I selected Ascent from several quotes because they provided a detailed work order and comprehensive price covering labour and materials whereas others provided an estimate based on an hourly rate. Ascent's website copy and arborist credentials sounded like just what my new-to-me property needed, leading me to believe I could trust the professionals to do the job. During the quote process Jake was punctual, knowledgeable, and responsive. After accepting the quote, I was promptly assigned a date and a four-person team. What I got was a three-person team that was personable and reasonably diligent but not skilled. From that point forward, Jake was much less responsive to questions, and I had to email him at least twice to obtain responses (one of which was an additional quote for something that was already in the work order, though that was eventually resolved). He did not attend the site to get the team started on the job nor did he return to the site to evaluate the work done. Overall, the service provided was incomplete and quality disappointingly shoddy (see below for some specifics by work-order line item). All pruning of mature rhodos and camellias was done with a pole saw or chainsaw, leaving an unsightly result that in all cases had to be remediated by me with pruning shears.
When I followed up with Jake about just one of the deficiencies, his response was: "With the work that was done in addition to the work order during our time onsite we cannot complete any more work as part of this quote." He has not responded to my request to itemize what this supposed additional work was. I did ask for a several branches to be removed from one large and several small trees, which was not in the work order, but would have been at most 30 additional minutes of work. Thus, I learned that, in fact, the quote was not for completion of the items on the work order but rather for a fixed number of days on site and materials. And because I was given a team with one less person than itemized in the appointment, the work would not be completed.
"Debris cleanup in the garden beds beside the house, the rhododendron bed behind the behind the house and from garden bed beside the front entrance": I had to specifically ask that they use the leaf blower to clean up the fallen leaves under the rhodos or they would have been ignored. They also used a wheelbarrow to move materials from the front of the house to the back, through this garden. I had to ask them to rake that area to remove the tire tracks in that bed as they were quite ready to leave it like that. See pictures for "cleanup" of the rhodo bed behind the house.
"Cluster of spurge laurel, holly and snowberry removed on the boulevard": Many of the branches of these bushes were left on the ground where they fell.
"Large rose bush at the base of the Douglas fir tree reduced by 80%": This work was done with a pole saw or possibly a chainsaw. While it may have been reduced by 80%, it was hack job that left twisted stalks and random remaining stems that I have since tidied up myself with shears.
"English ivy severed at the base of trees pulled off where possible": The ivy was severed on one tree but not pulled off. The ivy on several other trees was not even severed. I was told: Well, if we sever it, it'll just die on its own. While that may be true, it's not what I paid for.
"Branches in the garden beds and on the forest floor removed": Many branches remain.
"Small garden bed beside the driveway cleared, statues and pots relocated, bed covered in landscape fabric, covered in pea gravel": This was done with the thinnest possible layer of pea gravel and the garden bed minimally cleared. At the end of day two, I was told the team was "too tired" to help me move the statues and I had to insist. Again, note that they sent a three-person team and not the four-person team specified in the appointment, so perhaps that's why they were so tired.
"Spurge laurel throughout the property removed": Large patch of spurge laurel remains untouched.
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