My neighbor recommended South Lake Tree Service's in 10/2022, and said to email them because they're almost impossible to reach by phone. Now they're shocked at how things played out for me.
I emailed I wanted 2 trees trimmed "as much as possible." Tony came and gave me an estimate of $450. Again, I stressed "as much as possible."
The trees were trimmed 12/29. Before workers left, I asked if they could trim more and was told they didn't want to ruin the shape of the trees but could cut more at another time. I emailed Tony before and after pictures of the trees and expressed my disappointment.
Tony came back to the house with a laser pointer in January and pointed out additional branches that could be cut. Since he said they'd be back, I trusted him and gave him payment in full. BIG MISTAKE.
I heard nothing until 3/6 when two neighbors came to tell me trees were being trimmed next door. I went over and reminded Tony about my unfinished job. He said they'd had no chipper for 2 months. I understand the delay, but an email between January and March would have been nice. He said maybe they could work on my trees if they had time when they finished the job they were doing and left. They trimmed the neighbor's tree like I wanted mine trimmed.
When Jose came to my door later that day, he told me they couldn't cut much because the chipper had already left. Then he said there were different levels of trimming and there might be an extra charge to trim my trees like my neighbor's. They cut a few branches and left.
Again, I emailed Tony and said we'd never discussed levels of trimming. I'd specifically said, "as much as possible" several times from the beginning. They scheduled me for 3/13, pending weather conditions. It rained, no word from them on a new date.
I emailed and asked when I could expect the job to be finished. The response was, "Tony will get it completed when it can fit into the schedule." The response included, "Please see the estimate where it is highlighted.. customer is responsible for checking the work completed." I responded, "I did check it. I expressed my dissatisfaction to Jose, then emailed Tony. Tony came and agreed to send the workers back. He hesitated to take my check until the work was complete, but I insisted saying I trusted him."
I heard nothing for weeks and started emailing reminders once a week. No response until yesterday, 5/5/2023 when workers were at my door. Jose asked what I needed done. I indicated branches near the house, and said Tony had pointed out additional branches that could be cut, but I didn't remember which ones. He said the branches wouldn't hit the house in a storm and if a tree falls over it doesn't fall on the house, it falls away from the house (yes, he really said that). Then he got Tony on the phone and handed it to me.
Tony said he wasn't charging me for the work (as he shouldn't because he promised to do it in January when I gave him the check). He said he'd given me a low estimate and if I wanted a more aggressive cut, it would have cost more. "As much as possible" sounds aggressive to me. He said I wasn't home when he did the estimate. Not true. I was home and we discussed it in person.
He said he'd have the men work for 30 minutes because of his costs. As the conversation continued about his costs, it went to 20 minutes, then 15. Otherwise, he'd charge me more.
They cut branches, reminding me cutting more would cost more. My trees don't look like my neighbor's, but I'll live with it. I don't ever want to deal with these people again. read more
