Lost our business. I have never felt more disrespected as a customer. Actually felt like they were doing us a favor.

Well they lost my business forever today. Tried to buy a bag of potting soil. With tax it came to $9.45. The lady at the register with a hint of attitude bluntly told me they did not accept credit cards for purchases less than $10. I offered to give her the 55 cents in change as I had just enough cash in my wallet to pay my cleaning service and did not fancy another trip to the bank. She said no, sorry. All the while to middle aged men sat at desks behind her and said nothing. If they are nickel and diming retail purchasrs over credit card transactions like some small mom and pop convenience store, just imagine what fun they must be to deal with when they manage your property! Well, besides the fact that it is forbidden in their contract with MasterCard and Visa to require any minimum, and that Discover only allows minimums if applied to all cards accepted, apparently they have zero sense for business. They offended me. I will not be coming back to buy plants or soil or mulch. As we own a property in Saint Michaels and have a $15,000 annual maintenance contract with another outfit, and we regularly perform upgrades each year, they sure shot themselves in the foot with me. But I am sure my current landscaper is thrilled to know I won't have another contractor to bid them against. What an incredibly stupid business practice in an area of second homes with big landscapes people don't have time to tend to themselves. And just in case they are not as clueless as they appeared and happen to read this: Minding the minimum Visa says its bylaws clearly state that merchants must not establish a minimum transaction amount. That's done, "To protect Visa cardholders so they can expect to use their cards anywhere, anyhow and anytime Visa is accepted," says a spokesman. "If Visa finds out about a violation, Visa will issue an enforcement letter to the acquiring bank that enables the merchant to accept the card. It's up to the acquirer as to how to deal with the merchant." MasterCard is also emphatic about dealing with violations although MasterCard deals with them directly. What you do the next time you're told there's a minimum to use a credit card probably depends on how you feel about the issue. If you're sympathetic toward the merchant's plight you'll save the card for bigger purchases. On the other hand, if you're trying to rack up every cent on your credit card for more frequent flier miles, you might rustle up your best steely eyed gaze and say, "That's not allowed." If you'd rather complain with less fanfare, write to Visa at askvisacorporate@visa.com. MasterCard complaints will be accepted at 1-800-300-3069. So I will report them and never have anything to do with them again. read more

The owner of this firm contracted with an elderly couple in their mid to late 80's to clean up the tree damage caused by Hurricane Irene on a per man & per equipment per hour basis. The extent as to how clear & reasonable the contract terms were communicated were questionable especially when the homeowner was in a highly distressed state due to the hurricane circumstances. The tree destruction consisted of 14 significant trees only one of which was a potential threat to building damage. There were 4 other insignificant small trees of 4" or less diameter. The resulting bill was $20,866.88 which did not include any stump grinding. After re-negotiation, the charge was reduced to $17,476.01. However, this still results in a final per tree removal cost of $1,248.29. The going rate for tree removal in the area seems to be about $800 per tree. Draw your individual conclusions as to the reasonableness of this firms rates & practices. Beware of business practices & costs in dealing with this firm. read more