First Response Tree Specialist

It was hard for me to grade the price of the services performed because I did most of my research out on the web and this appeared to be a fair price. I really should have contacted several companies for estimates, but I wanted this job done immediately because the maple tree in the front yard was so overgrown that many of the branches were falling on my roof and this company could do the work the next day. Pros: The reps. were friendly and courteous. They even removed a pile of debris that I had cut earlier in the spring. Cons: They were late, however, they did call to tell me. They forgot to seal the cuts on the fruit trees. I really should have checked this but I also forgot. I asked for proof of insurance which they did not bring, however, they told me their boss was on the way with the papers. He didn't show up. I said I would not use this company again, however, I may if I received several estimates and theirs was competitive.

We got several estimates from different companies, they had a lower bid and appeared to know what they were doing. They didn't have a contract to sign with them, but were able to show me a copy of their insurance, The owner said he would bring the contract in the morning and he would be on site. We verbally agreed on the work to be done and the price. The owner, stated that no money was due until the job was done to our satisfaction.We had a very large tree(over 100ft) that was close to falling on the house, they started the work that night and got the dangerous part of the tree down. I have to say, the guy who climbed the tree and tied it off safely is to be commended. It was a very dangerous job.The next day a crew came out to finish the large tree and start cutting up the others. Their chipper broke, a worker walked off the job, and the owner came back with a contract that said we would pay half up front and the rest when the job was done. He tried to pressure my husband into paying so he could get his chipper fixed and tried to make him feel guilty about not being able to pay the workers. We refused to pay until the job was done as agreed upon. They continued to work on cutting up the trees and haul away brush. They came back on July 4th to again work on the job and again asked for payment. We refused to pay until the job was done. We were asked multiple times for partial payment, by this time we were tired of being harrassed and we had five of our own people doing more work than they were. They managed to finish cutting up the largest tree, hauled some brush away and cut down another smaller tree with my husband helping cut up the tree because their large chain saw broke. In the end they only partially completed the job and were begging for partial payment and to be let out of the contract (that never was given to us). WE gave partial payment and were glad to see them go. Their truck says they belong to the BBB, but they do not, they are also not licensed in the city of Springfield (we live in the county). We still have a lot of work that was left undone.I would not use this company and would not recommend them to anyone.