Top Lawn Services Complaints and How to Avoid Them

A well-maintained, lush lawn is welcoming and improves the overall value of a home. As such, homeowners often turn to professional lawn services for help with building and maintaining their lawns.

However, despite the large number of landscaping and gardening companies to choose from, customers do not always have a positive experience. There are numerous lawn services complaints reported on PissedConsumer.com. 

In this article, we highlight some common consumer issues when dealing with lawn care services described in customer reviews and provide practical tips on how to avoid these pitfalls. 

Key Insights

• The market size of landscaping services reached over $153 billion in 2023. According to Statista, the average spending on gardening and lawn care services in the United States was around $202 per household in 2022. 
• Most common lawn services complaints include incorrect lawn treatment, false promises, unnecessary services, and poor communication among others.
• To avoid lawn service issues, do thorough research, look for consumer insights in online reviews, ask for recommendations from people you trust, and check lawn service companies' certifications and credentials.

Top Lawn Services Complaints 

After analyzing customer reviews on PissedConsumer, we identified the five most common lawn service complaints.

Incorrect Treatment 

One of the most common lawn service issues is incorrect treatment that can cause semi-permanent or permanent damage to the lawn. Potential damage may include burning the grass because of too much fertilizer or weed killer. As a result, a user will get brown patches and stunted growth. 

Using the wrong fertilizer or applying it at the wrong time can also lead to nutrient imbalances and weaken the grass. Incorrect treatment could leave your lawn vulnerable to weeds.

Lawn care depends on various factors and requires special attention, particularly in dry seasons and during drought.

Lawn services reviews on Pissedconsumer.com indicate different forms of incorrect lawn treatments, including over-fertilization, improper mowing techniques, pesticide misuse, use of wrong products, and more. 

For example, in review, #4505223, a homeowner shared their experience on how a fertilization treatment by a lawn service company caused a huge damage to their 30-year-old beautiful grass:

…after fertilization treatments, lawn looked worse and 30 year old beautiful grass died and went to moss.

In another TruGreen review #5608420, the homeowner recounted:

They sprayed my lawn and burned it with herbicide Killed parts of it…

Lack of communication

Clear and consistent communication is essential for maintaining a good relationship between lawn service providers and homeowners. Unfortunately, some complaints indicate that sometimes lawn companies fail to keep customers informed or are unresponsive to customer concerns. In some instances, it is challenging to reach the lawn service companies' customer service representatives.

For example, in review #5640791, the customer described lawn care services, in particular customer service of the company as “extraordinarily bad”:

TruGreen operates at its convenience, not its customers'...Tech visits are scheduled by computer, so it doesn't matter if the time they pick is inconvenient - or how many times you try to reschedule.

False promises 

To secure new clients, some lawn service providers can make unrealistic promises that only cause customers to be frustrated when they do not see any improvements with the specific treatments. In some cases, the treatments lead to the deterioration of the garden. 

If a company pledges instant results of having a dense green lawn, it may be a red flag of false promise, as growing a lawn needs time and effort, especially if it is in poor conditions. 

For example, in review #4091580, the customer expressed their frustration with a lawn service provider for making false promises. It recommended a specific treatment plan and promised the customer that their garden would look much better in a few months. However, the garden ended up looking ten times worse than it initially was:

I was sold/ guaranteed something that couldnt be delivered. After looking at photos of our lawn I was told no problem give us a few months. 5/6 months later, it looks 10 times worse.

Unnecessary services and treatment 

In some cases, lawn care providers recommend unnecessary lawn services and treatments to make more money. The unnecessary treatments not only cost the homeowner more but can also damage the lawn. For example, unnecessary use of pesticides and fertilizers can weaken or burn the grass.

One frustrated customer in review #3752534 described their experience as “horrible service,” explaining it as follows: 

I will keep it simple, they burned out my lawn over a month ago with a product that was never requested to be put down.

Fails to arrive

Another primary concern for homeowners is when lawn service providers fail to show up for scheduled appointments and do not communicate about it. Yet, it seems to be a common issue.

For example, in review #5844273, the customer expressed their frustration with Lawn Love as 

no one came and did our lawn today we were supposed to have our lawn mowed and our hedges.

How to Avoid Lawn Service Issues

The key to avoiding these common issues with lawn services is hiring a provider who will not let you down and fulfill their promise. Thus, the question arises: How can you find such a company and avoid lawn service issues? Here are some tips.

Do some research. Homeowners should do their due diligence to identify and hire highly reputable lawn care companies. As part of your research process, read online feedback. Pay attention to both positive and negative law services reviews. Be cautious about companies with a low rating and numerous negative reviews.

Ask for recommendations. Consider asking for recommendations from friends, families, and neighbors who have used lawn services before. 

Check the lawn service companies' credentials and certifications. To ensure that companies meet professional standards and are adequately skilled and experienced with proper lawn care practices, ask for their certificates, licensing, and other documents that can prove their professionalism.

Beware of Unrealistic Promises. Be wary of lawn service providers that guarantee instant greening or complete weed eradication. Also, remember that each lawn is unique, and you need a customized approach based on your lawn's condition, not a generic plan that suits all lawns. 

Enjoy Your Lawn Services

Building and maintaining a beautiful and healthy lawn is not just a dream. It requires hard work and time. Before choosing a company that you will entrust your front or back yard, be aware of common lawn services complaints and do your research. 

What has been your experience with lawn care companies? Share your consumer insights and opinions with other customers. You may leave a review on Pissedcosumer.com or comment below.