The only reasons i'm not giving Miguel 5 stars are a.) I don't want you to think my review biased and "filter" it as it seems you've done with many of the other 5 star reviews he's received! and b.), I'm not instinctively happy with what he was sent to do to my tree in the first place!
I live in an apt in the valley and in Aug. our complex underwent repairs and rehab to comply with city inspections. I'm lucky enough to have a Chinese Elm on my patio that has grown from an overly pruned 3 ft.twig to full 25 ft. high glory in the 7 yrs I and my life partner have lived here. This tree provided much needed shade - cutting the temperature in the apt by 10 to 15 degrees, giving beauty and oxygen to the atmosphere outside, and most importantly of all, was revered by my partner and me, having raised and defended it from an unexpected seedling.
Against managements knee jerk reactions to all trees abutting apartment structures, It had been agreed upon by my partner and their on-site contractor that the tree could remain but needed to be trimmed (city fire code apparently - like a tree would be the only cause of an edifice burning if it really wanted to!)
So imagine my surprise when Miguel showed up early one morning, chainsaw in hand and an urgency to "take out the tree" - no questions asked- no rebuttals taken.
The problem was, not only was it still abnormally hot in the valley, but my partner of 24 yrs had just died from an accidental drowning. The tree represented much more to me now than what it represented to a hired landscaper with a deadline of more buildings to attend to.
I was shaking when I went inside to call the contractor's assistant. Miguel seemed to me to have a really condescending attitude like I was just another tenant giving him a hard time, and showed no sign of listening! I was so upset I couldn't locate the contractor's phone number, but when I went back outside, a totally changed Miguel said he had just received a call from the assistant telling him NOT to cut down the tree!!!
I then watched him climb up the tree and, taking much more time than he might have otherwise had to, and showing the utmost care & artistic sensibility (which from his perched vantage point couldn't have been easy) and obvious skill, do an amazing job of trimming the tree. He didn't deadhead it as would have been the easy or common thing to do, but actually trimmed the tree beautifully.
Several months later now as i'm finally getting around to this review, but i have to say, although i REALLY miss the coolness the tree's overgrown shade provided to my apt. (LA you have to get with it in getting shade trees!), when I look at the tree, it actually looks really, really nice, I might even honestly say, it looks better than it did before. He did an absolutely fantastic job and what's more, he didn't carry a grudge or be rude or spiteful for our initial antipathy toward one another. I will also add that Miguel looks to be quite young, but he really seems to know what he's doing. He told me he has been doing the work a long time with his family. It shows. I would hire him in a heartbeat and know that he's a man who tells it like it is, does what he says he's going to do (or is hired to do) and knows what he's talking about. read more