The home improvement/construction field was ranked second in
customer complaints on the recently released report, "Top Ten
Consumer Complaints for 2013."

How well does the landscape profession rate with consumers? Since landscapers fall in the general category of home improvement/construction, the answer might be, not to well. The recently released list, Top Ten Consumer Complaints for 2013, suggest that there is a lot of room for improvement in customer service in the industry.

The list, compiled by the Consumer Federation of America and the North American Consumer Protection Investigators ranked the home improvement/construction category second in customer complaints for the second year in a row. The rankings are calculated through surveys of 40 state and local consumer agencies across the country.

The entire list:

1. Auto: Misrepresentations in advertising or sales of new and used cars, lemons, faulty repairs, leasing and towing disputes

2. Home Improvement/Construction: Shoddy work, failure to start or complete the job

3. Credit/Debt: Billing and fee disputes, mortgage modifications and mortgage-related fraud, credit repair, debt relief services, predatory lending, illegal or abusive debt collection tactics

4. Retail Sales: False advertising and other deceptive practices, defective merchandise, problems with rebates, coupons, gift cards and gift certificates, failure to deliver

5. Services: Misrepresentations, shoddy work, failure to have required licenses, failure to perform

6. Utilities: Service problems or billing disputes with phone, cable, satellite, Internet, electric and gas service

7. Landlord/Tenant: Unhealthy or unsafe conditions, failure to make repairs or provide promised amenities, deposit and rent disputes, illegal eviction tactics

8. (tie) Home Solicitations: Misrepresentations or failure to deliver in door-to-door, telemarketing or mail solicitations, do-not-call violations.

8. (tie) Internet Sales: misrepresentations or other deceptive practices, failure to deliver online purchases

9. Health Products/Services: Misleading claims, unlicensed practitioners, failure to deliver

10. Fraud: Bogus sweepstakes and lotteries, work-at-home schemes, grant offers, fake check scams, imposter scams and other common frauds

The full report and real-life examples of complaints is available on the Consumer Federation of America website.