WESTENBERGER TREE SERVICE INC

We have had work done in the past by Westenberger Tree Service and have always been very happy. Well, what a difference now! Westenberger Tree service refused to honor a cancellation of a contract for taking down a tree. I had emailed them through their link on their webiste within 24 hours of signing a contract on 3/24/2015 at my home. Serveral weeks later, a country official showed up at my door with a $50 permit the company had pulled for the tree to be inspected and approved for removal. When I contacted the company, I was told their email system hadn't worked in some time, that they had tried to fix it but that it was still broken and they had never received my e-mail. Because they didn't receive my cancellation, they wanted me to reimburse them $50 for the permit. I did not think it was my responsibility that they had not received my cancellation because of a known broken e-mail system that they kept on their home web page. The company disagreed, even after I offered to split the permit cost with them, and threatened legal action against me. This is what happened: I am a recent widow. Tim knew my husband (as did Loren, the original owner, when he was alive). Mandy I had talked to each other many times over the phone over the years. They both had heard that my husband had died in February. On 3/24/15, I was out at the end of my driveway getting mail when I saw them both across the street working at a neighbor's house. Mandy and Tim both came around to to see me and offer their condolences. While I was talking to them, I asked Tim if he had a minute to identify a tree in my back yard that was dropping berries that were making both my dogs sick. Tim did so and identified it as a Camphor Tree, which he said was indeed is toxic to dogs. I asked Tim if he had any suggestions, as we had never had this problem before in the 10 years we had lived there. I asked Tim if this could be a cyclical event or a one time unusual production of berries. I was very anxious, as my dogs could not be let loose in the back yard with all those berries and I am disabled. Trying to care for the dogs without the availability of access to a fenced in backyard was almost impossible. Tim replied that he could remove the tree and trim another tree for $1325.00. I saw no other choice, so I signed a contract for that amount right there in my yard. Tim left, saying he would be in touch with me about the process. The next day, less than 24 hours after signing the contract, I rethought the situation and emailed Westenberger Tree Service and cancelled the contract. Given that the tree had already dropped all its berries, I decided to keep it for a shade tree for the summer and then take it down in the fall. The e-mail of 3/25/15 read: "Hi Mandy! It was nice meeting you on 3/24/15. I appreciate all your words of sympathy and understanding. It always helps to talk to someone who has "been there". I'd like to cancel the $1325 contract I signed on 3/24/15. I've decided to leave the tree there for the summer and then take them down in the fall. Please call me at XXX-XXX-XXXX if you have any questions. Jeanne". I am disabled, in part, due to a severe jaw injury, so I try to use email when it is available, as it is painful to talk. As Westenberger's Tree Service had their e-mail listed on their website as a way of contacting them, I sent the above note through e-mail (which I have a copy of). On April 2nd, 2015, someone from the country came to my door to check my tree with a permit that had been pulled (for $50.00) by Westenberger Tree Service. I was shocked, as I knew I had cancelled the contract within 24 hours. I immediately called Mandy at the office. Mandy reported to me that their company e-mail had not worked in months, that they had been trying to fix it but it was still broken, and that she did not receive my e-mail cancelling the contract. Mandy stated that it was my fault, as I had not followed up on the e-mail with a phone call. I responded that if their e-mail account had been inoperative for months, then their website should not have continued to list it as a contact option. Because my husband and I had always been happy with Westenberger Tree Service, even though I felt no legal obligation, I offered what I thought was a reasonable solution: we would each pay half of the permit fee ($25.00 each) and then re-connect in the fall when I was ready to have the tree taken down. I fully expected them to agree, especially since I intended to do business with them in the near future. To my surprise, the offer was refused in anger. Not only was my offer refused, but legal action was threatened. I told Mandy that I believed I had three days to cancel the contract given that Tim had just come over to identify a tree for me and then offered me a price to take it down - which I believe comes under the home solicitation definition. Mandy disagreed and I asked her to have Tim call me. I assumed Tim and I could work this out easily, but I was wrong. Tim did call me the same day (4/2/15) and I explained the situation. I again offered the $25 compromise. To my surprise, Tim also refused the $25.00 & threatened legal actions. Tim and Mandy's tone and threats were totally unprofessional, especially given I was a long time customer. Not only that, but Tim called me back a second time on 4/2/15 telling me that I had it all wrong - that according to his "research", I should have written them a certified letter canceling the contract and so the company didn't have to honor an e-mail cancellation. I'm not a lawyer - and neither is Tim - but I had the Attorney General's web page in front of me as I talked to Tim and I told him this as I read out the requirements listed to cancel this kind of contract (only a verbal response is required - the rest is just suggested). Tim said that wasn't true and said now that they would also be charging me a 10% cancellation fee and would seek legal action if I did not pay this and the permit fee. At that point I just said good-bye to Tim, as it was clear that the conversation was just deteriorating and I did not want to be threatened any more. I would like the company to waive the $50 permit fee, as well as the 10% cancellation fee, in writing. I feel that I have fulfilled my responsibility in cancelling a contract within 24 hours in writing. If Westenberger Tree Service had an active e-mail link on their website as a way of contacting them, it was their responsibility to either make sure the e-mail service was working (which they knew it wasn't, according to Mandy), or they should have removed this link until their problem with e-mail had been solved. Why would a company offer an e-mail link to contact them if they knew that their e-mail system had not been working for months? I did contact the Better Business Bureau first, but Westenberger Tree Service failed to respond to them. I would like Angie's list to try and intervene with Westenberger Tree service and resolve this dispute. Thank you.

We have been using Westenberger for years since Lauren was still alive. They have always been wonderful. Once we purchased our new property we had a ton of trees to remove and knew we would use them. We have over the past two years cleared many trees ranging in size from 50ft to everywhere in between. Most were very badly damaged or on their way out. Westenberger is always on time and very courteous of our space and wishes. Our most recent project went very well and the work is always tidy and well done. I would have like to have seen the area really tilled so that nothing will grow back and we can have a blank slate for planting, but I don't think that was part of the agreed upon project. I highly recommend this company. Even though our trees have been past saving, I do know that they care about keeping what they can if at all possible. :) Wonderful work time and time again. Tim and his crew are so pleasant, I love talking to them when they are here.

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Came to my location on time as scheduled, trimmed and cleared a lot of limbs and some dead wood in higher branches. Cleared all the waste away and left my trees healthy and trimmed as promised.

Although the inoculation was fairly expensive, we wanted to do whatever we could to keep the tree alive after the root pruning and the damage from removal of the driveway. It appears that Westenberger has a reputation as the best arborist in the county. He was very responsive and coordinated his schedule with our paver installation company. He has also made a point of stopping by several times in the weeks after he completed his work to check up on our tree to make sure it is still doing well. I'm very pleased that we went with Westenberger.

They are very competent but their price are way out of sight. We had three trees I wanted trimmed and he wanted $5,000. I used him a few years ago and we paid him $1,000 and three or four years later he wanted $5,000. We got the work done for $750 by another company. And it was a good job.

They were very professional.

While the three other services I contacted gave me estimates within a day or two, it took this one more than a week before they could even send someone out to look at the place. But she did an extremely thorough job of evaluating each tree and bush, giving me detailed recommendations on what to cut away and what not to disturb, and the reasons for each recommendation. Even though Westenberger's price was significantly higher than the other services I got estimates from, I chose them because I was impressed with her knowledge and somehow believed I'd get more for my money with this company. They use certified arborists, and that was important to me. But the owner is apparently not currently doing day-to-day work on site, leaving just one overworked arborist available. As a result, she was able to supervise the crew for only a couple of hours when they worked on my property. From what I could tell, they followed her instructions pretty well with only a couple of exceptions. And they cleaned up most, but not all, of their trimmings. Unlike the other companies that gave me estimates, this one quoted me an inclusive "day rate" rather than pricing each individual tree or shrub. As it turned out, the job took them only about six hours, not counting lunch. So even though the quality of their work was generally good, I don't really feel that I got my money's worth.

Loren Westenberger brought my palm trees back to life. Mr. Westenberger was there when I moved from my home and offered to evaluated the trees at my new location. I felt that to be extra special service.

Just like every other year, Loren Westenberger came out to examine the work of his crew. They usually come with a couple of trucks and clean up every bit of the debris. This year they had to cut a huge branch over our lanai, so they brought in special equipment allowing them to remove it without any damage to our home. In all the years we have used Westenberger, we have never had any damage to our home and the clean up has always been excellent. Although they might be slightly more expensive compared to other companies, we find the quality and service to be outstanding.

The magnolia looked terrible one month later. When called, they came out to check. That afternoon I looked outside and the tree was gone, and I got a bill for removal of the tree. I did not ask for them to remove it, just to check on it. We later found out that the stake they put in for the hibiscus punctured our sprinkler line, and the area is now flooded. Also, the hibiscus is now leaning the other direction.

COMPANY WAS PROMPT, COURTEOUS AND PROFESSIONAL. I JUST FEEL THAT THEIR ESTIMATE WAS TOO HIGH.

MR. WESTENBERGER HIMSELF CAME TO GIVE THE ESTIMATE. HE WAS FRIENDLY, POLITE AND VERY KNOWLEDGEABLE. HE IMMEDIATELY DIAGNOSED THE PROBLEM WITH THE LARGE FIR TREE. I APPRECIATED THAT HE LET ME KNOW THAT THE TREE WAS NOT IN IMMEDIATE DANGER OF DYING, WHICH GAVE ME THE OPTION OF PUTTING OFF THE TREATMENT, WHICH WAS EXPENSIVE. I ASKED HIM TO SCHEDULE ME AS SOON AS POSSIBLE. THEY CAME WITHIN ONE DAY OF WHEN THEY SAID THEY WOULD, AND DID AN EXCELLENT JOB. THEY CLEANED UP AFTER THEMSELVES. THE LARGE FIR TREE IS LOOKING WONDERFUL AND HAS LOTS OF NEW GROWTH. THIS COMPANY IS A PLEASURE TO WORK WITH. I WILL USE THEM IN THE FUTURE.

PRICEY, BUT THEY ALL ARE. PROMPT, COURTEOUS, INFORMATIVE. CLEANED UP WELL AFTER TWO DAY JOB.

ESTIMATE ONLY. TOO EXPENSIVE COMPARED TO OTHER ESTIMATE BY BAY CITY TREE SERVICE

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HE PROMISED TO CALL ON FRIDAY OR NO LATER THAN MONDAY MORNING AND HE HAS NEVER CALLED BACK. I WOULD NOT RECOMMEND HIM.

MR. WESTENBERGER WAS VERY KNOWLEDGEABLE, NICE, POLITE, AND ALL WORK WAS PERFORMED AS SPECIFIED. HE ALSO PROVIDED PROOF OF LIABILITY INSURANCE COVERAGE. A PORTION OF OUR LANAI SCREEN WAS DAMAGED AND IT WAS REPAIRED QUICKLY AND WITHOUT ANY PROBLEMS.

THE ONLY ONE OF THREE THAT I CALLED FROM THE LIST THAT RESPONDED. GILES, VICTOR, AND NICK WERE SENT TO DO THE WORK. THEY TRIMMED MY TREE TO PERFECTION..AND THIS WAS A BELOVED TREE AND I WAS NERVOUS!..THEY EVEN HAD A BLOWER AND A RAKE...AND THEY USED THEM!...THIS WAS AN AMAZING EXPERIENCE..THESE YOUNG MEN ARE POLITE, HARD WORKING, AND REALLY KNOW WHAT THEY ARE DOING..THEY WERE CHEERFUL, INFORMATIVE, AND NEAT..THANK YOU!!!!

VERY EXPERIENCED AND FRIENDLY.

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ESTIMATE FOR THE WORK WAS GIVEN IN A TIMELY MANNER AND WORK WAS DONE AT THE DATE and TIME STATED. HOWEVER, AFTER THE 3 WORKMEN LEFT, THERE WAS STILL 2 PALM BRANCHES LEFT UNCUT THAT I THOUGHT SHOULD HAVE BEEN CUT. (THEY WERE VERY CLOSE TO THE ROOF) I CALLED and EXPLAINED MY CONCERN AND THEY SENT A MAN OUT THE SAME DAY TO LOOK AT THE TREES and CLEARANCE. HE AGREED WITH ME AND THE VERY NEXT DAY THE BRANCHES WERE CUT, GIVING US A VERY GOOD CLEARANCE FROM THE TREES TO OUR HOUSE. I WAS VERY SATISFIED.

The company presented an understandable plan and implemented the plan in a competent manner.