The most famous commercial landscaping business in the United States wants people to know it was honored to be asked to host a presidential press conference.
Oh, and the new merchandise tab for Four Seasons Total Landscaping in Philadelphia should be uploaded Monday on the company’s website.
A message posted to its Facebook page on Sunday morning described the business as a small, family-owned operation run by lifelong Philadelphians. The company, in business since 1992, has contracts with the Philadelphia airport and Navy Yard, according to online sources.
The anonymous post thanked supporters and acknowledged negative comments the business has received on social media for hosting Saturday’s 11th-hour Trump campaign press conference.
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“It saddens us that we have received such harsh judgement. Our team at Four Seasons would have proudly hosted any presidential candidate’s campaign at our business,” the post said. “We strongly believe in America and in Democracy. We hope fellow Americans can join together and support all local small businesses during this time.”
The post ended with a promise that the company’s website will begin selling T-shirts on Monday morning (“Just bear with us!”) and a shout out to its hometown Super Bowl winners. (“Go Birds!”)
Online sources including LinkedIn identify the company president and CEO as Marie Siravo, a resident of Montgomery County, a suburban Philadelphia Democratic stronghold.
A woman who answered a cell phone associated with Siravo on Sunday morning said she was not available.
Exactly how the Trump campaign picked Siravo’s business is unknown. But there is no record online of Siravo or her company making any political contributions to Trump.
The press conference’s location created a viral storm on social media after President Trump tweeted Saturday morning about a “big announcement” his campaign was making at the “Four Seasons.” The president then sent a second tweet correcting the location as the “Four Seasons Total Landscaping.”
The business is located in an industrial area just off the Interstate-95 Cottman Avenue exit. The nondescript red brick front, teal-green cement rear building is located across from a crematorium and next to an adult book store.
The press conference was held in a parking lot surrounded by a chain link fence against a backdrop of red and blue “Trump 2020” signs arranged on a garage door. It featured Trump’s personal attorney and former NYC mayor Rudy Giuliani, who continued to hammer away at unsubstantiated claims of election fraud in the 2020 race and promises of lawsuits, even as Democrat Joe Biden was declared its winner.
The location choice had the Twitter world abuzz with conspiracy theories about whether the campaign booked the wrong venue, as well as memes, several hashtags, parody accounts on Twitter and Facebook, and instant entrepreneurs hawking T-shirts and mugs featuring the business.
In the ultimate 15 minutes of fame, the business was mentioned in a Saturday Night Live Weekend Update sketch late Saturday night, featuring Kate McKinnon as Giuliani talking about the press conference.
The backlash against the company was most clear on Yelp, the online business review site, where in a matter of eight hours Four Seasons Total Landscaping went from one negative review from 2018 to more than 50.
The onslaught triggered an “Unusual Activity” alert from Yelp, which temporarily disabled the posting of content to the page until an investigation determines if the comments reflect actual customer experiences “rather than recent events.”
A review of the comments found they all referred to the business hosting the Trump campaign and they were all made by out-of-state residents.
As of noon, more than 400 comments appeared under the Sunday Facebook response and more than 300 shares. Many of the comments were positive and congratulating the business on its newfound fame:
“Cannot wait to get those t-shirts to commemorate a truly appropriate end to years of incompetence. I hope the employee who answered the phone didn’t get in trouble. Enjoy the free advertising and make the most out of this moment, it will go down in history.”
“Thank you for making my day. You are the world’s most favorite landscaping company now. You are responsible for one of the most amazing events ever.”
“The folks who are upset aren’t getting it. It may help to showcase your Instagram statement. “Woman-owned, minority business. Philadelphia family business that does great landscaping & perfect snow removal. Trying to make America green again!”
