What can we say about the people who transformed our yard into something we truly enjoy every day? Wonderful group, they care about what they do and how you'll enjoy it, and work hard to do things right the first time. It’s always nice when a project runs perfectly and everything falls into place as planned. However, a true test of a company is when things don’t quite go as smoothly. Due to circumstances that could have not be foreseen by the company, our landscaping project had a hiccup that caused a few weeks’ delay. That was when the high level of professionalism of SamScaping came to the surface. Because it led to our project lasting longer than planned and skewing their project pipeline, it interrupted their schedule more than it did ours. After the initial confusion, they did their best to accommodate our project among the many others they had. As it turned out, those little delays in between actually ended up for the best, as they gave us time to live with things for a while and initiate a few small changes that made our property look much better than the original planning. One thing we learned is that when things didn't quite go according to plan or the schedule, it was usually for the best.
Sam (Owner): Sam struck us as a highly conscientious professional, who cares for the quality of the project as well as the welfare of his employees and is not just about making profits - a rare gem! A few examples were him making it a point to come by when subcontracting was involved, or stopping the work and sending the crew home when it got too hot in the summer. When a Jasmin plant didn't make it after the transplanting, he dug-up one from his own yard to replace it. These personal touches show how invested he is in the work, and it carries through to his team.
Frank (Foreman): It is hard to describe how much Frank added to the project with his suggestions in all domains. His attention to detail was superb, and his unique design ideas upgraded our project. He also was extremely helpful on the practical side with generous advice on pretty much everything, and we soon learned that he’s usually right. Frank made sure things are done in the right order, the right way, and without cutting corners – and all that with a constant smile and a refreshingly wonderful sense of humor. His level of attention to details and caring about our project was above and beyond what we’ve ever experienced, as was his patience.
Fermin (Mason): Fermin, with his 30+ years of experience as a mason, is a master and an artist. He soon figured out our taste, and though he didn't always share it, he made extra effort to add little touches that complemented it. His suggestions during the design process of the hardscaping were right to the point, as he has the remarkable ability to combine practical considerations with an admirable sense of aesthetics. Our hardscape design was full of curves, always a challenge and some new ones that Fermin never encountered before. He came up with creative ideas to tackle these new challenges and seemed to have enjoyed the process.
Dawn (Designer): We got to work with Dawn after the designer who was originally assigned to us left the company. Dawn's knowledge of plants is impressive, and her great suggestions showed she was taking what she had learned of our tastes into account. The garden ended up looking quite different than what we had in mind--and much better. She has the artistic eye to tie things together and create a flow that is pleasing yet doesn't look contrived. She was very open to feedback and encouraged us to say what we don't like, and when we followed her advice and cancelled a couple of plants on her list, she suggested another plant that's become my favorite.
The crew It was such a pleasure to have the SamScaping crew work on our property. The friendliness, caring and good mood of the workers made the experience a pleasurable journey. They all seem to take pride in their work, to the point that we often found one of them fixing something during his break. We were impressed by how clean they left then property every day, and by the way the different crews (hardscaping, irrigation, drainage, landscpaing) respected the work of each other.
Our garden looked surprisingly beautiful throughout the winter, and now—almost 9 months after the project was completed, and passing the test of torrent rains and a few nights of frost, it’s starting to come to life as spring begins. Sam and Frank have stopped by throughout the winter and into spring to check on how everything was doing, replacing a few plants that didn't make it, and checking in with us.
And the end result is truly amazing. Thank you so much, SamScaping, for significantly improving our quality of life. And the neighbors are happy, too :-)
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