Lawn-service company Canadian Property Stars will implement new measures next year in attempts to prevent consumer complaints, confusion and concern. President Ben Stewart said a recent St.
Lawn-service company Canadian Property Stars will implement new measures next year in attempts to prevent consumer complaints, confusion and concern.
President Ben Stewart said a recent St. Albert complaint has negatively impacted his business, causing roughly 10 local employees to quit with thousands of dollars potentially being lost, all resulting from simple miscommunication.
“At the end of the day, I am sorry for having my worker step foot on that property and if we had had the chance to fix the situation … we would have clearly indicated that we are so sorry and [they] can disregard the invoice, but we were not given that opportunity,” he said.
In mid-April, Sandra and Bruce McGillivray found a Canadian Property Stars employee aerating their lawn – something neither of them said was authorized. They asked the individual to leave their property and later found a $45 invoice in their mailbox. This prompted phone calls to local RCMP and the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre.
The St. Albert Gazette published a story on the situation on April 25.
“I feel, at this point, that we may have overreacted, but some of our concern was warranted,” Sandra said.
Change to practice
Canadian Property Stars will implement additional measures for the pre-booking period in February, when prior customers are contacted to see if they would like to repeat the aeration service that year.
In the case of the McGillivrays, this is where the problem arose.
Canadian Property Stars records show that the McGillivrays had the same service performed on June 4, 2011, which automatically added them to a recall list. There is confusion whether the service was OK’d by the couple’s son or was the result of a clerical error.
“At the end of the day, whether it be clerical error or we actually in fact spoke to their son … we had interpreted that they had rebooked for this year to come and do their lawn,” Stewart said.
To avoid future complications, he said an additional phone call will be made prior to performing the aeration. This will involve a separate individual making contact with the consumer to ensure they intend to have the service performed.
“That’s not a perfect system, but that’s a step forward,” he said, adding this step is currently done only for individuals who request a call back or have sprinklers, a locked gate or pets that might interfere with the service.
In addition to the phone call, all invoices will feature the company’s money-back guarantee and service policy, which states that individuals unhappy with their service or who have received the service accidentally are not required to pay.
