Smith’s Lawn & Irrigation

Save your time and your sanity, absolutely do not choose this company for any lawn services. Dillon came and gave me a free estimate and we agreed upon terms and services. He showed up to the house a total of 4 non-​consecutive weeks (I paid for weekly services) and then stopped coming altogether. He will not answer his phone and will not respond to text messages. The best part is he still sends me invoices for payment and he has not been to my property in over 8 weeks.
Completely unprofessional and untrustworthy.

Paid for July and he showed up once. I have confirmation by text on the days he would show up, he stopped coming. All of a sudden communication stops and he doesn’t answer his phone or respond by text.
Dillion, you’re supposedly a business owner be responsible and act like one. If you can’t commit to what you promise to do just say so instead of disappearing!

After reading my last review I realized I left a lot out. So let’s start over Dillion was hired to find a leak in the underground irrigation pipes. He said that would be to costly. So he decided to redo the irrigation pipes completely. He tore the back yard apart to re lay the pipes. Did a horrible job at putting in the sprinklers. We still have a leak which he had assured me would be fixed. My back yard was not leveled back out after digging the trenches. He just simply tried to put the dirt back in them… There was pvc pipe left in the backyard which is still there to this day. Dillion was asked to come back out and take a look at why it was still leaking (keep in mind he guaranteed his work) never did he come back out again. He sent a kid out that said he couldn’t find anything. Then I never saw anyone again.. Needless to say at least a thousand was spent for sprinklers and continued monthly maintenance which was never done. Be careful because in this case you do truly get what you pay for!

I contacted Dillon on a recommendation from a friend. Here’s my experience with a timeline to give you a visual on my frustration (email and text history reference, not much face to face or phone con between us after the estimate visit):
3÷26÷14: I got my free estimate and was promised a quote that night or the next night. I didn’t see anything for a day or two, then ³⁄₂₉ rolls around he says he thought he sent it same day. I understand technical issues and what-​not, but it took 6 days to work out an «email issue». I received my quote on 3÷31÷14 and told him it looked good and that we could proceed.
4÷1÷14: 24hrs later he tells me schedules are getting worked out. I wanted work done before the 11^th, he said that it’d «be tight, I’m pretty booked until the 14^th.»
4÷2÷14: Via email he said he was still working the schedule. I asked for the initial cleanup to at least be completed before the 11^th. Then he asked that I give him until the next night for an answer, which I agreed to.
4÷5÷14: I asked if scheduling had been «figured out». He apologized, believing he had sent it and promised it to me after he was back from «the field».
4÷6÷14: Still no email. Must be a fierce schedule. After threat of using another company, he said he’d be by Tuesday, again quoting «problems with my email (sic).» Reminder, this was a «yes or no» question. Can you do it before Friday 11 April? Yes, on _​_​_​_​_​day. or No, here is the earliest date _​_​_​_​_​. No email really required (which
4÷8−4÷12: He did the initial clean-​up and cleaned up most of his work. I’ve still got a lump of weeds in backyard that he never cleaned up. Work left: remove several small bushes, mulch and sod front/​backyard areas, and grass/​mulch borders, and clean up remaining waste. Last contact, ⁴⁄₁₂ (Saturday) approx 1pm.
4÷16÷14: I asked when he had planned on finishing the mulch, sod, etc. He said he wanted to finish Friday. I was cool with that.
4÷18÷14: Mulch went down. Nothing else was done, his sod-​place couldn’t get him the product until Tuesday so he promised Tuesday for everything to be cleaned up. This is where things went south…
I show up to my house and I see an open-​bed trailer with a wheelbarrow and some lawn/​garden tools hanging out inside it. It’s parked in my driveway and blocking me from effortlessly getting into my garage.
I think to myself «Self, do we own one of these? No? I didn’t think so either. Did someone ask to park this here? No? Interesting that someone would think this is ok.» So I text Dillon, told him the mulch looked great and asked what was up with this trailer in my driveway. As expected, no answer. I allow this for one night (which, in hindsight, I shouldn’t have. hindsight is ²⁰⁄₂₀ though).
4÷19÷14: I ask if he got my text from yesterday. Again no answer. I text him 2.5 hours later and tell him we’ll have problems if he doesn’t answer me today. I learned that this is what it takes to get answers as our business relationship digressed. This is the response I get, almost immediately: «Never got text yesterday and have been busy all day. (sic)» So you’re too busy to answer a customers text from earlier in the day? How is it that the concerning texts don’t make it through but the seemingly hostile/​threatening (in the business sense) texts always find his attention expeditiously?
I’ll spare everyone all the drama and make it short, as this is already beginning to become a novel. I threatened to have it removed, he called and said he needed it for work and he’d come get it (but he was busy today, was he busy not working? I mean his trailer for «work» is in my driveway?) I terminated his services and he came over pretty quickly to get it, thus ending my interaction with this business.
Pros: He’s got great prices and the work is good when it’s done.
Cons: Inefficient communication, lack of TIMELY response, unexpectedly leaves a trailer in your driveway, work from start to finish is hit or miss (the friend that recommended him had all his work done in 3 days, you see my timeline above) and I have a suspicion, as Cassandra S. does, that he may not be licensed, bonded, or insured.
Hope this aids all who are considering his services.

«Thank you Smith’s Lawn & Irrigation for doing business with Pexa Insurance and being such a valued customer for over 6 months. You are a pleasure to deal with and I am so excited that your business has become very successful. I would also like to add I couldn’t be happier with my home landscaping… you have done an amazing job!

I finally found a very professional and honest guy that will take care of my lawn.
I’m very happy with his service and I know for sure even if I’m on vacation he will always do his job :-) thanks Dillon

I first called Dillon on Wednesday morning 12÷11÷13 to schedule a free quote/​estimate on my backyard for sod. He was able to come out the same day, and only a few hours later. He showed up on time and then had a quote emailed to me the same evening. My family owning a landscaping company back home allows me to say his prices are very low. After getting many prices from other contractors, I called him back Friday ¹²⁄₁₃ asking him when he would be available to start work. Dillon said he could start work on Monday morning ¹²⁄₁₆ but would need payment for materials upfront. I told him that was not a problem and when would be a good time for him to come by for the check. With that being said of course before I give anyone $ 1000 upfront, I wanted to make sure he was licensed, bonded and insured so I wouldn’t lose my money. Three days went by and I could not reach him after multiple calls, voice-​mails and text messages. Once he did not show up to start work on Monday I finally reached him by calling from a different number… Only for him to tell me he did not want to work with me now because I asked if he was insured and that made him uncomfortable. So the fact is HE IS NOT RELIABLE OR INSURED. Be very careful

Dillion did a great job on installing my new lawn in Murrieta. It came out much better than I expected. He even cleaned up the plants along the side of the house and put mulch down. Smith’s Lawn will be my go to place for landscape services in the Murrieta area from now on.

I hired Dillon in July of 2013 to replace damaged lawns with new sod in both the front and back yard. Dillon and his partner were on time, diligent and motivated to do the job right. He takes a great deal of pride in making sure the job is finished in a timely manner. Dillon had the lowest prices of several bids and was able to work on the lawns immediately.
I also hired his company to continue with landscape maintenance and he further impressed by going over to the house and hand watering the lawns to make sure the grass took root. Dillon made recommendations and repairs to the original sprinkler system as well.
I HiGHLY recommend Dillon and his company to anyone! Thanks again!!!