Ballard Tree Service

I called and was ghosted; I called and was told an hourly price by a secretary; I called again and was ghosted; I actually saw a large truck and crew in the neighborhood and stopped and inquired and gave them my name and number (they said they were really busy) and a crewman called his boss with my information; I was ghosted. So I am going with a company I have used in the past - Emerald Tree Service (5+ stars in my book) and am giving Ballard a failing "**** off" grade!!!!! If and when I ever have trees that need attention - it WILL BE ONLY EMERALD TREE SERVICE; they are worth the wait and the price is great and all the guys are professional!!!!!! Oh, if by some stupid assuming chance Ballard was "texting" me............my number I use is a landline.

It did not. I called them, sent email with pictures, followed up with second call confirming receipt of email and followed up with second email. They never called back or reached out.

Couldn't have gone better. A passing truck tore off a major limb on the narrow leaf ash on the parking strip in front of our house. Greg, the owner and arborist, came out the next day. After consulting with him, it was apparent the tree was continuing to split and we decided to have the tree removed. The job was complicated by our tree having grown up into all the secondary utility lines (telephone, cable, but not the electric service). The neighbors were quite concerned about these lines (since they are all working from home due to Covid19). Ballard Tree Service handled the underground utility locating, and getting the proper permit from the city. Once that was all organized, a three man crew (all expert at their jobs) showed up, and an hour and a half later, the tree was converted into chips and hauled away, never compromising the overhead utility lines. I can't say enough about this crew: neat, efficient, left our site immaculate and the lead member of the crew was an artist with a chainsaw. A few days later, a different crew came out to grind the stump, which he did thoroughly. This company was responsive, helpful, able, respectful of our property and the city's power lines. The price I thought was very fair, and favorably compared to rates by two competing firms. In addition, Ballard Tree Service offers a senior citizen discount, which was much appreciated. I'd hire them again!

They didn’t call within 48 hours I made another choice by the time they contacted me

Good Job. Trimmed hedge as expected. Would hire again.

I have reviewed Ballard Tree Service before (2011) and had used them for routine work at my rental property in Wallingford since then. There is a large horse chestnut on the planting strip that was planted perhaps 90 years ago. It HAD three major trunks. In Nov 2017, one of the main trunks collapsed and fell towards the front of the house, completely blocking the front door. Greg was there before I got there, as I live in the south end, and had cut it into sections, cleared the front porch and the sidewalk by the time I arrived. We were fortunate that there was no one injured and no damage to the house. Two trunks left. Then in July 2018, we lost another main trunk - this time it fell towards a neighbor's house, taking out their internet. He took care of any electrical problems first, then called me. I called Greg and again, Greg's crew was there before I got there. The only damage was to the wires and a bit of his fence, which he planned to replace anyway. We have been very fortunate to have found such a good tree company to deal with! I will definitely call Ballard Tree Service again, if needed.

In order for a tree to be removed from a planting strip, a permit is required from the City of Seattle. This can be quite a process. Ballard Tree Service is well versed in obtaining this permit. My husband and I are very pleased with the quality of work Ballard Tree Service performed. The guys who came out to work were amazing and did a great job. We highly recommend them and certainly will be repeat customers.

I hired Ballard Tree to remove two trees growing close to my foundation. They were recommended by "Homeowners Club", an association of contractors in north Seattle. The estimate seemed reasonable, and separated into tree removal/chipping and stump grinding. I opted for tree removal only. The tree removal was completed safely and neatly, avoiding nearby telephone and electrical wires. They arrived a few days later than originally stated, which caused a coordination problem with others working in the yard. Overall I am satisfied with the work and would hire again.

I called for an estimate and the guy came out and looked around. Everything seemed to be okay. We also talked about doing some fencing using a guy he knew. He actually came back again another day to do more precise measurements. The fence guy came by to look around as well. He said he'd get me a bid shortly afterwards, but I didn't hear anything. I called the office a couple times and both times the girl said I'd get an estimate via email later that day, and I still have never gotten a bid. Given the time he spent I assumed he wanted the business (and i was ready to sign since the bid seemed very reasonable), but then I never heard back from them.

After over a week of not hearing from them I called. I was told someone would call me back. My family has done business with this company for over 30 years. I was very disappointed at the lack of response. I finally received a message last night, after I already received and booked with a different company. This is not the same company it was many years ago. It's too bad.

They did an AMAZING job, clearing out a whole wall of overgrown trees and bushes. They shaped my maple, shaped a giant holly bush back into a holly tree, and pulled out a ton of holly and ivy. They were here all day and did a great job cleaning up everything. I'd definitely rehire them again.

Wow! I'm incredibly happy with the work performed by Ballard Tree Service, from the initial consult with Daniel to the amazing results at the end of the project. Daniel visited my home and my neighbor's home to figure out what needed to be done and how much work to perform. He was incredibly pleasant, professional, and knowledgeable. The actual work was performed about a week or so later. Jessie Ballentine, a certified arborist, and Max spent two full days cutting, pruning, shaping, and clearing a ton of overgrown shrubbery, bushes, and trees, including laurels, holly, ivy and other plants. Each step of the way Jessie talked about how to approach different species and shared ideas about what to do based on the type of tree/plant and its location. They transformed wild, shapeless bushes into gorgeous trees, the most extreme example of which was a 20-foot holly hedge on my side of a property line that was cut back to reveal the holly tree's beautiful trunks that now emits dappled sunlight - gorgeous! Jessie is also a Japanese maple specialist and worked magic on the maple that is featured prominently in the front of my house. At night, the light highlights its beauty and structure; by day, the way in which he pruned it will allow lower branches to grow into a shape he clearly envisions. Overall, I couldn't be happier and will definitely be using them on an annual basis into the future.

Terrible experience overall and I would not recommend them at all. The initial consult was professional and the rep showed up on time. After that is where it got horrible. They scheduled me a month out, which was fine, but when date came around they never showed. We waited an hour and then called them and was told they were running late from another job but should be there within an hour. An hour goes by and they never show and they never called. We had to call them and then they said they needed to reschedule. Second date comes around and they show up with the wrong truck and equipment despite having done the initial consultation on site which was supposed to avoid this. They had to reschedule again. Third date comes around and they complete the job but absolutely destroyed a part of our landscaping hauling the holly tree branches away, by dragging them through our landscaping. When they ultimately left at the completion of the job, we found debris everywhere including branches on our neighbor’s roof that we are still cleaning off to this day. They ended up giving me a 20% discount but it certainly wasn’t worth it and I would never recommend them.

I was given a start date and so made arrangement to have the gate left open since I would not be present. No one came and no one called. Both my daughter and I called and were given a new start date. We were also offered a 10 percent discount because of the confusion. The company did arrive on this day but left tree branches and part of the trunk. Also, the stump had not been grind down. Since no one called, I called the company and was told the City of Seattle had to give the company clearance to grind the stump. The City called the family and gave the ok to proceed informing us that they had notified the company. Since I did not hear from the company, I called the company again and they gave me the new date to complete the work. However, while they came that day, they only evaluated the job. I was finally called by a technician who gave me a date for completion and the job was completed. A week latter a neighbor called to inform me that the company never removed their work "no parking" signs which was taking up valuable parking spots on the City's street. I called the company and the signs were removed. While the work done was absolutely fine it was the way in which the office handled the matter that was upsetting. The company was never the first to call when they were unable to keep an appointment or to explain the change in plans. I had to initiate each call. I wondered whether they would have come back if I didn't keep calling. Once I got the staff on the phone they were agreeable and polite but in general they appear untrained in how to conduct business. I had to initiate a call in order to start the next step of the job. At one point during one of my calls I was told that one of their staff had been injured on the job and they were in the process of hiring someone else. This is certainly a reason for a delay but than give a customer a realistic date and if that date can not be met, call the customer and say so . Again, while the work done was fine and the price was reasonable, I would tell a friend to be prepared for delays and confusion when dealing with the young untrained staff.

Ballard Tree Service is well worth the price one pays for their services. Jessie and Max were fantastic workers. Jessie has expert knowledge of trees and gardening. I am new to the Seattle area and he explained what each tree needed and how to take care of it, which make me feel much more comfortable with my garden which happens to be filled with exotic non-native plants. He also made suggestion for future plantings which I found super helpful. Not only to they give me good advice for the future care of my garden, but they showed self-initiative by tackling a number of issues not on the initial list, like trimming the branches of the neighbor's chestnut tree off my garage roof.

Excellent. Crew showed up on time, did a great job, and cleaned everything up nicely.

they came and explained that a fence would need to be removed to get at that tree, so we cancelled the project, but they were very helpful.

great, took out a 40+ foot tall evergreen next to house and wires, fully removed & cleaned up - no problems

It was really good. I thought they were great. I thought they did a really, really good job. I don't know what else to tell you. I had two trees that needed to go away, and they were in a very tricky situation. One was right next to my neighbor's house, and it was a very tall tree, and I was concerned, obviously, that the house might be damaged in the process of removing the tree, and they handled it perfectly. Nothing was scratched. The fence wasn't damaged. It was handled very expertly. The price was very reasonable.

They did a very good job. Very professional and polite and the work was done as promised. My only issue was the price- after speaking with several neighbors, I feel like the price was a little high.

After contacting Ballard Tree in January and then repeatedly by email and phone (both the office email/phone and Greg's email/cell) for almost TWO MONTHS, and getting assurances that the trees would be assessed and the permit application would be submitted only to hear nothing for a week or more each time, I was finally able to get Greg to send in a permit application to the city--in March. However, the application wasn't attached to the email, and Ballard Tree failed to respond to the city's request for the attachment. I called/emailed to confirm that this would be addressed, and I was told that, yes, the permit was sent in. Weeks went by, I called and emailed again and was told by reception and answering service over and over that "yes, they'll get back to you tomorrow with an answer." But this NEVER happened. I also repeatedly let Ballard Tree know about the situation and my frustration, and got a luke-warm response every time. Finally, today, I've decided to go with another company, which already has been completely responsive and we're moving forward. Why did I stick with Ballard for so long, is my main question. I'd worked with them to have our trees pruned a few times and it went well. But this year is different, and it just took me a while to stop being blindly loyal.

It was literally perfect...responsive bid for an estimate, timely removal of the tree, and friendly, professional staff.

So impressed by their substantial experience including the arborist who gave me the estimate. Arborist Jessie Ballantine not only improved the shape of my trees but did it in a way that keeps the trees as healthy as possible. I’ve learned it’s best to prune trees in January, when dormant. Also, I like that they’re well insured since they could easily get injured working in my yard.

The crew showed up when scheduled and got right to work. They removed the damaged tree protecting the surrounding trees and shrubbery. Would definitely use Ballard Tree again.

The crew came in and cleared out everything like a bunch of champions. Professional, punctual, friendly. This is the 2nd time I've had them out for tree removal and they do great work. Even on some of the more tricky removals they did great. They also cleared out all the undergrowth that was taking over and made my back yard look great again. Would definitely recommend.