Ted Safford Arborist

Just now spoke with Ted with Ted Sanford Arborist. He was very rude and cut me off and hung up on me. Once he found out that another competitor was coming by to give me an estimate. He said “he didn’t work for less” then click. This app is used for customers to get estimates from multiple companies to find out the best fit for the job, that includes price and service. Why would I agree to pay more when a competitor offers same service for less? However if a company provides a great project experience to the customer then I would perhaps be willing to pay the premium for that exceptional experience. I am currently in that same situation with another project. I agreed to a higher rate because the service and professionalism shown to me justified that. That does not seem to be the case for Ted. Even if his prices were cheaper. I will not be requesting his companies services. And will gladly give my money to his competitor and give them positive recommendations if they so deserve it.

Tree trimming was acceptable but careless with plants around olive tree. Was guaranteed pots would be moved. Was not done. Branches on plumeria chopped off Poor service

Very well. They suggested improvements and went beyond the expected work because it was better for the yard and remaining trees.

Excellent aborist! He is extremely knowledgeable, professional, and thorough. He took his time explaining EVERYTHING that needed to be done, tree by tree. Because of pricing, I decided to go with another company, but all of the information I received from Ted ended up being accurate. If you want exceptional service and knowledge, I would definitely recommend him.

Ted came to estimate and check them out. The following day Tim came with a crew and took care of it. I thought the price was a tad steep, but they gave A plus service, so I cannot complain.

Very smoothly. Ted Safford is very knowledgeable about trees of all kinds. Work was done quickly and efficiently. Yard was left in neat, clean condition. Highly recommend!

Excellent work. I've used them for years. They are very careful about protecting other plants around where they work. Very knowledgeable of trees and recommend best solution when part of a tree was not lookin well. They clean up after the work and haul it all away. Highly recommend this family owned business.

I'm very pleased with the work on the trees and the great clean-up.

They did a great job. Competitive price. Seemed to be very safety conscious. Got the job done in a single day with a large crew. Cleaned up well. Friendly and courteous. No damage to anything except one buried sprinkler line they could not see. I'd hire them again without question.

We've been using Ted's tree service for years and we've always been very pleased with him. Both Ted and his son have always been professional and very personable. So around the middle of August I started trying to contact them to have my Canary Island Palm tree trimmed back. After approximately 3 calls I did finally reach Ted. He explained that he was camping at the time and would return my call the following week to make the arrangements. After waiting another 3 weeks or so I attempted to contact him again. I once again tried calling and this time even emailing him. No return call, nothing. I finally gave up on them and contacted another tree service. They came out as arranged, trimmed and shaped the Canary Island, cleaned everything up, and charged a very reasonable price. I used to believe Ted Safford & Son Arborists was second to none, and I've been always been impressed with the fact that Ted is an Arborists. How wrong I was. It's true, he might very well be an arborists but the company's professionalism and courtesy, at least for me, leaves a lot to be desired. I'm sure Ted is very busy but a 10 second return message doesn't seem to me to be unreasonable.

We have them come in every couple of years. I've been using this company for about eight years now. They seem to have both a love of and respect for trees. They just have a good aesthetic sense. They don't believe in topping trees and a lot of things that you see in the area because they feel it's bad for the trees and can tell you why. So they're just very knowledgeable. We just can trust them. We tell them what we need done to the tree and they do an excellent job.

He was very knowledgeable about the liquid amber trees and their ability to continue to damage the foundation of the garage and house. His crew did an expert job removing the trees, grinding the stumps, trimming the remaining trees, and the clean-up was perfect. We will hire him again soon to plant some trees of another variety.

Ted showed up on time with his crew and I was impressed by their speed and careful attention not to damage any of the near by objects as well as caring for our neighbors newly planted grass sod which was a foot or two away from that tree. We got quotes from 6 other companies listed on Angies list and went with Ted mainly for price. Highly recommend them.

It went very well. We've used Ted Safford & Sons to care for all our trees for years now and have always been pleased with their service. Ted came out last week himself, trimmed the Canary Island and cleaned everything up. A very professional and personable crew. My wife and I could not be happier. Wayne Laner Carlsbad

We found them through Angie’s List. We were really happy with the services and everything and we think that his pricing was a little high but he did do a very good job; he had several large trees to trim. His estimate was within the range of the other people. When we asked him to do a couple of additional projects, as far as different trees to trim, he gave us estimates that were really high like he did not want to do business with us anymore. Overall the quality of the work and the professionalism of the workers were fine. I decided to go with him because of his basic knowledge of the trees and the estimate.

I'm pleased with the response time and the service.

He seemed somewhat non-committal on several responses. Went against what 2 other arborists had told us. Slightly less professional than other organizations, but overall quote was similar to others.

Tim Safford did a good job. We wanted a Ficus tree removed in our front yard. It was situated near our neighbor?s brand new fence, so we were quite anxious. But Tim went thru that tree so efficiently that not only the fence, but also the rose bush right beside the tree were untouched. As the tree was a bit close to the house as well, they covered all places where tree sap or wayward tree stuff might fly in and stick. After grinding the roots, they spread out the dirt so the whole area looked like the tree was never there. They cleaned up all the way to the street so no trace of tree cutting were evident. Tim also cut and ground 2 palm trees in the front lawn and cut another ficus tree in the back yard with the same meticulous care. They were done in 3 hours. Tim Safford is a very amiable young man who answered all our questions regarding our yard. We highly recommend Ted Safford Arborist. We look forward to working with them on our future yard projects.

Ted seemed a little bit presumptuous, but I was looking for good tree service, not personality, so we hired them anyway--and were glad we did! The apparent presumptuousness turned out to be well-deserved confidence, clearly one of the top two tree teams we've used in the last ten years (haven't been able to find the other guy since 2005). Ted and Tim and his team did a great job of shaping up a fifty-year-old olive that had been butchered by another highly-ranked arborist last year; trimmed up a dozen other mature trees; and removed a couple of other large trees, one of which had grown into the wires to the house. All done efficiently, professionally, and with good cleanup. The above-average price we paid was returned with attention to detail and much good advice for other areas of our project. And this was what I call "foundational" advice--which deepened my understanding of how to keep our trees healthy and happy. We will certainly call them next time we need any tree work. I wrote the above review last year, and discovered this morning (when I came to AL to find him for some new work) that it was still in draft status. This delay allows, however, a recognition of how much we got from these guys, especially by comparison to the guys who butchered a few of my neighbors' trees. (I really can't remember why I'd given them a B for responsiveness, but it would certainly not keep me from using them again this month if they're available.) The difference between Ted and Tim and most of the others we've dealt with is almost day and night. And these differences are more apparent now than they were last year.

The crew, including Ted's son Tim arrived on time and demonstrated knowledge and professionalism as they have always done in the past. Ted and his crew have maintained our many trees and have given us excellent advice on how to enhance all of our tree's appearances. They did everything we asked them to do and after they had finished, cleaned up as if they had never been here.

I thought that the bid was high, but accepted it based on resume and Angie's List reviews. I got my money's worth of professional work. Three workers not only did a great job on the trees, but trimmed a few adjacent shrubs and cleaned up all leaves and twigs in the yard and street. Made recommendations for extended care of trees. Very knowledgeable and will use again.

Other than not proactively communicating the date when his team would be doing the job, I was extremely please with the quality and cleanliness of the work performed.

I left a voicemail initially, and when I hadn't heard back after 3 days I made a follow-up call. Ted answered and said he could come out that afternoon. When he arrived, I pointed out a second tree that we are also planning to have removed. It had lost a large patch of bark on the main trunk and I had used a sealant to try to keep insects from getting in to the tree to no avail. That apparently was not the thing to do as Ted took me to task for having used the sealer on the tree. Ted is obviously very passionate about his work. I then showed him the tree which had been blown over. It had a fungus(another provider told me it was actually caused by a bacteria) growing at the base which Ted noted and again, his disappointment in my tree care was palpable. He gave me an estimate which was just shy of 3 times more than the other "A" rated Angie's List arborist that I have chosen to use. My sense is that Ted would probably do a great job. He definitely cares about his work. I would have just appreciated a little different approach in educating me as to proper tree care. What I am not able to understand is the discrepancy in pricing. This is a pretty straight forward job. .

Ted Safford arrived on time to review the proposed work and to provide an estimate. Stated he was quite busy and would call within two weeks to set up a date for the proposed work. He called back within the stipulated time and an appointment was set. The crew arrived on time for the appointment, performed the work diligently and promptly. Work was completed exactly as promised. Work area was left clean and all debris removed. Downside: he required payment with cash or check. Would not accept credit card payment. I'm a very satisfied customer and will use Ted Safford's service again.

TED SAFFORD TEAM ARRIVED ON TIME. THIS WAS A VERY LARGE PINE TREE. TED'S TEAM WORKED HARD TO LACE AND SHAPE THIS PINE TREE. THEY DID A AMAZING JOB, WOW WHAT A DIFFERENCE!!!