To embarrass this Gardner?

[InsanelyPregnantAndSore]

DH and I were desperate to get a time sensitive item done to our garden. We posted on our village Facebook for recommendations and a local company were recommended and sent me a message. Told them our time scales...etc.

Guy came to quote said he’d be in touch but then nothing.
Chased - promised would send that day.
Still nothing, waited ages.
Chased (promised to send)
Nothing
Chased
Reposted on Facebook asking for other recommendations again. Locals ask if he wasn’t available?
Immediately receive a text from him having seen my post and clearly not wanting me to say anything that’ll look bad on him.

Receive the quote and agree it. Ask about timescales and he says he’ll call back tomorrow.
Nothing
Chase till blue in face.
He comes and does a very half hearted job (obviously wonky hedge) tries to claim DH didn’t give him clear instructions despite DH and I both being crystal clear.
Comes again and does job properly.

DH and I now need something else doing in garden. Got in touch with him offering the job (we are rural so not lots of choice and knew he’d see any Facebook posts) but he’s twice now said he’ll send over a quote on a specific day and hasn’t.

I keep being very direct but polite about his crap communication and still getting lots of promises that don’t materialise.

AIBU to re post asking for available Gardner's and sod him if he’s embarrassed that I’m asking for other recommendations locally because he’s flaky and non dependable?

Why on earth did you employ him?

If you can't get good service and communication at the quote stage it is very clear he will be overall unprofessional.

I would have dropped him at the quote stage.

Move on.

YANBU for finding someone else.
YABU for chasing after a gardner and giving him 70 chances. It wouldn’t cross my mind to do that. Ever.

Shed removal is probably handyman not gardener anyway.

OP just ask again. You're not the one who keeps ignoring or screwing up a job so you have every right to find an alternative gardener. Maybe ask for a handyman to do some gardening work? Might get more options? Unless it's specific gardening skills you need.

I had to do that to get some shed base slabs laid. Nothing too complicated, I'd already levelled and prepped the area so all I needed was someone with a cement mixer and ability to lay them. I Asked the village FB pages and had the same guy recommended over and over. I asked him and all the other recommendations for quotes and out of 5 only this guy came. He quoted and planned the job and then disappeared. We tried contacting him and got nothing. I eventually put another call out on FB and had to reply to everyone that he must be unavailable and he suddenly turned up and his missus was annoyed we'd said he must be unavailable. The slabs were finally laid coming up to winter. We asked for quotes in February.

We've asked for plumbers for 2 years to do a job and ended up just doing it ourselves with the help of YouTube. No one will come! Maybe a shower fitting is beneath most plumbing companies?

I work for a local village hall too and we can't get electricians in for love nor money. Go figure.

[quote InsanelyPregnantAndSore]@EarringsandLipstick

Don’t mean to be overly dramatic. These jobs are time sensitive and have needed doing since we moved in a few weeks before the first lockdown. They got massively delayed due to covid, we couldn’t get workmen in for all the tea in China.

We don’t care about the prettinesss of our garden but these things are causing distress to the extremely garden proud OAP’s who live behind us as they’re encroaching on their garden. With a baby on the way, if it doesn’t get done now I’m not sure it will this summer and I think we are taking the p* a bit ruining the garden of the couple behind us.

(We have a fence/shed literally falling apart into their garden)[/quote]
If it's a shed and fence...That's not a gardener's job, that's a job for a garden fence/shed putter-upper :)

Gardeners do gardening. Fence builders are geared up for building bespoke fences {Much better than ready made panels...as last a lot longer.}

@InsanelyPregnantAndSore

I have had the identical problem with a stone wall...I just can't lift the coping stones to do it myself...It needs a professional, but have been let down so many times.

Where are the good skilled trades?

But why create all this unnecessary drama?

You asked for a recommendation on Fb. That recommendation was shit. Asking again on fb will help you how?

Do your own research. Look online. Local magazine adverts. Then contact a gardener direct.

No need for any us to receive countless requests for help/recommendations...🙄

Try searching on the Gardener's Guild. They list professional, qualified gardeners in the local area.

I wouldn't give him another chance. It is the busiest time of year but that's no excuse.

You don’t need to post again. Just search for your original post and look at the other recommendations. There’s usually a search icon at the top of Facebook group pages (magnifying glass) and you can either search your name to find your post or type in ‘gardener’ to see all posts that mention that word.

@Accentor

Is there no way at all you could do your own gardening?

OP doesn't have to explain why they can't or don't want to do their own garden. In this case they can't, in my case I can't be arsed and would far far rather pay someone.

OP just post again asking for gardener recommendations. You don't have to say anything about this chap - if people mention him just ignore the comments. You're not obliged to say anything whatsoever. If he does pipe up you don't have to say anything if you don't want to

And op - don't use a shit tradesperson again. Just don't do it.

Could your OAP neighbours be asked for a contact? If you put another post on SM, do you have to explain yourself to the village as to why you've not used this guys services again?

OP just let it go, you don;t need the drama in your life.

Why are you considering employing him for a second time?

@AbsolutelyPatsy

there must be another way of finding a gardener? put a note in a shop window? local paper?

These days social media is the easiest method to find tradespeople. I doubt that many of them look in shop windows or the local paper any more to find work.

Where I live all small businesses advertise on local Facebook pages.

perhaps there just are available gardeners around? they all have contracts in place, no one is sitting waiting for the call.

arent available gardeners

yellow pages?

do you have a free ads magazine?

When did he do the hedges? Because a proper gardener wouldn't do it in nesting season.

Find someone else. Can't you block him on FB?

This is what happens when Brexut sends home all those hard-working Eastern Europeans. Dream of the brief period when an enthusiastic and competent tradesman with a heavy accent would sort out our domestic trivia, not stop for tea and biscuits, do the work properly and be available in a reasonable time. Back to how it used to be.

Not sure many gardeners would want to dismantle fences/sheds? Sounds more like a handyman sort of thing.

If its fence and shed, then you need a specialist fence person or perhaps a handyman. That means you can look slightly further afield and also have a good get-out re: your local gardener. I've had quite good results from nextdoor.com - its always full of people asking for recommendations - and also the ads in local papers or even googling.

@EchoElephant

Try searching on the Gardener's Guild. They list professional, qualified gardeners in the local area.

I wouldn't give him another chance. It is the busiest time of year but that's no excuse.

Yeah, I'd suggest Gardeners Guild instead of Facebook too honestly.