Pell Tree Company

I contacted Pell via email to determine if the Angie's List special was what we needed/wanted. Received an email response relatively quickly from the "Office Manager" but can't tell you who it was because no name was given. We were interested in purchasing the $250 for $500 worth of tree service to remove some branches that were on power lines/dead, but also inquired about leaf removal and requested an estimate. Even though their Angie's List site says they do NOT do leaf removal (Isaw this later) the person who emailed said that it would be $135/hr for 3 men and then added there would be a travel charge. When I asked about the travel charge it was indicated to be another hour ($135) on top of the estimate. I have looked everywhere, on Angie's List, on their website, and even through communication with other companies and could not find anything on the travel charges, especially since no other company I have inquired with does this. I was really looking forward to using Pell but will not because of this extra, non-advertised, charge.

John was so great to work with and understood our over grown backyard issues and smaller budget. His crew helped to remove an old chain link fence overgrown by shrubs/ivy, removed a large cement block, pruned our hillside, and replaced the torn up yard with topsoil and seed. We are looking forward to working with John again in the Spring to add some more landscaping to the backyard that we can maintain more easily.

Estimate went well and he completly understood what I wanted, however, the price was more than 3x the cost for the same service from another company.

Ask for a price to cut 14 limbs on one tree or cut tree down. He gave me a price that seemed to high for what I wanted. As if he was trying to make up discounted big deal price difference.

They removed large offshoot limb extending from a "orphan tree" in my alley way. to access the tree they efficiently and quickly removed two wooden fences,did their work and quickly cleaned up. in a snap they put the fence back they way it was and were on their way.great job.Easy to see why they have great reviews on angieslist.

Excellent experience from start to finish. Highly professional office mgr (Stefanie) and knowledgeable owner (John). Heavy pruning involved with the bradford pear and they really did an excellent job to prune appropriately so as to reduce the overall weight of the tree, remove branches that would become a problem over time, and trim away from the house. Very pleased with the result. During the consultation, the owner also gave me some alternative cultivar suggestions when the bradford pear eventually splits that would fit the space and retain the aesthetics we now enjoy from this tree. Would definitely use again.

It went well and I would hire them again. I did see improvement. The trees aren't leaning against our home any longer.

John Pell did credit the $250 coupon I purchased from Angies List and yes they did do $500 worth of work for $250. The two contractors/aborists called before arriving and arrived at the time they said they would. They were very professional. Careful in taking down the black walnut and did a beautiful job with the pruning and cleaning up from each of the areas they worked. I would highly recommend Pells Landscaping Company and use them again without reservation.

Replaced flagstone porch & walkway

Always responded promptly to calls and questions. Repaired damaged areas when discovered after deck was removed. Beautiful, helped with our thought and designs. Very very happy.

Job done was okay. I had to wait almost 4 weeks, after purchasing the special, and had to constantly call the office for assurance of date.

I purchased a $250 Angie's List Big Deal for this service and it was good; it worked out real well. They did what I expected. I spent about another $650 on top of the deal. They came out about two weeks after I purchased the Big Deal.

HThey came on 2 separate days , one to remove the 2 trees and another day to remove a brush pile. The area was graded well, I put down dirt and grass seed whee the stumps were and now it looks fine.

Estimate given, however a little higher than what I plan to spend. Should have purchase the big deal after estimate. Also, I found out that the tree requiring service must be approved by Fairmount park first before removal of limbs. Pell, the company is not at this time certified with the city and must be before service can be started.

John Pell met with me to review the work. He gave me good suggestions, and promptly provided an estimate for the work. They did a great job with the trees, and also did the work ahead of schedule. M. Murphy

They were fabulous. They came out and gave me a quote. In the end they weren’t going to be able to do the job for several weeks so I couldn't use them. If I had the time I would use them. They were knowledgeable and helpful.

On time, professional , and a great job. I am happy to have these folks on A L!

EXCELLENT job in all respects. This is a very professional company, and ALL of their employees were both skilled and very knowledgeable with this work. An 80 ft. crane was used to remove large sections of the ash tree, and those sections were lifted above and over, and to the side and rear of the house, where they were then cut into smaller sections for either firewood or put into the chipper. The estimate was given promply, the crew showed up on schedule, and all persons were polite and hard working. The quote was the best of all I received. As a former insurance person, I confirmed that they had the correct as well as quality insurance. I cannot say enough about this company and the terrific work they did in a difficult situation. I highly recommend them.

John Pell came out to my property within a few days of my phone call to the office, and I received an estimate within an hour of his visit. Stefanie from his office is exceptionally courteous and professional. They gave me a ballpark timeframe for scheduling the work, and as promised, called the day before to let us know they would be onsite. All work went as planned ... although I should note that I was glad I decided to work from home that day while the work was being performed. The work team that arrived was not clear on which trees were supposed to be removed, and I needed to walk the yard with them to review what needed to be done. Even after doing that, they almost left two trees standing that were part of the scope of the work -- I caught them before they left the property and pointed out that they needed to come down. Then, when I asked the foreman (I think it was the foreman) if they would be doing the stumpgrinding the same day, he wasn't sure and was pretty non-committal. They left around noon, and returned a couple hours later and completed the job. And honestly -- it looks great. Overall, I think they did a terrific job, and I would use them again. I would just caution that if you are having this kind of work done, make sure you're home to ensure the right work gets done!

Although we did not use this vendor, we had them give us an estimate. They were prompt, professional and friendly. We have postponed our tree work but would contact them in the futur

The workmanship was excellent. I was very pleased with the thoroughness of the workers. They did all the work expected and cleaned up well afterwards. The issues I had were with the scheduling and payment process. The office manager Stefanie was always extremely pleasant, polite and accommodating, but scheduling proved to be an issue. I wasn't advised in advance that the owner, John, was coming for the estimate. I happened to be home when he arrived, and he was also pleasant and helpful. The first estimate never arrived by email. I can't remember whether the office contacted me or I called them to ask why we hadn't received it. When it was resent, I apparently misread it, because I thought the total was $1500 for all work. Actually, the work was broken down into a few parts (remove large trees, remove small trees, trim large trees, grind stump) each with its own price. At the bottom of the invoice, it said "if all work accepted together, total price is $2000" and also stated that work out of state (we are in DE, Pell's is in PA) needed to total more than $1500. This should have been stated on the coupon, in my opinion. I had purchased a "big deal" of $250 for $500 of work from the company, and I didn't want to spend more than $2000, so I thought I accepted all the work other than grinding the stumps, which I thought would be $1000 on top of the coupon. The work was scheduled for August, when we would be out of town, but Stefanie told me that if they could come earlier, they would. If I was out of town when the work was performed, we would be billed. On a Friday afternoon, July 26, I got a call saying the crew would be coming the next day to complete the work. They arrived as scheduled and did a wonderful job. When the foreman finished, he asked me for a check. He didn't have a copy of the invoice, and I couldn't find mine in my email inbox, either. I wrote a check plus cash for $1000, (and a small tip for the workers...all the cash I had on hand!) which I thought would take care of it. We went out of town on Monday (after having a major house disaster in which a $1500 basement door repair seems to have turned into a $10K regrading and rebuilding of the basement entrance...we still don't have that fixed...that's what you get for buying a fabulous but unpredictable 1900 Victorian!) and received a message from Pell's office asking us to contact her about the unpaid amount on our invoice. In short, I had definitely messed up in my reading of the invoice, but it turns out that I was now going to have to pay an additional $900, the total for all work except the stump grinding. I argued that I already had credits totaling $1500, and the amount for all work including the stump grinding would have been $2000, so couldn't I just pay an extra $500, especially since I didn't receive the stump grinding which would have been included had I accepted the entire invoice? Then it was pointed out to me that I wasn't allowed to combine the "Big Deal" coupon with the discounted total. In my opinion, the discounted price should not have been given on the invoice if it wasn't available to me. I chose the business because of the coupon, and was committed to use them, as I had already paid $250 for nothing at that point. Because of our other home repair disaster, we didn't have $900 available in cash, and Pell's didn't accept credit cards. So, I worked out a deal with Stefanie to pay $100 a month for 9 months. I didn't receive an invoice the first month, and then got another call asking us to pay in full. I called and pointed out that I was waiting for an invoice, which she sent. Before we could pay it, I got a call from John stating that he felt that the payment plan wasn't fair to the company. Luckily, he had set up a PayPal Account so we could use our credit card to pay in full, which I did. Overall, it wasn't a very pleasant experience, although it certainly could have been worse. I am sure that my inattention to detail before contracting the work was a major contribution to the negative feelings I have about it. The tree work itself was excellent, and I think the price was probably good after all. It was just stressful, and I feel I ended up paying more than I expected. I have no ill will towards the company, but I don't expect to use them again. They are probably relieved. :-)

The guy responded quickly and that was good. We asked him back a second time. They showed up after 8 in the morning, and they were quick and left. 3 people came, 2 young men and an older gentleman that would translate for them. They said that they knew what tree to cut. They have a very different attitude with the work. One guy was sleeping on our lawn when I went out to see why they stopped working. I recorded the time they were working because they were charging me by the hour. They didn’t finish in time. I was so disappointed and had my husband call the owner. They didn’t do a great job. The owner came out and explained that they had to do the work. They were going to leave and I told them they were not done, they said that the boss told us that too much work was going to be done and the workers stated that they cannot do that much work in one day. The boss did not mention that the job was going to be 2 days work. They came out to pick up the check for the work and they were not done. They demanded that I pay that amount before the work was done.I even took a picture of the employees sleeping, they said that the workers could take a break.

Prior to purchasing my Angie's List coupon offered by Pell Landscaping I had Paul come out to give me a quote on the job needed. He stated it would be $450. I went ahead and purchased the coupon for $250 for $500 worth of work. After much back and forth we finally agreed on extra pruning to reach the $500 mark. The men arrived on time and done within an hour. I pruned the trees just as I had wanted. If there needed to be a few branches taken down they were more than happy to do it. One of the men was kind enough to walk around the property with me and point out all the poison ivy. I was quite happy with the services and would consider using them again in the future.

We called John Pell to have several trees removed and to trim a few others. John responded promptly and came out to survey and give us an estimate. His workers are very pleasant and courteous. They wore uniforms with the company's name on them. Their trucks were clean and polished. All their equipment ran well. They did not damage anything and they cleaned up after themselves. We have used Pell's Landscape Co. for many years. We have also recommended them to family, friends and neighbors all of whom were very satisfied with John's work.

The shrubs were removed and the ground cleared very quickly (August 16). The workers were quick, thorough and cleaned up every bit of debris. Unfortunately, rainy weather delayed the landscaping piece until August 30. John worked with me on plant placement and the planting went quickly and efficiently. I was very pleased with the results. I wanted to wait a few weeks before reviewing Pell's to provide a better update. All of the plants have settled nicely and are thriving. The plants are attracting many more butterflies. I have received so many compliments ranging from very young children to older adults, so I can honestly confirm that the entire neighborhood gives Pell's Landscaping a big thumbs up!