One word sums up my experience with Cutchen's Tree Service. OUTSTANDING!!! I had 5 huge palm trees…read moreI needed taken out for a back yard project to revamp my pool and cement slab deck. This may seem a routine job, but the location of the trees could not have presented a more challenging task.
First the back yard is a raised area held in place by a retaining wall approximately 3 feet in height that runs just 1 foot inside along one side and the rear of the fenced property line abutting the neighbors' properties. The 3rd side is set in approximately 15 feet from fence. The only entrance to the back yard is a 10-foot-wide entry gate from the driveway, but a lot of that area along the house is used for the pool equipment along one side of the home and a garden area along the fence. In other words, it is really tight. Then you had the location of the trees. Of course, they had been planted in the raised area along the back property line so there was no way to get close with a vehicle or equipment and only feet from the cement slab and the pool area. Finally, these were no tiny ornamental accent palms. They looked great 20 years ago, but had thrived in the extreme, with the 4 Sylvester palms growing to 12 feet tall with 20-to-26-inch diameter bases. Then, of course the final palm, a Canary Island Palm standing at least 35-40 feet high with a diameter base of 48 inches, had to be planted at the farthest corner of the raised yard.
From a layman's perspective, I just knew this was going to be a problem and my expectations were that whoever did the job, I was going to be doing a lot of fix up projects with fears of broken fences, cracked slabs, trees in the pool, and trenches in the grass. But, even knowing this and having to account for the worst, I did my research. Looking over the reviews of several different companies, I had an expectation of the cost. Then, I read through all of the reviews. First, I was surprised to find many of the companies had only 10 to 20. The larger companies had perhaps 40 to 60. But Cutchens stood out with almost 200 reviews (Note - there are several review locations), the majority of them 5 stars with very low percentage of poor reviews compared proportionately to the other businesses. Next, I was impressed when the first representative looked over the project, showed me exactly what the difficulties would be and how they could be overcome, but didn't just throw out a no sweat answer. Knowing I would be looking for more estimates, the rep took some pictures and indicated he would have to speak with big guy before he could take on the job to ensure it could be done right as he expected.
The next day, the owner, Ed, called back and asked if he could take a look personally. During his on-site visit, his experience showed through. After a few minutes, he came up with a plan, walked me through it, showed me where and how he could get his equipment in, and indicated he would have to take out the last palm in sections because of its location. He also went over how it cold be done safely and with little impact to the yard. In other words, he knew his stuff, answering every question I had in my head without my having to ask. It was impressive. To top it off, after stating, "This is a big job. I hate to say it but it's going to be expensive", he gave me his quote. When he came in with a number less than the lowest of my cost estimate, the deal was sealed.
4 days later, he and his team arrived on time as scheduled, and work began. No messing around. I watched as he managed to get the crane in with, after pulling in the mirrors, a 1-inch clearance. Then his team removed a portion of the side fence and placed pads to provide support of the crane. Several hours later, the job was finished exactly as he had informed me. How he managed to back the crane out, I have no idea (some things you just don't want to watch) but the gate stood unmarked, the fence panels had been put back in place, the area cleaned with no mess, garden beds still intact and raked, and no runs in the grass. In fact, I only realized they were finishing up when I found Ed out skimming the pool. That's attention to detail.
Bottom line, Ed runs a tight ship and does exactly what he promised. Exactly, what I had seen running through out all those satisfied customer reviews. I would highly recommend he and his business "Cutchins Tree Service, to anyone, even those I dislike, because this crew deserves it.
