The Davey Tree Expert Company

As always, Jeff Walton and the crew of the Dulles Care of Trees did a stellar job! We had been watching the tree in question per instructions from Jeff (and had some preventative maintenance done) but the emerald ash borer disease that is spreading across Northern Virginia finally claimed our ash tree. We signed a contract for the removal of the tree and the crew was out within a week. The crew arrived promptly as scheduled. It was a difficult removal because while the tree was on our property, it was right up against the fence line and a good portion of the tree extended over the fence and into our neighbor's yard. The crew spoke with our neighbor (who knew they were expected that day) and asked permission to access his yard. The Care of Trees crew took apart a portion of our neighbor's fence to allow their equipment to cross the yard. They also laid steel plates down to protect the lawn. When the work was said and done, you never would have known they were there (with the exception of the large pile of free mulch they gifted our neighbor -- he spent the weekend happily spreading it throughout his gardens!). The fence was put back to its original state and the grass looked undisturbed. On our side, the only way you would know a tree ever existed was that a ground level stump remains (whose removal is the second step of the process). This was also proof of the care (no pun intended) that these fellows take as they had to work around massive arborvitae to get at the ash tree and they were also undisturbed. The Dulles Care of Trees staff (from front office staff to tree trimmers) are an exceptional group of people. They are all exceptionally friendly, thoroughly knowledgeable and can be trusted with your most prized trees and shrubs. We have been working with them for years and look forward to working with them for years to come.

I called The Care of Trees on a Tuesday or Wednesday and was able to get an appointment with their arborist Bonnie on Thursday. Bonnie came out and listened to my concerns about our two cherry trees, which had not been trimmed in years. She made suggestions about what would be best for them, which included taking out a few low hanging branches that were making our mowing difficult. I then asked her about two trees in the back, one of which had died, and the other was on its way. She made some recommendations about what to put in the space instead (what would do well) and didn't try to push any extra services on me. She printed out a quote to prune the front trees right from her car and I was surprised that to see that the job was very affordable. I accepted the contract and she said that due to the weather forecast the next day (snow), her trimmers might be able to do the job then as their other job wasn't doable with the bad weather. I accepted. The next morning I was at the grocery store but my husband texted me at 8:00 am and said the trimmers were almost done. By the time I got home they were already gone but the tress looked great and there was no mess left behind. I would definitely use them again and would recommend them to our friends and neighbors.

It was a nice smooth process. I like that we got a detailed written estimate instead of a verbal ballpark like two other ones I obtained. They came right at 7am like they said they would and were very professional. No sticks or limbs were left over when they finished. They took care of arranging for Miss Utility to mark the yard for the stump removal. The payment process was easy and I didn't have to pay up front. I like that they were primarily a tree care company who knew trees as opposed to a landscaping/lawncare business who just subs a tree contractor. I will probably have them back out next year to prune the remaining trees.

I am not an arborist and specifically asked that an arborist be present when the thinning was done. Initially an arborist (Dave) was present when the job was originally scheduled but the time of day (around 7 to 7:30AM) was not ideal because the sun was not out and the day was overcast. The arborist (Dave) and the crew agreed to reschedule. Because of Dave's busy schedule, I mentioned to Bonnie, an arborist who also has done work for us, that I did not care when the work was rescheduled as long as a arborist was present when the work was done. The work was done on October 27. Much to my surprise, a crew did the thinning without an arborist being present. I appreciated honesty but was still upset as limbs cannot be returned to a tree should the crew make a mistake. Bonnie stated that she subsequently checked the work. I asked if she would come to our home to discuss the work and inspect the trees with us. She was prompt and professional and arrived on Saturday, November 1. She agreed that some additional pruning (removing limbs near myneighbor's garage) would be advisable. This work will be scheduled within a week or so. The price was a little high but the Care of Trees has a good reputation and has done good work for us in the past. The work met our intention. Bonnie previously told us (before the work was scheduled) that there was no guarantee that the thinning would allow sufficient light to promote grass growth. We appreciated that candor. The rating overall would have been higher had an arborist been present at the time the work was done. This was a specific agreed upon request. We were paying above all for supervision by an arborist. The trees themselves look fine but I do not know if they would look better had an arborist been present. Bonnie informed us that the crew/crew chief receives sufficient training to do these types of projects but I expected an arborist to reduce the risk of error.

I scheduled a time to get an estimate. It was easy to schedule but I had to take time off work and the consultant was late, making me miss more work than I had planned. That is fine, but then the estimate/proposal for trimming my shrubs and trees never came, so the whole thing was a waste of time. Very unprofessional in my opinion, and now I am going to just do my own trimming so I don't have to miss work to get an estimate from another provider.

If I chose this provider to perform the work, I will update this evaluation

I would give them straight A's. They are one of the best companies i've dealt with. The people that come out are excellent. There just terrific to deal with. Everybody is friendly. They are what you want to deal with in a company. Very professional service. I just choose to go with someone who has good reputation. I saw them doing work for someone else in the neighborhood so i called them myself. They've been a good company for me ever since.

The work is always done professionally.

We were completely satisfied with all aspects of the job, from the initial consultation to final job. We intend to use their services again.

The Care of Trees has done (3) large tree pruning, trimming and removal projects for me. I manage a portfolio of large, multi-family assets, each with 20+ acres of landscaping. Since the cost is $20,000 - $50,000, the projects need to be put out for bidding. Typically, The Care of Trees is not the cheapest bid (but not the most expensive either) but it is the most thorough and has the most inclusive scope. They are professional, punctual and honestly...a lot of fun to watch. It's kind of like having a private Cirque Du Soleil show. I would highly recommend this vendor for any tree project.

It went very well. The tree is like my baby and I did not want anybody to come in and hack the h*ll out of it. The woman arborist was very professional and very understanding of my concerns. They did exactly what they said they were going to do when they performed the work. There were no issues at all. I would absolutely use them again.

The representative was fantastic. She was able to schedule a time that worked for both of us, even though it was outside her normal hours. She walked around the property, took notes and pictures and at the end told me what I had asked for to guarantee we both agreed to the plan ($1500.00 plan). I was a bit uneasy only with the fact I would not be present when the workers came out. She reassured me that she'd give them the brief and let them know what areas I wanted cut back versus thinned. Once the work was done the three main areas I wanted the branches cut back was not done, but everything had been thinned and the majority of the lower branches were taken off vice trimmed back or thinned out from top to bottom. The results were not what I expected based on our agreement. Being very disappointed in the results; I let the company know my reasons the same day the services were done. The representative came out, looked around and then responded via email to me and her boss that everything looked good to her. My lesson learned is to be at home when they do the service otherwise, like me, you might end up with something you don't like and you pay a lot of money for.

Professional appearance and equipment. All debris from this work removed. One driver didn't show for work, possibly keeping the entire scope of work from being completed that day, but another crew a fair distance from my home (in my estimation) came to assist and all work was done.

We were pleased. The trees were beautiful and we wanted to maintain their shape while letting some more light into the yard. Care of Trees did a great job of balancing that.

They did a good job. I have used them for multiple jobs and they have always done really good work.

Very good work Very careful not to damage other limbs, trees or property Very safety conscious Very courtious, and professional

The problem was the regional office in Kent, Ohio would not accept the 10% Angies List discount. I believe the local office in Dulles did not properly inform the regional office this discount. However it required the customer to go back and forth with the local and regional office before it was honored. Not sure I would use them again.

The Care of Trees arborist is extremely knowledgeable, patient and thorough. The crew that removed the trees was professional and did everything possible to limit damage to landscaping and property

Attempted to obtain an evaluation/estimate for the care of 2 large trees. The Arborist spoke to me on the phone but never forwarded a proposal. I attempted to email and call the company to get a copy, but recd no response until I posted a review on AL. After a brief discussion, it was concluded that they had made an error when copying my email address. The estimate eventually came, but I had already contracted with a different company.

This is the third time in several years we contracted with this company. Our first two experiences were good which is why we chose to use them again. As in the past their arborist came to our house and performed a survey of the trees with us. We were very explicit as to what we wanted done with several of the larger trees given that the were located on the approach to our house, we also reviewed some of the lesser trees in the back and sides of our home. Within a week or so we received the bid for all the trees that had been surveyed. Although we felt the bid was expensive, we were familiar with the quality of work the company had provided in the past and decided to contract with them again. However, because we could not afford to do all the trees at one time we notified the arborist of which trees we wanted to concentrate on and postponed the others. After agreeing to the new bid, we signed the contract and Care of Trees promptly scheduled the work. On the agreed upon service date the crew arrived early and promptly began the work. The crew was polite,hard working and professional. After about 5 hours they notified us they were finished and leaving for another job. Upon surveying the work we discovered they had done an excellent job on the trees closest to the house, but less so on the trees on the driveway. Additionally, the clean up of their staging area was incomplete, and required an hour or more of our time to rake and remove the twigs. When we notified the arborist that we were disappointed in some of the work she agreed to stop by the next day to survey the job. She surveyed the work and said it met the terms of the contract. However it was only at that point that she provided us with the company' s written definition of words used in the contract --terms that a layman would use interchangeably (prune, thin, clean) or assume meant the same thing-but apparently have different meanings when used by an arborist. Despite the fact the arborist had discussed the work with us in person when she conducted the initial site survey, and then again on the phone when renegotiating the second bid, despite the fact that we were never provided the definitions of the terms until there was an issue, despite the fact that the company has a satisfaction guarantee policy, despite the fact that we were repeat customers, despite the fact we paid $1400, and despite the fact that we were disappointed--the best the company would do was offer us a discount to have the work they should have done the first time, done in the future.

. They were prompt at providing an estimate and scheduling the work. On the day of the appointment they showed up on time and cleaned up when they were done. The crew did a very good job.20191-2965

This company was recommended to us by the Loudoun County master gardener. We called the main office, and they were very efficient and professional in setting up an appointment for us. Bonnie Deahl came out and inspected the tree and explained her thoughts on what may have caused the problem, how to care for it and what to look for to make sure it doesn't get worse. She was extremely professional and knowledgeable and did not try to convince us to purchase any services we didn't need. We appreciated the peace of mind her assessment provided.

Very good. They readjusted their price and gave me a very competitive offer. I will use them again. Not real responsive, but it is the holidays and vacation time.

The woman who I talked to on the phone said they only do work near Dulles, but that she would transfer my information to the branch that does work in Alexandria. She took my information, and then she asked if I needed to be contacted before someone came out for an estimate. I said yes, and then somehow the conversation turned to whether or not I have a dog and whether or not there is a risk of being bitten by my dog. What?!? It was all very strange, and it is that difficult for them to just call me when they are going to come do an estimate so that I can make sure I'm home to explain the work I want done, during which I would therefore bring my dog inside? Good grief. Needless to say, they never called back and that's alright with me.

We've used Care of Trees multiple times for tree pruning, they are professional, and that an arborist typically evaluates the property, I never feel that the trees are being damaged like the fly-by-night trimmers (stop topping trees!!).