Cutters Landscaping

I chose to work with Charlie for a second time, largely because his company presents itself extremely well online. Unfortunately, the quality of the work did not come close to matching the professionalism of the website. My first project with him failed, which I assumed at the time was due to my own soil conditions. After giving him a second chance, I now believe the problems stem from the work itself. What happened: Charlie came to my home, provided a quote (which was on the high side), and I agreed. He told me he could begin the next day. I was scheduled for surgery that morning but trusted him enough not to feel the need to supervise. This turned out to be a major mistake. Major issues with the job: Soil removal/bed preparation was not done as agreed. I specifically hired Cutters to remove about three inches of sandy loam from my beds and replace it with good-quality soil—this was the core of the project. After recovering from surgery, I discovered they removed nothing. Instead, they simply covered the existing sandy loam with about half an inch of equally poor soil. Plant quality and planting method were unacceptable. The plants I ordered were supposed to be installed into the new, improved soil. The plants Charlie/Cutters provided were poor quality, and the planting itself was sloppy. Many were dropped into shallow two-inch holes with dirt mounded around them rather than planted properly. River rock did not match existing rock. I asked for additional river rock that matched the size and color of the rock already in place. What they brought and installed was neither the right size nor the right color, which is clearly visible in the photos. Communication: I emailed Charlie after seeing the results. He did not reply to the first message. After a second message, he said he would “stop by,” but he never showed up and never contacted me again. Aftermath: Because the work was unusable, I personally dug out the bad soil, purchased quality soil from Home Depot, bought new plants, and replanted everything myself. To be transparent, I did reuse a few of the plants that had been dropped in by Cutters. In the end, I’m left feeling that while the website looks impressive, the actual work performed for me fell far below reasonable expectations. For me, this $3,800 job feels like a complete failure.