Alex Tree

Excellent job done.

Never showed up for estimate and never called.

Alex was great (the guy and the company). I was very concerned about tree trimmers working on the huge oak trees that are (too) close to my house...the one with the expensive new tile roof. Alex was very accommodating with my concerns and I could tell that he and his team are very careful workers. Alex himself is a trained/licensed arborist which was important to me. His fee was actually no more than the 2-3 other tree services I have used (such as the ones who left a shattered roof tile without even mentioning it). I will always go with Alex now.

Excellent! I was very concerned as how the trees were so large, and were so close to our house, and many limbs hung over the two-story house. I had had 3 other firms do similar work in the past and was never pleased with the care taken of the property (the home). And now with a new tile roof I did not want workers running willy nilly around on it. Alex has a small crew of experienced workers and he was on-site doing much of the work himself. He and his team were very understanding of my concerns for protecting the tile roof (a previous company had totally damaged roofing tiles and didn't even bother to mention it to me). With the small crew I felt that communication would be better with "the chief" and that there would not be general chaos. And the results bore out my belief.

Getting someone to take care of the trees here proved to be a little difficult. Some were interested until they realized I would need to see proof of insurance. Others were interested until they realized I was going to get several quotes. Coconut Cowboy gave me an appointment, and then never showed up. Have since heard he has a reputation for "no show for price quotes". Alex showed up. I explained I needed the trees trimmed for my homeowner's insurance purposes. He offered to write up a written report for me to give the insurance company stating the work that he did, if he got the job. I did get one other quote after Alex, but the man had so many financial issues and health issues that I was concerned he hadn't been able to keep up with his insurance payments, and I wasn't sure he could actually physically do the work, and he said his helpers were unreliable. So, that's how Alex got the job. He didn't give me an appointment when I called to schedule - said his schedule was "dynamic". That he would call me... Two weeks later (and no phone call) I decided to call him before just moving on to acquiring more quotes. I left a message. Within 5 minutes he returned the call, and asked what this was about. So, from there we briefly discussed the job again, and moved into scheduling the following morning. The men showed up on time on the morning of the scheduled day, did the work without any mishap, and were done by noon. Things that I didn't care for: #1. On the day Alex didn't seem to remember what we had discussed re the trimming work. Somehow, my gut told me to go over it again with him on the day the work was being done to make sure we were on the same page. Turns out that my instinct was right on. (This is important info to know for someone who hires him and is unable to be on site, due to work or other obligations. And yes, I had a written quote, with the details spelled out.) #2. The man who was up on the roof cleaning up debris used a yard rake ON my less-than-a-year-old shingle roof. My roofer told me to not use even so much as a broom on the shingle roof as it would remove grains on the shingles. I told the man, and he apologized and said they have a blower to use. (Never take for granted that because a business has a website, a license, and proof of insurance, with a decent reputation, etc. etc, that they will know everything, or will do it.) #3. Their clean-up left something to be desired. I personally spent around 1.5 hours after they left cleaning up after them. It wasn't just small twigs and leaves, either. And, my neighbor very pointedly threw a short piece of branch back into my yard. (This is important if you are unable to do this yourself. You will need to have/hire someone else to do this for you...either a friend or your regular yard guy. Even if you can do it yourself, there's the fact that you will most likely have to do some clean up after them.) #4. As for the promised report for my insurance company...before Alex left I again mentioned the report. Alex said I should email him the information he needed for the report - i.e. insurance company name. I did that the same day. (We had exchanged emails before the job for him to send a copy of his license, and for his insurance agent to send me proof of insurance. The email connection was already established.) He said it might be a week before he got the report out. 11 days later and no report. I called him, and the call went to voice mail. A day later still no response. (This is important to know for someone who, like myself, does need a report for their insurance company. You may, or may not, actually get it. And what are you going to do after the fact, when he doesn't send the report, or return your phone calls or emails?) If he comes through with the report I will certainly be happy to update the info here. #5. When the job was being discussed I asked about having the tree branches/limbs chopped up and left here for mulch. Alex said they could do that - at no extra charge. On the day of the job I mentioned this again because it was obvious that they hadn't brought the equipment for it. Alex hesitated a split second, and quickly explained that "that piece of equipment was in the shop for repairs". He said they could dump off some mulch any time later.

unknown

Alex and his crew of two men showed up as scheduled and began work immediately. Alex climbed and cut the tree in sections. As the space to drop it was very small, he had to cut it in short sections, while the other two guys were picking it up and carrying it to the street from my back yard. The tree was down in short order and all debris was picked up and not any of my other plants were damaged. They were all very polite and paid lots of attention to detail. They came back the next day and ground the stump. You'd never know there was a tree there. They even cut three sections of different lengths as I requested for a garden feature and placed them where I wanted them. Super Job!!!