Ortiz Rodas Landscaping and Construction inc

Ortiz Rodas Landscaping and Construction is a Lawrence, MA outfit run by Nico Ortiz that homeowners hire for two very different kinds of jobs — routine lawn care and cleanups, and substantial hardscape work like retaining walls, patios and concrete driveways. Its Google page shows a 4-star average from 25 ratings, and that number sits over a genuinely mixed written record: a run of detailed, glowing reviews alongside several serious complaints, including from 2024 and as recently as this year. The hardscape work draws the most detailed praise. One customer listed a retaining wall, brick driveway, patio, fire pit, concrete slab and fence Nico's crew built for them, calling him "the only guy I call when I need stuff done." Another had a new patio designed and installed in a week, and a 2023 review described a front walkway and stairs finished on time with real attention to detail. Several customers also use the crew for ongoing lawn care — weekly mowing, spring and fall cleanups — describing the team as prompt and professional, including a cleanup praised just last month. But the same written record includes real trouble. In a 2024 review, one homeowner described the crew weed-whacking flowers, tearing up a lawn, and ripping out blueberry shrubs, then leaving without a word — and said the crew came back twice more after being told by email and phone to stop. A separate 2024 review described a dethatching job that broke sprinklers, followed by a threat to dump debris on the yard and a hang-up when the customer called to complain. Most recently, a 2026 review describes repeated no-shows for a scheduled estimate and a dismissive response ("go get a more professional company") when the customer raised it. A 2023 review also flagged leaf-blower use during hours the city's noise ordinance prohibits. These aren't one-off gripes — they span 2022 through 2026 and share a pattern: pushback or hostility when a customer raises a problem. One more thing worth knowing: BBB gives the company an A+ grade, but BBB's own page notes that grade excludes customer reviews, and the single review BBB does show is the negative one about damaged plantings — so the letter grade shouldn't be read as a stand-in for customer feedback. Given how far apart the good and bad accounts run, it's worth asking pointed questions before hiring: get a firm start date in writing, and clarify what happens and who to call if you're unhappy partway through a job.