Internet Reviews of Landscapers

Choosing a landscaper to handle your lawn care needs, design and install a new landscape design, or to install a sprinkler irrigations system can be a challenge.  Unless you already have a good relationship with a landscaping professional or have gotten a referral from a friend or family member, how can you tell who to trust with your landscaping?

Many homeowner turn to landscaper reviews they find on the internet.  These days you can find reviews of almost anything on the internet from cat food to computers to new cars.  There are also many websites that offer reviews of contractors including plumbers, electricians, roofers, and landscapers.  Some of these websites are free to use while others charge a fee.

The internet can be an excellent resource, but be careful to consider the source when reading reviews about landscapers and other types of contractors.  On most websites, anyone can post a review and it can be difficult to tell the difference between a legitimate review from a customer and a review written by some biased party.

For example, a landscaper could try to boost their ratings by writing their own reviews, or asking friends, family members, and employees to post positive reviews.  There are even vendors on the internet where you can hire people to write good reviews.  Several long, glowing reviews posted within a few days of each other can be a tip off that these are not real, unbiased reviews.

At the same time, be wary of highly negative reviews.  They could be written by a competitor or someone with an axe to grind against the landscaper.  What you should look for is a consensus of reviews written over a period of time (a year or longer) by people who sound like customers of the contractor.  These types of reviews will give you the clearest picture of whether the landscaper will provide high quality, dependable service.