A guy rang my doorbell at 3:45 this afternoon. He said he was with a tree service working in our neighborhood and asked if I had any work for them. I generally don't hire people who ring the doorbell, but there happened to be a pear tree in our front yard that had lost half its branches in ice and wind storms earlier this year. It wasn't overhanging the house or any power lines, and was about 35' tall so it didn't seem to be a particularly challenging job. I thought since they're standing here ready to go, why not? We agreed on a price. The guy asked if I would pay them first. I told him no. He asked how I would pay and I said by check. He asked if I would run up to the bank and withdraw cash to pay them. I told him no. The truck pulls up and several more guys get out and start cutting. The guy who gave me the price tells the "business manager" that I want to pay by check. She suggests I write the check now so she can go cash it before 5:00 while the guys work. I told her I wanted to pay by check when the work was complete, and if that didn't work for them I would find someone else. No problem, she says. The first guy comes back and tells me the guys can't paid today if I don't pay them before the bank closes. I remind him we agreed I would pay on completion. I go inside. Twenty minutes go by and I go out to check on them. They're making progress. The guy tells me again the crew needs to get paid today and asks me to write a check so the business manager can run up to the bank while they finish up. The trunk's still standing and there's a brush pile in my yard. I reminded him I would pay on completion. Twenty minutes go by and the doorbell rings again. He wants to show me their progress. I tell him it's looking good. The trunk is down in pieces on my lawn. He tells me again they need to get paid today. I tell him to finish up and I'll pay. I go out when they are cleaning up. One of the guys is giving me the eye like he wants to kick my ass. I write the check on the hood of their truck. From their conversation, I gather they don't know where they're going to stay tonight. I didn't catch why they weren't going back to Thomasville. The guy who gave me the price is apologizing to the other three for not getting paid. The guy who was giving me the eye says they better remember my address in case there's no money in my checking account. They drive away. I remember again why I don't like to work with people who ring my doorbell. read more

These guys have no business being in tree removal services. After being told that I wanted about a 50ft pine with a large crown that was heavily leaning towards my house topped before dropping it, they still ignored my instruction & when I went inside my house, they continued to just drop the tree (no tie-off, not topped) directly on the front of my house. Even after this the owner had the balls to ask for payment. He got his payments I'm sure when his insurance premium came due after my $10K+ damage bill. If these guys are even still in business, I'd say run far away & find a company that actually belongs doing this kind of work. read more

Like Vind I usually don't do business with bell ringers but in this case I was able to check them out on line and already had other estimates for the work needed so I had a feel for what the job might be worth. Unlike Vin's experience with payment they wanted nothing up front and agreed to accept a check since my bank was just 5min away. Although their front man talked a little too much and seemed a little eager to get the job we negotiated a price and they went to work. They did exactly as we agreed including a nice job of cleaning up and went on their way. For me at least, they earned five stars and I wouldn't hesitate to use them again. read more

We had a similar experience with a knock on the door in Kannapolis. We have seven VERY large pin oak trees that border our property and they were hanging over our house. We actually had to make repairs to our shed this week after a storm. We were in the process of looking for someone to trim up the trees. They wanted to start immediately...but it was 7:30 pm and we did NOT want to inconvenience any of our neighbors with the sound of chainsaws. They shared with us their need for payment so that they could get paid. We scheduled an appointment for the next morning to have those trees trimmed. They did not come till early afternoon, but they did contact us to say they were delayed. They provided us with a copy of their insurance policy and agreed to clean up the debris before they received payment. About an hour before the work was completed, they asked if it was possible to get the check so that they could go to the bank and get it cashed. We finally agreed and they cleaned up the yard very nicely. They were very polite and conscientious of our property. We wanted the wood for our fireplace and they stacked it exactly where we asked. I would recommend them to others but would suggest that you have the money in cash and then hold it till the end if it is a problem to give them the money prior to completing. Otherwise, you might feel pressured. I definitely feel better about any upcoming thunderstorms!! read more

A neighbor hired this crew to take out a large tree. Because he asked them not to stack the debris in his yard, they had chosen to move the large cut branches off the lawn and into the road. Their truck obstructed the flow of traffic in one direction closest to the property. The debris was placed in the road next to the truck obscuring traffic. I noticed because I happened to see a vehicle leave the road, drive across my property and back on the road. After seeing a second vehicle do the same, I went out to figure out why because I couldn't see from my view. When I walked up, as if intentionally, the guy started up his chainsaw and began to cut the branches he stood upon which were already in his unmarked old pickup truck. I thought it was rather unsafe. One of his female workers tried to get his attention because she knew I was wanted to speak to him but he ignored both of us. I waited several minutes for him to stop. When he did, I asked him to remove the debris from the road that people were having to drive around it. He explained it was the "owner's fault" because "he" didn't want to have the debris in his yard. I told him I didn't want people driving through my yard because the debris was in the road. He was clearly irritated at the request but told his companions to move the debris behind the truck as if he were doing me a favor. This was done with a little "mouth". So I asked who he worked for. He said "a tree service". I asked if he recalled which tree service. He said he didn't because he was too tired. A male worker walked over to move debris and told me it was "Big Al's" tree service and hadn't I heard of it. A bit of humor passed between these two young men as they enjoyed their lie. So I called the home owner who missed my call but later provided the information on Rod's Tree Service with the contact numbers. As the truck filled, they would drive off, be gone a short while and return for another load. As we don't have a landfill nearby, I gathered he was dumping the debris somewhere else. Meantime, the sun went down but the trunk of the tree was still up. They continued to use chainsaws to cut up the branches, cut down the trunk of the tree in sections and then cut it apart in manageable chunks. They finished well after dark around 9pm. Again rather unsafe and I wondered if this tree service was bonded and insured. Given their thoughtless choices, rude behavior, lie, unsafe practices and unknown dumping, I'd never consider hiring this crew. read more