To have called out my gardener

[Whenindoubthugitout]

I have had a gardener this year. I have been really pleased and happy with the work he has done.

I asked him to reseed my lawn. Which he agreed to do.
The price he quoted was for 2.5 days work.

he reseeded it within a day, and I asked if the price would be reduced to reflect that it hasn’t taken him as long.

he said that - whilst it was reduced slightly - he would come out and water it daily for me whilst we were away, and that this was reflected in the pricing - which was fine.

we have been away all week, and he sent me a text this morning telling me I was due him the full amount.

however - I have a ring doorbell - and he hasn’t been out all week. (Tbf - it’s rained every day)

I called him out, and said I was unhappy to be paying for a job he hasn’t carried out.

he has now backtracked and said - oh yeah - but I plan to do three more trips (cynically I don’t believe him) and that he just didn’t want to bother me on holiday.

Aibu -to think he is trying it on -and the extra 3 trips are now because I called him out. And if he had initially intended to do these - he would have said so upfront……

I feel really sad. And let down
and slightly stupid for trusting someone to do something whilst I wasn’t there.

Completely missing the point, but I really really dislike the expression “call someone out”. Its completely meaningless. You saw that your gardener had not done what he promised or you expected and you told him this, you didn’t “call him out” OP.

In that case pay him for the hours he has worked and invite him to sue you for any fictitious ones he wants paying for

I doubt you'll hear anything else

This! I paid my gardener £20ph ten years ago.

Sorry you encountered this thieving bastard OP.

I wouldn't pay - I think he's being disingenuous and I'm usually pretty generous / slack about this stuff.

Don’t pay him. If he didn’t do the work as agreed then just pay him for what he did.

OK.

But are you saying you paid for hire of machinery and purchase of top soil and grass seed on top of the £600 figure he gave?

Because if you are I'm more inclined to come round to the point of view that you've paid over the odds.

I had assumed that the £600 covered all associated costs - including his labour, hire of machinery and materials.

But if you are saying the £500 you eventually paid only covered a day's labour, that's a different matter.

I spent about two days reseeding our small lawn. Took nearly a months (watering twice a day) to take, there is a whole process over when and how to first cut it too. So I suppose it depends if you want someone to take care of your grass between now and the lawn looking any good 🤷‍♀️ Bit strange if he came and watered it in the rain. Presumably you have a very large garden if you need a gardener so the quote includes seed and equipment not just labour?

I have already paid for all the materials
this was just the cost of carrying out the job
i have always paid by the hour

i am ducking out now, 80% say I am not unreasonable,
the 20% who think I am, i understand your view, I don’t necessarily agree with it,

I'm not sure what you were expecting him to do - it seems like you either wanted him to go there and twiddle his thumbs while it rained, or to sacrifice pay he was expecting and probably relying on.
I think expecting either of those would be unreasonable.

My husband and I are gardeners. If we quote for a job which takes less than we thought then we only charge for the time it actually took.

What did the re-seeding involve? Did he have to dig up / soften the ground and add more soil?

Or was he just putting down seeds?

I’d pay him then find another gardener.

Problem is he thinks he’s priced for the job irrespective of of how long it takes and OP thinks she’s was given a price per hour

He was taking the piss OP.
I’d get another gardener now.
€500 is far too much for one day’s labour seeding a lawn.
MN is crazy sometimes.

I’d be a bit miffed as well, 1 day vs 2.5 is a big difference. Did he say why he over estimated how long it would take by so much?

Just pay him and then decide whether you want a new gardener. Good, reliable ones are not easy to find

It’s easy.

Either pay him for the job, or lose the gardener. 🙄

It's too late now as you've already paid him, but no way would I have paid him for the watering he didn't even do. He's a fucking chancer.

He didn't do the work extra, so wasn't owed the money. And for future guidance, never have people doing work on your property while you're not there.

"lose the gardener"? Not much of a loss when he didn't actually do the last parts of the job anyway, that he cheeky fuckery invoiced OP for.

He sounds like a chancer to me.

For me, it wouldn’t be the money as much as he tried to backtrack/lie by omission (he didn’t admit until you called him out on it that he hadn’t done what you’d agreed). Silly bloke. It’s understandably affected the trust you had as it turns out he’d have taken the money whatever. He would have been better being upfront and keeping you as a valued customer. I’d not be able to get past the distrust now.

Our one charges £25 p/h. Which I think is the top end of what I'd pay. I guess it depends on the area?

I think it's also worth pointing out that the OP said the gardener often did work not within his scope which was appreciated. Had OP considered this then paying for the lawn as quoted may have been easier to swallow. Cutting ties amicably after that would have been less stressful if she felt it necessary.

Alternatively, OP could have been more matter of fact and asked when the three lawn follow-up visits will be scheduled after the rain and that she'd pay in full once done.

If OP gave the gardener a lecture that burnt bridges then lesson learned and find someone new. Next time pay for all "extra work" done, ie don't accept favours, and get everything in writing for bigger jobs laying out exactly what is to be done and cost.

It’s over the odds - but he is a young guy with a young family -and we could afford to pay over the odds.

I am happy to pay over the odds:
but I am not happy to feel I have been taken advantage of.

I’m over it. (Well I am not - but I will get over it). i should just cut the flipping grass myself: but I am crap at it, and I am a firm believer in spending my money in the local economy.