Maxalea, Inc.

Maxalea just completed planting a dozen new trees on the campus of my retirement community, a job costing on the order of $10K. They submitted the least expensive, but most comprehensive proposal of the four that were solicited; and in scoping out the job that they were to bid on, they sent not just one, but two knowledgeable professionals to clearly understand the job to be done. They came when they said they would and did a very professional job; they went the extra mile! The three attached photos show three of the trees they planted; two have deer fencing and one is just staked, being in an area not frequented by deer. I recommend them wholeheartedly.

We’ve worked with Maxalea for over ten years and have enjoyed an excellent relationship with Jim McWilliams. Our most recent job involved removing parts of large, old bushes which straddled the property line between our yard and our next-door neighbor’s property. We wanted to remove all parts of bushes on our side; our neighbor wanted his portion of bushes to remain. Jim and his team approached what could have been a prickly situation with a positive and professional manner. Jim remained on site while our portion of bushes were removed to ensure that the property line was clearly marked and followed. Several pieces of equipment were used—chain saw, hand saw, various shovels, and ultimately, chains and a work truck. The job was a success! Our neighbor’s portion of bushes remains; our portion is gone. Thank you, Jim and crew! You are great to work with!

Maxalea has completed three installations here in the last 18 months, including several trees in each stop, and stonework. I'm satisfied.
Landscaping is more than finding a tree to be plunked in dirt. It's climate, physics, commercial availability, office coordination, a knowledgeable installation team, quite a bit of hard work, terrific soil, and weather luck. Of course, there's probably more.
Most importantly to me, though, is the satisfaction in matching the trees and shrubs to the lay of the land, to have a collaboration between the Maxalea team and myself, to exercise a little control and make the final decision on tree selection and placement, and then to end the day with enjoyment and satisfaction in the finished product, thinking of how this will all grow together, and grow up with me and my surrounding community.
Maxalea has done a very good job, and I will look forward to seeing them here in the future.

Have you ever had your landscapers show up, knock on your door, get keys, and then notice later that day they didn’t touch your yard? With Maxeala, that can be your regular interaction with your landscapers.
The first time it happened I had to make 6 calls to get them to do me a ‘favor’ by coming back a week and a half later. In a bit of foreshadowing, the week and a half, was their improved offer, after I told them waiting a month was fine, I’ll just post a picture of my yard as it was in a review here.
The next time the exact same thing happened, Sandy the sales rep who gave her personal assurance it was resolved couldn’t be bothered because she was on vacation.
Eventually I spoke with the owner who was flabbergasted that spending 3 hours on the phone to deal with, a now recurring, issue, would leave a customer dissatisfied.
Needless to say he assured me that I’d receive some sort of compensation for their back to back no shows, while actually at the property (asked me for the sally port key). That didn’t happen.
So if you want to spend hours on the phone to have your landscapers show up a week late, and then be indignant that you are upset about the situation, while offering no compensation other than they delayed performance of some (not all) of their contracted services, this company is for you.
Needless to say this is the worst experience I have ever had with a landscaping company, and am currently working to replace them for next season. I recommend you look elsewhere.
If they ever provide any compensation, as promised by the owner, I’ll update this review accordingly. So far we are at $0, at a cost of about 10 phone calls (most of them at their request and urging) and a minimum of 4 hours on the phone, getting pin-balled around their organization. Definitely the convenience, I was looking for when I signed a contract to spend thousands on regular landscaping.
There were several smaller issues before this, but after this season I cannot, in good conscience rely on this company or recommend them to others.
Sandy did reach out after seeing this review. Their response was to request I get on the phone with them. As I’ve been on the phone for a total in excess of 4 hours for these issues, I initially declined. When I did call, I wish I hadn’t, it seems clear their only motivation was getting this review removed, not you know actually delivering on any of their assurances.
Since they’ve been flippant about this whole saga, and in full disclosure, I countered with an offer to delete this review if they refund my last 180 days of charges (the maximum duration their processor should be able to void incurred charges). I did not feel not charging me for one visit (which they had already charged to my CC, but predictably didn’t know about) was adequate for their abhorrently bad handling of my account.
I believe their performance has earned this review, so if they want to pay to take it down that’s their prerogative, but this review was initially posted after the promised timeline for a make good had already elapsed.
Had the issue been resolved in a timely manner, or without Maxeala’s indignation that I should take what services I get and be satisfied, I likely never would have posted this review and just shopped landscapers at the end of the season.
2 stars not one since the crews are decent (not great) when they do show up. If it drops to one star they either blocked my driveway again or knocked to ask for a key.

Maxalea has been my go to landscaper all my adult life. Stellar service, intuitive design and great trees, shrubs and plants as well as hardscaping.