The tree was dying and leaning into the street. They got the permit and got everything ready, then the quote, a couple days the tree is gone. The only thing was I would have liked to see them cut the tree, too fast read more

Clearly the best and most professional tree and yard service company in the area. Used them to trim and recover three huge trees in my yard. Could not have been happier with the outcome and believe the frontline personnel to be excellent and well qualified for this type work. This was a great choice on my part and strongly believe you will feel the same if you call on them. Really great company and employees. read more

Beware !we had a quote from McCauley but he came out and cut three different branches then what we discussed . Bait and switch tactics. Be sure you get everything in writing and be on site when they are there. Went to small claims court and on the same day there were three other claims! read more

GET A WRITTEN ESTIMATE FROM THIS BUSINESS IF YOU WANT THEM TO DO WORK FOR YOU. They tripled the price from what I was quoted verbally. I called to complain and it came down a little but it is still WAY over what I told initially and they said they were there for 2 hours. I was home the entire time they did the work, from arrival to completion and it was 1 hour 10 minutes. They also charge you a " travel" fee although I am about 3 miles from their office. BEWARE DOING BUSINESS WITH THIS COMPANY. read more

We decided to go with Ballard Tree after getting several quotes for a somewhat challenging removal. They were responsive, got back to us the same day and although they were a little more than the other 2 quotes we thought they would do the best job. The crew showed up exactly when they said they would and did a good job. All except for hauling away all the left over wood. They took most of it, but left a pile that they indicated would be gone soon....it took many calls and e-mails to get them to finish the job. I would have given them 4/5 stars except for this. read more

I came here only to read reviews about this company as my parents were going to hire them. I wanted to see if my experience was out of the ordinary. It seems to not be. I would never recommend BTS nor use them again. The job they did for me was to be done while I was home and in one day. They arrived on short notice a day early - usually this would be a good thing. NOT this day. I asked for them to wait until I returned from an emergency appt and they did not hold back. My willow that both my neighbor and I loved was hideously hacked and with poor cuts. (yes I have a hort Degree) Then they promised to NOT lion tail my fir trees. Of course they did. There were 5 trees to deal with and only three were touched. Never to return again. Clean up as fair to poor. Unless you think it is OK to through a baby squirrel in the chipper. When the bill came I asked for Greg to come out and discuss the job, clean the willow cut up and complete the two remaining Firs. NO show - NO call. New bill - rinse and repeat. Never paid. Please use someone else. read more

I've used Greg and Ballard Tree Service ("BTS") for years, nearly 20 years. No job was too small or too large, and always competitive and fair with pricing. They were always prompt with quotes, punctual in arrival, and quick in the getting the work done. The last work was as recent as last spring, 2013. That's past tense. Fast forward to now. I had someone new to the BTS office come out and give me a quote for some work, and it was crazy expensive - something wasn't right. I contacted the person with whom I've interacted over the years to come out and take a look; we spoke directly, he was in the middle of something, and would get right back to me. A couple of days later after not hearing from him, I call and leave a voice mail. I call a day or two later, and the voice mail is full. I follow up a couple of days later, reach him this time, and he'll get right out to the property to work up a bid. I get a call a couple of hours later from the main office to put the visit on the schedule. A few days later, nothing. I follow-up and call again, and leave another voice mail. A couple of days later, I call and the voice mail is full. Again, two days later, I get voice mail. Two days later, goes this time directly to voice mail (I leave no message - I've left plenty). Next day, again directly to voice mail (I leave no message - again, I've left plenty). Two days later, I get voice mail again. Hmmm, I'm guessing caller ID. I now call from my work phone, and bingo, maybe coincidence, but the phone gets answered. He's in the middle of a big job involving a crane, and will get back to me. I'm not holding my breath... This is tremendously disappointing. I work peripherally in the construction/trade business, so I get it. I'm definitely the kind of person who takes the patient/nice approach with folks rather than the opposite, so it's not that I'm being rude or contentious. Maybe I need to be. I understand that BTS might be busy; but, in July and August?. You know how you find a good company with whom you become friends, and you use them exclusively for certain work and send work their way? That favorite restaurant, that great auto mechanic, that friendly doctor or dentist with whom you become friends? That's been my experience over the years with BTS, up to now. I get the sense that all of a sudden they've hit the big-time and don't have time for the little folks any more. Until I see things turn around, based on what's happened over the last 6 weeks, I'm sorry but I can't recommend Greg and BTS. UPDATE 8/28/14. A week ago I tried one last time to contact Greg, and got through! I asked to the extent he seems too busy for us, if he could recommend someone else. He said he's been busy clearing lots for builders. He assured me (several times) he'd get out to the property the next day. Giving him some time, I didn't call to follow up until yesterday; had to leave a voice mail. I've gotten no response. We have since contacted another firm, who came out when they said they would, gave us a reasonable bid, we added more work, and they are scheduled to come out this Saturday to do the work. Ballard Tree: 5 stars up until recently, but it has to be 1 star that it's taken nearly 2 months and many promises to even get them out to the property to provide an estimate for the work. I was hopeful after last week's call, but it seems to be more of the same. read more

Ballard Tree Service sucks. So does Yelp for having the last review I posted December 2014 removed. These jerks billed me for work they did not even do. I had called twice requesting a quote which I never received. The only response from this company I got was a "past due" notice for the job on a day that another company was taking care of my problem tree. What a scam! They also seem to have convinced Yelp to remove that last review. Another scam. Don't trust either. Ballard Tree Service is worse though if as I suspect they are fraudulently billing landlords for work they never bothered to quote on much less complete. Shame on them! read more

I don't understand people who give them less than 5 stars! You have to be very persistent getting quote from Ballard Tree as they are very very busy. However, they deliver quality service. The reason I like this small company is because they never turn away a yard project no matter how small or large. I've used Ballard Tree for removing shrubs, ground covers and piles of dirt/ old sods. They deliver quality service. I will call them again and again for my future yard work. read more

I cannot recommend these folks more!! They are so helpful, upfront and accountable. The office staff is great (Kelsey!!) and the arborist who did the work on the tree was super (Jesse!!). The tree was on the parking strip which proved a little tricky, which was handled well. Also, the bird nest in the tree was preserved. Jesse also took a look at another tree in my yard to be certain everything was ok. Wow! And he was super fast and cleaned up after so well, the front was better than when he arrived. Fabulous! read more

Called Ballard Tree Service and asked for a quote on the removal of two declining cherry trees. They came out the same day, took photos, and e-mailed me a very reasonable bid, along with instructions for the permit process (since the trees were actually in the parking strip / on City property). Once I acquired the permit, they were able to remove the trees immediately, have the underground utilities marked, grind the stumps, and remove the debris. At every step, their office called to make arrangements or report on progress. The attention they paid to cleanup -- including raking, sweeping, and leveling the ground -- was a very pleasant surprise. I just don't run into this level of professionalism often. I'd give them six stars, if I could. read more

My wife and I would highly recommend Ballard Tree. Jesse and Max did a fantastic job trimming the trees on our property. Jesse is well versed in types of trees and made positive recommendations on the trims. Jesse's cuts opened up our various types of trees and allowed for further growth and development. Max did a fantastic job in leaf and branch removal. the property was perfectly cleaned up when they finished. both men worked efficiently, quickly and professionally. we have no reservations about the work or service. jeff lantz read more

We had an older sweet gum tree crack the week of Thanksgiving that threatened the power lines. Ballard Tree Service came out promptly to inspect, then cut the tree down not long after. Unfortunately, they also left most of the tree trunk in pieces too big to move, let alone use, and right on our planting strip. They also left their no parking signs, both of which were too damaged to stand up. I contacted them about these things but never heard back. Someone hauled off the tree parts, but we still have their signs. For the price, which seemed high but I have no basis for comparison, I would have expected the jobsite to be cleaned up at the end of the job. In future we'll call Davey Tree Service. read more

I was referred to Ballard Tree Service by another tree guy (a former client who moved). They were very quick to leave an estimate, accommodating of my request to invoice the landlord, & I got scheduled quickly. When they arrived to remove limbs from some overgrown trees, they did so quickly, took care not to damage yard/garden, and even cleaned up debris before they left. I highly recommend them to others need trees pruned or removed. read more

So I called 4 highly yelp rated tree services and essentially got the same results from all of them. Ballard tree, however, was the exception. In fact when I called someone actually answered the phone. I was caught off guard as I was expecting to have to leave a voice message. I made an appointment for a quote. On the scheduled day the quote giver was on time, professional, and gave me an itemized break down of each piece of the job should I want only a portion of the quote done. I called to schedule an appointment for the work. On the day of the job the foreman called ahead when he was on his way and walked through the quote to be sure that he understood exactly what work to do. When I returned home that day the trees were removed and the yard was very clean. So why 4 stars instead of 5? There was one tiny communication glitch. I had a bunch of trees removed and wanted the stumps ground. I was told the stumps would be ground in 1 or 2 days after the job. 2 days later the stumps were still there. I was getting some work done where one of the stumps sat so I needed it out of there or at least be told when the stump was going to be removed so I could reschedue the other contractors. One call and everything was worked out. Overall I'm very happy with the service of Ballard Tree. read more

Ballard tree service were very responsive to my call, they came out right away on a weekend and were back the following monday morning with a crew to cut down a tree and trim some others. I was extremely happy with the work and the speed with which it was done. I highly recommend them. read more

Called Ballard Tree Service around 1pm and was told that they would send someone out to trim our apple tree that had branches laying on the cable line to our house that afternoon. By 5:30pm no one had called or arrived to take care of the tree. I called back and was told they would still be coming by. After that they never called or showed up. I wasted a whole afternoon/evening waiting for them to come by. I will be taking my business else where. read more

I had some large tree branches fall into my yard from the storm two weeks ago. Ballard Tree Service responded immediately to my request for an estimate. They were half the price of the other bid I received. They did the job two days later and left my yard immaculate. So happy I called them and would definitely use them again when needed. read more

Great value, did a great job and clean up... Will use again.

We recently hired Ballard Tree Service to remove our beloved European Clump White Birch that had fallen victim to the Bronze Birch Borer Beetle. The tree was in the corner of our back yard, surrounded on two sides by our fence and heavily planted with shrubs and perennials below it. The two man crew did an excellent job! They carefully cut and lowered every limb to avoid destruction to the underlying plants, and also did a fabulous job of clean up afterwards. We highly recommend them and will use them again for any future tree work. read more

Greg gave us a competetive bid on two tree removals and his crew came quick and on time. They clean up everything and did a great job. I am very happy about the result! Thank you! read more

We had BTS out to prune two 80 foot Douglas Fir trees yesterday and I can't say enough about how great they were. We had the trees pruned once before and the arborist did not go all the way up the tree, leaving crossed branches and a heavy top. This time Martine went all they way up and made the trees balanced and even. I was able to explain to them where I wanted more sun and rain to come through and they pruned perfectly to allow that to happen but not make the tree look funny, carefully looking up and down the tree while going to make sure they were making it even . They did such great job protecting my plantings that nothing in the gardens below was damaged and when they were finished it was all cleaned up so well that you could not even tell they were there without looking up at the trees. We have used other arborist in the past and would not even consider it now, BTS was by far the best and easiest to work with. read more

BTS was in the 'hood doing some work so I asked them to give me an estimate to take down a leaner. It was a great price. They referred my to an arborist for the low down on permits and I found out I did not need one, so saved that money. They optionally remove the trunk that is cut into short fireplace length logs. My neighbors wanted it so I saved that money. The work was done almost immediately. It was also cleaned up after and no damage to my yard. I would use them again without hesitation. read more

We returned home to find our tree had split down the trunk. Was referred to BTS and they came over same day to assess the situation, secured the trunk with chains, and performed the tree removal w/in a few days. Crew was very professional, fast, thorough, and worked clean. I made a time-lapse video of the removal: https://www.facebook.com/benlower/videos/10154057989969237/?l=4065304388503320305 read more

Ballard Tree Service removed trees for us on two occasions over the last two years and each time they were professional, followed up on their work with courtesy calls and were the best value price too. Highly recommended, read more

Ballard Tree Service is a name that strikes fear in any neighborhood if you love trees. " This business is connected closely to developers, they cut whatever their scrape-off developers tell them to and a scorched denuded landscape-is among their favorite aesthetic "services". They do not follow guidelines or Best Practices as far as protecting a tree in a lot under construction -and not sure they even employ a "certified" arborist. Their reputation is very poor-- be watchful--pay attention to what they do--educate yourself about city "tree ordinance" and any possible code violations. If you see their truck in your neighborhood, It is a bad sign for any beloved trees or mature landscaping. read more

I hired Ballard Tree for a cherry tree removal, and although the work itself was satisfactory, I would not recommend the service. There were annoying discrepancies between the estimator's estimate and the office, and so a low estimate given by him was not congruent with the estimation I was given post estimate, a discrepancy of $200. The office made the correction, and was apologetic, but in attempting to contact for an additional shrub removal a few weeks later, I waited three days after making contact with the estimator (the same one), who assured me he'd be by, but who never showed up, nor got back, and after contacting the office twice about the still-to-be made estimate, I gave up, and will seek another tree removal service. Hire this business only if you enjoy myriad frustrations, nagging and discrepant information. read more

I do not know how people are complaining that Ballard Tree Service is hard to get hold of, doesn't return calls, etc. They have a 24x7x365 phone! They offer emergency service, so whether you call during or off business hours, you got a human. When I had to leave a message off hours, I got called back or e-mailed first thing the next business day. In fact, I had called off hours on a Friday evening to ask some general questions about service and rough estimates. They actually just stopped by Saturday on the off chance they'd catch us to give us a good estimate rather than guessing by phone! They were ready to do the service as soon as we were. We had to wait almost a week to coordinate with neighbors, but as soon as I called to schedule, they were able to get the work scheduled and done two days later. The price was great, the arborist talked us through what he was going to do and why, and he even looked at all of our other trees and plants and offered advice, unsolicited. They don't simply hack up trees to "thin them out" or take off broken pieces, they look at the overall health of the tree and work on it accordingly. The quoted price was exactly what we paid, the work was amazingly fast considering that they scaled up two 100-foot trees, and the payment process is great - you get an invoice after the service that you can pay online if you like. I'd highly recommend Ballard Tree Service and will definitely return to them for future needs. read more

Received a fast and extremely fair bid from Greg. I wanted an old pear tree removed and decided after talking to Greg that Ballard Tree Service was the company to use. I couldn't be happier with the outcome. I highly recommend them and will use then in the future for sure! read more

Ballard Tree Service removed three trees from my back yard including grinding two stumps. They did a great job of not getting branches in places shouldn't go and made quick work of the tree removal. They also removed some compost for me. The stump grinder was too big to fit through the gate but the guy figured out a way to do it by taking down the fence and putting it back together in a short amount of time. I also asked them to do all the work in one day which there was a bit of miscommunication on but they fixed the problem and got all the work done as asked. Would recommend to anyone in need of tree removal. read more

I wouldn't hire this company. They parked their truck in the only entrance to our alley, blocking it completely, and disappeared. They left an open bucket under their wood chipper's fuel tank because the tank was leaking badly with a constant drip. They still managed to spill some fuel onto the pavement. read more

Ballard Tree Service was professional, talented and allowed me to pay with a payment plan. We had three huge trees next to our house that needed to come down. The men worked hard in the hot sun, cleaned up after themselves, were courteous, and always asked what we wanted if they had to make on-the-spot decisions. We really appreciate this resource in our community. Thank you! read more

I hired Ballard Tree Service to trim back some of my trees in my backyard that were nearing some small electrical wires. Instead of trimming them, they totally hacked them down! Stay away from this company if you value your trees. read more

Emailed them multiple times and called and left a message asking for a quote, but they never replied to any of them. I had even mentioned that I had used them before. VERY DISAPPOINTED. read more

I was so hopeful initially. My parents used this company and were very happy. They came out same day to give me an estimate and said they would email me the official quote. A week went by and I left a voicemail. Another week and I sent an email. No one has ever bothered to contact me again. Clearly they are so busy they don't need any more business. read more

Never responded to follow up calls. I understand getting busy, this is simply bad customer service.

I first came in contact with Ballard Tree Service when they helped a neighborhood friend with his tree project. I am so glad that I paid attention to what he was doing. My problem was that I had a 40 to 50 tree that was too close to my home. To make matters worst, the drop area around the tree was limited, which Greg said, was not a problem. He certainly told the truth. The crew came and strategically dismembered the tree and removed it without any damage to my property. The team of Ballard Tree Service are professional arborists and working with them has been a pleasure for me. I feel comfortable saying that if you have a tree problem, this company is the one you should call. read more

Great service, was happy with the knowledgeable staff that cut my two large trees.

We hired Ballard Tree service to take down two trees and grind the stumps. We asked how thoroughly they would grind the stumps, their answer was "generally 12 - 15 inches below grade". We didn't monitor the stump grinding, our mistake. We just bought new trees and tried to install them where the old trees had been - we found that the old stumps had been ground to just several (5-6) inches below grade, making it impossible to plant the new trees. We called Ballard Tree Service and thought it would be straightforward to resolve. Instead of a "sorry, we'll take a look and try to make it right" we were immediately told that another trip out would cost us (due to a setup fee). We're not satisfied with either their service or their response to our dissatisfaction. I'm in the architecture field, and unfortunately I've already recommended Ballard Tree Service to clients - I won't make that mistake going forward. If you do hire this company, pay attention to their work and don't pay until you've inspected what they delivered. read more

Prompt response to initial call and quote. I provided detailed pictures of what our neighbor agreed to allow us to trim on her willow tree. Crew came out without notice and failed to follow instructions. The tree was cut 3-4 feet too low. I called 4 or 5 times over two weeks to speak with Greg and I finally got to him. He lied and said he spoke with the neighbor and she was happy to the point of wanting more work done on the tree. I followed up with the neighbor and she did in fact speak with Greg to explain her disappointment and wanted some corrective work done. He as not been back to do so. This has been over a month. read more