The Davey Tree Expert Company

The arborist was punctual and professional. He was clear about his recommendations for the tree. He did not, however address my concern that led to calling him, which was water or sap leaking from around a broken branch midway on the trunk. His recommendations were to conduct multiple insecticide sprayings of the tree to treat boring insects.. I have not seen any insects or evidence of them, and the arborist did not point out any evidence of insect damage. He further recommended multiple root feedings for the tree, which was reasonable, and we agreed on some pruning of the canopy. My assessment of the "sales aroborist"s" recommendation is that Davey Tree wants to provide a Cadillac (or Ferrari) grade of service for their customers. I'm sure that none of his recommendations would have harmed the tree. Indeed they would have enabled the tree to be the best that it could be, but I believe that the cost of that benefit (about $1000) was much greater than the expected benefit to a tree that is relatively healthy for it's age.

As a new homeowner, I was very nervous about trimming the branches of my backyard neighbor's tree. But they were brushing my roof, so I knew it needed to be done. I realize that Texas law allows me to do this without asking for permission, but I went by and talked to them about it first, anyway. I got quotes from Davey Tree (recommended by my brother) and an independent guy with a chainsaw. The price? $760 vs $200. But I opted to go with Davey Tree for two reasons. They are certified arborists and they are insured. Not sure about the independent guy. Anyway, it took several weeks before we could get the appointment for the service, but they did arrive on time. The two man team worked quickly and It only took about 1.5 hours. They did a great job of removing the tree branches and cleaning up. The backyard looks great and I'm glad that I won't have to deal with pecan tree tassels next spring. Could the independent guy have done as good of a job? I suspect he would have, but under these circumstances, I was comfortable paying more for the security of using a professional.

They arrived on time for the appointment. There was a two man crew that performed the actual trimming and a supervisor that initiated the work. The supervisor was a trained English speaking arborist from TAMU and would periodically check in on the job for the two days the job lasted. The two man work crew was composed of one man that roped into the tree to work the canopy and a second man that worked from the ground with a trimming pole and also collected all the tree debris. Both were very marginal English speakers. I liked the fact that they did not use spikes to climb the tree, that hey balanced the leaves along the limbs (not a "poodle" cut), they pruned the duplicated branches and the advise/review of the certified arborist. I thought they were a little over-priced for the service provided and the lack of English speaking skills for the work crew made it difficult to inquire as the job progressed and to direct them around downlighting I had installed in the trees.

They were very professional, nice, and efficient.

Went well. Only issue was the technician performing the fertilization did not know which trees were to be treated. Apparently, the scope of work defined by the individual that visited and quoted the job was not clearly relayed to the tech. The technician did treat the trees I defined for him.

Tree SERVICES (trimming and feeding): work performed - January 2013. After years of neglect, a large old oak tree clearly needed help. I called Davey Tree Co of Houston; Davey has a nationwide reputation as a very professional 'tree services' company. An arborist from Davey Tree Co arrived at my home per my request, to assess the tree in question, make recommendations, and provide a cost estimate. I agreed to the final scope of work and the cost estimate. Davey's scheduling for the both feeding and trimming was prompt, and the work was performed at the scheduled times and dates. The trimming crew arrived with the proper tools, equipment, and insurance. The work was performed efficiently and all clean up was quickly dispatched by the crew. This was not a hurry-up-and-go job often seen from the independent tree service folks I had tried before. Although the local companies were not as expensive, they were less skilled, for the most part, than the Davey Tree Co. crew. When they crew finished, the tree looked much better and a lot happier and so was I. Unfortunately, about a week later, I went out to take a closer look at tree and the trimming job. When I finished, I had a few questions. I called the arborist that had come out originally, explained my problem, and he arrived to discuss my concerns a few business days later. Although I had done my homework beforehand, I have to rely on the arborist as the expert in his field. That is part of what you pay for, isn't it? Someone who knows his field, whose advice you can trust, and who can be relied upon to be professional. Professionalism: these day is rare, hard to find, and not cheap. The arborist gave me his opinion and decided the crew would return to fix a few things in a week or two that were not up to "Davey's standards". So far so good. A few weeks turned into a couple of months. I had to call the arborist again to finally get the trimming crew to return. When the crew arrived (this time, with-out the Arborist) I had to admit that I could not point out a thing about the tree that the Arborist and I had discussed earlier. In the Arborist's absence, the crew seemed to be at a loss as to what to do. They called the arborist. I spoke with him; he stated he was "too busy" to accompany the work crew to the job site and show them the problems that he and I had discussed previously. I listened while the Arborist made excuses for his absence and problems with the work. Finally, I stated I did not want to argue with him on the phone and ended the call. I dismissed the work crew with an apology, and realized the end result of the work and our contract was not what I was expecting. I made a timely follow-up call to the company's office and was told I would be contacted. To date, I have not been contacted as promised with regard to both my telephone call and this review on Angie's List by anyone at Davey Tree Co. Maybe I live in the wrong Zip Code. -Edited by author on September 25,2013

The workman arrived early in the morning and efficiently sprayed the trees and then removed two dead trees. Everything was cleaned up by the time I returned from work. They will return to spray again in January to try and clear up the infestation.

We called about a sick oak tree. Wyatt came out promptly and left an estimate to treat the tree. He also left an estimate to do about $800 worth of other work I did not request. I called him back and left a message that I would like him to treat the sick tree only. I would consider the other work at a later time. I never heard back. I called and left two more messages on his cell phone. I finally called the office and talked to the receptionist. She assured me he would call me first thing the next morning and she would make sure he called me back. I also left a voice mail. I never heard back from him. Guess when I only wanted to spend $150 instead of $950, he lost interest.

They have an arborist on staff, and they know a lot about trees. They are not just tree cutter downers. Wyatt Bilby is the arborist that I have worked with, and he was very professional and on time. He explained everything that he thought that I needed to do, and he gave me price options. I was happy with the price and with the work.

Their arborist are very well trained to know how to handle different types of trees. I chose them because I have a 200-year-old oak tree, and I did not want someone destroying it when they trimmed it back.

I have used Davey for several years, their professionalism cannot be matched. In the past they have have performed substantial trimming of an oak that we have been nursing for some time. Her time is limited but they have given her some last good years. Davey always calls to confirm service for scale work we have done on two magnolia trees. Their staff could not be more professional and while they may not be the least expensive, their service more than makes up for that!

They were fine, but we had a disagreement on some of the moss that was growing on the trees. I have used another tree company before, so I alternate between 2 companies. They are a little more expensive.

It has worked fine. They are always prompt and do the job quickly and efficiently, but they are not cheap.

It was alright. It is what it is supposed to be. I don’t think it is a good value. It is expensive. The work is not done with a lot of expertise or judgement.

They are scheduled to be coming again soon. They are expensive. They are professional. They know their business. Here in Houston they have an excellent reputation. I use them because I had a sick tree and I trusted them. I believe they gave me good advice.

They were very nice. It is a very good price. The people that were driving by trying to sign us up for the services were even more expensive than Davey. We are happy with Davey. They were very professional.

It was excellent. The person that was out here was very congenial. It is never cheap to get things like that done but it was worth it. They were very neat and tidy. The pruning was done professionally. They call each year and check in with me.

The tree is still alive, many years later. We would hire them again.

I have never had any reason to regard this company as being one who should be caring for my trees, and I now have absolute proof that it is just in it for the money.....couldn't care less about the trees. I'm now still waiting to hear from the forester about the damages done. But I am sure CenterPoint will pay them anyway. GRRRRRRR........

EXCELLENT! A large work crew arrived, wearing appropriate safety gear (hard hats and goggles), work was completed in the day, my input was solicited when original planting spots were obstructed by pool/spa/sprinkler system pipes, etc. Every step of the way, I felt like MY wishes were priority. An explanation was provided for every deviation from the original plan before work was completed allowing input by myself concerning a solution. I felt that the "prognosis" for the sick trees was explained in great detail allowing me to make a decision concerning "treatment". The overall scope of the project was weighed against the cost of several treatment types allowing me to make an educated decision. I was very pleased.

Anything could have went wrong with removing such large trees like they were but they did everything with no problems at all.

After trying to get work from several uninsured companies, they were able to do what all the others could not!

They did a beautiful job on my trees. They corrected some prior poor cutting by another service (fixed several stub cuts), and shaped the tree into a beautiful live oak. They hand cut the other smaller oaks, and did a nice job. The price was fair. I felt like I received truly expert work. They were there when they said they would be there, although there were some lengthy lag times. I called on Monday, estimate on Friday, pruning scheduled for 2.5 weeks later. But the results were worth the wait. I have a feeling I had to wait because they do such a professional job, they must be really busy.

Davey Tree Expert Service provides awesome service. We have used these folks to take care of our tree numerous times. The pruning they do is fabulous and always turns out right. They are prompt and quickly get the job done. They are considerate of our house and things in our yard. They have never damaged anything. They are polite and we enjoy having them work for us. They always clean up the debris in our yard. They take treat care of us.

Woods surround our house, and we have used Davey several times to remove fallen trees, or cut down trees that are about to fall. After the most recent bad windstorm, a sixty-foot oak had fallen. Davey is very good at removing trees, without harming the remaining trees, which is important to us. They also grind the stumps after the tree is gone. All the wood is taken away and discarded.