As originally reported by WFLA, a homeowner in Hernando County, FL, was surprised when he reviewed a home surveillance video of TruGreen worker Dean Schryer who was supposed to be servicing his lawn.
“The guy walked one lap around my yard and then sat in his air conditioned truck for the remainder of the time that he claimed to be here servicing my lawn,” said homeowner Rich Kleber.
Kleber had been reviewing the video to see if Schryer had sprayed a trouble spot on his lawn. Instead his video showed that Schyer didn’t spay any chemicals, have his backpack on or use a hose from his truck.
Kleber complained to TruGreen managers back at the company’s regional office in Hudson. They were skeptical until he showed them the video. Even after seeing the video, Kleber says that they weren’t very sympathetic. “They wanted to argue and make excuses and eventually when it did come out they want to say he was a rogue employee.”
“I got fired after 16 years for a job I made a mistake on,” said Schryer. “I hit the wrong button on the handheld computer.”
When Schryer was asked why, if he hadn’t sprayed, had he put a sign in the lawn saying that he had he responded by saying he had put down the wrong sign.
But Kleber, who was upset by TruGreen’s initial response to his complaint, posted an edited version of the video on his Facebook page. The video was shared by his friends and eventually gained 20,000 views. That’s when TruGreen Corporate executives got in contact with Kleber. According to Kleber TruGreen started offering refunds at $85 and eventually up to $935, which was the full amount Kleber had paid in his contract.
WFLA spoke with TruGreen Corporate spokeswoman Amy Simpson. Simpson told them, “We want to thank Mr. Kleber for bringing this to our attention. We would never defraud our customers.”
Kleber has since switched to another lawn care company and is awaiting his TruGreen refund.