Terms of Service

Edited last on 11/16/21

PAYMENT METHODS

Our invoices for maintenance services are sent on the 15th of each month and DUE UPON RECEIPT. Payments not received after 20 days will incur a late payment fee of $20. 

  • Payment options with no fees:
    • Cash in a sealed envelope
    • Hand the crew leader a check in a sealed envelope
    • Snail-mail a check
    • Through your banks’ online bill pay service
    • Venmo @ Smith-Diamond
    • CashApp @ $diamondlawnsc
  • Payment options with fees:
    • ACH bank transfer through Stripe (0.8% convenience fee with a cap of $5)
    • PayPal ($5 per transaction)
    • Debit or credit cards through Stripe (4% convenience fee). **DISCLAIMER**If you choose to pay with a credit card, the system will give you the total amount with the +/- 4% fee added. PLEASE PAY ATTENTION TO THIS. If you click the blue button that says “Pay $___,” that is FINAL. We cannot refund your card as they would charge us that amount.

PAYMENT TERMS

  • Although we send out maintenance invoices on the 15th of each month, we expect full payment on invoices upon receipt.
  • For some large cleanups and plant installations, we may require 50% down, The balance is due and payable when the last listed specified labor, plant, and material is installed. Landscape modifications may be necessary to maintain the esthetics of the design. Only those changes deemed necessary will deviate from the originally proposed agreement, drawing, plan, or listed plant(s) and/or material as specified. If there are changes that are not included in the original scope of work, a written change order will be needed to be agreed upon.
  • All accounts over 25 days will begin accruing a $20.00 per month late charge fee.
  • All accounts over 30 days receive a notification letter. If there is no response, the account is continued delinquent to 45 days, service will be discontinued. We will not resume the yard until your account is paid in full.
  • If your service is stopped for non/late payment, when service is resumed there may be an extra charge to get your lawn back in maintenance condition where necessary.
  • In any action to collect past due balances, Diamond Lawn Care Services shall also be entitled to collect all costs, fees, expenses, including attorney fees. Diamond Lawn Care Services reserves the right to file a lien for the collection of any unpaid balances due.

ECONOMIC SURCHARGE

We are greatly affected by the cost of fuel. If fuel costs can be reduced by creating a more efficient route, your service day may be affected rather than increasing our prices. Fuel surcharges may apply as fuel rates fluctuate.

Due to economic increases in supplies, equipment, fuel, and labor expenses, we reserve the right to include an economic surcharge on invoices as a line item to offset inflationary costs. You will be notified 30 days before adding or adjusting surcharges. We will decrease or increase this amount as the economy improves or declines.

ESTIMATES

Estimates are valid for 2 weeks. To be placed on our schedule after you receive your estimate, please follow the link and click ACCEPT. We will receive an email letting us know that you would like to move forward. We will give you a rough estimate of how long it will take but it may take more time if we experience weather delays. Unless you have to be there when we do the work, we will not be scheduling a particular day with you. Please communicate if you have any other work scheduled that would conflict with this timing like installation of gutters, shutters, cabinets, windows, roof repair, etc. (any other project that would either have another vehicle parked in front of your property or materials spread all over the lawn). If we pull up and the above work is being done, your project will be postponed.

With this rapidly changing economy, estimate prices are subject to change at the time of delivery. Diamond Lawn Care reserves the right to make any corrections to prices quoted due to clerical errors or errors of omission. In the event of any specific requirements (including without limitation any design, specification, ordered quantity, or shipment changes) representing a price increase, the Customer will be notified and afforded an opportunity to confirm.

TIMING

We have approximately 70 properties that we service weekly. We have several estimates ahead of you for projects that have already been approved. If you need the work done by a certain date, please email us at info@diamondlawncareservices.com to check if we can get it done sooner. There may be a rush fee added.

CLEAR PRESENTATION

For first-time cleanups, we draw on the photos we took of your home and upload them to a shared Google Photo album, There is the URL address in the estimate, a link in the email that goes along with the estimate, and we can text this link upon request. We feel that this gives you a very comprehensive description of the work we are offering to do for the amount of your estimate. If you do not receive a link to these photos, please just ask. Photos speak 1,000 words.

PRICES FOR PROJECTS OR ONE TIME CLEANUPS

To be completely transparent, the number one reason that people do not choose Diamond is our price. When we estimated your price, we asked ourselves two questions. 1.) How long will this project take and 2.) How much debris will we have to haul off and dispose of? We charge $50-$65 per man hour, depending on what we were asked to do. We will give you an estimate to complete your project correctly. For example, if we prune a shrub, we also remove the dead branches and prune the suckers (branches that grow straight up w/o branching) further into the shrub. This allows new growth not only in the outer area of the shrub but in the center as well. Not all landscapers know how to do this.

We charge $100/pick-up load and /or $400/trailer load to haul away your debris. When we leave your property, we’re not finished yet. We still have to pay our guys to drive to Hardeeville and then pay a dumping fee to dispose of it. We may have had to purchase a pass to get into your community. We pay and train our employees well. We maintain our equipment with frequent services and sharpen our mower blades frequently. We do not strive to be the cheapest, but the best landscapers in the Lowcountry. We are also fully licensed and insured.

PRICES FOR MAINTENANCE

Our minimum price to service a yard (Mow, edge, weed whack, trim shrubs, blow, and spray – AS NEEDED) is $50/per service. If you have a fence, have a ton of fast-growing shrubs, several beds around your property that all have to be edged/weed whacked around, it takes more time, and hence, will cost more.

AUTOMATIC SPRINKLERS/IRRIGATION SYSTEMS

We ask you not to water the night before or the day of your scheduled service. The cut will not be satisfactory — grass blades lay down when wet and blowing off debris is almost impossible.

SCHEDULING/GENERAL POLICIES

  1. Our office hours are 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Monday through Friday.
  2. All schedule changes are or requests should be made through emailing us at info@diamondlawncareservices.com or logging onto the client portal and requesting additional work.
  3. In order for us to guarantee a schedule change, i.e. skip service, to get service or add extra services, you MUST email before 5:00 p.m. 24 hours prior to your regular service day. (If your lawn is serviced on Mondays you will need to email us by Friday before 5:00 p.m.). If the email is not received to skip the day of the service and the crew shows up at your lawn, you will be charged (we will take the weather into consideration).

COMMUNICATION, CHANGES, AND COMPLAINTS

Please make all communications, changes to service, or complaints in writing to the office at info@diamondlawncareservices.com and not to the service team. There is a possibility that the crew leader may forget, be off the next day, or misunderstand the information. Contacting the office directly allows us to be certain that your changes or needs are noted correctly in your customer file and are placed on work orders, and it is the only approved way to request a change to service or additional services. Our teams are authorized to perform only the work listed on their work order for the day.

  • We schedule all seasonal yard tasks according to proven best practices timelines — trust us, we know our stuff. All additional work requires authorization and approval of the office before proceeding. You accept our service with these terms.

RAIN OR DROUGHT INFORMATION

Due to weather and conditions beyond our control from time to time, your mowing service may be off schedule. In the event of record rainfall that keeps our crews from safely and effectively visiting properties, service days may be missed entirely. We will do all that is necessary to get your property back up to excellent condition.

  • Our schedules are pushed so you may not be on the same day following heavy rain. Our crews continue to work until all possible yards are done. (We do NOT work on Saturday or Sunday). Those that are not done will be rescheduled for the following week. Sometimes there is light rain and we can continue to work. If after heavy rain, you think that your yard is too wet to cut, please email us. This is a decision that the crew will not always make to your satisfaction. The same is true of drought conditions. If you do not notify us, the crew leader will make that determination.
  • If you have asked to be off the schedule for an extended time and request to be put back on schedule, there may be an extra charge to get your lawn back in maintenance condition, if we have room in the schedule.

HOLIDAYS

We observe national holidays and yards will be done a day earlier or later in the week. The following holidays are observed by Diamond Lawn Care Services: Memorial Day, 4th of July, Labor Day, Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Year’s Eve, and New Year’s Day. We will attempt to get all properties serviced before the holiday.

SEASON TO SEASON CONTINUING SERVICE

We consider you our loyal customer from season to season unless we receive appropriate written communication via email. Each property varies depending on the number of shrubs, the number of beds, and the number of trees. See the average visits per month for a full year below.

Our regular service consists of us mowing, edging, weed whack, and blowing AS NEEDED. We mulch all grass when possible. Grass cannot be mulched when it is very long or has heavy leaf debris.

EXTRA WORK

  1. Debris from work not done by Diamond Lawn Care Services will be picked up and there will possibly be an extra charge, i.e. tree/shrub trimmings, flower bed debris, raked leaves left in a pile, etc. If trimming, raking, de-weeding is done by us, we will take away up to 2 trash cans full.
  2. If there is seasonal debris or debris from weather, i.e. heavy leaf fall or downed limbs, there is an extra charge for cleaning it up.
  3. The crew is not qualified to diagnose problems with your yard but will take pictures and report anything they see to the office. If you notice a potential problem, such as yellowing or brown spots, email info@diamondlawncareservices.com, and someone will come, determine the problem and cure, then estimate the cost, if applicable. If you are a client of Evergreen Turf, please contact Kevin Morgan directly at 843-816-1673.
  4. Lawn Debris: Removal of lawn debris is included as part of your routine maintenance service. Lawn debris includes anything left behind by Mother Nature (sticks, leaves, misplaced ground cover, etc.). PLEASE NOTE: Items not included in our definition of lawn debris are man-made trash items — newspaper, packing peanuts, Styrofoam, plastic bottles, paper cups, etc., we are not a trash company.
  5. Larger amounts of lawn debris (e.g., tree limbs) caused by inclement weather, or brush piles collected by the Client as a result of your own yard work efforts may require an extraneous charge for removal. Removal requests must be made directly to the office, and the pile will need to be viewed in person or by photos and priced before any removal can take place. Please do not approach our crew and insist that they do this as a part of your regular maintenance routine. They do not have appropriate room on their trucks to accommodate these requests, nor are they to be held responsible for doing work outside the realm of regular routine maintenance.

PET WASTE

All pet waste is to be cleaned up by homeowners before services are rendered. A cleaning fee of $20 will be added to your invoice for each occurrence. If you are interested in getting regular poop patrol, please try out Officer On Duty.

RESPONSIBILITY/LIABILITY

  1. We do not repair or replace damaged or broken sprinkler heads. Sprinkler equipment failure is not the responsibility of the lawn maintenance crew, i.e. pop-ups that don’t return to the property position are equipment failure. Properly designed and installed irrigation equipment, working properly should never be damaged by lawn equipment. Diamond Lawn Care Services will not take responsibility for sprinkler heads/systems that are not installed properly and as a result, are damaged by our equipment. Before Diamond Lawn Care Services will take responsibility a supervisor will inspect the damage and determine if the damage was caused by the crew’s carelessness or failure to maintain the system. If so determined, Diamond Lawn Care Services will then assume responsibility. All systems require regular maintenance and will deteriorate without it. Diamond refers to Absolute Irrigation for this service; we do not pay for 3rd party repairs.
  2. We will not take responsibility for any exposed wires, cables, electrical cables, etc. that are not installed properly and are cut or damaged by our equipment. If it is determined that damage was caused by the crew’s carelessness or negligence, Diamond Lawn Care Services will assume responsibility.
  3. We are NOT RESPONSIBLE for damage to items left on the lawn. The teams do their best to avoid running over hoses, toys, paper, dog bones, etc. However, these items are sometimes difficult to see, so please take a moment and collect all objects on the lawn before the service team arrives.
  4. Finally, when our crew arrives at your property, please make sure all children and pets are inside so they are not exposed to any debris that may be thrown from the equipment. Our service teams love pets, but not all pets love us! We recommend keeping your pets inside on service days and checking all gates for closure after service to ensure it is latched before releasing your valuable pets into the yard. Our crews will make every effort to make sure gates are closed but will not assume responsibility for your pets. Please contact us if you find the gate/lock open, and we will remind the service team to lock it every time! However, we cannot guarantee a gate will latch and the lock stays in place. Also, if there is a dog in the backyard on the scheduled service day and our crew feels threatened by the pet we will not mow the backyard. You accept our service with these terms.
  5. We are not responsible for damages to your grass due to unresolved drainage issues or an irrigation leak. If it has been raining for a number of days, we may decide to postpone your service. We let the crew leader decide on whether to mow or not. If you would like us to mow, regardless of our suggestions not to, please email to release us from any damages to your lawn that may occur due to putting our 700 lb mower on your wet grass.

DAMAGE DISCLAIMER

  • PROPERTY LINES – The owner shall be responsible for the location and marking of all property lines and corners.
  • PERMITS, PASSES, AND INSURANCE – All zoning, building, irrigation, construction permits, and plantation passes shall be paid for by the owner. Owner to carry fire, flood, tornado, and other necessary insurance. Our workers are fully covered by Worker’s Compensation Insurance.
  • Diamond Lawn Care is not responsible for getting permission from the HOA or POA to make any changes to their property. The customer assumes all risk and agrees to pay any fines or fees levied against Diamond Lawn Care for not getting the proper legal permission.
  • 811 – Owner shall contact 811 for underground objects including gas and water lines or electric, telephone, or cable wires.
  • Diamond Lawn Care Services will not assume responsibility for damage done to any type of conduit, sidewalk, drives, invisible fences, or other objects unless designated prior to the beginning of work on appropriate drawings. These lines can be marked by the contractor who installed them. This service typically involves a nominal fee. The customer is responsible for the fee and contacting the contractor. Fees to repair any damage will be the responsibility of the customer. The cost of relocating lines will be the responsibility of the customer. Theft of plants or materials, after they are placed on-site, will be the owner’s responsibility.
  • We are very careful when we service your lawn, but if a covered incident does happen, we will repair the damage. Contact us immediately, no later than 24 hours after the service where the damage occurred. Damages that occur during the performance of our services shall be the sole responsibility of Diamond Lawn Care Services. All approved repairs will be made by us or by an approved contractor; repairs made by others without our consent will not be our financial responsibility. Damages we will not cover include but are not limited to:
  • Air conditioning wiring
  • Birdbaths
  • Birdhouses
  • Benches
  • Chairs
  • Playsets
  • Concrete
  • Dog beds
  • Downspouts
  • Drainage
  • Shade structures
  • Fences
  • Fence posts
  • Fence stain
  • Flower boxes
  • Holiday décor
  • Improperly installed irrigation
  • Irrigation valve covers
  • Metal and/or plastic edging
  • Path lighting
  • Pottery
  • Outdoor curtains
  • Retaining walls
  • Stone edging, (brick and/or stone)
  • Stone pathways
  • Toys
  • Unprotected trees
  • Trampolines
  • Plastic pools or other swimming Pools
  • Windows
  • Exposed cables/wires, invisible fencing, sprinkler Components/lines normally found below the surface of the lawn
  • Disease or insect damage to lawns 
  • Any item hidden in the landscape and not clearly marked.

If we are required to move objects to service your lawn and/or landscape, such as, but not limited to: Benches, birdbaths, basketball goals, playhouses, lawn furniture, trampolines, etc., we will not be responsible for damage caused by moving the object from where we need to provide service.

STUMP GRINDER DISCLAIMER

  • Stump grinding is only included when itemized on the proposal.
  • The stump grinder grinds 4-6 inches below the surface.
  • Proper barriers will be put in place where projectiles may be within striking distance of buildings/vehicles/etc.
  • If stump grinding is performed, it is a separate crew at a separate date & the mulch will be left on site.
  • The stump grinder does not remove the mulch created from the grinding. We can do so for an additional cost.
  • We can provide this service at no charge to you upon request.
  • We are not responsible for damage to any underground utilities that we have not been made aware of. Please have the utilities marked by calling 811, 5-7 days before scheduled work, or ask us to do it at no charge.
  • We are not responsible for any drip line repairs or any damage to irrigation lines that are under the ground and not marked.
  • Rain within 24 hours of job poses risk to excess damage to the lawn. All efforts will be taken to reduce the footprint of the machine and our presence on-site to perform the work.
  • We are not responsible for damages to turf from the stump grinding machine. If it is warranted or necessary, plywood will be put down for the machine to drive on.

DRAINAGE DISCLAIMER

  • We will have the utilities marked by calling 811, 5-7 days before scheduled work at no charge.
  • We are not responsible for damage to any underground utilities that we have not been made aware of.
  • We are not responsible for damages to turf resulting from the requested drainage work.
  • We are not responsible for any drip line repairs or any damage to irrigation lines that are under the ground and not marked.
  • Rain within 24 hours of job poses risk to excess damage to the lawn. All efforts will be taken to reduce the footprint of the machine and our presence on-site to perform the work.

WINDOW DAMAGE DISCLAIMER

We are not responsible for any type of window and/or glass breakage while providing maintenance on your property from rocks, objects left in the yard, flying debris, etc. Note: Window damage and expenses shall be the sole responsibility of the customer. You accept our service with these terms.

INACCESSIBLE YARDS

Once the service team arrives we begin our systematic approach to servicing your lawn. In order to provide timely, efficient, and dependable service WE DO NOT CALL OR KNOCK on the door if a yard is inaccessible. We do not offer credits or makeup visits for missed areas due to inaccessible yards which include, but are not limited to locked gates, broken gates, ongoing projects, moving vans, too many parked cars, pets outside, outdoor parties, irrigation running, construction material, or workmen in a yard. You accept our service with these terms.

CHANGE ORDERS AND CONTINGENCIES

If any changes are requested by the owner during installation, such as an increase in plants or other materials, or for extra work to be done, not so described in the proposal or indicated on the submitted landscape plans, a line item charge will be added to the amount so described in the proposal which is fair and customary for such requested work. Any and all deviations from the above specifications involving extra costs will be executed only upon written order which will create an extra charge over and above the proposal. All elements of the agreement are contingent upon strikes, accidents, or delays beyond our control. The proposal does not include materials that may be required should unforeseen problems arise after the work has started.

PLANT OR SOD GUARANTEES

Diamond Lawn Care Services shall guarantee that all plant materials shall be delivered and installed in a healthy condition, being 100% free of any form of pest infestations or fungi/bacterial infections. If we are removing and transplanting some of your existing plants, please be advised; their survival depends on the size, age, and viability of the plant. There is NO guarantee on transplanted plants.  Acts of God (i.e. lighting, storm, drought, freeze, etc.) or damage due to accidents (i.e. kids, dogs, etc.) or vandalism, are not covered by this warranty. ALSO; Damage or loss of plants due to deer is not covered by any warranty expressed or implied. Diamond Lawn Care Services makes every effort to use deer-resistant plant material. However, due to the increasing deer population and their changing habits, we are not responsible for any resultant damage.

DYED MULCH DISCLAIMER

The customer understands that the product you are purchasing is a dyed product and can lose color, fade, or wash out when it rains. You are purchasing this product as is. DLC is not responsible for any fading of the product, nor is it our responsibility to pick up, remove or exchange after it is installed.

SCOPE OF WORK AND WORKMANSHIP

Diamond Lawn Care Services shall furnish all materials as specified but shall have the right to substitute materials of equal or higher value when necessary. All tools, equipment, and labor to execute the installation detailed in this proposal shall be supplied. Access to water and electricity to be provided by the owner. All operations shall be completed in a competent manner. Drawing and details are to serve as a guide and shall be followed as close as practical but minor on-site adjustments may be made.

REVISIONS/CHANGES/CANCELLATIONS and CONCEALED CONTINGENCIES

This proposal is subject to revision after 30 days as the availability of many materials is not constant. This proposal is based on the current price of labor and materials and can be adjusted for any unanticipated increases in the same. Any changes, alterations, additions, or deviations shall be charged to the owner at the contractor’s normal selling price. Change orders to the contract must be in writing and will be billed at cost plus 20% unless otherwise expressly agreed upon in the change order. A cancellation fee of 20% to cover design costs, scheduling changes, restocking, or disposing of materials already purchased for the project. This proposal is subject to extra charge for concealed contingencies such as rock, debris, poor drainage solutions, etc., not readily apparent in estimating the material and work specified. The site shall be received by Diamond Lawn Care Services in a clean, smooth, graded condition, properly drained, and ready for planting.

UNEXPECTED INTERRUPTIONS

Diamond Lawn Care Services shall not be held responsible or liable for the loss, damage, or delay caused by weather conditions, strikes, accidents, lack of adequate time, acts of God, or by any other causes or delays beyond our control.

LIST OF OUR LANDSCAPE MAINTENANCE SERVICES PER VISIT AS NEEDED:

  • Mow all turf areas as needed
  • Trim all areas inaccessible to the mower with a line trimmer (spray around wires and up close to fences and vinyl siding).
  • Edge all walkways, driveways, and landscape beds as needed
  • Trim/shape shrubs as needed (we typically trim one side per visit)
  • Weed whack, pull, and/or spray weeds in landscape beds as needed (if it is a particularly rainy season, we suggest customers spray roundup in-between visits.)
  • Blow all resulting clippings with a blower
  • Remove a maximum of one trash can of debris, per visit.

When the grass is dormant in the Fall/Winter, we have time to work on items that we do not have time to do during Spring/Summer. For those customers who stay with us, we thin and limb up shrubs, prune dead stems out of shrubs, prune lantana and small grasses, and some other items that are on the “not included” list. It just depends on how long it will take and how much debris will need to be hauled away. For customers wishing to pause services in the fall and resume in the spring, a spring cleanup fee will be assessed before starting regular maintenance.

NOT INCLUDED THAT ARE SUBJECT TO ADDITIONAL CHARGES

  • Yearly pruning shrubs, grasses, and trees to enable healthy growth and blooms in the spring
  • Renewal pruning
  • Remove dead or diseased branches
  • Leaf and debris removal (we charge per bag to remove leaves with our special mower)
  • Pruning Palm Trees
  • Yearly pruning of Crepe Myrtles, Vitex/Chaste Tree, Butterfly Bush, etc
  • Mulch and/or pine straw
  • Storm Cleanup
  • Irrigation checks or adjustments
  • Chemical Program: Fertilizer, herbicide, insecticide, fungicide, pre-emergent for turf

ACCEPTANCE OF PROPOSAL

When the above prices, specifications, and conditions are accepted, Diamond Lawn Care Services will be authorized to do work as specified. Payments will be made as outlined under ‘PAYMENT TERMS.’

CONTACT INFORMATION

Questions about the Terms of Service should be sent to us at info@diamondlawncareservices.com.