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TruGreen Chemlawn

TruGreen ChemLawn • New Jersey Sues TruGreen Chemlawn --- Consumer Complaints • Too Much Service • Not Enough Service • Pricing • Happy Insider • Unhappy Ex-Insider --- • What You Can Do

A part of the ServiceMaster empire, TruGreen Chemlawn proclaims that it "will give your lawn the nutrients it needs to produce a thicker, greener carpet of grass." Maybe so, but we hear from many consumers who would give anything to stop TruGreen from showing up again. Then there are those who would like a little more service rather than much less.

A brief sample of representative complaints is below; for more, click on any of the cateogories to the right.

Charles of Puyallup, WA August 3, 2009

this is the second, AND FINAL, time we have used TruGreen. The first time was a long-term treatment plan of about 12 months. For the most part, it kept the esisting grass very green (no dispute there). However, it never managed to rid our lawn of the moss...but it sure was green! We had field supervisors and technicians back several times and always got a "yep, still havent been able to get rid of moss"...how bout another 100 for this or continue your 60 monthly treatment for that.

This most recent occassion was a matter of convenience when I left for Iraq. In an effort to help my wife with the yard, she ordered it again. Well, again she is not satisfied and cancelled after 5 treatments. Well the customer service person was very emphatic that she wanted to help resolve the issue, but that was limited to words, NOT ACTION. Here's a clue TrueGreen, customers vote with their feet and wallets. In these economic times, customers need to feel they are receiving a good value; a decent product at a fair price. As a matter of convenience, I was more than willing to pay 50+ per month for a postage stamp sized yard to help out my wife, but NEVER again will you have my business. I will tell as many friends and family as I can what an over-priced sham your service appears to be from my perspective.

Donna of Leesburg, FL July 31, 2009

I have been a customer of Trugreen since 2005-the year my lawn got sodded. I have had trugreen out every six weeks since. The last year the service has gotten progressively worse-to the point of my lawn receiving some extensive damage. I have dealt with the service people by phone numerous times and at one point they brought me some trays of plugs (different grass). My son in law worked all weekend digging out cinch bug infested areas. After numerous problems and no help from the local office I have finally called another company.

My lawn, it turns out, is infested with chinch bugs, sod web worms, and has a variety of weeds including yellow and purple nutsage, pursley, spurge, etc. I will need to sod half my lawn since the damage is so extensive. I am going to court for damages as well as calling the local TV channel action reporter. Promises to respray and resod have not materialized.

david of louisville, KY July 27, 2009

if i get one more phone call after 9pm i am going to get a lawyer and file a complaint to the fcc

Barbara of Williams Bay, WI July 19, 2009

This is not a complaint against your employee.... He is very nice & understands that we need some help with garden weeds as well. I have talked with Dave telling him I am upset about all of the extra treatments that your company has put us on. We live on our S.S. and with all the prices going up - we CAN NOT keep up with any extra service.

We started out years ago, with (3) treatments a year for the grass and weeds.(I guess WEEDS) mean only the ones in grass. I think that we would like the change our treatment from weeds in the grass to weeds along bushs, (front & back) and in the flower beds for awhile. As your employee can tell you I have had 4 major surgeries in the 2 years and I can not go out to spray the weeds that are 2 feet tall in the back garden, which was at one time a couple of years ago = Lawn. I think by doing this and killing the weeds around the house, we would not have so many growing on the edges of the lawn.

Then 3 yrs. ago,the village said that we had to buy 3 trees/baby bushes, so the bugs at certain times need bug spray (2), plus a shot(1) of fertilizer. Those should be the only treatments for trees & bushes. We never asked for the lawn to be sprayed for bugs etc. and yet we now get sprayed for that also. Yet, the ants are still nesting and I have to go out and kill them. So it looks like the extra charges for bugs is just to spend money, which we do not have. NO MORE BUG TREATMENTS on the lawn please. Dave is very kind, but he has to do what he is told. So I am telling you - you must cut back on all the treatments, unless you do what I said about alternating the weed spraying to ALL the weeds and stop the grass weeds for the rest of the year or unless I call you back and schedule a weed treatment on the lawn. One good shot of the weed killer on the surrounding house weeds should be enough for me to get a head start on eliminating that mess, when my doctor gives me the O.K.

So I think that we have to rethink our strategy on our lawn/garden care, so we can feel that we have what we need & receive a fair treatment. I have been with Barefoot Grass before you merged and became TruGreen, so I had to have started in about 1987 at my address. I was always happy with the # of lawn nourishment treatments and costs, but there are just too many and too costly now. The grass looks good, but those weeds are bad.

Beth of Fort Collins, CO July 15, 2009

We cancelled the service, we were told it was cancelled, he came anyway. He was only able to do the front yard, we are on a budget plan, 1 time in the spring - He did 2 -? They charged us 136.00, we called and agreed to 48.00 total for both applications to be fair to them. I noted last and final payment on my check - they cashed it - now they want more money! They are constantly calling us at home and on our cell phones. Laura lies when talking to us seperately about what the other has said to get us to agree to pay more - for something we didn't want, cancelled and it was their mistake.

Ole of Belmont, MA July 15, 2009

TrueGreen ruined lawn and kept coming back on our property for work (with invoices) despite cancellation of service! Last fall we were enticed by advertisements to participate in Trugreen's lawn service. They put lime and fertilizer into the lawn late in the fall, and this did not work so well -- by spring the lawn was in terrible condition compared to similar winters and other treatments we had carried out. I cancelled the service by phone and by mail. I kept getting calls in early winter, and reminded TrueGreen of my cancellation (and lack of interest!) not once but 3 more times in calls from their insistent "calling-team".

Imagine our surprise when in the middle of the summer, without notification, our lawn gets extensive "lime treatment and fertilizer" -- and an Invoice for services for payment. I called the customer service department, to complain and have them stop -- and frankly, got a rather terse "who did you speak to 10 months ago to cancel? what was your cancel order number", which is a way to challenge the customer rather than showing real concern of a very inappropriate business operation. Eventually, without a real apology -- the charge was obviously cancelled. The evidence of the poor performance of TruGreen's work, and that so many people write of their trouble and wish to stop their service, should be known to to to unsuspecting lawn-owners and others

Michael of Chapin, SC July 11, 2009

TruGreen - second year with them and my lawn has not improved. Crab grass and bare spots exist as they did 3 years ago.

Jena of willow grove, PA July 10, 2009

The Funny thing about TruGreen is that most customers dont have a full understanding of the service. I've been working for Trugreen for 2 years. I see alot of complaints on here . I dont think that customers understand that different weeds come up with each season changes, i no its differnt for people in other areas but i work right outside of philadelphia.

when i first started with the service at the end of the season we got alot of calls about lawns being thin and not looking to good but think about it if you start in march and after about 4 apps you see some thin and bare spots where the weeds used to be, well new grass cant grow where there is no seed, so you may have to seed. also the reasons some lawns turn brown is b/c you have to water the lawn, just like the bags say at home depot you have to water the product in for the best results. and there are proper ways to water a lawn! You should always water in the morning bc the sun will soak up teh extra water c watering at night when the extra cant be soaked up can cause fungus.

there is also a proper way to cut the grass, on the highest setting with a sharp blade, if you cut it to short it exposes teh base of the plant and on a hot enough day it will burn out the base which causes it to be brown. I saw a complaint about the grub serivce, yes it is expensive but the grubs eat the product instead of the roots of teh grass and it suffocates them. i also saw a something about zoysia grass, did you no that in order for zoysia to be green the soil needs to maintain 65 degrees or warmer. also when it gets to hot for any type of grass the lawn goes dormant to protect itself.

I feel bad for the customers who have gotten bad service or have been mislead by sales reps, but i work as a sales auditor with the company, im that annoying confirmation call that our customers have to do. I no with in my branch i personally try to work and answers questions the best i can, i no you are all thinking that im just defending the company bc i work there but belive me i dont agree with everything that my company does but thats why i switched my job so that i can be sure all the customers i talk with understand, we are your partner in lawncare.

and i no that we do have some rude people that work for us but hopefully they will all be fired. seriously folks, call your local branch and dont be afraid to ask questions, we are there to help, not everyone in the company is a horrid slimy person, some of us do care!

Greg of Round Lake Beach, IL July 10, 2009

On 7/1/2008 we were billed for service that we never recieved. After complaining that the service person did not leave anything (flags or invoice) so we would know he was there, the service person apologized for billing us for service he didn't perform. We are not interested in dealing with a company that bills us for service we don't recieve so we were going to cancel service at this time, but the person we spoke with talked us into completing the rest of the summer applications by giving us a free application. It was our understanding that the service would be cancelled at the end of the contracted summer applications.

In addition, in the fall of 2008, we received a call asking if we wanted additional fall service. My wife told them we were not interested and we wanted to cancel the service. On 4/14/2009, we were surprised to find that the lawn had been aerated and we were being billed for 83.00. Trugreen says they have no record of us cancelling the service and will not acknowledge it. We have paid the 83.00 to avoid having it go to a collection agency, but we do not believe we should be responsible for this.

robert of evans, GA July 3, 2009

I tried tru green for 2 years when i was at my other house. I just resooded my lawn with zoysia. so i wanted to look the best. so they came out as i was told. after the second application my grass started dying out. since im new to this. they said give it time it will green out. well i did. well after 2 or 3 more apps. nothing. weeds started to still come out. and they told me they will stop weeds. grass still browning... Come to find out they over did it a burnt my grass. Will never do buisness with them again. Do not recommend..,..,

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