A TOUCH OF GRASS

The owner, Mark Obrien, came to my door and told me that he intended to cut down the straight, stabilizing prong on my neighbor's side regardless of whether I chose to accept his $450 fee to cut the other prong of the tree that leaned towards my home. I voiced concern that removing only one of two prongs from an unhealthy tree could destabilize our tree further and could increase the chance that the leaning prong on my side could come down at some point and hit our home. His initial response was that both prongs stood upright (which was blatant fallacy) and that cutting down one half of the tree could strengthen the remaining half. It amazed me that our tree was dying if I had $450 to cut it down, but, it would be stronger if did nothing I didn't pay him. Only after I asked for his card/company information and told him that I would hold him libel if the remaining half of the tree died and fell on my home, did he rethink his position....He told me that he would only "top" the prong on my neighbor's side. Immediately, he instructed the guy at the top of our tree to stop cutting the lower branches and only "top" the upper part of my neighbor's tree prong. However, after I closed the door, I saw him up the tree with the chainsaw proceeding to cut the entire 30 ft straight prong of this 100 year oak tree down, despite the fact that the prong anchored the other prong that leaned towards my home. Basically, the owner, Mark Obrien LIED directly to my face with regards to his intent. While our oak was being "topped," his worker stood in my flower bed to hold a rope. I think his worker was trying to be mindful about where he stepped, but when he left the area, he left the ropes in my bed overhanging on top of my small bushes; the ropes were thick and had the weight to break the branches. I went outside to move the ropes off my bushes and the owner who was in the tree yelled at me to leave the area because it was unsafe; I told him that I would as soon as I moved the ropes off of my bushes. Although he was right that it was unsafe for me to be there, he was rude and unapologetic that his laborer's negligence could damage my plants. Additionally, when I watched the last 8 ft being cut down by the owner (from inside my home's side window with a camera), the owner yelled out to me, "that is really stupid lady, don't". My issue with this company was their demeanor and character. First, although A TOUCH A GRASS was hired by my neighbor, they had a fiduciary obligation to tell them that cutting down only one prong of an unhealthy 100 year old oak tree could impact the stability of the other prong that leaned towards their neighbor's home. The owner, Mark Obrien, should have either agreed to take down the entire tree (both prongs) at a cost reasonable to her, OR, IN ADVANCE, attempted to procure a price I could afford from me. The owner chose neither of those two courses, LIED to me about his intent, and took down the entire prong even though he knew the tree could become destabilized or die and the remaining branches could potentially break and hit my home. His story about the tree's health, as well as his tone to me, changed dramatically after I told him that I didn't have $450 to spend. If Mark O'brien, owner of A Touch of Grass, was truly a professional, he would have been truthful to his client and not put her or me in a potentially awkward situation. Instead, he took what money he could get from my neighbor, chopped down the anchoring prong of a tired, 2-prong 100 year old oak tree, left the leaning prong of this "dying" tree intact, didn't care about plant life that was not his client's, did not care if his actions could cause physical damage to another person's home, and, he was rude and dishonest. His price demand of $450 for one prong of a tree was outrageously high, given the fact that he was at my neighbors home doing several trees and could have made it affordable if he chose to do so. His machinery and people were already on site. If you like your neighbors and expect honesty and politeness from those you hire, do not pick A Touch of Grass. This guy was fowl if you didn't give him money.