Warranty on sod? Irrigation?

[cmacsauto]

Hi again, glad I found this site, you guys have been loads of help. I am running into an issue with a client that I spoke about earlier on this site. He did finally pay, and I had made him an estimate for sod & irrigation as well. I have recieved an email with requests that seem a bit ridiculous to me and I wanted to see what you all thought. Client is asking for: 1) If sections of Sod don’t take in the first 60 days for any reason other than lack of / or too much water than I’d like them replaced at NC. 2) I’d like a 1 year written warranty for parts and workmanship on the irrigation system. Finally, he is asking to pay with $600 in Home Depot gift cards and is asking for reciepts on all items. I am thinking this is a ploy to try and pay less than what was quoted when the reciept shows less than what was paid at the store. Does anyone have any comments on how to respond to this. I am becoming increasingly irritated with him as he wants to meet everytime I send him a new quote, and I am already giving him an extremely good deal on lawn care every other week at two properties** which I don't really want anymore, because he is so nit picky and asking for so much extra that it takes forever to complete. I had expected to have to do alot of work, but am becoming increasingly tired of people thinking that a weekly/ biweekly service is going to magically make their landscape look good when what they need is complete renovation.

[SECTLANDSCAPING]

Lawn care business tips

If he was a reasonable guy I would tell him the warranty is for the sod only not labor. The whole gift card thing and him nitpicking, I would just refuse the work. You already know hes going to find a problem with it.

__________________
South Eastern Connecticut Landscaping /Lawn Care /Pressure Washing /Snow Removal /Gutter Cleaning
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[bruces]

Some customers are just not worth the crap they put you through ,replacing bad sod is kind of standard though ,but if you bought the sod and supplied him with it ,he has no business getting your purchase receipt ,you will need it for your taxes at the end of the year .If your margins on materials are not high ,it might be worth it to you to let him buy the materials himself ,then you dont need to warranty a thing except your labour [which I would tack a premium on ]
If you shop at home depot and you have a use for the cards ,accept them ,if not,tell him you dont shop there so you dont want the cards .I have accepted cards like that before ,and I told the guy "sorry,but I can only give 50% credit on your cards " ,the guy took that because he won the cards at work and never did any handywork in his entire life .
I have no problem giving warranty for my work ,but I write a contract putting proper maintenance and winterizing ,abuse etc back in his hands .

[bruces]

It should also be noted ,you must check the cards before accepting them ,they might have a zero balance but still appear new .

[Sprinkler Buddy]

Most irrigation guys do give a year warranty on new irrigation installation around here.

This guy sounds like he might purposely cause some damage. Lol I would walk away from him altogether as it sounds your gut feeling is telling you to do.

Home depot gift cards??? That's a first! Lol Tell him you only shop at Lowe's.

I would never agree to his sod conditions. He may have some bad soil conditions and you'll be on the hook with this guy for life. Just my 2 cents:-)

[cmacsauto]

I replied back to his email and told him that that type of warranty would not be possible on the sod as there were too many variables that would be out of my control once it had been laid. I am fine with providing warranty on irrigation, but I hopefully made it very clear that only an issue with a truly defective part would be covered and not any type of damage or act of nature whether accidental or not. I also told him that I accepted cash, check, and credit card, and would honor his home depot cards at 50% their value. I just don't know about accepting gift cards that can only be used at home depot when there is a chance I may not be able to get everything there.

BTW, I hate having to turn away work like this as this is my only source of income, but I think I am realizing that these types of people may cause me financial strain not immediately after the job is completed, but on down the road. I am really worried about warranting sod as the last job I did, the sod contained alot of nutsedge, and she is really upset about it, but I think she just understood better when I told her she would have to get it treated and maintain it to get what she was looking for. She can't be that mad because she gave me a sh**load of pavestone retaining wall blocks for free, or maybe she just hated them that much.

Thanks guys, and any other advice is appreciated and will be considered as I am really wanting to get this thing off the ground without having to charge ridiculously low prices and burning my self out.

[SECTLANDSCAPING]

Most sod yards will warranty the sod for a year but it doesnt cover negligence. I just wouldnt cover the labor with that warranty.

[dpld]

i don't know how things are from state to state but sod farms in my area do not guarantee anything because it is a perishable product.
as long as the sod is layed properly and in good health at time of installation the customer is responsible for payment at time of completion.

if the sod was damaged during shipping or installation it would show the effects immediately. i would replace that without question and if a customer calls you within the first couple days or even the first week they might have a arguement but 60 days after the fact is unheard of.

i always tell my clients that any defective pieces of turf will show themselves withing the first few days and to not hestitate to call so we can replace it immediately with some of the extra turf we have.
for the first couple weeks after a sod install i always make a point to drive by and visit the property and see how things are going to thwart off them having to call me and complain. we also include a couple applications after install of bio-stimulants and fert to promote better root growth.
i always order extra and i have the means to lay it all out and store it for a few weeks or until i use it elsewhere.

i don't know about the gift cards, i mean, sure there are things you could get at home depot but do you really need to go on a shopping spree to get your hard earned money?
i would prefer cash myself to do as i wish and not be forced to spend it.
also, they deduct the value on them as time passes so if you have a card from 3 months ago it will be worth less so you really got to use them when you get them.

sounds like the dude does not have all the green to pay you and he wants to rack up some money on his home cheapo card to pay you.
the old rob peter to pay paul method.
or, he stole the gift cards and they were not activated so if you were to consider it they have a phone number to call to tell you how much they are still worth as well as activated.

i am all with you on the not wanting to turn down work, especially in this day and age but this customer sounds like too much of a pain in the arse with too many red flags that will only cause you grief.