Madison Park Tree

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I called Mark after a storm because of concerns about trees rubbing on the house and gutters in the wind. He came out within a week to do a free estimate, which also included useful recommendations about clearing out deadwood and pruning limbs on a doug fir that was growing into a maple tree. Mark was booked up and not able to do the work for about a month, but he was professional about the delay and kept in close touch with me about timing. His company did the work quickly when they did come, and they were able to accommodate adding a couple of fruit trees to the job on that same day. Their price was fair and they did a great job of cleaning up. Madison Park Tree was very easy to work with and I'll use them again.

After calling a couple of recommended arborists, 1 estimate for $900 resulted. That arborist told me he was quite methodical; that he and his assistant would take much of a day to do a good job. I then phoned Plant Amnesty for recommendations. They gave me 3 and I'd left voice mail messages for all 3, including Madison Park Tree. One weekend morning, probably Sunday July 3rd, the doorbell rang. It was Mark saying he'd come to do an estimate. I said I'd be out soon to walk with him to the trees, but before I got outside, he was back at the front door with his estimate of $450. Having not heard from either of the other Plant Amnesty recommended arborists, I said OK and he said it would be the last week of July and he'd call on that Monday to let me know which day. At 1:30 the afternoon of July 16, Mark called to say he had time that afternoon, he could be there at 2:30. When I asked if he had enough time to finish that afternoon, he said if not he'd finish another day. He and his assistant did not arrive until 3:00. They laughed when I mentioned how long the other arborist said it could take. They did the front tree in 45 minutes. After I rushed to take down laundry hanging in the back yard, they did each of those trees even faster than the front one (even though he had said after the estimate that the front tree was already thinner than those in the backyeard were). Mark is tall and apparently quite ambidextrous; he used clippers with his left hand and a saw with his right one. When they were finished in a total of about 2 hours, he asked me who had given me the other bids. Said he wanted to know their names. Then he guessed one company (not the right one) and said they were slow. I thought his whole conversation about other arborists, and especially that "slow" comment, was quite unprofessional. I asked if he would take a couple of branches from a tree hanging over our home, which he did. Then he gave me the bill and asked me to write the check to his name (rather than the company), which also seemed unprofessional. So the $450 with tax was $492. I realize that arborists probably cannot work year round, but for 2 hours work, that seems to me quite high. After he left, I went out to look at the trees a bit more closely. I've taken 1 pruning class and a rule I'd remembered was to not have branches crossing at about the same height. When I looked there were still quite a few of those and some dead looking ones (no leaves, etc.) still left. To me it seemed like a quickly done, expensive job. Obviously, the tree was better off thinned than not thinned, but it still left me with a bad feeling about this particular company.

Madison Park Tree was very professional and responsive to my needs and budget. They came and worked quickly and hauled the debris away without any problems.

Mr. Herkert came out to my house himself within one week and left a bid for the work requested. After reviewing the bid, I called and asked him to perform the work as soon as he could fit me in. The work was completed in less than two weeks from my call. He was very professional and brought another person with him, each spotting the other when climbing trees and helping each other when working on the ground. Mark Herkert a very experienced tree climber with an eye for natural beauty and was able to balance the evergreen trees better than they had looked before the windstorm. Very was also very thoughtful and considerate of other plantings around the yard, planted two trees for me, cut and stacked the fallen wood in my wood pile, and cleaned up before he left. What a great experience!