by Steve N.
This was my first experience with Weed Man, fortunately it will be my last. In order to get my business they made a bold statement saying that they could care for my lawn better then I could. After calling them several times to deal with the increase in weeds, they came and applied another control chemical. This did not work, I called several more times and could not getting anything done about the problem. After having an employee ring the door bell wondering if Weedman could be employed to help with my weed infestation I indicated to him that they currently were. He was shocked and filled out a form for them to drop by and manually pull the weeds. This never happened, they kept delaying until cooler weather when they could apply chemical. My lawn has been in the worst condition it has ever been in and I will NEVER use weedman again.
John Boni says...
Green Lawn is much, much worse!!!!! They burned my brand new lawn, admitted to it, said they would fix it ….. in the fall. Then the fall came and they did nothing!!!!! I had to replace my lawn as a result.
BeeBee says...
Mr. Green is also a worse one. At first, they told you the first service was totally free that let you try their services (I thought, it’s free why not), if you believed them and let them finished the first service. They will asked you money because you should pay the package price first, then you will have a free service. Second, Mr. Green kept calling for the money. You know what, I’m tired for this game!!!!
Gerry says...
Call a locally based lawn company. Cheaper is not always the best. Buy quality.
Marylou says...
to find a great lawn care company in your area ask neighbours for referrals
Cynthia says...
People need to start realizing that applying pesticides to your lawn is only going to make it worse. Not only is it horrible for the environment, it’s very unsafe if you have children or pets. Weeds grow because of specific problems in your soil. I suggest asking for low impact pesticides to be applied instead of the traditional strong chemicals they like to use. The don’t like applying the low impact stuff because they have to come and apply it more often, but you’ll be treating the problem and not just poisoning everything. Good luck everyone!
Lawn Man says...
^^^^ Hello and welcome to last week. Pesticides are banned in Ontario. And weeds grown because of bare areas in your lawn. Not specific problems in your soil. And the comment of applying pesticides on your lawn is going to make it worse is retarded. Where do you gus come up with this stuff? But I would expect nothing less.
Thank you again for proving how much anti-pesticide people are ignorant. You guys get your way and have pesticides banned, even wtih all the scientific proof, proving that there is nothing worng with radintional pesticdes if handled and applied with care (aka a professional). Yet you are too out to lunch they have been banned since April, and you make a comment about asking them to use low impact pesticides.
Garden Lady says...
Weedman is horrible. Here’s my experiences:
(1) Spring Aeration: Booked early and prepaid for service in February. Didn’t call to say they were coming (now April), so we didn’t know to pick up kid’s toys. They aerated over them! All these toys with aeration holes in them!
(2) Top Dress & Overseed: Again, booked early and prepaid for service in February. Again didn’t call to say they were coming (now May). Didn’t know, wasn’t in town and as a result seed didn’t get watered! A complete waste of money.
(3) Fall Aeration: Booked early and prepaid service in September (for October service). They came and this time they didn’t aerate over toys. However, in February of the following year they start sending me overdue notices! And even though I gave them the posting date and amount, they were unwilling to revisit their files. Had to get the Better Business Bureau involved to resolve the issue!!
Moral of the story: NEVER use Weedman!
Garden Lady says...
Weedman is horrible. Here are my experiences:
(1) Spring Aeration: Booked early and prepaid for service in February. Didn’t call to say they were coming (now April), so we didn’t know to pick up kid’s toys. They aerated over them! All these toys with aeration holes in them!
(2) Top Dress & Overseed: Again, booked early and prepaid for service in February. Again didn’t call to say they were coming (now May). Didn’t know, wasn’t in town and as a result seed didn’t get watered! A complete waste of money.
(3) Fall Aeration: Booked early and prepaid service in September (for October service). They came and this time they didn’t aerate over toys. However, in February of the following year they start sending me overdue notices! And even though I gave them the posting date and amount, they were unwilling to revisit their files. Had to get the Better Business Bureau involved to resolve the issue!!
Moral of the story: NEVER use Weedman!
islandlakes says...
It only makes sense to me that the Weed Man will take quite a while to learn how to maintain healthy lawns. I would not call anyone who fought tooth and nail against legislation to reduce pesticides.
thatgengirl says...
Hey Lawn Man! Ever hear of DDT? Agent Orange?
Diddy says...
having green luscious lawns shouldn’t even be allowed in today’s day and age. What a waste of water and the pesticides should be illegal but hey screw water and the environment as long as you’ve got that golf green lawn!
dave says...
I agree with P.Diddy here!
The amount of fools around my neighbourhood who spent money getting their lawn done like it’s important.
I thoroughly enjoy it when a dog takes a giant crap right in the middle of their lawn and they find it the following morning.
I hate those people
Sam says...
I will have to say that there are benefits of having a green lawn. I hate seeing yellow ones, not only are they ugly they feel entirely different. Everyone is against pesticides and I understand why, but there have been changes and now organic solutions to weed problems. If you don’t want to use a lawn service than don’t, but no need to take poops on others lawn just because their lawn is prettier.
Weedman Ottawa Hater says...
OK…so I would never use the weedman due to their constant and relentless pursuit of your lawn care dollar. I have received no less than 5 phone calls this spring and had 3 people come by my door. GO AWAY. I am not sure how many times I can say NO, or how much I need to threaten. I have been promised yet again from the receptionist (who says she is as high as I can go in Ottawa to lodge a complaint) that they will not phone or come by my home again. I am keeping a baseball bat at my front door just in case! How to keep your lawn nice - over seed many times during the season. Put down top-soil year after year and water (sorry I like to water my lawn - sue me!). The only problem we had was with Grubs and we took care of those bad boys with Nemotodes and …here we go again…water. Kills them from the inside out. Terrible way to go, but hey, better them than my lawn!
misspriss says...
Dear all you people who dont like weedman!
weedman is the best lawncare company across canada! they arent that for no reason!…if a technician comes to your house and leaves a recomendation to do for your lawn you should do it to maintain the over all look and to help improve! weedman garuntees you a beautiful lawn! just help us help you keep it that way! they do have 24 hour service calls so call at any time to have a supervisor on your lawn the next day..also they offer unlimited re apps if it really didnt work could they afford to do soo many re apps for free?? NO! they r doing everything to the best of their ability to help you! DONT HATE APPRECIATE!
OxBaker says...
“weedman garuntees you a beautiful lawn!”
What good is a guarantee if they don’t honor it. Thier guarantee didn’t seem to apply to the above posters. Glad I came across this thread. I was about to call weedman thank goodness we live in an age where word of these companies can ge around. Thanks all!
misspriss says...
we have over 280,000 clientel across the nation…find another company that can beat it bitches
lilgrl says...
I have a feeling misspriss represents the Weed Man Company. First of all, my husband used to work for a local Weed Man and everything you have written is absolute B.S. They would have meetings in the morning about how to “screw” the customers out of more money because they KNEW their products did not work. Doesn’t matter how many applications they put, it didn’t work. Also, they would send out their employees to hand pick weeds because the SerraTor was so expensive that they didn’t want to keep re-using it. Which they didn’t pay their employees for the hours worked hand pulling these weeds and the Ministry of Labour is now involved.
Secondly, I have not heard or read such unprofessionalism (it’s a big word I know, but you can sound it out) in a person representing a company who’s primary responsibility besides killing weeds is customer service. If you are an employee of Weed Man I would be very surprised if you are not fired and if you an owner, then you’ve helped a whole lot of people make the decision to NEVER call Weed Man for any services, lawn care related or otherwise.
And lastly, perhaps a dictionary or thesaurus should be used the next time you write anything down. Your spelling is terrible…(ie: “fallow” & “garuntee” are spelled “follow” & “guarantee”).
misspriss says...
lol funny because i wasnt writing on here to perfect my spelling i was writing on here to stick up for the company. they r very nice people and all u people need to follow up on our recomendations if you want the results we promise you and secondly i hope every word i wrote in here is wrong! we have 275,000 ppl across canada shut up and tell me what other company is number one on wait thats us!! thank you and AMEN!
misspriss says...
we are the best and your jealous
ilikeweeman says...
weedman is a good company i agree with misspriss, i feel bad for her if she works there on the phone as she must put up with alot,. i have had weedman for 5 years and my lawn is amazing if i have a problem i call them and they come the next day…your lawn is a living thing right. if u go to the gym and get big u dont stop working out u keep going to keep it good,. if you stop taking lawn care or dont do the reccomendations then of course your going to be pissed, they really are nice people i went in to pay for my services and the office ladies are more than polite. thank you weedman ottawa
Dave says...
misspriss, next time please wait more than 12 minutes before posting again under another fake name… oh and next time try to spell your company’s name right you retarded child.
I will never use “weeman” (lulz) and I imagine anyone who reads this posting won’t either!
POOP ON YOUR LAWN “WEEMAN”
A.J. says...
WeedMan is hopeless. I prepaid for all my services last winter as well. Their “weed care” product works only on dandelions and needs to be hand applied; the hundreds now on my lawn appear to be thriving and yes, I follow their recommendations to a T. They send 19 year old kids out to work on my acre property and they were here and gone in 15 mins… the company and their product is a joke. Beware of the WeedMan (Scarborough ON) and their empty promises. And trust me, I’m not jealous or don’t care how nice they are… if their job is to keep my lawn weed-free, they fail.
weedman says...
weedman has come to my house 3 times now to pull weeds they are a great bunch of people
WeedTech says...
AJ, the fact that our product Sarritor only works on dandelions isn’t the fault of Weed Man. It’s the strongest product legally available right now. If you want someone to blame for that, blame all the ecoheads who pushed so hard to have pesticides banned. There’s a reason that Weed Man didn’t want them banned - nothing else functions as well.
Brooklin says...
misspriss and ilikeweeman must work with the incompetent idoits at Weed Man’s Scarbrough location.
in the business says...
Hi all, I just had to jump on this band wagon - I work for one of the companies listed above and I am surprised at the ignorance and stupidity of some of the employees of WEEDMAN - how can you sit there and comment on the reputation of your company when A) YOU CAN’T SPELL B) YOU SWEAR AND ARE VERY VERY UNPROFESSIONAL 3) YOU’RE IGNORANT.
As a Sales manager, I fully understand the pressure the lawn care industry is under to perform and be profitable under this pesticide ban. HOWEVER MY COMPANY WILL NOT DO IT ON THE BACKS OF OUR CUSTOMERS - WE DO NOT MAKE FALSE PROMISES, WE DO NOT USE ILLEGAL CHEMICALS AND WE DO NOT GUARANTEE THINGS WE CANNOT DO. I don’t need to say which company I work for as this post is not about marketing or sales just simply a WARNING TO ALL FUTURE LAWN CARE CUSTOMERS - DON’T LET ONE BAD EXPERIENCE TAINT YOUR VIEW OF THE OTHERS - WE STRIVE TO BE THE BEST, WE ARE NOT THE CHEAPEST BUT WE ARE ETHICAL AND HONEST - IF THAT’S WHAT YOU ARE LOOKING FOR WE CAN HELP - QUALITY OVER QUANTITY - WEEDMAN IS THE BEST BECAUSE OF THE VERY SKETCHY & MISLEADING MARKETING CLAIMS THEY ATTEST TOO - IF YOU’RE LOOKING FOR REAL HELP AND A REAL SOLUTION I CAN HELP
in the business says...
PS - AJ WE CAN HELP!
misspriss says...
lol because its annoying and its gettin my point across….it worked right…..thats why when i did work for the weedman i was top closer.obviously i didnt swear at the customers…being mean and using profanity isnt in the let us amaze you script now is it….sorry im not perfect with my spelling i didnt know it turned into a spelling bee. anywas weedman is the best hands down
in the business says...
Not a spelling bee sweetheart, just common sense. When you brag about a company, regardless of the company, you should make every effort to write and speak in GROWN UP sentences - no one respects or cares for the highschool texting queen who sold some lawn care and thinks she’s awesome…
Honey, you didn’t get you’re point across, go back and read the entries, everyone is making fun of you - not WEEDMAN! You made it about your own stupidity not your companies and clearly you weren’t that great if you dont’ work there anymore now are you?
Miss Priss' Grade 3 Teacher says...
She was always a challenge to deal with when it came to spelling. Miss Priss did end up passing the 3rd grade. I remember those 3 years fondly that she spent in my class.
Miss Priss' Grade 3 Teacher says...
Oh my. Thats not a very good young lady.
Teachers Grade: F-
misspriss says…
May 21, 2010 at 12:34 am
lol because its annoying and its gettin my point across….it worked right…..thats why when i did work for the weedman i was top closer.obviously i didnt swear at the customers…being mean and using profanity isnt in the let us amaze you script now is it….sorry im not perfect with my spelling i didnt know it turned into a spelling bee. anywas weedman is the best hands down
Totoro says...
My co-worker hired Mr Green and she said they killed her grass, and they had to come back and try to repair the grass.
I personally used Lawnman for a couple years for fertilizing and weed control, but it seemed to make the grass even worse. So I decided to only hire “Kollegiate” to do the core aeration, and I can manage to fertilize and pull weeds and over seed myself to save money. I think my lawn looks better than it did when I hired lawnman.
misspriss says...
i work at the toronto weedman i got transfured from ottawa and im the best across the nation 300,000$ sold this year as of jan 2010
Miss Priss' Grade 3 Teacher says...
My, my, my Misspriss. It seems to me that you haven’t learned anything while in my class. The sentence should read as follows:
“I work at the Toronto Weedman office. I got transferred from Ottawa and I’m the best across the nation. $ 300,000.00 sold this year as of January 2010.”
Im sure your employer would like to know how their employee speaks to people on the internet. I’ll be sure to send them a link and let them know.
If you need any further assistance in grammar, spelling, punctuation and capitalization of proper nouns etc, please let me know.
Say What says...
Bhahahahahahahahaha!!!
JB says...
WEEDMAN is not the company it used to be. All they did was fertilize my weeds and I have more weeds now than I ever have had in the past. They lie on the phone-they lie to the better business bureau. Yes they came out and pulled weeds–like probably one percent of them. DON’T WASTE your money with this company. If you ask to speak to a manager they won’t let you.
Angry in Ottawa says...
Weedman Ottawa is a bunch of pushy bullies. The called and got my elderly mother on the phone. She listened to their services and requested a quote to pass on to me as she was not the house owner and could not agree to anything. We did not receive a quote. A few weeks later a weedman guy showed up on the door and handed my mom a bunch of papers and left. She assumed it was the quote. When I got home I discover that it was actually a bill and that they had fertilized the lawn. We know that they could not have done the back yard as the dog was there and no smart person would go in a yard with her there. My mom called the next day to complain and again stated that we had not ordered any service and only wanted a quote. She was told someone would be sent to check it out. Some guy came out and told her the entire lawn had been treated. She told him that that was nice but that we did not want services and only wanted a quote and that she was not the home owner and could not purchase any services. We did not agree to have services at all. An hour later she discovered he had left the gate open and she had to run around the neighbourhood to retrieve the dog. In the following two weeks I received THREE notices of ORDER CONFIRMATION. This is AFTER they had already spread chemicals on my lawn. All three papers had different prices. We ignored it all as we had already told three separate Weedman Employees that we had not ordered any services. Last week my mom caught Weedman getting ready to apply yet another round of chemical on our lawn! She managed to stop the kid and told him that if anyone from Weedman showed up again she would call the police for trespassing. Two days later the retention department called to ask how they could get out business back (I guess you have to threaten them with calling the police to get them to take you seriously). Again it was explained that no services were ever ordered and that we found it very unprofessional and disturbing that Weedman would just show up and spread chemicals. Then yesterday I got an automated collection call - They have the audacity to expect me to pay for services that I never ordered and were illegally applied. I called customer service who said that the person who came to the house confirmed that their services were rendered and we should pay up - they would not credit the account. They insisted that my mother authorized the services. I told them that she had not, was not a liar, and was not the owner of the home so could not have booked services anyway. I was hung up on. I called back again and again until I managed to get an office manager (they lie when they say they have no one more senior to send your call to). She indicated that she will review the ‘recordings’ and get back to me the end of this week. At this point I do not care how much it costs me but I will be fighting this charge to the bitter end. I hate that kind of bullying pushy marketing. It is now my mission in life to make sure everyone knows how vile a company this is.
Angry in Ottawa 2 says...
misspriss says…
we have a 75% renewal rate
No, you don’t.
misspriss says…
i work at the toronto weedman i got transfured from ottawa and im the best across the nation 300,000$ sold this year as of jan 2010
$300,000 at $300 per customer equals about 1000 out of 3 million people. That’s less than 1/30 of 1%
That’s pitiful…
Gajendra says...
Nice review. Well written article and good to communicate that one to others. I am a professional blogger and working in the brand analytics area. I hope more good reviews from your side.
Email- gajendrapurbia@gmail.com
in the business says...
Oh Miss priss look what you started! You’re barely coherent enough to pull 3 sentences together but I bet your skills at manipulation, lying, and bullying are perfected.
As we can see from your prior posts you’re definitley a liar - I quote “…..thats why when i did work for the weedman i was top closer.obviously ” So do you or do you not work there? I wouldn’t be surprised if the higher ups at Weedman caught wind of this post and fired your sorry butt. Now you work there and your the best! Wow… you definitley fit in with your company’s culture don’t you? LIE, MANIPULATE, BULLY, INTIMIDATE, and MISREPRESENT the facts! Surprise, surprise!
Again, as a long time manager with a large lawn care company I am well aware of the tactics Weedman uses - I will not use this site as a blatant marketing ploy but ANGRY IN OTTAWA - let us help your mom!
Good luck in your job hunt miss priss, perhaps you should go back to school, I see your grade 3 teacher on here - I’m sure he/she remembers you very well as someone with your skills and abilities would most certainly stand out in a classroom of children…. Here’s what I suggest - go get your highschool diploma (or finish grade 8 first), get someone to help you with a resume (because clearly you need it!) and find a real job!
in the business!
nameless says...
^^^^ very classy “in the business” you sure have represented your company quite well. Belittling and arguing, and publicly bashing the competition. That should get you tons of customers. Anyhow, Weed Man lawncare is the largest most successful lawn care operator in the country. 300,000 clients. Not all are going to be happy. ALL companies makes mistakes. We now have a pesitcie by-law in ontario, until the introduction of Fiesta, Sarritor was the only means of controlling weeds. Does it work? yep. As good as 2-4-d? nope. Thats the big problem. The gap between what the homeowner expects and what ANY lawncare provider can actually do is larger then ever. Sorry but completely weed free lawns are a thing of the past. And it will take a few years before this will become acceptable. Till then lots of lawncare companies with fold and close there doors, and weed man will survive and emerge stronger then ever. Most lawn care packages are in the $300 range. For that $300 weed man was providing 6 services, unlimited free re-applications, unlimted service calls, free weed pulling. Most companies were offer NOTHING for weed control. If you had weeds, the answer was “sorry thats the way it is” Weed man stepped up to the plate the best they could considering the circumstances that they had NO control over (i.e pesticide ban). With all telephone sales miscommunications happen. Angry in Ottawa you have every right to be upset. And i hope it all gets worked out. Weed Man renews its customer base at over 70% year over year, even last year. they also generate roughly 10% of their buisness through referrals from existing clients. So they ust be doing something right.
nameless says...
One last thing. In most instances the are 2 sides to every story and in the middle somewhere is the truth.
Sheri says...
This was a great post - may I recommend something to those out there who want to take care of your weeds.
Get off the couch, buy a $5 weed pulling tool from your local hardware or gardening center, grab a garbage bag, get outside and get some fresh air and pull them out yourself!
You’ll save a ton of money and get some exercise as well.
Just sayin’!
donna says...
‘Get off the couch,”
LOL! wrong crowd to preach that too!
Wrong Target says...
Hi Miss Priss…er Nameless.
Youre attacking the wrong person. The missy prissy was using foul languange coupled with a lack of attention to detail and basic grammar rules. She was bashing the competition and other posters in fact long before “in the business” arrived on this thread. At least “in the business” can communicate with proper sentences and spelling.
THAT isnt the way to represent your company. I think “in the business” did just fine.
Nameless says...
I am 100% not Miss Priss. And although i do concur that she was way out of line, she is probably a late teens early 20’s call centre rep. I am also pretty sure that anyone with a head in there shoulders knows she does not represent weed man in any way. Weed Man employs close to 3500 people through out Canada and although i will not disputre the fact she may have worked there, she does not represent the company. However….”in the business” is a manager. And i would not expect that type of behaviour from someone with his title. Weed Man will never make everyone happy, but there are 100’s of thousands of customers they do make happy. And i can assure you they will do their very best each and everytime and now that the product Fiesta is available, they will be able to once again provide not onlya green thick healthy lawn, but one that is basically weed free.
in the business says...
Thanks Wrong Target, and to Nameless, clearly you’re employed by Weedman - and feel the need to defend and refute the comments made by one of your employees. I am not bashing the competition, simply stating the facts, no where did I say the name of my company as I do not feel the need to make this a blatant sales pitch.
I am well aware of the ban, the products, and the solutions in place for weed management. I’m also aware of the tactics WeedMan uses as many of our customers have left the company due to the bullying tactics they use on more than just ONE customer. Angry in Ottawa indeed has a right to be this angry, this is not the first time, and I’m certain not the last we will here such complaints from them.
I also agree with ‘nameless’ in that there are 2 sides to every story and I’m sure we all have examples - but the true test is this - my company does not have a website dedicated to customer complaints - ghosting lawns, harassing the elderly etc. Google Weedman complaints and there is page after page, and as a prior Weedman customer I am well aware of the type of service they offer.
Many products for weed control are coming, and the company with the right people and best ethics will succeed - I’ve seen Weedman’s marketing, I’ve seen the blatant lies and the lack of results.
I see that ‘nameless’ will continue the typical blogging bullying by using name calling and inaccurate statements. I would like anyone who reads this back and forth to check out the FIESTA website - it will NOT give you a weed free lawn, and in fact controls ONLY broadleaf weeds, can only be used in temperatures under 30 degrees, and can only be sprayed TWICE per year or will cause burns and damage to the lawn. Not surprising that someone defending Weedman would have inaccurate statements in their defense - have a look at what the promises are from Weedman and their FIESTA marketing - “we’ll spray, reapply as many times as necessary?? Really, the label states NO MORE THAN 2X PER YEAR… so how many times is necessary, and you’ll still be left with the clover, the crabgrass, the black medic….etc.
Thanks for listening, my preference is to use my education, my knowledge and my ability to get through a post without personally attacking anyone (well, I stand corrected, Miss Priss sort of had that coming… :-)) and just simply putting the FACTS out there. And as a manager, that would seem the professional and responsible thing to do. Perhaps you should take note ‘nameless.’
Nameless says...
You dont have to say the name of your company to bash weed man although I am 98% sure i do know who you are and work for and if you push my buttons enough I will have no problem stating that fact on this public forum. But hey, if your company is as great as you say they are and you feel you have done a great job in representing them you should 0 problem stating that for yourself. Maybe you should use it as a sales pitch, because you are getting run over by the “competiton”. Again, I’ll state when you have 300,000 customers canada wide, no matter how hard you try not everyone will be happy. I think its also important to note that all weed man franchises are individually owned and operated by different people, therefore should not be lumped togther. Internet complaints hold alot of validity. Also less then 500 complaints out of 300,000 clients. less then .01 percent? You should beleive everything you read on the internet. Sorry you are talking to a real professional with a real education, so i won’t stoop down to your level of name calling. I never once said “weed free” I said “basically weed free”. For someone who only replies based on “facts” you should get yours straight.
1. Crabgrass is not a broadleaf weed. It is a weed grass and could not be
controlled by traditional herbicides but was controlled by a premergent herbicide known as dimension. Now corn gluten is the best remedy.
2. Traditional herbicides such as killex were ineffective over 28degrees C and Fiesta is effect up until 30c. not sure why this is bad? Fiesta works on ALL broadleaf weeds, medic, clover,creeping charlie. etc. Tested, proven. case closed.
3. Fiesta can be sprayed as many times as nessecary, but the label states 2 times per year as a precaution. My understanding is they are currently in the process of having that removed from the label by years end. We have applied numerous times to single areas within weeks of each other with no buring only weeds dying. tested, proven, case closed.
4. Feista is more effective and has less restrictions as far as application then killex or herbicidies of the sorts ever did. The only issue thus far is the cost.
5.Hand pulling is not the best way, as it leaves a very big bare spot (for more weeds to grow in), and for weeds such as clover and the like, hand pulling and getting the root is near impossible.
Anyhow, im sure you already knew all of this, and just made some typing errors.
Good luck with your business. For the record I do not work for weed man but I am also ” In the buisiness” and like to consider my self at least “aligned” with them
Nameless says...
and lastly, some of what you are saying coulod be used in court as slander “ghosting lawns, harassing the elderly etc. Google Weedman complaints and there is page after page, and as a prior Weedman customer I am well aware of the type of service they offer” so becareful my friend
in the business says...
Interesting points nameless… threatening but interesting. A forum is meant to engage coversation and debate, I don’t recall belittling you in my post but people read what they would like and that’s okay.
It is quite evident you are a professional with a real education, eloquent speech, the ability to speak without swearing - however don’t mistake yourself for the only educated person on the web - I also am a professional with an education ’so be careful (be careful is 2 words by the way) my friend’
I will address your points here:
1) I’m aware that crabgrass is a grass - however many companies speak to crabgrass as a ‘controllable weed’ - which it is not. No where did I state that it was by the way, I used a ‘blanket’ statement, which you should be comfortable with as you seem to have painted me with that brush.
2) Killex, Round Up, and Par III were great - but gone - Fiesta DOES NOT control black medic or creeping charlie - and for someone so adament to correct the errors you may want to delve a little deeper into the research. We’ve been reviewing, testing, and re-testing this product since it came to market - we’ve seen the following:
a) Dandelion, plantain, thistle - great results, blackening of the broadleaf, down TO the root (FIESTA does not kill the root of the plant and in some cases it may grow back)
b) Clover has been hit and miss, we’ve seen re-growth within days in some cases
TESTED-PROVEN - case is still open as far as I’m concerned.
3) You’ve put it down over and over against the recommended use instructions? Interesting that in FIESTA’s own testing they’ve shown burning and residual blackening of the turf due to the high iron concentration - there’s a reason it’s on the label.
4) Hand pulling is indeed the best if you do it properly - by the proper tool and a small bag of black earth (don’t buy cheap - it may contain what you’re trying to eliminate) - once the weed has been pulled, if you have managed to remove the taproot (which most good tools will) you may be left with a loonie sized hole - mix some seed with your earth and put into the hole… wow - new grass germinating instead of the weed!
It’s nice to know you’ve come so passionately to the defence of a company you don’t represent or work for. Oh and be careful about your slander comments, perhaps you need to check the definition carefully (here is the legal definition just in case “defamation by oral utterance rather than by writing, pictures, etc.”) It’s only slander when untrue - I’m sure ‘angry in Ottawa” would attest to Weedman’s sales tactics and having been a ‘victim’ of ghosting from Weedman I would happily represent that as FACT not fiction.
Thanks for your educational and well thought out response. I’m glad we could clear some of these facts up! Now as a professional I have far better things to do with my time then play this petty back and forth game!
Enjoy your time arguing with strangers on the internet!
For those who’ve had a bad experience with lawncare just remember BUYER BEWARE - not just for Weedman, but for all lawncare companies, do your own research and spend your money wisely!
Kindest Regards! In the business is out!
hahaha says...
this site is funny. everyone is doing what they possibly can to make every one happy. but things have changed so quickly no one was ready for it give them time and be patient im sure they will do something amazing soon
weedguy says...
do not belive, weedman airated all over your kids toys (making holes in them) maybe airated around them and the dirt on on your toys is more logical thing to say. weedman is in times if trouble but only because of the new lawn care band. IF you want to blame someone for the way your lawn looks, blame your local government.
Wrong Target says...
I’ll ignore the obvious spelling errors in “weedguy”’s post (believe, aerate, ban) but I need to correct who someone could blame.
The Province of Ontario instituted the province wide ban on Earth Day 2009. Since then many people have been up in arms because there has been an increase in the amount of weeds on peoples property.
https://www.premier.gov.on.ca/feedback/feedback.asp?Lang=EN
Here is where you can send feedback to Dalton McQuinty about the pesticide ban, cell phone ban, pit bull ban (notice our government spends more time banning things than actually doing anything to help our economy - $20B deficit, debt rising) and anything else you’d like our Premier to hear.
weedman customer says...
The weedman is helping me get rid of my weeds
http://home.cogeco.ca/~jmunro4/weedman/index.html
offweedman says...
One day in July, 2010, a teenager knocked my door and said he need help to finish his reseach fro his homework, if I can sign on his interview list then I can help him. He showed me a piece of paper with WEED MAN as the title on the top, there are only about ten people’s name and signature, phone number on it, nothing else, no contract or any agreement. The kid looks so skinny and poor, at the beginning, I didn’t want to do it, However he kept begging me.So I gave him my nick name and nick name signature. However I refuse to give him my phone number. When he kept asking me about my phone number, my husband came back from the driveway, the kid ran away.
Then my nightmare started.
A day after one week. I saw a bill left on my door. It said the weed man fertilized my lawn and ask me to pay their bill about $60. My family never asked any service from WEED MAN and we always do the lawn ourselves.
I called the phone number on the bill, the woman named Sandra who anwsered the phone, She said sorry about the bill, and the service will be cancelled. So I thought this is the end, but it is not.
Yesterday, Oct 15, 2010, I received a bill from weed man, it said I was late of paying the $60 billing. And they added $2 penatly on it. So I called WEEDMAN again, Sandra anwser the phone again. She was so rude and talked over me when I try to get a word in edgewise and informed me that there were no supervisors above her that I could speak to. She said I have to pay the bill, otherwise they will sell it to collection. Then she hung up the phone. When I called her again, she hung me up again and again. So I said I need talk to you, if you don’t want to talk it through the phone then I will go to the address on the bill and talk to the people in your company. Then she transfered me to a woman, who said she is Sandra’s manager and she was so rude and talked over me when I try to get a word too. I guess this is the conversation manner of everyone in WEEDMAN. The manager threatened I am harassement her employer, and she will call the police if I call them again!
So now I can not call them and ask anything about this bill. What should I do? This bill has my home address and my last name. Luckily it doesn’t have my offical name, and WEEDMAN don’t have any other my personally information. ( I didn’t offer to them, but I am not sure if they will steal it from somewhere else) If they sale my bill to collection company, then does that affect my credit, since they have my home address and last name?
Wally Burnie says...
Hi to all readers;
I have used Weedman for years with good results. The current ban on certain products I totally endorse, keep the environment healthy. The few weeds that are missed I dispatch with the appropriate tool but don’t bother filling the hole, my bootheel closes it and new grass soon covers the bare spot. Expensive, maybe, but not out of reach for most of us, I’m 90 years young and pensions aren’t all that lucrative, but the cost of this service doesnt flatten me or my overworked wallet. So I say to Weedman, keep up the good work and I’ve already paid for next year. Nice to keep the young guys earning money while they learn, most of us did the same thing and I am thankful to the companies that gave me the opportunity. To most of you complainers, maybe all the facts aren’t presented, answers from Weedman would be interesting, and to those who have never ran a business, believe me, mistakes do happen, don’t get mad, just phone the company and discuss the problem, I’m sure they would have rectified any fault of theirs.
Sincerely,
Wally Burnie.
j says...
There seems to be a lot of back forth over certain things
1. Crab grass IS a manageable problem. Cut the lawn higher (I know people who like it at 1.5-2″ try 3″) so seeds DON’T germinate. If you have a prior history of crab grass, add an application of corn gluten meal about one month prior to the expected time the seeds start germinating. This SLOWS the germination process to the point most plants will not have time to generate new seeds for next year. Without new seeds, the crab grass life cycle is interrupted and you will see less of them. Black medic as a problem weed is quite ridiculous. High cut heights and proper watering will prevent this from growing. Do you notice the first place you see both these weeds? Right next to hot driveways/sidewalks etc. The heat causes them to germinate.
2. Sarritor/Fiesta. I have tested both of these and together they work moderately well but in both cases COST is the main issue, as it is only cost-effective with spot applications. And with Fiesta, the dosage and timing is critical. People who used to use 2-4 D w Mecoprop/Dycler with little regard for the correct amount who still got good results have trouble using Fiesta.
3. To the person saying they aerated over toys. Not likely. The aerators I’ve used over the years can be jammed up/chain fall off from just running over some blackberry vines or even English ivy planted in borders. Why deliberately destroy things they can just go around? The cores from most aerators go flying off to one side when you make sudden turns with it.
4. Completely weed free lawns didn’t exist even with 2-4 D. Why? You treat a grass area and that kills the weeds growing. Step ahead 1 month and there are weeds again because they germinate from seed into a plant large enough to see in that time.
5. Certain areas with bans verses certain nearby ones without seems to result in people doing it themselves at night. Im all for a ban but so far it means the companies that prosper are the ones willing to cheat.
j says...
Another problem I see from time to time is when your call someone to work on your lawn but neglect to tell them it was recently installed.
Why is this this important?
When the turf is cut to be removed, most of the roots are gone. Before the lawn is healthy enough to withstand most use, it will have to regrow all of that. Most turf farms grow their sod on river valley bottoms with a lot of clay in it. This clay will prevent the grass from solidly re-rooting itself and creating a barrier to moisture. This lawn will need aeration, and possibly top dressing with a more porous media. You need to say that because the fertilizer you need if VERY different from a standard turf blend.
What does my lawn look like?
Very good. It looks shabby due to its high cut height but weeds are very few especially in the rear where I watered most of this summer. The front is weedy but still good looking
John says...
To the Weedman Windsor customers……CANCEL your being ripped off on purpose with products no being mixed properly to save cost. The manager in Windsor doesnt care. He thrives off ripping people off and thinks hes untouchable. To top it off he rips off employees,customers discriminated against everyone, race, gender and choice of life…so feel free if you want to waste your money from a company who doesnt really care about the customers only there profits then so be it. WEEDMAN windsor is a RIP-OFF. And remember when you pay 60 dollars per fertalizer it only cost the company 18 dollars a bag and one bag does 2-6 houses….Your Choice….
I recommend finding a company that actually cares about your lawn and not your money
j says...
The above person is rather incorrect. Companies get a discount on fertilizer because we buy TONS of it at once. There are cheap ~$25 for 55 lbs fertilizer mixes. The poor results speak for themselves.
Certain specialized mixes can cost upwards of $40 per bag. The most expensive job I ever charged for a fertilizing was $100 for an area that formed part of a traffic circle that was done for a local business who cleaned and trimmed it as a project and was a circle of grass about 300 feet across. Typical jobs run around $50 and are COMPLETELY GUARANTEED.
I see some people use those $30 spreaders. A proper application should be within %10 of the recommended rate. The average homeowner probably can’t do it this accurately. It takes practice!. My spreader costs $600! And can be calibrated to within 5%. Do people in Ontario wonder why phosphorous is now banned? I visited my uncles place near a lake and I watched people apply fertilizer RIGHT UP TO THE WATERS EDGE, AND EVEN ALLOWING PRILLS TO LAND IN THE WATER. These were all homeowners. I also went for a few rounds of golf with him and asked some of the people who worked there about this. One told me that if someone on staff did that there, they could get fired.
For him to make comments like the ones above regarding certain businesses borders on libel.
As a company owner, I take pride in the work of my company. I like hearing from customers that their lawn is great to look at and to use. I also like hearing that something may be wrong and to come have a look at it and to “make it right.”
j says...
PS Diddy is in fact somewhat wrong in his remarks.
While it does require some watering etc to get a good lawn, you don’t need a hose out every day. One or two waterings per week, totsaling an inch will do it.
And don’t think by replacing a lawn with concrete/asphalt/hard landscaping that you are doing nature any favors.
Lawns and other vegetation mediate water flows in urban areas. More runoff from asphalt and concrete basically means more runoff carrying pollutants into creeks and storm sewers. Lawns filter out such contamination AND return the water to the ground, where it belongs, not a storm drain.
Hard landscaping can reduce the maintenance but not eliminate it. Weeds will still grow up from it. Also hard landscaping is not very flexible. Many people I know have turned parts of a lawn into vegetable gardens. Easy to do with a lawn. I added one myself last year. It would be a challenge in a hard landscaped area as usually the soil is removed and denser, infertile fill is added.
Also, a lawn makes a good area for recreation. In the event you need to do home renovations, hard-scapes usually don’t make great staging areas, and don’t recover well from being used as such. Lawns do much better all around.
Dayna says...
I used to work for WeedMan as a CSR in Ottawa. Needless to say, I was only employed there for 2 months before I quit because I realized my job was to withstand the daily frustrated consumer calls. We were instructed to NEVER offer to settle a client invoice, regardless of the situation. I was so stricken with grief for these poor people who had never even signed a contract, agreed to the services or even CONSIDERED the lawn services. My office manager, Amanda Blythe, had no compassion whatsoever for any clients, and sent many of them to collections, forever impacting their credit, without firstly discussing what the client’s issues were.
Despite customers many daily calls to the office requesting to be removed from calling lists and promotional items, we were instructed to still call them and try to get services in the following year!! The never ending call flow of irate customers far surpassed those of satisfied clients. I feel terrible even having participated with this company and I would hope you wouldn’t sign on with them.
Weedman will put forth their best attempt in order to take your money. They will stop at nothing, even destroying your credit, in order to make a dollar. This company is unethical, immoral, unfriendly and by far THE WORST company I have ever worked for.
Buyers Beware.
Alena says...
Why didn’t I find this thread years ago…oh man. The Weedman people are the devil! I moved into a my first home and noticed an issue with some ground ivy; by the end of the summer the organic weed killer had fed my weeds so much that they have effectively taken over parts of my lawn. I mean actually taken over. In spring there was not a blade of grass despite the aeration and supposed overseeding. Learned my lesson the hard way…will now have to plant sod.
As for hard landscaping - I hope people realize that global warming is also partially attributed to the volume of asphalt on the planet…just saying…
Cierra Eckmeyer says...
One thing I would really like to reply to is that weightloss routine fast is possible by the perfect diet and exercise. People’s size not simply affects appearance, but also the quality of life. Self-esteem, depressive disorders, health risks, plus physical abilities are damaged in excess weight. It is possible to make everything right and at the same time having a gain. Should this happen, a medical problem may be the reason. While a lot food but not enough body exercise are usually accountable, common medical ailments and widespread prescriptions may greatly enhance size. Thanks for your post here gywl512.
Ryan says...
I am not an employee of of Weedman or any other lawncare company. I work for an electronics company in Newmarket, and live in Whitby, On.
Last year I purchased their service and for 3/4 of the year I was dissatisfied until the Fiesta came around. I had weeds everywhere (damn Dandelions), and was pulling them for hours ever day I had off work.
Fiesta came around and did a much better job controlling them. Not perfect, but my back sure felt better.
Against my wife’s opinion, I chose the go ahead and renew their service this year in hopes that the fiesta would control the dandelions better. They came and sprayed and it started to work. After a week I have a few small patches of weeds popping up, but if you compared my lawn to my next door neighbor…world of difference. There is not a single part of his lawn without weeds…very ugly.
I only have about 5% of my lawn with noticable weeds, andabout 15% with small growing weeds. This was after having 2 weeks of being literally having no weeds.
I don’t like the weeds starting to come through. Called WM yesterday and they will be out next week for a re-spray.
Honest review and am satisfied.
jane says...
Do not trust anything you hear from Weed Man Sales or service. When we were deciding on which lawn care service to hire this summer we picked Weed Man because the sales representative told us that if the weeds were not dying that all we had to do was call their office and an inspector would be out within 24 hours. (not true) As well, we were told that they would begin the weed control service right away (we hired them in mid April and they did not apply weed control until May 16th, and that was only after I threatened to cancel their service after multiple calls wondering when they would start. ) After the first application - that did not work - an inspector came out, looked over the job and agreed that it needed to be treated again. He promised that it would be done by yesterday (which was 3 days after his inspection) . When I got home yesterday) it was clear they had not done the job so I called the nasty customer service person who finally let me speak to the office manager. She was unbelievably rude and told me that the reason I had weeds was because my lawn was not thick enough. SHE’S NEVER BEEN TO MY HOUSE. I never had weeds last year!! and all my neighbours are weed free because they were smart and went with a competitor. We fertilize and seed our lawn on a regular basis.
She finally said “what can we do to solve this?” I said I wanted service yesterday and she said “impossible” but that she would send someone today - Saturday, but that would only be weather pending. Another lame attempt to drag this service out over a long weekend ultimately not doing the work until mid to late next week!
How can the competition still get the work done in the same weather conditions??
Theresa says...
misspriss, are you in customer service for weedman?? You just proved why every one in Canada should boycott them. In a few years they will be claiming bankruptcy due to their lack of foresight. Perhaps they should have had non chemical ways to keep lawns weed free.
Joe Mama says...
Theresa,
Weed Man will not go bankrupt. 42 years in business and still growing, good try though. They have non chemical ways to control weeds. Good try number 2.
Jane,
Be patient. Its rained for 2 months and weed control is completely in effective in the rain. Even the competitions (everyone is using the same product btw.)
Good Luck
Dave says...
Weedman called me early in the year and asked me to sign up to their annual summer service. Their trick is to get you to agree to accept receipt of the early payment invoice, which really means you’re accepting the start of a contract between the two of you.
I told the telemarketer that I would not be accepting they’re services if I didn’t have a quote first, and that receiving a quote would not mean that I was agreeing to receive their services. They are not the only ones that take care of lawns!
The telemarketer, Rob, gave me the indication that if the “Early Payment†invoice wasn’t paid, that there would not be any contract between us. Payment = Contract.
The last week in April Weedman showed up to our house and applied the first treatment in their program, and proceeded to bill me $90 + for the service. I find it funny that the service employee treated the lawn even with a competitor’s sign sticking out at the curb, clearly indicating the property had already been treated. I called them May 2, telling them I had not agreed to any service commitments. They cancelled the service, and I heard nothing from them for about 3 weeks, at which point I started receiving calls to pay the outstanding invoice or they would send my file to collections.
I received another call on May 17th indicating that my account was past due and that I needed to pay it. I told the young lady that I had not agreed to the service, that it had been cancelled, and that I was not going to pay the invoice. She argued that I did have a contract which started in February, and had agreed to the terms. She stated that they had the original conversation from February recorded proving my acceptance. I told her to get me a copy of the recording because I knew I had said, “I I’m not agreeing to sign up for service and only agreeing to receive a quote for reviewâ€. She said that I would receive a call with the info. I never heard back from her again or from Weedman until June 1, when a message on my answering machine told me I needed to clear up the invoice ASAP to avoid collections.
I don’t really care about the whole collections thing, but figured it might make it more difficult to renew my mortgage in July.
Do not deal with these guys. I paid the invoice not because they were calling, but so I wouldn’t potentially have any problems renewing my mortgage.
Check out the post by a former Weedman employee in Kanata (bottom of the page), and others.
http://www.culturemagazine.ca/culture/kanata_residents_harassed_by_the_weed_man.html
http://www.n49.ca/p/ottawa:414/lawncare/lawn_care/contractors/weed_man/2675_blackwell_st_#6
http://www.scaminformer.com/scam-report/weedman-scam-lies-fraud-numbered-company-deceptive-c9865.html
InNovaScotia says...
I would just like to point out that Weed Man is a franchise. Each are owned and operated by different people, and one bad egg should not put a bad mark againt other areas. I live in Nova Scotia, and the Weed Man here is great. They can be a little slow to get to your lawn, but it’s due to staff shortages, not because they don’t care. The technicians are always there to give tips on how to care for your lawn, because wouldn’t you know it, the customer has to put some work into it too! For example, set your mower to a high setting, as weeds have a harder time establishing themselves in longer grass. Water your lawn during dry spells. Call the office with special requests (call ahead, has pets, etc). Again, I must state that each franchise is different, so you will be dealing with different managers and sales reps, but I have had no problems with our local Weed Man.
Weed Man Office Employee says...
Note: I work for a much smaller office than what most of you are talking about. For instance, I know the name of everyone in the room (read:office), so my experiences might not be the exact same as some of the other weedman. Because of that, I’m going to stick to things that are typically consistent across all of us.
Few things:
1) The Ontario Pesticide Ban is pretty horribly named. It does not ban all pesticides (for example, Fiesta, neamatodes, Saritor, and Corn Gluten are still legal, just to name a few). Furthermore, the pesticides it did ban are considered safe by pretty much anyone who has ever studied them.
I.e. “Health Canada has determined that 2,4-D meets Canada’s strict health and safety standards, and as such can continue to be sold and used in Canada.” http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/cps-spc/pubs/pest/_fact-fiche/24d/index-eng.php
2) Corn Gluten sucks as a weed suppressant. It takes a TON of it to have any suppression effects (about 5x dose for fertilizer) and in our, relatively extensive testing, it’s extremely expensive to have any weed suppression effects. As a fertilizer, it releases all of its nutrients at once, risks leaching, and your grass needs fertilizing within a week or two anyway b/c it’s not at all time released.
3) Yes, everyone is using the same product. There are 3 options: Saritor, Corn Gulten (as a pre, not post emergent), and Fiesta. Saritor was discontinued b/c it didn’t work well and was too expensive, corn gluten (see above) and it’s only pre-emergent, leaving Fiesta as the only product used.
4) Fiesta kinda sucks. Someone had to say it. If the weed is strong enough, it regrows its “top growth” no problem. It’s also extremely expensive (from our point of view). It usually takes 2 applications a year to get a typical weed, usually more.
On the bright side, we do like it because it show pretty immediate (though sometimes a little deceiving (regrowth)) results-the weeds turn black within 24 hours. (Note, DD lions do, some other species never turn black but do eventually die). It’s also “rain fast” (read: water doesn’t matter) after 3 hours according to the manufacturer. On that note, we usually like it if we have at least 6-8 hours, but that’s just our experience.
5) No, I highly doubt that Weed Man will be going out of business anytime soon. Things are getting easier, not harder for us. We were given absolutely no warning that the pesticide ban was coming, and yet we already had a legal product in ~1 year. (Weed Man was actually the only company that could use Saritor, which was available to us almost immediately after the ban.) We expect more legal, cheaper, and more effective products in the coming years.
6) This is purely as a citizen, not as an employee that I ask, has anyone ever looked at the effects of a sudden influx of weeds on people with asthma? We’re talking about a huge growth of weeds in areas densely populated with people. What happens when you suddenly unleash weeds when they’ve been so controlled for so long?
No More Weed Man For Me...EVER!!! says...
I honestly think that I have never purchased a service (or item for that matter) that has been a bigger frustration and rip off than Weed Man.
My lawn is destroyed right now….
In 2008 I ripped up all the old grass, and put down new sod. The lawn was beautiful for 2008, 2009 and 2010. This winter I suffered an injury and didn’t know if I could maintain my lawn by myself properly. After much research and talking to Weed Man representatives, I signed up with them and pre-payed early in the year. They sent me a personal email that guaranteed a weed free lawn and a promise for a healthy, beautiful, thick, green, lush lawn for the 2011 season. They would only verbally claim that Fiesta is 100% safe for little pets and kids immediately after it’s been applied. They would not write this Fiesta guarantee in the email, even though I asked them to. Which is kind of suspicious, because one time when they sprayed my lawn and didn’t put a sign up, I called the Weed Man and asked why there was no sign on this visit, but there had been on other previous visits. The Weed Man employee told me that she didn’t know, but I should wait 20 minutes at least, before I let my pet out. Makes me think about Fiesta….
So now in September, my lawn is pathetic. It is infested with weeds. My hard work, and money spent in the last few years has been wasted. I have burn marks all over the place in huge strips. The only thing living in these blackened (not brown) burn marks are weeds! I’m talking 5 feet by 12 feet black strips! And 3 feet by 6 feet, and other sizes. My lawn has never looked worse since I have lived in this house, and this is the first year that the Weed Man or anybody else has touched it, since I have been here.
I am a younger guy and by no means a lawn perfectionist. I have a few plants, indoor and outdoor, and also have a nice vegetable garden. Most of my plants are considered to be quite healthy by my standards. I am just telling you this to give you a little bit of a background about myself. Back to the Weed Man experience…
I have written confirmation from a “lawn technician” of Weed Man, that the Fiesta that Weed Man applied burnt my grass. There were no insects or diseases found that contributed to the destruction of the lawn. Then he wrote down that I should get another $243+ of services done by the Weed Man to fix my Fiesta burn patches!
I have weeds everywhere, and I mean everywhere.
So far the Weed Man has showed up for 1 out of 3 of their scheduled appointments. Everytime they don’t show up for an appointment, I call into the Weed Man to find out what has happened. The phone people blame the techs, and the techs blame the phone people, and then they will even blame the sales people if they can’t gain control of the conversation. They are a complete INCOMPETENT JOKE…
Now their “senior lawn technicians” are cancelling their appointments and blaming the “customer service representatives” that set up the appointment. The “customer service reps” are blaming the “senior lawn techs” for not honouring the appointment slot. After I won’t take the Weed Man lies and rude condescending behaviour, the “customer service reps” start to blame me for not caring for my lawn. And just when you think that they couldn’t possibly embarrass themselves any further, the “customer service rep” starts to blame me for refusing lawn inspections!! This is the whole reason why I had to call, to find out why they wouldn’t show up, but now somehow I’m being accused of refusing to let them inspect my lawn!! Hahahahahahahaha.Haha.Ha.ha.. Aaaahhhh, it’s not funny for me anymore.
Also, during a recent phone call, there was apparently no available paperwork that the Weed Man customer service employee had, regarding my situations. After I had to state word for word the written observations on all the paperwork that I have filed away, suddenly the paperwork and records appear for the customer service rep. I am quite sure that she just wanted to know what papers I had kept, and what the Weed Man might not have to take responsibility for, even though the tech already did take responsiblity. But now a Weed Man employee is claiming that the tech that they sent out to analyze the problem, wasn’t qualified to write what his findings were, and he shouldn’t have made recommendations. Wow, now the Weed Man would rather admit to sending out underqualified “lawn technicians” than take responsibility for their inferior services. This doesn’t surprise me one bit, considering how they operate.
Also, everytime that I would make valid, meaningful concerns about their service and our relationship, the customer service representative would just keep trying to talk over me, again and again. Most of the time she just kept repeating the same irrelevant phrases over and over and over. I sort of lost my voice a bit, and now have a sore throat because I wouldn’t let her talk over me after I figured out what her game was. I can hold my own when it comes to the acknowledgement of the complete incompetence of the Weed Man services in relevance to my lawn, so she had her work cut out for her. This was something she couldn’t handle with much degree of professionalism. That call lasted over 30 minutes.
I have pretty much heard it all from the Weed Man. From “We have fired that employee since he came out to your place”, to “That is something the Weed Man would never do”, to “Those people aren’t even a part of Weed Man staff”,to “That isn’t what the tech told me”… I have dealt with a bunch of jokers.
My lawn is completely vacant of any living grass in many areas, and these guys want to spray the weeds 3 times in 10 days! The only green I have in these black areas are the weeds!
I have taken the liberty to place signs on my lawn letting everyone know what company is responsible for the weed control and grass situation that the passer bys are looking at. It was the least I could do, and I won’t even charge them for the advertising! Almost everybody that I see walking their dogs reads the signs, then they look at the lawn, and then they start to laugh or look around with unbelieving eyes.
Now these events are FACTS.
Please, just save your money or give it away to a charity.
Employing the Weed Man to take care of my lawn is one of the very worst decisions I have ever made.
shadow636 says...
This year is my first time using Weedman.
In August, I sent a request via Weedman site stating that there are brown streaks on a VERY LARGE area of now dead grass that happened after a treatment they did and that I wanted sod put in where damage was. They came to check and said there was no such damage from their application.
Later in August, Marketing called to offer aeration for $80; 5 minutes later, someone else called and offered it for free (inspector – Quality Control). I called Weedman, and she said she will add “free†to my file – and aeration was done (I have not tbeen billed for this - I will give them credit for that).
A few days later, the inspector came by and said there are no grubs, that bent grass was a problem, that grub control I am paying for is a preventive.
Early September, spoke to person who sprayed for grubs and he said there IS damage from grubs.
Mid September, A supervisor dropped by and then called to say that there IS damage from Fiesta, and that he put seeds down, and for me to water for 1 hour in the a.m. a couple times a week.
So I have weeds, a HUGE area in the back with dead grass now, and they don’t know what the hell they are doing! One person says one thing, another says totally opposite.
No way will I be using them again!
I used to use Turf King, and they were beyond excellent!! (They are more expensive though and I can no longer afford it.) I will take some people’s advice and pull weeds from now on.
Roman says...
Wow I wished I would have read all of this before ordering a law care package for the whole summer. When they were selling it to me they promised me that 80% of the weeds would be gone after the first application. After 8 of them I had more weeds than ever.
They then told me that I am expecting instant results and it will take couple of years of applications to see results - what a scam!
I called and pretend to be a new customer and again they told me that 80% of weeds will be gone.
Never ever I will use them, or anyone I know. I told them I will post a bad review about them, but obviously they didn’t care as they have no positive reviews at all. That is why they rely on pushy sales people - scam scam scam!
Roman Zelvenschi says...
Just added a blog post with pictures, audio and documents proving they are total scam http://romanz.org/weedman-scarborough-review-total-scam
Suzanne says...
I feel completely cheated by WeedMan as the services for my lawn last year rendered it to be like a hayfield. I was totally disgusted and after many, many calls to the Montreal office, feel like the business is nothing but a scam; their products are garbage. The customer service end leaves a lot to be desired as well because I never received a call back after leaving probably 15 - 20 messages from summer into autumn.
GolfCourseForeman says...
Ok. My turn. First off I should let you know of my qualifications to clear up some of this. I have a diploma in Business Marketing, and a diploma in Turfgrass Management. Ontario Landscape Exterminator License, and have been upper management in golf course maintenance for 7 years.
After such a long time in the golf business, I felt it was time to try something different. I thought I would apply to weedman, as I’m well qualified to work for them, and it would be a new challenge. I was hired as a sales supervisor and accepted the offer…..BIG MISTAKE!!!!!
During my orientation, the sales manager said outright “We’re not a lawn care company anymore, we’re a marketing company that does a bit lawn care.” As the session progressed, he eventually came around to the selling points. The information to be presented to customers about why they should have a healthy lawn was completely incorrect. The information they present to customers about most of their services and the “benefits of using weedman” is completely incorrect.
During my orientation, I met several other supervisors that had been with weedman anywhere from 1 to 5 years. They all told me the same thing “We don’t mind cheating our customers. You do what you gotta do to close the sale, cuz if your not hitting quota everyday they’ll fire you.” Hmm…ethics 101 anybody?!?! The highschool kids that they have going around knocking on doors are paid on commission. They get 50 cents for each lead they bring in. They are expected to knock on between 80 and 110 doors everynight. Of that, they must each bring in at least 12 sales leads every night. They miss quota once, they’re fired. Most of these kids, this is the first job they have ever had. They are provided with 0 health & safety training. The Ministry of Labour is currently investigating this.
Moving on to the actual work being done. “Trust the profesionals” is the motto at weedman. They have no professionals. The techs that are going out and doing the work, are paid piece work. The more lawns they do in a day, the more they make. This is roughly 50% of the reason customers see no results. The techs are trained to run when applying fertilizer. The faster the spreader moves, the greater the distance it throws the fert, the greater the distance, the less time it takes to do the job, and they can move on to the next customer.(In the real world, spreading fert is an artform. Too slow and your coverage is uneven and it takes forever. Too fast and your coverage is uneven. Ideally fert should be spread at approximately 5 km/h, not 10.) When applying a liquid product, they will stand on the sidewalk, jack up the pressure on the pump, and hit the lawn once, then move on. Weedman guarantees results. If your not happy, they’ll return the next day, and the next day, and the next day, so on and so on. These techs have little incentive to do good work. If they have to return to a home they have already been too, they don’t get paid for it.
Onto the results and products. Yes, some of what weedman says is accurate. It does take some co-operation on the homeowners behalf for the lawn to thrive. Regular watering being the biggest thing. But weedman should be contacting customers to inform them if watering is needed. Fiesta is one of the most expensive products available. In fact it’s pretty well the only product available. And very ineffective. It’s Iron. Thats all. On average, you have roughly 3 weeks before the weed returns. The fertilizer that they use, Natures Choice. They’re selling point for that is “This fert is blended exclusively for weedman by the Guelph Turfgrass Institue at the University of Guelph” True. But GTI will do this for anyone. Not much of a selling point really.
Pesticides. The Ontario Cosmetic Pesticide Ban, was a government response to tree huggers complaining that chemicals were killing their dogs. Decades of multi-billion dollar studies have shown that when properly applied, pesticides have no detrimental effect on human or animal health. If they did, these products would have never been permitted for use in Canada. What was happening was Joe Citizen, was able to go to his local home improvement store, buy pretty much any chemical he felt like, and apply it himself. Most of the time homeowners didn’t read the instructions, or, when they did, couldn’t be bothered to measure the area to be treated and do the math to calculate the proper application rate. A more appropriate response from the government would have been to strictly limit the purchase of such chemicals to companies that posess a valid Ontario Pesticide Operator certificate. And limit the application of such chemicals to licensed exterminators only.
The benefits of having a healthy lawn are endless. Soil erosion control, groundwater recharge, improves soil quality, decomposition of organic materials, improves air quality, moderates temperature, glare reduction, reduces noxious pests and human allergens. Health benefits: provides recreational surface that encourages physical activity, positive effects on mental health because its aesthetically pleasing and calming, a healthy lawn can reduce heart rate and blood pressure, grass takes in carbon dioxide and expels oxygen, weeds take in oxygen and expel carbon dioxide.
In conclusion, I will never suggest weedman to anyone. I personally view it as a scam. There are thousands of threads just like this one condemning them. If you check with the better business bureau, they have hundreds of complaints. They also received fines from the provincial government in 2011 for unethical and illegal sales practices.
If by completeing this entry, I prevent 1 person from being ripped off, I’m happy.
Disgusted at Misspriss says...
I was wondering if I should hire weedman but after reading what misspriss wrote, I will NEVER hire them! What a disgusting approach to get your point across! If she is any indication on the customer service that weedman provides, I don’t want anything to do with them at all! Whether the product works or not is not important to me at this point…..I couldn’t believe that she would talk to potential customers like she did. I will be forwarding her conversation to weedman and tell them exactly why I WON’T use their service! This little girl needs to grow up and learn how to debate like an adult!!
nick says...
Marketplace did an expose on Weedman a couple of weeks ago, around the first or second friday of feb. Worth looking at before you decide to use them especially in Ontario but also other provinces. Once you get them they seem to be like leeches to get rid of.
samantha says...
- Female Tele marketer f-a-r-t-s like an elephant
Weedman Winnipeg Tele Marketer Wendy Suspended For Passing Gas
Girl’s Family Says Punishment Too Steep
Winnipeg, Manitoba — A chubby 300 pound female Weedman tele marketer has been suspended
from work because she intentionally passed gas and refused to stop eating refried
beans and drinking beer in the lunch room, according to Lorianne and Weedman
management. Wendy was also seen bringing to work “balut” by the dozen which is
chicks still inside the egg shell for snacks, we beleive that this is how she won
Ozzie over by sharing her “balut” with Ozzie, later that week co workers said that
they saw Wendy’s phone number next to Ozzie’s coffee cup, Ozzie being a married man
began playing hard to get and this is when Wendy began passing gas to win him over.
This was the first time we ever seen a black skinny anorexic man from the MTS call
centre in Osbourne turn blue all 6ft and 88 pounds of him.
Lorianne reported that Wendy a veteran short 300 pound tele marketer was suspended from
the Weedman call center under a company rule against disruptive behavior
and eating beans and drinking beer in the lunchroom and eating “balut” grossing out
the other co workers by pulling the whole chicks out of the egg shell before eating them.
Supervisors and co workers said Wendy repeatedly passed gas to make Ozzie laugh, but
instead Ozzie passed out from the stench and collapsed. Emergency paramedics had to be
called in to bring in smelling salt and oxygen mask to revieve Ozzie. Dave, Lorianne’s right
hand man who sometimes uses his left in the mean time till the ambulance arrived didn’t
hesitate to volunteer with a big fat grin on his face and huge lump in his pants to give
Ozzie mouth to mouth resuscitation with an occasional slip of the tongue.
They said the smell also made it difficult to breathe making the other tele marketers
and co workers turn blue in the face and gasping for air.
Lorianne said that when she heard Wendy f-a-r-t-i-n-g it was music to her ears like a wild
herd of elephants trumping and blowing their trunks.
Wendy’s family said their daughter isn’t perfect and they’re appealing the suspension,
saying the manager Noel went too far with its punishment. Lorianne did say that she enjoyed
the smell of Wendy’s passing gas and that it reminded her of being back home on the Reservation
when she lived in tents and everyone used to poop in the corner of the tent.
On the brighter side Lorianne just announced that Wendy will be re-instated for training purposes
and will be allowed to eat all the deep fried beans and drink all the cold beer she wants at
work and that all the Weedman tele markers with less than 12 leads an hour will be sitting next to Wendy
till their production improves.
Smelling salt and oxygen masks will now be supplied in the emergency kit next to the band aids,
which for some strange reason Dave, Lorianne’s right hand man who sometimes uses his left has been
going through a box of band aids every other day, Dave claims its from wood splinters chopping
wood on his uncle’s farm, but we found out that his uncle sold the farm 10 years ago, we always
wondered what a right hand man who sometimes uses his left does with his right hand.
samantha says...
Lorianne and the dirty dozen ride oops callagain!!!!!!!!!!
Weeedman winnipeg is a scam, harassing people through their card board boxes call centre
which they take down after 3 weeks. They now are hiring only 12 people aka the dirty dozen
run by thier ring leader Lorriann aka aunt flow because she is always cranky as if on the
rag 24/7, 365 days a year.
Is weedman losing business? 3 years ago they were hired 60 people plus through an outside
call centre and 20 of them were french agents the year after that was no more than 25 to 30
through the same call centre run a an ex native con fresh out of prison named Roland Mousseau
and this year only 12 people aka the dirty dozen run by Loriann aka aunt flow a dumb blonde
who dyed her hair black to try to look smarter from their remote office location behind a
strip bar called the pony corral because the strippers do lap dances reverse cowgirl style.
Rumour has it that with every free lawn care treatment customers get 20 free lap dances
That tells you alot about the service and plus there are numerous complaints on line about
weedman scamming people and harassment.
Who wants to pay several thousand dollars when you can go to home depot and buy the spray
cannister can and pesticide and do your own lawn for under $100, and have no annoying tele
marketers harassing you.
Harrassment, you want to talk about harassing people on the phone, poor seniors were telling
the weedman tele marketers that they were going to call the police because of being called
so much.
How good is weedmans tele marketing service? Loriann aka aunt flow and the dirty dozent
were even calling people living in apartment buildings to spray their lawns, and this is
the same Loriann aka aunt flow who tries to intimidate people during interviews by thinking
she knows everything there is about call centre work.Loriann aka aunt flow grass grows outside
in front of homes not in apartment units. What a dumb skank!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I can see now why they went from 60 tele marketers down to the dirty dozen.
and did i mention that the hours for the 60 people plus and 30 people plus were 8 hours a day
40 hours a week, now this skank aka aunt flow native wanna be who is really a dumb blonde who
dyed her hair black to look smarter know it all chick, all she is giving is only 4 hours
a day and 20 hours a week, weedman has come a along way going down the drain that is
perhaps they should start a new business roto rooter man, and spray toilets instead of
lawns, im sure that pesticide will unclog any toilet and Loriann aka aunt flow knows how to
get on her hands and knees.
Ana says...
I came here to find out if this company was reputable or not, and here I find it’s being run by school kids with to much time on their “hands-on-the-net”.
Never have I witnessed such unprofessional-like behavior. These comments alone have me convinced never to request service from WEEDMAN. Their “employees” did enough in that respect.
Numbers mean nothing when any company has enough money to fund expensive marketing and fancy commercials. It does not necessarily mean they had to earn their way to being number one.
Thank you WEEDMAN employees for deciding to going with a small local company!!!
misspriss all the way to Samantha…THANK YOU!
WeedManSupporter says...
This is unbelievable.
As an old employee of Weed Man and also hopefully getting hired on again soon, I know from inside experience what Weed Man is like. They provide excellent lawn care and when they DO mess up which is very rare they redo your lawn FREE till it is PERFECT. As for people talking about how they threaten the Door Knockers and what not, I can say that, as an ex Door Knocker, all I ever wanted was to provide people with an excellent service and it IS an excellent service and whoever says they’ve had Weed Man do a terrible lawn is either lieing or they never called Weed Man to fix the program which I will say (again) is FREE!!! And boohoo to those who have to see them 3 times in a year ooooooooooooohhh my 3 times for 2 minutes and then you slam the door in their face and scream at them for trying to offer you a free lawn care quote. Shame on you! You try going outaide for 5-8 hours a night to offer a FREE lawn care quote and getting threatened and verbally abused.
No means No to Weed (and her) Man says...
[B]CONCLUSION: [/B]Dishonest, unreliable company providing below average Customer Service. Read online reviews before signing contracts with any company to get an idea. Btw, I just realized Weed rhyme with Greed and both should be dealt with professionally.
I was busy this year so I decided to hire pro to take care of my dandelion weeds infested lawn. I paid everything in full ($286~). Boy I made huge mistake, I should have checked online for their reviews first and hire someone with good reputation.
First application of fertilizer, it was quick, and then I had to call in twice to rush service for weed application since weed was growing rapidly (thinking once grown, pollen will help multiply them quickly). The day they were suppose to come for a first weed application, I did not see lawn sign nor any envelope literature left like it was when fertilizer was applied. When I called customer service said guy came over and applied it already, gave me Service guy’s name etc and said yes sometimes they don’t leave paper work because they ran out of it or something. I asked how I would know it’s done or not so finally She agreed to send manager to inspect my lawn for weed application. 4 days later when I called, guy name [B]Surren[/B] said they can reapply for free when I asked repeatedly I am only interested to know what is the result of manager’s inspection after asking few times, he told me manager found out weed application was not applied, and now they can reapply no charge. He said summer students some time miss the lawn and apply to someone else’s lawn. I complained why didn’t anyone call me and tell me the truth he had no answer but he decided to credit me for the service and booked reapplication.
2 days later I decided not to do any business with such company so I called to cancel and got [B]Keisha. [/B]She told me I will be charged for Fertilizer (which is fair I did get the application) and weed application (which I never got), and rest of the money will be refunded ($165). Both [B]Keisha[/B] and manager [B]Brian[/B] denied there is such a note on the account specifying weed application was not done so they cannot credit me for the weed application service. Instead both recommended me to get free reapplication since I am already paying for it, and won’t get my money back for weed application. I agreed but next day I called again and decided not to receive so called free application. I spoke to a GENTLEMAN named Shane who was extremely polite and honest employee. He said there is a note on the account by the Tech who inspected my property that weed application was NOT done; only ONE Fertilizer application was ever done, which is what I have been telling them. He tried to save me and offered me good service but I decided not to do any business with such a low level unethical company.
I understand and have dealt with Customer Service reps who really should not be in that business but 3 people ripping you off for $60 odd dollar is beyond my understanding. Whole reason I signed with them to have no worries but I was making ph calls just to remind them and baby-sit if they do their Job or not. Shane agreed to refund my $ minus the first fertilizer application which is fair since I never wanted to get full credit. After reading horror stories online, I wanted to make sure they don’t charge me next year and come to my property ever again. He took me off the list. Still waiting for his call to confirm Cancellation is done as he was nice enough to realize I had death in the family and why I had to go through this horrible service. I think they should have more people like Shane to save the company from losing customers.
I told [B]Keisha, Brian[/B] that I had death in the family why should I be dealing with this crap but they did not budge. I was not being unreasonable; just refund for services I did not receive.
hoxisectoxoks says...
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ComeSeeMyWeedmanLawn says...
HAd 3 Wedman for 3 years. Last year prepaid for top program - fertilize, weed control, crabgrss, grubs, core aeration, etc. They came a total of 5 times (my neighbour paid as they serviced and got 8 visits). They didn’t spray for grubs until October. Compalined about lawn damage, supervisor came by, said they’d be abck in Spring to over-seed and top dress. had to call a few times, and then he said that they don’t top dress. Even when I waived the 2 Weedman documetns saying they would, he said head offcie never approves.Finally got a hold of someone in Head Offcie - 3 days later they came and re-seeded and top dressed (boy was this guy p’d off). My lawn (front & back) looks like an abondoned field. Grass is starting to grow but patchy. Recomendation: Never prepay, never use Weedman, be polite with the poor girl that has to answer the phone, and get ahold of their Head Office (they are a franchise).
treedude says...
first - thatgengirl - DDT has been out lawed since the 60’s. and orange was never used in North America. Idiots like you make every thing including yourself wrong and stupid. Second - The products that are used today are much safer if used properly. I have been working in the industry for 35 years. Most of the products we used are also used in your own homes as one product or another. The products you use to kill insects indoors are more dangerous to you than what it used outside. Just because those of us that have trained employees use it right. I squirt of the stuff you use inside would work but you all hold the button down and over dose your home. The fungicides we use on lawns and plants you may also use on your body, they just have a differant name and used at a differant mix rate. Read the labels for both types of products and you will stop using most of the meds on the shelf because you could overdose from them before the same product used on you lawn would even make you sick. Oh, YES Weedman is one of the worst lawn care companies I have seen.
Jack Barton says...
Their application is ineffective - we’ve never had so many weeds. Their service is even worse. Don’t even think of using this company.
zechariah says...
I currently work for nutri lawn in the off season right now.
All lawn care companies are ruthless as much as cell phone companies and insurance companies.
All the good chemicals that kill weeds have been banned. Now they use alternatives such as Fiesta.p
Now this fiesta only kills about %70 of the types of weeds, but they advertise for complete control. One time my boss was trying to get a customer to sign up for Fiesta, but the customer wanted to see what the product does and how effective it is. So my boss instructed me to spray a few weeds and mark them. But he only told me to spray and mark the type of weeds the product kills. I have many story’s like this. They only pretend to care about the customer and be nice. And they try to do the same with there employees but that physiology does not work on me.
I am writing a article on lawn care companies for the national paper and your story’s would be great
zechariah says...
I currently work for nutri lawn in the off season right now.
All lawn care companies are ruthless as much as cell phone companies and insurance companies.
All the good chemicals that kill weeds have been banned. Now they use alternatives such as Fiesta.pi
Now this fiesta only kills about %70 of the types of weeds, but they advertise for complete control. One time my boss was trying to get a customer to sign up for Fiesta, but the customer wanted to see what the product does and how effective it is. So my boss instructed me to spray a few weeds and mark them. But he only told me to spray and mark the type of weeds the product kills. I have many story’s like this. They only pretend to care about the customer and be nice. And they try to do the same with there employees but that physiology does not work on me.
I am writing a article on lawn care companies for the national paper and your story’s would be great
Zian says...
BO NOT USE WEED MAN SCARBOROUGH!!! IT IS A BIG LIE FROM A TO Z!
Elena says...
Never have I witnessed such unprofessional-like behavior.
Weed Man Scarborough it’s managed by a bunch of liars and rude people.