2010 9:59 am EDT
Verified customer This complaint was posted by a verified customer. Learn more

Tru Green is completely crooked in my opinion. They killed my lawn and are refusing to take responsibility. We had a new sod lawn put in and the following year noticed we had a bunch of yellow nutsedge. So we called Tru Green to treat the nutsedge. We asked for 4 treatments. Two in the fall to treat the nutsedge we currently had and two in the spring to hopefully prevent the nutsedge from reappearing. They came out in the fall and treated the lawn the first time and on the invoice they left us they noted a special chemical they had added to treat the nutsedge. Then they came out two weeks later and re-sprayed. The special chemcial they had used the first time was not listed. They sprayed a third time, which was supposed to technically be the 2nd spray and then they re-sprayed a 4th time. Only the first spray listed the chemical for the nutsedge. When the spring came they sprayed (no chemical for nutsedge) then they followed the same pattern as the fall with re-spraying. In total, instead of the 4 sprays we paid for, we got 8. And only one of them contained their "special chemical" and that was the initial spraying. Needless to say I still had nutsedge.

I kept calling them and telling them to stop coming and spraying we wanted our service cancelled. We only wanted the 4 sprays. They kept showing up and spraying the lawn. Everytime I came home and saw one of their flags in our lawn I would be so angry. I was getting angrier and angrier everytime. I called at least three or four times and told them to cancel our account and take us out of their system. But everyday they called and tried to sell us more service. Even including termite control. I told them "why would I want to continue being a customer when they didn't do what they were paid to initially?" They asked what I meant and I told them they were hired to treat the nutsedge and had only done so once. So the next day I come home from work and they had sprayed again and there on the invoice the "special chemical" was listed. Now I never asked them to come and spray again, I had specifically told them to never step foot on my property again and to quit calling me. I was absolutely livid. I called to complain and told them for the umpteenth time to quit coming to my house and to tak me out of their system and to leave us alone. I must admit I lost my composure and was not very nice to the person that took my call, but I had had about all I could take. After all of that they actually sent me a bill for the application!

The next day I came home from work and there was another Tru Green flag in my lawn. I was so mad I thought my head was going to explode! I was just about to call and complain when my phone rings and Chem Lawn is on the other end telling me that because I was so unhappy and had complained they came out and gave us a complimentary spray (with the special nutsedge chemical) and were hoping that we would sign up with them again. The next day my lawn was dead. And I mean it literally died overnight.

Do you think maybe it was because they sprayed it about 4 times in two weeks? Or maybe it was because the last couple of sprays they applied were when it was 95 degrees out? But everywhere we had the nutsedge problem, the grass is dead. I know nutsedge doesn't kill grass. It's just a weed. So then I receive a letter from the Region Vice President saying he's sorry he lost our business but if there's anything he can do to get it back to call him. Of course there's no phone number on the letter. So I call the District Manager and he sends the area manager out to look at our lawn. And he's trying to tell me that its grubs that killed my lawn. Now I had just refused their grub service the previous week. Coincidence?

Then he tries to pull back the lawn to show us a grub and of course there's none there, so he keeps doing it until he finds this teeny tiny bug about the size of a pin head and tries to tell us that this teeny tiny bug is why our lawn is dead (but amazingly only in the areas they sprayed for nutsedge). I told them I wasn't an idiot and not to treat me like one.

He says that Tru Green is not at fault. I told him they are. He asks what I would like him to do about it and I say I'd like them to replace my lawn. He says they'll come out and re-seed my lawn. I tell him I spent $7, 000 putting in new sod and I'd like him to replace it with sod. If I had seeded my lawn initially, then I'd expect seed. But since they killed my sodded lawn, I expect them to replace the sod. He tries to tell me it takes at least 5 years for a sod lawn to establish itself. Which is not true and even it were, what difference does that make? Then he wants to take a soil sample. Because if our soil is bad, it's not their fault. He says our area is full of a lot of clay. I tell him, the thing is when we had our new lawn put in it was because we had a new driveway put in and the new driveway was about 6 inches higher than the old one. So when we got the new sod, we also had to have the entire property regraded. We put in 6 inches of premium top soil along with mushroom compost on the entire property. So don't tell me I have bad soil. I refuse to let him take a soil sample because in my opinion the soil is already altered by their chemicals.

He says he will talk to his bosses and get back to me. He leaves and we close our big double gate leading into our yeard. It has a large metal pole that goes down into the ground about 4 inches to keep it from blowing open and letting our dogs get out of the yard. About 30 minutes later we go to leave the house and my husband goes to open the gate so we can pull out of the driveway and our gate is halfway open. So I'm guessing they trespassed back onto our property and stole their soil sample. I've been calling the guy for two days and he's not calling me back. I will not give up until they give me a new lawn. I'm not expecting them to pay for the whole lawn, I do think they SHOULD pay for the whole thing, but I'd be happy to get half the money out of them.

NO ONE SHOULD EVER USE TRU GREEN. They are crooked, deceitful and in my opinion they don't actually listen to their customers.

L
L
Laville & Tiffany
Ellenwood, US
Sep 27, 2010 6:04 pm EDT
Verified customer This complaint was posted by a verified customer. Learn more

TruGreen is a terrible company and they lie! They make all kinds of promises to get you to take their services but deliver on nothing! I had very specific instructions noted on my account and they were completely ignored by the person that actually came out and serviced the lawn. I asked to be notified before they came so that I could be home and if my son had not seen them outside I never would have known they were they.

In the two or three minutes it took to put on clothes they were done and driving away before I could come out the door.

OMG...the billing issues and the poor customer service also proved to be a deal breaker for me. They changed management and now refuse to honor what previous management agreed to. All I can say is if you want burned grass, poor customer service and numerous billing mistakes then TruGreen is the company for you.

E
E
ex trugreen employee
US
May 17, 2011 9:09 am EDT

I used to work for Trugreen and Scotts. They may be the big dogs in lawn care but let me tell you this. You are a sucker if you have them as your lawn care company. I had ten years experience with them before I started my own company. Yes they do know the right way to train you how to properly apply chemicals to a lawn but does it get done majority of the time? Absolutely not! But why? Because the technicians have daily and weekly goals in revenue they must bring in or else they are working Saturday. The goals are set so high that the techs average doing around 25-30 lawns a day. You are paid as a tech such a low base salary that you get paid on commission. So the more lawns you knock out the more money you make right? Well not exactly. the commission goals are set so high, for example my commission started after I brought in $5775.00 for the week, and after I hit that number, i made 7% of anything over that. Now check this out. They do this stupid thing called Chinese overtime or Ag time, where you make half time instead of time and a half over 40 hours in that work week. Now with all that being said, do you think you are really a valued customer like these companies say you are? You are just a number to these companies. They really do not care if you cancel their service because they will just do the one and only thing they do best, especially Trugreen. Lose a customer, find a customer. They are good in marketing and sales and horrible at production. Communication with Trugreen and Scotts is a nightmare. You never know if your regular tech will be servicing your lawn or jim bob, or billy bob, or joe bob. If its not your regular tech, I would watch them closely because they don't usually care about short changing customers as long as they are in some other tech's area. Trugreen and Scotts will do services to your lawn which will create more problems for you to fix. I know someone is smiling right now reading this. For example: In the midwest we often have hot, dry, humid summers. Now there can be contributing factors as to why your lawn has a fungus. Just a few that you as customers need to know about is that they will put down a lot of nitrogen to your lawn in the spring to where your lawn greens up fast & looks great... but this is NOT good for your lawn & will actually cause a fungus, which then Trugreen & Scotts get to come service & charge you more fees! Nice trick!

If you actually want the services you pay for & a healthy thriving lawn... then go find your local mom & pop lawn service company! They will treat you & your lawn right!

S
S
saddenedcustomer
Enid, US
Apr 15, 2012 9:37 am EDT

I would like to say, All companies, and customers have their ups and down. First of all, if you sign a contract for a service, the service should be carried out. If the contract is breached then, the customer has a right to "fire" the company. In 2009, I had a few sticker weeds, and a few dandelions, of which I thought since I have my own business, and didn't have the time, that I would have a company spray, since they basically just carried on and on about how they used such wonderful products, and had great techs etc.. They were wrong, In 2009, the first time the tech was suppose to be here, he never showed, he then came by the next day, stayed in his truck, filled some paperwork out, stuck a sign on my yard then left a printout, and left. No chemical, not even a walk around. Then I called immediately, and made them come back out, at which, then he put so much on that immediately I saw the grass start to wilt right in front of my eyes. Everytime was the same thing, they would overspray, killed a bunch of my prize roses, and never really did a check over, for fungus, bare spots, or improperly spray areas to avoid.

Then it continued for awhile, before one day, I noticed that my front yard was turning into just dirt, same in my backyard. Supposedly, from what the stillwater, ok manager , which considering he had come from texas to help out, was so sad for the poor guy. He said my yard was the worst he had seen in all the years he had worked for trugreen. He took pictures and even showed the OKC manager, who agreed, to try to make it right. He then informed me they fired all the Enid, OK techs, because they werent doing their job, destroyed numerous yards, and was not a good performing office. After about 5 months he got a promotion and went back to texas. Then another guy, took over as the manager in stillwater. He told me they would doublegrass seed, aerate, and lay dirt to even out the backyard, which was totalled, and also the front yard, which was an erosion nightmare. So instead of what he said they would do, In late November of 2011, after prolonging what he said they were promising to do. he had a tech come lay some sort of winter grass seed, aerate, and NO dirt. So basically they seeded for no reason. You cant seed if there is no dirt to hold in the seed. So for almost 3 years they have said they were going to fix the problem. Not only do I have NO grass, but they have caused such bad soil erosion, that both my privacy fences are now coming out, because the run off, and now cant get into my storm cellar without drowning in 4 feet of water, because of the ground not level, or even close to where it once was. Also now I have every weed on the face of the earth in my backyard, since now there is only dirt in my backyard. My front yard is a homeowners liability risk, because now if someone walks on my front yard, they will break a ankle/leg, from all the dips and valleys that they caused by destroying my yard, and they shouldve leveled the yard out the first time, not after trying to seed two years in a row, for nothing to seem to take. All Im asking for is to put it back to where it was before you touched it. I spent all easter day 4 1/2 hours trying to mow, of which afterwards spent another 1 hour crying, because it was so hard just trying to mow, let alone not break my leg doing so. I'm now consulting with an attorney to try to get this resolved. I fired Trugreen last week, and this is the first time I have felt at peace with my decision, since the first time they messed with me, in not spraying, and overspraying. Actions speak louder than words. I'm now forced to not let my kids in the backyard to play, because the ground is eroded so much that its a risk going back there, not to mention the front yard. Unfortunately this company knows to sue them, the average person would have to come up with 2500.00 just to retain an attorney, then another 200.00 an hour thereafter to continue the suit. So of course they win either way, they got our money, and if they screw up there's no recourse. I will tell everyone and anyone to NEVER hire, or have trugreen treat their yard. There is atleast 3 neighbors in my area that have fired them for the same reasons. If anyone in Enid, Oklahoma has had any problems, maybe we should all get together and file a suit together, might be better able to afford it then, cause otherwise they have won.

C
C
Customer in Albany NY
Albany, US
Jul 10, 2012 4:51 am EDT
Verified customer This complaint was posted by a verified customer. Learn more

I used TG lawn and tree/shrub (Albany, NY) services for many years, but cancelled this year due to poor service... and the Horticulture mgr, Andy, in particular. Most of the complaints above are accurate. I've had both kinds of techs, i.e, the ones that do a good job and the ones that spend 3 minutes placing flags then race off to their next appt. It's best if you can be home during applications. And if you have a problem, TG's automated phone and 48-call service is a complete joke. It's rare to actually speak with someone in the local office, or get a return phone call (or a service call). They are built for volume, and the quality of their techs seems to be hit or miss, which, ultimately, rests on poor management. If you use TG, be direct (forceful if necessary) and be home when they do applications. Good luck!

Y
Y
Your AdviceR
US
Aug 22, 2014 1:43 pm EDT

I understand... All of the TruGreen Employees are told to spray lawns regardless if the
customer wants to cancel or not. This information and customer's demands
are on the notes on their handhelds for the day. Regardless,
technicians are told that it is up to management not to add them to
their schedule for the day. Meaning, technicians have to spray YOUR LAWN
no matter what you say to keep their jobs. FYI... there is even a
incentive to make sure you do not skip a yard on your schedule for the
week. You get to have a special lunch with a manager or you get a bonus
at the end of the month. I have even seen people getting billed
crazy prices! BTW if you pay 49.99 a month for over 6000 sq-ft than
you are doing something extra special. and for all of those customers
paying more... Maybe you are not ;) And I have even seen customers
getting charged over $$$ for yards smaller than 2000 sq-ft... Makes no
sense does it?! BTW these people (customers) get the same spray from
the same hose! They only give them one tank of the day! You get two
choices pull the trigger full or half way. LOL But the spray unites to
make the same ingredients. No one is getting anything special. If
you want to know if they are doing their job... If the man puts on a
back pack and really goes after your weeds or if the man uses a dry
spreader (that is a pushed and walked spreading tiny granules on to your
lawn). The rest is chemicals and if it smells bad it means you have the
first spray of the day and it was left over and no good. Or they have a bad mixture! Smells
like ammonia and an empty wallet because now you have to be prepared to
have to pay for new sod. Don't be mad at technicians... LOL What a crock of ^$%@ The
technicians know not to spray if the chemicals are bad. They know how
to not burn your lawn and over spraying will. They know how to get the
company to lose customers by not spraying and just putting a work order
on the door. The thing is... Don't hate your NEW technician! One maybe
better than the rest. If you know of a happy customer (a friend or
family member who suckered you into buying the service) request their
technician to treat your lawn because it is evident that your technician
is a loser. And all other technicians make up for the losers of the
company (I promise you that)! So if you want good service... Watch your technician. If you want to cancel... Hire a lawyer! Good Luck!

G
G
GH315
US
Apr 23, 2016 5:29 pm EDT

First year I used TruGreen my lawn looked awesome... no weeds, it was lush and green. This year not so much. My lawn care guy asked if someone cut our grass? We were like no, we thought you did. He said our grass is not growing. I have been noticing that the grass was a little brown in some spots... but since I had such a good experience with them last year I just figured it would come around.

As far as the telemarketing... simple solution. They kept calling trying to sell additional services. I told them, I was happy with just whatever they were doing and that was it, but if they called me again that I was going to cancel the service I was getting. I have not heard back from them since.

J
J
Jean Ling
Newark, US
Jul 29, 2016 5:30 am EDT
Verified customer This complaint was posted by a verified customer. Learn more

They have a very bad lawn service. They will change their service schedule anytime without any notice. Before their service I don't have any chance talk to their specialist, even I called them several times and tried to meet them before their lawn service. It is so difficult to communicate with them. I really don't know what is their problem to meet and discuss their service with customer. I will stop their lawn service and get the refund back. Never sign a contract with Trugreen Company!

B
B
Barbeq4
Raymore, US
Jul 29, 2016 5:43 am EDT

I noticed I was overcharged by Trugreen for the previous year while reviewing my credit card charges for filing taxes. I noticed two large amounts, for the same amount on two successive days. I also noticed from my tax file records, I had paid another large amount apparently by check for the same year! I called over five times, and each time the customer representative told me they would 'escalate' the call and someone would call me back. No one has called back and I'm still waiting… I will never plan on using this company again! And, according to all of the Internet complaints, most people are totally dissatisfied with their slipshod service and horrible customer service!

  1. TruGreen Contacts

  2. TruGreen phone numbers
    +1 (800) 464-0171
    +1 (800) 464-0171
    Click up if you have successfully reached TruGreen by calling +1 (800) 464-0171 phone number 0 0 users reported that they have successfully reached TruGreen by calling +1 (800) 464-0171 phone number Click down if you have unsuccessfully reached TruGreen by calling +1 (800) 464-0171 phone number 0 0 users reported that they have UNsuccessfully reached TruGreen by calling +1 (800) 464-0171 phone number
    New Service
    +1 (800) 458-4186
    +1 (800) 458-4186
    Click up if you have successfully reached TruGreen by calling +1 (800) 458-4186 phone number 0 0 users reported that they have successfully reached TruGreen by calling +1 (800) 458-4186 phone number Click down if you have unsuccessfully reached TruGreen by calling +1 (800) 458-4186 phone number 0 0 users reported that they have UNsuccessfully reached TruGreen by calling +1 (800) 458-4186 phone number
    Customer Service
    +1 (401) 732-6883
    +1 (401) 732-6883
    Click up if you have successfully reached TruGreen by calling +1 (401) 732-6883 phone number 0 0 users reported that they have successfully reached TruGreen by calling +1 (401) 732-6883 phone number Click down if you have unsuccessfully reached TruGreen by calling +1 (401) 732-6883 phone number 0 0 users reported that they have UNsuccessfully reached TruGreen by calling +1 (401) 732-6883 phone number
    Head Office
    +1 (844) 567-9909
    +1 (844) 567-9909
    Click up if you have successfully reached TruGreen by calling +1 (844) 567-9909 phone number 1 1 users reported that they have successfully reached TruGreen by calling +1 (844) 567-9909 phone number Click down if you have unsuccessfully reached TruGreen by calling +1 (844) 567-9909 phone number 0 0 users reported that they have UNsuccessfully reached TruGreen by calling +1 (844) 567-9909 phone number
    More phone numbers
  3. TruGreen emails
  4. TruGreen address
    860 Ridge Lake Boulevard, Memphis, Tennessee, 38120, United States
  5. TruGreen social media
  6. Rachel
    Checked and verified by Rachel This contact information is personally checked and verified by the ComplaintsBoard representative. Learn more
    Dec 02, 2024
  7. View all TruGreen contacts
TruGreen Category
TruGreen is ranked 2 among 26 companies in the Lawn Mowers category