Recommendations for landscaping companies
- Thread starter akap
- Start date
NEW -> Contingent Buyer Assistance Program
Micro manage him...I tried to not be the owner that harassed him on every little detail, and ended up having to have them redo the pavers. Basically his day laborers aka the Mexicans make bad judgement calls, and did some extremely shotty work. There were a lot of little mistakes his crew made and in the end it looks decent but not great. If you nit pick everything to make sure you get what you want exactly you could be extremely happy.
He will finish the job...he's not an a-hole like that, but if you're not a big budget landscaping job, he'll lag to no end. My 2 week job took 2.5 months. Drove me insane...but he never gave me the impression he was going to run off.
That's the sad part. All I had done are antique cobble pavers and my 2 feet along the wall that HOA requires. But after initial debacle his crew made, we had to pull everything up and re-lay the pavers down. Forgot putting the weed block under the pavers, I started in mid Oct, during Thanksgiving and X-mas break they disappeared on me. for about 2 weeks each. Picked the wrong plants that I asked for. I called Mahe with each error and he corrected it, but if I just micro managed them in the beginning I could have saved myself time and headache.
Don't get me wrong, Mahe and Sam are super nice guys...and they will fix the problem. They won't run out on you, or try to cheat you. But Sam isn't the greatest project manager, and Mahe isn't always around.
Yes, you are right. I never got the impression that Mahe will walk away and rip me off. My problem really is the same as yours. I feel I have to micromanage every step of the way to make sure it is moving along. I have no doubt that our landscaping will turn out great because of the development I am seeing. Mahe promised me end of the month it will be done. We'll see.
FYI - when I signed the contract, it wasn't Aloha Landscaping on the contract. It was just Mahe's name.
I think that distinction should be made because the unhappy reviews of Aloha Landscape may reflect on Aloha Pavers.
Or Aloha Hawaiian BBQ in The District.
i would say the main thing to look out for is grading to make sure the water runs away from the property. you can just take a level. if its not visible to the eyey, i recommend taking a level (the three foot one) and make sure the grading is right. for pavers some use the weed cover, some dont, in theory the polymeric sand they use should not let the weeds through but we will see. Go pavers didnt use the weed cover, mahe @ aloha is a believer of the weed cover. the good thing with pavers is they do screw something up its easy to fix, with concrete not so much.
I feel the stories here go in line with my initial feeling on Mahe...really good guy and will do whatever you want but doesn't really to be really interested in the job. As I stated above, he was nice and personable but didn't really provide any suggestions or tips on what could be done. Spreading yourself too thin really slights your existing customers and show a lack of commitment.
Same thing...the carbon copy contract with his name. All the checks are paid directly to Sam or Mahe. Felt a little weird at first but he came through.
Issue from Aloha Landscaping...like Qwerty said grading. They put too much slope towards the drain and it's pretty visible. The drain is in a key location where you would put a patio chair around the table so that causes some issues. It's not horrible, just annoying. They forgot the weed block underneath the sand so they just threw it on top in between the sand and the pavers which is annoying.
The BIG issue was that the day laborers made some horrible cuts on the pavers and just shoved crooked pieces in to make it fit. Sam tried to sell it as just the way it is, Mahe came and said ok I see the problem and had the A crew come and redo it. B crew moved on to do other stuff. That took an extra 2-3 weeks to get them to do that.
I guess I could be partially to blame because I should have went outside everyday and made sure things looked right and bitched and moaned more when I saw things that were off. But I just trusted that they would come and fix it, and not try to shove the square peg in the round hole.
Lesson learned, your landscaper is only as good as their day laborer.
RCV said:
Micro manage him...I tried to not be the owner that harassed him on every little detail, and ended up having to have them redo the pavers. Basically his day laborers aka the Mexicans make bad judgement calls, and did some extremely shotty work. There were a lot of little mistakes his crew made and in the end it looks decent but not great. If you nit pick everything to make sure you get what you want exactly you could be extremely happy.
RCV said:
He will finish the job...he's not an a-hole like that, but if you're not a big budget landscaping job, he'll lag to no end. My 2 week job took 2.5 months. Drove me insane...but he never gave me the impression he was going to run off.
eyephone said:
That's the sad part. All I had done are antique cobble pavers and my 2 feet along the wall that HOA requires. But after initial debacle his crew made, we had to pull everything up and re-lay the pavers down. Forgot putting the weed block under the pavers, I started in mid Oct, during Thanksgiving and X-mas break they disappeared on me. for about 2 weeks each. Picked the wrong plants that I asked for. I called Mahe with each error and he corrected it, but if I just micro managed them in the beginning I could have saved myself time and headache.
Don't get me wrong, Mahe and Sam are super nice guys...and they will fix the problem. They won't run out on you, or try to cheat you. But Sam isn't the greatest project manager, and Mahe isn't always around.
irvinehomeowner
Well-known member
Is Aloha Landscaping the same as Aloha Pavers?
Yes... I don't want to search.
Yes... I don't want to search.
broda said:
Yes, you are right. I never got the impression that Mahe will walk away and rip me off. My problem really is the same as yours. I feel I have to micromanage every step of the way to make sure it is moving along. I have no doubt that our landscaping will turn out great because of the development I am seeing. Mahe promised me end of the month it will be done. We'll see.
FYI - when I signed the contract, it wasn't Aloha Landscaping on the contract. It was just Mahe's name.
qwerty
Well-known member
It sounds like Mahe and Sam took on to many gigs and are spread way too thin and splitting the weeks at various jobs. When he did my job our community was wrapping up. His crew was all Hawaiian, now sounds like he has some Mexicans working for him as well, wonder if he just picked up day laborers.
irvinehomeowner
Well-known member
Thanks.qwerty said:No they are not the same.irvinehomeowner said:Is Aloha Landscaping the same as Aloha Pavers?
Yes... I don't want to search.
I think that distinction should be made because the unhappy reviews of Aloha Landscape may reflect on Aloha Pavers.
Or Aloha Hawaiian BBQ in The District.
qwerty
Well-known member
mms2020 said:
i would say the main thing to look out for is grading to make sure the water runs away from the property. you can just take a level. if its not visible to the eyey, i recommend taking a level (the three foot one) and make sure the grading is right. for pavers some use the weed cover, some dont, in theory the polymeric sand they use should not let the weeds through but we will see. Go pavers didnt use the weed cover, mahe @ aloha is a believer of the weed cover. the good thing with pavers is they do screw something up its easy to fix, with concrete not so much.
Irvinecommuter
New member
eyephone said:RCV said:
You might be on the 2.5 month plan.
I feel the stories here go in line with my initial feeling on Mahe...really good guy and will do whatever you want but doesn't really to be really interested in the job. As I stated above, he was nice and personable but didn't really provide any suggestions or tips on what could be done. Spreading yourself too thin really slights your existing customers and show a lack of commitment.
RCV said:
Same thing...the carbon copy contract with his name. All the checks are paid directly to Sam or Mahe. Felt a little weird at first but he came through.
Issue from Aloha Landscaping...like Qwerty said grading. They put too much slope towards the drain and it's pretty visible. The drain is in a key location where you would put a patio chair around the table so that causes some issues. It's not horrible, just annoying. They forgot the weed block underneath the sand so they just threw it on top in between the sand and the pavers which is annoying.
The BIG issue was that the day laborers made some horrible cuts on the pavers and just shoved crooked pieces in to make it fit. Sam tried to sell it as just the way it is, Mahe came and said ok I see the problem and had the A crew come and redo it. B crew moved on to do other stuff. That took an extra 2-3 weeks to get them to do that.
I guess I could be partially to blame because I should have went outside everyday and made sure things looked right and bitched and moaned more when I saw things that were off. But I just trusted that they would come and fix it, and not try to shove the square peg in the round hole.
Lesson learned, your landscaper is only as good as their day laborer.