DO NOT HIRE this company to do tree work- check out the photos I posted of the results. I made this hiring mistake and Hugo and his MLC crew did such poor work and incredible damage to my landscape that I dismissed him from the job. Here are some of the highlights of what went wrong:
- One the first day of the job I came home from work to find that MLC had BUTCHERED one of the eucalyptus trees they had worked on. They were supposed to trim it, but instead entirely removed all of the branches so I was left with nothing but unsightly bare tree trunks. (Scroll through the photos on this site to see.) Hugo didn't proactively call to tell me he made a mistake or apologize. I had to call him to ask what happened and I got no apology or offer to discount the bill, but rather excuses. Hugo knew the mistake had been made, but when I pressed him about how it happened, the answer was "I don't know" and that the trees will grow back and look better in several months. Against my better judgment and because he already had $1,500 as a deposit, I asked Hugo to arrive at my home at 8 AM to discuss the issue and personally oversee the work of his crew so a similar issue wouldn't occur on the second day.
- On the second morning Hugo didn't arrive at 8 AM to discuss the poor job from the day before, but showed up almost an hour late, which resulted in me arriving late to my own job. Again, Hugo continued to make excuses for the horrible work his crew had done. It wasn't the way I expected an owner of a business to repair a damaged customer relationship and a poorly done job. When I asked how he would compensate me for the damage, he offered an insufficient discount until I insisted that I wouldn't pay for the work he did on the tree he stripped bare of all branches.
- On the second evening I arrived home to find poorly trimmed trees with ragged edges where it looked like the branches had been ripped vs. sawed off. The crew had also hacked up a roughly 15 foot shrub that was a focal point in my yard, completely removed a 5-6 foot mature butterfly bush, and another 5-6 foot mature butterfly bush was torn down to about 2 feet. They took zero care to protect the rest of my landscape and my yard looked significantly worse than before I hired MLC. Again, Hugo didn't call to inform me of the damage, I had to follow up with him to hear more of his excuses, which ultimately resulted in dismissing him from the job.
- The crew also made zero effort to clean up after a day's work. I came home to find pitchforks lying tines up throughout the yard, trash strewn around from lunch, and a saw that was literally hanging from one of the trees.
Hugo and his company are unaccountable, unprofessional, and do amateur quality work. He made my landscape look worse than before I hired him. Even my neighbors were commenting and asking questions about what happened to my trees.
Do yourself a favor and hire a certified arborist (which MLC is not). It will save you time, money, and hassle. read more