IF YOU READ NOTHING ELSE, READ THIS: LawnStarter is not to be believed and not to be trusted. My experience has been one issue after another, essentially from day one (but I blew off the red flags) the least of which has been their standard operating procedure for having their "pros" send a message stating "I will be there on XXX date to mow your lawns", followed by no call, no show. That is a deal breaker with me and is EXACTLY why my last lawn guy is no longer my lawn guy.

This is a follow-up to my previous review. I'll recap. The first visit is meant to be $19. I was assured the front and back would be mowed. I explained that I had been abandoned by my last lawn guy and that there were areas of the back lawn that were getting a bit tall. I was assured that the pro would be advised and told not to worry about it. That was a Thursday, a pro was assigned and was supposed to be there on Saturday to mow the lawns. Saturday came and went - no call, no show.
I contacted customer service (via email) and was eventually contacted by the pro. He came out on Sunday, mowed the front lawn but not the back - he just left with zero explanation whatsoever.
Contacted customer service again and received another (oh goodie) email stating that my pro would be back on Monday. That was followed by another no call no show.
Contacted customer service again; got another lovely email at 3 a.m. from the pro. He said the gate was locked and I wasn't home. Trouble with that is that I was working from home all day that day and I had unlocked the gate at 6 a.m. Got another email a minute or two later stating that he couldn't come due to inclement weather. Oh Lord - whatever sticks, I guess.
Contacted customer service again - first "pro" was replaced with a new one. But he can't make it out there until Thursday or Friday. We've had rain and heat and the back lawn's gotten noticeably taller!
Now somewhere in there I'd written my first not very complimentary review of this company on here and was contacted by a very concerned customer support person who left a voicemail asking me to call her direct number. I dialed the number. It was a call center - nothing even remotely direct about it. Got nothing but a recording suggesting I leave a voicemail and will be contacted by the next available representative. Oh and - my call is very important to them.
There have also been emails regarding the fees having been waived altogether accompanied by a load of bull about how important my business is and that this is definitely not the way this experience is supposed to go.
New pro shows up Thursday afternoon and just as I'm beginning to feel a little better and start to believe this might work out, I get this email on Saturday:

LawnStarter
Hi Susie,

The LawnStarter pro who mowed your grass on Thursday, August 24, filed a Long Grass Fee Re
port.

What this means: You will be charged a Long Grass Fee of $26.00, so your total price for this mow
is now $80.99. Click here to revisit the previously accepted Long Grass Policy.

In case you have questions, review the Long Grass Report.

Sincerely,

The LawnStarter Team

Guess who else I got an email from? The call center rep who left me her "direct number." She wants to speak to me. I sent her a reply, and added the "long grass fee email" to my list of grievances.

I am concurrently getting conflicting emails from the 5th customer service rep in a week who has apologized and assured me that my business is VERY important to them. That email has conflicting information in it regarding the charges (also addressing a discounted long grass fee) so I have no idea what amount they are going to debit out of my account but I DO KNOW that they're gonna debit my account - probably on Monday.

If the original email regarding the long grass fee is to be believed, I am being charged $81 for the privilege of having to put up with this crap. In the scenario laid out there, not only did they not waive any fees as another email had said they would, they charged the full price for the mow, completely disregarded the $19 promo fee they were supposed to extend for the first visit and tacked on a $26 long grass fee. This is a SCAM and they make the process so confusing that you end up not sure what the hell is actually even supposed to be happening.
Did I mention there is a three-cut minimum? Also, danger danger - they automatically debit your account, so I'm just hoping that I don't have to cancel my debit card and get a new one, because that is a gigantic PITA.
I quite literally asked that 1. They remove me from their automated system which clearly is ignored by the reps and cannot accommodate non-cookie cutter situations, and
2. That the first two visits (which should have been one but Mr. Pro flaked out on the back lawn) be considered two cuts, and for them to just charge me for all three at once so I can get the hell out of this nightmare. I'm hoping that they can at least do that but I am not at all certain that they have any interest whatsoever in doing the right thing.
I will be almost certainly be reporting them to the BBB.

MARIO, OUR EMPLOYEE IS TOP NOTCH. WE LOVE THE IDEA THAT WE CAN ADJUST THE WORK THAT NEEDS TO BE DONE. LAWNSTARTERS IS PERFECT FOR US.

Thomas is great.
Thomas is great.
Thomas is great.
Thomas is great.
Thomas is great.
Thomas is great.

Jeremy and his crew are PHENOMINAL and I greatly appreciate how great they help the yard look!

This is a warning to all my neighbors about the very negative experience that I had after contacting and requesting the services of Lawn starter.Inc. It is probably important to mention that they "subcontract" out to smaller independent lawn services.

Early April I requested their services and was asked the usual questions related to size of yard, existence of fencing…gates, size and accessibility of gates, and of course, what kind of services I required. I provided my address and all required information. Our final agreement resulted in a bi-weekly contract for approximately $52.00 per job.

For my first cut, the gentleman who owned the subcontract was from Poquoson. First, He delayed my service for a week because of equipment problems. The next week he called and said he would be at my house shortly, but hours later had still not arrived. I called him and told him that in the time since he had called, my next door neighbors lawn service guy had already come and gone! It turns out he had mowed my next door neighbors yard!

Upon his arrival at the house he complained continuously about providing a free lawn service next door, and the money he would lose. He informed me that my "estimate" was way under what it should be, and that Lawn starters company had not paid him the last $400.00 that he was owed by them. He told me he was going independent and suggested that I call his service for any further "negotiations" about services to my property! He then went on to do the poorest quality service my yard has ever received! Issues noticed were un-mowed areas of grass and missed edging around the house and the fencing, in both front yard and backyard.

I called Lawn starter service line and told them about the appalling service I had received, and let them know about his complaints, and that he was using their customer base to promote his own company! Not loyal, not honorable…very ugly! The very attentive and courteous young lady promised to provide another subcontractor, and I agreed to one more try. The next two weeks was delay after delay, with actual message traffic from the subcontractor stating I had canx the service that day. This was followed by a message on the lawn starter website that my "job" had been completed and would I please provide a review! Are you freaking kidding me!

I called back Lawn starter company and this time talked to a young man. I won't go into the details, but he was rude, contrite, and arrogant beyond words. He was obviously trained as a company talking pawn. I fired Lawn starter service that day.

I ended up mowing and edging my own lawn.

Then on 23 May I received another Lawn starter text message that "Jacob" had come out and completed my lawn, and they wanted me to provide a review! This company is a "WHACK" job! Stay Clear!

I hope this review will prevent some of you from experiencing the disaster called Lawn Starter.Inc

Worst experience of my life. They want to rip you off

Let me start by telling you what happened since there are people at their company that doesn't care:

I called Saturday to get my lawn serviced( I only wanted the front and back cut), spoke to them on the phone and we agreed to have them come out to cut my grass 5/16/2022 or 5/17/2022 in case it rains. Later in the conversation the Person working for LAWNSTARTER says "Can they come out earlier? Would Sunday be ok? (that was 5-15-22). I agreed to that, he took my address and debit card info over the phone (them taking my debit card information over the phone should've been my first red flag)

Sunday (5-15-2022) comes and goes. I was waiting for them to arrive so that I could barbeque but they never showed. They didn't call me, text me, or email me to let me know they were not arriving. I get a little upset because LAWNSTARTER will CHARGE YOU EXTRA if the grass gets to high(6 inches and up) but I think to myself "They will be here tomorrow, I have nothing to worry about". Oh and I forgot to mention, when I was in my front yard that day, a different lawn service had just got through cutting my neighbor's yard and they asked if they could cut my yard for $30, I told them no because I hired someone else to come right?

Monday (5/26/2022) I randomly check my surveillance camera to see if they come by, but its 4 pm on a Monday and still nothing. No calls, no emails, no text. I call LAWNSTARTER and ask to contact costumer service because AT THIS POINT my grass is getting higher and it will COST ME MORE MONEY TO GET MY GRASS CUT. Im talking to one of LAWNSTARTERS customer services representatives (which is it outsourced to a different country?) the customer service agent begins to interrupt me, cut me off then he gets upset when I ask him to let me speak because I let him speak and he tells me "The conversation has run its course" and begins to hang up on me.

They told me that my status with my account was "pending" I asked what does that mean? And he said "We have you in the system but no one has selected your profile yet. Meaning your yard wont get serviced until one of the groups we have, select it and then let us know they will mow it"

So why couldn't they tell me that when I first called them? How come when I first talked to them on the phone, they didn't mention that? Is it because they knew I wouldn't pick their service? Or maybe it's a ploy they use to allow the grass to grow taller so they can charge you more. I don't even think the company actually provides lawn servicer. I wonder if they are just some third party company trying to take advantage of laborers?

Don't use this company or any other company they are affiliated with. All they want to do is take your money and the money of the people that are actually doing the job. I hired them for a job and they lacked the professional integrity to see it through and it will cost ME MORE MONEY.

I honestly wish I had read reviews before booking. Absolutely my fault for trusting that LawnStarter is a quality company. I initially booked on February 9th, 2022. Luis picked up my "yard" and stated he would be to my home on February 14,2022. On that Monday, Luis messaged me stating he "did not make it to my address for personal reasons" and had rescheduled me to February 21,2022. On Monday February 21,2022 I received this message from Luis, "I wasn't able to make it out to XXXXX Tioga Street on Mon, Feb 21 to complete your Lawn Mowing because of a personal problem. You've been rescheduled for Wed, Feb 23". Then, you'll never guess, on Wednesday February 23,2022 I received this message "I am sorry the weather today is very bad and if I mow it gets really messy when wet I will go tomorrow". It had rained here in CA on Saturday... it was not unmowable on Wednesday and was not raining! Then Thursday came and yet another message "Hi Jessica, I wasn't able to make it out to XXXXX Tioga Street on Thu, Feb 24 to complete your Lawn Mowing because of a family problem. You've been rescheduled for Sat, Feb 26". I contacted LawnStarter and was advised that they have a minimum of 3 'mows' with the crew and to 'hold on a few more days to see if Luis shows up'. Well, on Saturday February 26,2022 Luis showed up. He did mow the lawn, edge and weed whacked my rose bushes (something I did not ever ask for). Then came the next week for him to mow and of course, more messages about personal problems, a sick family member, car trouble, etc. I was charged $76.80 on February 14,2022 for the monthly service of mowing my front yard only. On March 26,2022 I reached out to Customer Service again and was told they would switch my crew to complete the monthly service I had been charged for in February. On April 4,2022 Charlene came out and mowed and edged my front yard. Yet on April 4,2022 my card was hit for $132.87. Again, reached out to Customer Service and asked why Charlene had stated she did Landscape Clearing at my home and provided pictures of my front yard. Darius with Customer Service stated he would contact the provider and conduct an investigation and get back to me within 48 hours. Today is April 12,2022 and I received an email message stating they "have closed their investigation". No other information provided! Absolutely a scam, absolutely the worst. I have filed a dispute with my bank to help recover the costs that were taken from my bank account for services not received. BE WARNED!

I have a been a Lawnstarter customer now for almost two years. The first year I would say the service was pretty good. The crew that LawnStarter put me with came like clock work and they did what they were supposed to do until July 2021. At beginning of July 2021 the crew that I was working with only mowed the front yard. They said they couldn't get into the backyard which is hard to understand given that the same crew has had no problem doing that for some time. I didn't think twice about it and I figured the backyard would get mowed on the next pass except its now August 11 and there hasn't been a crew that has returned since then. The crew cancelled multiple times for "personal reasons" and they would continuously reschedule all the while LawnStarter was continuing to charge me for regular mows. I called them. They reassigned a crew. The crew wanted to charge $175 tall grass fee. Understandable but the LS team wasn't clear that I needed to accept the quote and then call them to have that credited back to my account. Okay fine. Reschedule, no show. Reschedule, no show. I call again to support. Nice guy, Ray was but here's what I need. I needed them to take ownership of the issues and call someone to clearly explain the issue and get this issue rectified. The challenge is that LawnStarter is a pure Digital business. Being me I think that's pretty cool but being a customer that just doesn't work for me when we have an outlier situation like this one. I have cancelled my service not because of issues, I'm pretty patient and willing to be flexible but what I can't tolerate is that I've now invested 50 mins on phone calls to the LS support team to try and get a problem resolved that resulted in me calling a local company to schedule a "clean-up" ($175 tall grass fee) and regular mowing service which took all of a 2 minute investment on my part. When digital gets in the way of how your do business companies will lose customers. I hope that Lawnstarter will read this and figure out that while this is a outlier situation I'm sure I'm not the only one and that it would serve them well to establish a customer resolution team that can actually resolve issues not just rely on the digital tools at their disposal. A simple investment on their part of looking up their providers in the area, making a phone call, saying "houston, we have a problem here" and devises a plan would have kept me as a customer. Too bad. I now have 10inch tall grass and a $175 clean-up bill.

I searched online for companies and came across LawnStarter. For 1, this isn't an actual lawn company but rather a 3rd party that identifies lawn companies in your area. They use pictures from the actual lawn company as proof the job was done so they're clueless.
I scheduled my 1st cut and the company didn't show up. Through the online app I requested to have my crew changed. Another was assigned and they couldn't come out for a week which wasnt a huge deal but they charge extra for high grass and I didn't want to get charged because a company didn't show up. The 2nd company reached out the day before and said they couldn't provide service anymore. I called LawnStarter at this point and a 3rd company was assigned and this individual did show up with his lawnmower in the trunk of his car and pants around his knees. I eventually went out and informed the individual I have two daughters 12 and 7 and they don't deserve to look out the window and see that. The company did an awful job and that's being kind but the first cut is half price so I gave them a pass thinking it would be better next time. Guy's having an off day.
I told this guy and when I originally signed up that I want bi-weekly service. The 1st cut was on the 7/8 (billed on the 12th) and then on 7/20 I was billed again for a 2nd cut that happened on 7/16. Two issues: i signed up for bi-weekly service and there was no service provided on 7/16. I called LawnStarter on 7/26 to make them aware of the bogus charges because no service was provided. As I mentioned previously, they depend on pictures provided by the lawn company as proof the job was done and in this case no pictures were sent but LawnStarter charged me anyway. Even though I'm scheduled for bi-weekly and they didn't receive photos. Really suspect.
I called customer service and they're a joke. I said all I want is to discontinue service, receive a refund for services that weren't provided and speak with a manager to make them aware. The rep said - tell me your issue, we'll let the manager know and they'll call you in 24hrs. He didn't know the managers name or even where they're located. I made it clear to the rep that Im questioning the legitimacy of the company and have a feeling this company may be scamming customers. Fast forward - it's been 48hrs and a manger still hasn't called or a refund provided.
Maybe I'm too logical but if someone said I think your company is scamming customers - someone would be calling that customer ASAP to fix the issue and make sure it doesn't happen again…. Unless the company is actually deceiving customers.

7 weeks.

In week 1, they delayed a week because the team member in charge had health complications. Perfectly fine, right?

In week 2, they delayed another week because the same team member had health complications. Again, not a big deal, but now two weeks without lawn care in summer and my grass is kind of long.

In week 3, I was told that the team member had a heart attack. First, I hope he is ok, I obviously am not mad a him. However, when I called, they seemed shocked and acted as if they had no idea. Why was no one told? Why was another team not reassigned? Guess what... delayed another week.

In week 4, I called back to say still no one had come out. I got a message delaying a week but wasn't given a reason.

In week 5, I called to make sure they were coming on Monday or Tuesday. Late Monday I called and said they didn't come, so they should come tomorrow, right? I was assured that they would. And they didn't. So I called back on Friday (I gave them the entire week to come out) and was furious. The rep who helped me said he would send someone out on Monday, no excuses. To which I said, thank you, finally. Oh and also, this service is on the house. Have you ever seen grass after 5 weeks without being cut in the summer?

In week 6, can you take a guess that on Monday they didn't come? In fact, I got an email around 11am saying they were on their way! Then an hour later another email that said they "couldn't access my property" which really made me laugh and scream at the same time. I DO NOT LIVE IN A GATED COMMUNITY AND I DON'T EVEN HAVE A FENCE. YOU LITERALLY JUST DRIVE TO MY HOUSE AND START CUTTING THE GRASS.

In week 7, I spoke to another customer service rep who was completely helpless. In all honesty, I'm not mad at her, she didn't do anything wrong and yet she has to take the brunt of people's rage. So I fired this company and am mad at myself for waiting as long as I did. I was nearly fined by my city and my landlord. This company should have to pay my grass bill for the next two months. The company that eventually helped me out charged me a "long grass" fee, which again, should be reimbursed to me by LawnStarter. This is ridiculous.

I am 21 years old and in my first house. I am a very loyal customer when businesses treat me right. This company will never receive a dollar from me and I will try my hardest to make sure my neighbors and friends do not use them. What a sad experience.