Bylands Garden Centre, West Kelowna, BC

Absolutely the worst. I spent my Easter Long Weekend working on my lawn. I had previously thatched and fertilized my lawn and was now ready to aerate which I finished at about 11:00 AM Saturday morning. After I returned the aerator I went to Bylands Garden Centre in West Kelowna to purchase some top soil. I told the cashier about all my preparations and asked her what type of soil I should use to overseed my lawn. She recommended screened top soil so that's what I bought. She paged the loader operator and I met him in the parking lot. He looked at my receipt and confirmed that I bought screened top soil which he promptly loaded into the back of my pick up. I drove home and began off loading the dirt into a wheel barrow and distributed it throughout my 1/3 acre yard. My son helped me and we had the truck empty by about 3:00 PM. I cleaned the truck and then began raking out the piles of dirt. It was immediately apparent that the "screened top soil" was more rocks than soil. I was scooping up handfuls of gravel after raking out each pile. I spent a good part of Sunday raking out the piles and was now aware that about 1/4 of the "screened top soil" was actually rocks. The amount of gravel in the soil became even more obvious after watering. On Wednesday afternoon my neighbour came over to look at the lawn and immediately commented on the number of rocks still embedded in the dirt. He commented that he certainly would never have accepted this poor quality and I had to agree. I called Bylands and complained and was referred to Maria Byland. She wasn't there so I left a message and she called me back later saying she would come to inspect my lawn. Now I know why she owns a garden centre because she can sure sling the manure. After inspecting the lawn and its gravel content she told me that all their bulk material is supplied by contractors and therefore Bylands is not responsible. Then she tried to tell me that the gravel would help aerate the soil. It was about this time that I started to lose my patience. I suggested that she send a couple of her workers along with a truck load of good quality top soil to redo my yard and she refused. Then I suggested she compensate me in the sum of $500.00 for me and my son's labour and expenses incurred to which she reluctantly agreed. I said I would be by to pick up the cheque the next day. However, later that evening she called and invented some excuse why the cheque couldn't be ready on Thursday but I could come by and pick it up on Friday which I did. After stalling me for a bit she returned with a cheque and said she wanted to show me the bin where they kept their "screened top soil" now claiming that it didn't have any rocks. So I asked " Are you saying I placed the rocks in it?" to which she hastily responded "No." She admitted she didn't know how the rocks got in there but Bylands is certainly not responsible. She added that the cheque was only for the purchase price of the soil not the $500.00 we had agreed on. I plan on taking my story to the media. I'll never go back there. I rate it negative 10 stars.

I spent my Easter Long Weekend working on my lawn. I had previously thatched and fertilized my lawn and was now ready to aerate which I finished at about 11:00 AM Saturday morning. After I returned the aerator I went to Bylands Garden Centre in West Kelowna to purchase some top soil. I told the cashier about all my preparations and asked her what type of soil I should use to overseed my lawn. She recommended screened top soil so that's what I bought. She paged the loader operator and I met him in the parking lot. He looked at my receipt and confirmed that I bought screened top soil which he promptly loaded into the back of my pick up. I drove home and began off loading the dirt into a wheel barrow and distributed it throughout my 1/3 acre yard. My son helped me and we had the truck empty by about 3:00 PM. I cleaned the truck and then began raking out the piles of dirt. It was immediately apparent that the "screened top soil" was more rocks than soil. I was scooping up handfuls of gravel after raking out each pile. I spent a good part of Sunday raking out the piles and was now aware that about 1/4 of the "screened top soil" was actually rocks. The amount of gravel in the soil became even more obvious after watering. On Wednesday afternoon my neighbour came over to look at the lawn and immediately commented on the number of rocks still embedded in the dirt. He commented that he certainly would never have accepted this poor quality and I had to agree. I called Bylands and complained and was referred to Maria Byland. She wasn't there so I left a message and she called me back later saying she would come to inspect my lawn. Now I know why she owns a garden centre because she can sure sling the manure. After inspecting the lawn and its gravel content she told me that all their bulk material is supplied by contractors and therefore Bylands is not responsible. Then she tried to tell me that the gravel would help aerate the soil. It was about this time that I started to lose my patience. I suggested that she send a couple of her workers along with a truck load of good quality top soil to redo my yard and she refused. Then I suggested she compensate me in the sum of $500.00 for me and my son's labour and expenses incurred to which she reluctantly agreed. I said I would be by to pick up the cheque the next day. However, later that evening she called and invented some excuse why the cheque couldn't be ready on Thursday but I could come by and pick it up on Friday which I did. After stalling me for a bit she returned with a cheque and said she wanted to show me the bin where they kept their "screened top soil" now claiming that it didn't have any rocks. So I asked " Are you saying I placed the rocks in it?" to which she hastily responded "No." She admitted she didn't know how the rocks got in there but Bylands is certainly not responsible. She added that the cheque was only for the purchase price of the soil not the $500.00 we had agreed on. I plan on taking my story to the media. I'll never go back there. I rate it negative 10 stars.