Gray Tree Service

Some big limbs from a neighbor's tree were hanging over our garage, a limb of our maple tree was brushing against our roof, and some other trees in our yard needed trimming. I purchased a Big Deal from Gray but from previous experience with tree maintenance figured I would have to pay additional for the work I needed. The company responded by email almost immediately after I purchased the deal asking for my phone number to discuss the work. They called the next day and spoke with another household member who wasn't clear on what needed to be done and said we needed the maple tree trimmed. The estimator came out when we weren't here and then gave us an estimate for the maple tree only: $200 in addition to the $200 worth of "Gray's Tree Bucks." I emailed the company back and told them that some other trees needed attention also; they arranged to come out when I was home so I could show them what I wanted done. An estimator did come out, listened and looked carefully and wrote everything down. We ended up with an estimate of: $200 in addition to the coupons. I thought it was a little curious that both estimates--one for just trimming the maple tree (although it would have been a more thorough trimming than what we were requesting, which was just 1 or 2 branches) and one for trimming a number of trees--were the same. I wondered if perhaps an additional $200 was what the company needs to make it worth their while to offer a Big Deal (although I appreciate the discount and think the work was well worth the price). Between the company's schedule and mine--I wanted to be there when they did the work--it took several weeks to get the work scheduled. On the appointed day the crew did not arrive within the specified time window (hence the "B" for punctuality, since nobody called to notify me. I was a little anxious, since it was the last day before we were leaving for three weeks, so I called to verify the appointment.) When the crew showed up, I think there were about 4-5 workers. The foreman asked carefully about what was to be done,made a couple of other suggestions and did the additional work without additional charge. The crew seemed very competent and hard-working, and clean-up was thorough.

Very mediocre and very expensive. Company was overpriced and condescending. Davey's is great AND reasonably priced AND nice.

I had used them in the past, and their price was comparable with other services, but tried someone different for this job. I will use them again.

I called to get an estimate & he said he came to my property & that the work would be another $150 on top of the $200 for $99 tree bucks. He left this message on my machine & I called him back to inquire about the job estimate, questioning whether he actually came to my house to see the issue & he said he remembered coming to my address. I then asked why it would cost $350 to remove 1 dead branch that was dangling from the tree already--i stinking branch only 3 inches in diameter--not a limb from my tree! I was astounded that it would cost that much to remove 1 small branch. He said he would have to call me back & when he did he said it could be done for the original Angie's deal offer--nothing extra. Something didn't seem right about the whole situation of changing prices on such a minor job. I never met the guy, he always came when I wasn't home. He took down the branch & I am finished with him & his great sounding offers that actually entail very little service. I would not use this provider in the future. I am not a tree trimming expert, but surely I could have gotten more than 1 branch removed for $200. I have had the tree trimmed before & always got a lot more done for my money.

Great service. Showed up ontime to remove a challenging Pine Tree. No collateral damage and left with a very clean site. I would highly recommend them.

Came out a day or so after we called to give an estimate. Approximately two weeks later called to set a date for the work. Showed up with a crew of tive or six on the morning they indicated. Did the work we had asked for, and cleaned up the debris. Before they left we had to tell them we had wanted more done on the trimming of the evergreen, and they complied. We also asked them to replace the heavy stone bird bath that they had moved from under the tree and replace a stone statue that had also been moved. I'm not sure they would have done that had we not remined them though, since it was an easy thing to forget. They presented their bill, we paid it and they left. We felt that they did a thorough job in a very professional manner.

I bought this deal through Angie's list. It was a 50% off deal. After purchase I contacted the contractor and discussed the work to be done. We needed quite a lot of work done in the backyard and I knew the deal wouldn't be able to cover everything, so we agreed on a day to come out and have a look around. The gentleman came out right on time. We discussed which work to do and when he could schedule it. He gave me a general idea and told me he'd call a few days before to finalize the day of the job. Everything was done exactly as we agreed. I was at work the day they came, but my husband was home. He said they were very fast and didn't even contact him. They just went about their job, cleaned up and left. When I came home I wouldn't have even known they were there except that the backyard looked FANTASTIC!! I would definitely recommend this company. They were very professional and true to their word. Something rare these days. I think this may be the best experience I've ever had with a contractor!!

They arrived early and ready to work . They had previously called comed to cut off all power to the neighborhood which was going to turned off at 9:30.They started at8:00 cutting back all the small branches using 2 men in the tree, ropes and 4 men on the ground. Once the power was turned off they started on the big limbs. Very experienced, careful and fast. My back yard doesn't have a lot of room. There is a large playground area, our garage and the neighbors garage. Also all yards have fences and power lines running everywhere. It was not an easy job, but they made it look easy. Whenever there was a big mess on the ground with sawdust, leaves or branches there was someone always cleaning up. They brought a large chipper, so the wood was disposed of immediately. They worked for about 6 hours and when they left there was no signs of them being there. Except one very large tree was now gone.

After setting up the initial appointment over the phone, my next experience was with the owner's dad who came to our house to check out the work that needed to be done. He was nice enough but the visit was very quick. He told me he was in a rush because he had another customer to get to just a couple of blocks from me. He verbally quoted me a price, but gave me no written estimate. Later that day I emailed his son, the owner, asking for a written estimate, and he did send me one but his quote was $50 higher. I let him know about the price difference but he still charged the the higher price. I told him I was OK with that. I was not going to haggle over $50 dollars. They were punctual, did a good job and cleaned up nicely. I'm undecided about using them in the future.

I was at work when the service was performed so I did not have contact with the arborists. They did a satisfactory job.

I had them remove a small tree. They were very fast and they cleaned it up after themselves; it looked like they had never been here. I thought they were very good.

They were prompt and very nice. They worked fast.

They were great, they were very efficient. He gave me an estimate on top of the coupon that I purchased. They did great work and cleaned up after the work was complete.

I purchased two Big Deal coupons so, the cost after the deals was $200 for $400 of service. Great deal. They were very prompt in giving me an estimate and completed the work within the timeframe they gave me. I would definitely use them again.

It went well. The Chicago area had very heavy storms and damage at the time. So I had to reschedule because the company was out working on that.

Once the crew arrived they did the job in a neat and professional manner. They cleaned up the area before leaving. The punctuality issue may have been caused by Gray misunderstanding the appointment time. Lastly, I would recommend them for tree services. UPDATE 6/16/14: They did a professional job. The canopy was trimmed symmetrically. Everyone on the crew knew exactly was they were doing. They did a phenomenol job cleaning up and finished the job right on time. To my untrained eye, I thoughth too much of the tree had been removed, but now that they tree has leafed out, I now see that it was done perfectly. I would absolutley use them again and recommend them to others.

I'm happy with the work. The crew was fast and courteous. But it took a few weeks to get scheduled, including one missed appointment for an unspecified emergency when the crew didn't show up at all nor attempt to notify me in advance. I'd use them again, overall, but it took longer and required more attention than I anticipated.

We found a cheaper company for the same work.

Phone calls were answered promptly and courteously. We had a daily deal coupon and they were quite willing to keep the scope of service within the cost of it. They were very good and we were pleased with their work.

Everything went very smoothly. Everyone arrived on time, removed one tree within 15 minutes and trimmed the other tree within 20 minutes. Afterward they cleaned up everything even better than what it was before they arrived! I would definitely recommend their services.

Although we planned on using this company our timing was off so we couldn't but we will definitely contact them for future needs. They were responsive, professional and quoted great price!

Very well. I don't know much about trees. I had been told by another provider that the tree in our back yard would have to come down. The Gray Tree Service guy disagreed. I'm going to get a third opinion. But, I like that the Gray Tree service guy essentially told me not to hire him to do more work. I call that professional ethics. Since I don't know much about trees, when he asked me how to trim, I turned it around and asked him to trim exactly as much as he thought was appropriate. He ended up pruning it *way* closer than I would have thought. It made me nervous at first, but everyone in my family, and my neighbors, have really come to appreciate the new look. And now we get a lot more sunshine in our back yard, which is good for the kids and also for the grass.

Gray did a great job of removing the tree and cleaning up afterward. I bought an Angie's List deal and then they contacted me directly instead of me contacting them. Bothered me a little that their pricing might be based on knowing that I had prepaid for a portion of their services (and maybe priced accordingly?). On the day the tree was to come out, I explicitly said I wanted to be there and let them into my yard. I gave my cell number and said I work half block away from home. Mid-day a co-worker said "you're having a tree removed?" They were already at my house and down to the stump. I don't remember much else since it's been almost a year. I initially didn't do a review, but was pushed by Angie's List to do so. I should have immediately but didn't want to leave negative feedback of any sort as they did get rid of my tree.

They brought out a stump grinder and took care of two stumps I had. They arrived on time and stayed about an hour. The mulch was left behind.

They came and gave me an estimate and removed the tree on the date agreed upon. They also worked around my class schedule to do the work when the area was clear. They cleaned up afterwards and I was able to use a discount coupon I got through Angie's list to pay for the cost of t he job.