I hired this company, also called "John at Tree Monkey." Seems they have a new name. Company should be named Hack Slash and Run! His estimate was very high to trim my large hedge in back yard. Then he agreed to lower it if I could pay cash so he could avoid IRS. Price was still high, and a few weeks later he contacted me with another lower price, saying work was slow right now. Red flag, but sadly I fell for it.
WORST SERVICE I HAVE EVER HAD! John and his 2 helpers basically destroyed my back yard. Everything felt very rushed! He was making too much noise with a chainsaw while up on a ladder for me to communicate with him during work. They began by running into my back yard and moving all my potted plants any old place to clear a path to drag thru what they cut out to front to throw in the chipper. I felt too traumatized to even know what to say or do or who to keep an eye on. Pure chaos!
Everyone who has looked at the finished work is mortified! There is nothing left of what used to be trees and climbing roses. Just bare tree trunks, with no foliage, all cut in random places from high up to 4 ft. to 2 ft. from ground. They left problematic ivy though. I called and actually talked to him a few days later and he admitted to also damaging my neighbor's fence. He said the damage was pretty minor. It's not. He had also finally said he would come and clean up the mess he left "next time he's in Oakland." Work was on Jan. 20, 2025. I have not heard from him since.
The mess left behind took a yard helper and myself 6 hours so far to rake up the huge piles of debris and fill my green waste can plus 9 yard waste bags. It is still not all gone. (I ran out of bags.) They left a trail of branches and leaves all the way from back yard to the curb! They did not replace any of the items they moved, and I picked up at least 6 crunched empty water bottles they had dropped in random places.
I paid him more than $2,000 for this! If you care anything about your garden, DO NOT hire this company! I had to add a star to publish. I wanted to leave it at no stars. read more