LawnStarterReviews 1,761

I called lawn starters after my current lawn man got sick... You have to give your credit card info, before you get an estimate... the estimate was fair... but I had to wait 4 days... so I waited, on the 4th day I called to confirm they were sending someone out... to my surprise the guy at the desk in Texas...(I am in Ohio... LOL...). Said they could not find anyone that was available to do my yard, they were all booked up. I waited 4 days and I could have found a local person... I think people should stay in their own state and not try to grab all the pie and then complain they can't do it due to an over load of lawn needs. I would not recommend this company, just like everything else people think they can make a corporate business out of a service.

I would leave zero stars if I could... Tried this service for about a month.
First, the app asked for my credit card info before I could review their "policies." I didn't confirm the booking, but the next day I got an email confirmation saying that I had scheduled lawn care. Since I needed my lawn cut, I let it go and decided to try it (mistake).
Second, the crews that came never really did a good job. The lawn was never cut that short, was never edged, clippings were never blown off, and sometimes there were even patches of weeds/grass still untouched.
Third, and most disappointing, the last crew that came ran over our internet cable. I informed Lawnstarter and initially, they were very understanding and told me to fill out a property damage form. I did and even included pictures. (It was very clear that the crew had done this, there were mowing lines going over the cable, our internet went down immediately after they left, etc.) Moreover, they didn't even finish the job.
However, the crew did not admit it. Customer service became rude, saying I should have had our internet company bury the line - even though there are flags marking the line and previous lawn companies NEVER had a problem, and insinuated I was lying - despite the pictures. No apology, no offer finishing the job, nothing. Cancelled immediately, said I would leave some reviews, so here I am.

Well, I've never been more disappointed in a vendor in my life. Not my intention to be dramatic but the amount of frustration, calls, messages and lack of ability to talk to a manager = unacceptable. Maybe this business model works in other places yet since my initial agreement on 4/19/19 they have cut my grass 0 times. The communications have been poor, the excuses abundant and their platform makes it look like you, the customer, are scheduling the delays when, in reality, no one is showing up. I ended up with a $50 "apology" credit that went unused because no one showed up to cut my grass. You call to schedule service someone picks up right away. You call as an existing customer you are placed on hold... after 10 minutes the system says 'no one is available' and disconnects you. Now, for the 2nd time since entering into their service agreement I have to cut my grass... and its Mother's Day weekend and pouring outside. I'll spare readers of the image of my 12" grass!@Lawnstarter - don't offer service you can't deliver!

I called on a Tuesday to subscribe. First mowing scheduled for Thursday or Friday. Received email on Thursday morning that my subscription was cancelled because they don't have anyone to mow my lawn. Completely unprofessional. Why allow me to subscribe if you don't have enough crews? Why wait until the morning of my service to tell me? Now I am scrambling to find someone to mow my lawn at a house I just purchased a week ago that desperately needs attentions after a few weeks of rain and sun.

The reviews posted about their terrible service is definitely true. The 1st cut is always great but after that- terrible. A guy came and cut one line into my yard then had to leave and said he be back in a few hours. 5 days later my grass is still not mowed and is longer than ever. I got out of my contract and refuse to pay a penalty to do so.

IMPORTANT PART TO KNOW. You may read positive reviews about them on other pages. So here's the catch. After the 1st mow they send you a scripted message for you to copy and paste to place on a review site (mine was NextDoor) once you do this, you get 20 dollars off your next cut so of course people are going to post this perfect review and well scripted message. This means a good portion of positive reviews have been purchased to boost their ratings.

My boyfriend hired LawnStarter (LS) thinking they were a local company. (Lovely guy, but easily fooled!) LS is nothing more than a middleman who finds you a local lawn service - which you could AND should easily be able to do yourself - then charges you a commission every single time the lawn service or individual does work for you. (A lot of their hires are just guys w/ lawnmowers.) EXAMPLE: The lawn mow - if I hired the company DIRECTLY is $35 - but through LS it's $47. They add $12 on to the price - *every time*. (Expensive too, for a small lawn.) They do not vett companies / individuals - although they claim they do, & that stuff about an average of 12 years experience is bull! BEWARE: If you have a problem w/ the service - as I did after the first mow (they tore up a wet yard) - it's like pulling teeth to get them to honor a damage claim. Instead of being able to contact your lawn service directly, you have to go through them - as I'm doing now - and get ready for a rise in blood pressure & massive frustration. They don't answer their phone in a timely fashion, you aren't given ample characters to explain your problem on their website, and reply e-mails are auto-generated. I spent 2 days trying to get a hold of them by phone.
Really people! All you have to do is look in your local newspaper or the yellow pages & find yourself a reputable lawn service. If you've got extra $$ to throw away, or don't have the time to make one or two phone calls, then maybe LS will be good for you. **But** be forewarned - this will work for you until something goes wrong - then good luck getting it fixed!
If you like the company you've got now, ask them if they'll work directly w/ you - NOT through the app. I know for a fact that a lot of clients do this and the lawn services are happy to go along. They get paid the same, and you save $$. Maybe a LOT more than $12 a mow - if you have a large yard & other landscaping work done!

THESE PEOPLE HAVE NO IDEA OF HOW TO RUN A "COMPANY" WAITED A WEEK TO GET MY FIRST CUT AND THEY WERE A NO SHOW. NO ATTEMPT TO REACH OUT TO ME TO SAY NOT COMING. I USED THEIR RIDICULOUS APP TO MESSAGE MY "CREW" AND THE MAIN OFFICE 3 TIMES EACH, NO RESPONSE FROM EITHER PARTY. TRY TO CALL CUST SERV ONLY TO BE PLACED ON HOLD FOR OVER 45 MINS. BEFORE BECOMING IRRITATED AND HANGING UP. CALLED BACK USING THE PROMPT FOR SALES AND GUESS WHAT? GOT A LIVE REP WITHIN 1 MINUTE. WOULDN'T ASSIST ME BUT THEY ANSWERED THE PHONE RIGHT AWAY. PLEASE DON'T WASTE YOUR TIME OR MONEY WITH THIS TOTALLY UNPROFESSIONAL GROUP OF PEOPLE!

Wow, just wow. When one of the founders brags to Forbes they are a "crack house business" because they're so terrible but make so much money, well it makes me wonder about them.

What is their service exactly? On their website they claim to be a full service lawn care company. They will mow, blow, and spray for weeds, whatever you need! This is called illegal marketing.

Why you might ask? Because there is no record on the Virginia Department of Agriculture's web site of LawnStarter having a registered pesticide business in Virginia, nor are they commercial applicators. In Virginia it is illegal to even recommend the use of pesticides commercially without a pesticide business license. Companies are allowed to sub the work out to legal pesticide businesses, however it is illegal for anyone other than a Commercial Applicator or a legal Pesticide Business to make the quote. Yet somehow LawnStarter "provides that service".

LawnStarter refuses to pay their service providers (aka the underpaid sub-contractors) when a client complains. As "LawnStarter" "owns" the clients, and takes up to 40% of the sale it is their responsibility to pay their Subs if the work was completed.

I never thought I would be so disgusted by a business.

I guess the "crack house" analogy is quite appropriate.

This year I was looking for a new lawn service because my lawn care service I had been using previously retired. After doing my research lawnstarter came highly recommended and I really loved I could schedule in an app. My first mow (on April 8) was uneventful, crew was professional and nice and did a great job. But that was the only time my lawn has been mowed. The next mow was scheduled between April 19 and April 21. On April 20 my boyfriend came home to the front lawn mowed and the gate to our back yard completely broken and the latch bent backward. I also got an email that day saying "our crew had to cancel and they were looking for a new crew". All I can figure is instead of just fessing up to breaking my gate latch (maybe a $30 fix, not a huge deal, things happen) they just cancelled the mow and left. I was out of the country for work the next few days and I had trusted LawnStarter would get back to me. But by Thursday morning my lawn still hadn't been mowed so I called and spoke to Janice, who was very kind and professional and ensured me they would help with my gate and a crew would be at my home by Monday. I explained the situation that now my lawn was a week late being mowed and if they could get someone there before the weekend and I was hosting a party that weekend. She put a rush and ensured me the lawn would be mowed either that day or the next. I got home from my business trip and lo and behold my lawn STILL isn't mowed. I had to relocate the party I was hosting over the weekend and, still giving them the benefit of the doubt, assumed it would be done on Monday (yesterday) but it still isn't mowed. To add insult to injury I received an email this morning saying that my lawn had been rescheduled to tomorrow because another customer needed to reschedule; as well as an email asking for proof that the crew that broke my gate latch came to my house, which I don't have other than the context clues that one lawn was mowed and the other not and my gate was broken. Incredibly unacceptable way to do business.

I work for them. Can't get a hold of anyone. Got way underpaid for the job i did because i was unclear on how to use the app. You have to bid it or somehow put long grass issue so you can be paid extra. Well since I couldn't connect with them and it was my 1st job, I now am on Tier 3 the worst one where you havent earned the opportunity to be placed with Tier 1 which has 40 jobs available to them. Although I did get 2 jobs from the neighbors for $100 a piece. I didnt even have to give lawnstarter $3 they kept from a tip someone gave me.