Stephenson Tree Service
About us
3 employees. No subs used. Cost is determined by the job. No travel charges.
Business highlights
Services we offer
Trimming, cabling, deadwooding, removal, treating illnesses. Minerals. Stump removal.
Amenities
Emergency Services
Yes
Free Estimates
Yes
Accepted Payment Methods
- CreditCard
Number of Stars | Image of Distribution | Number of Ratings |
---|---|---|
87% | ||
6% | ||
0% | ||
2% | ||
5% |
I throw on clothes, run outside to find out what is going on, explain the back still needs cleaned out. We stand and look at the plants and the underground lighting fixture, and he assures me the won't have to disturb the plants. I guess his definition of "won't be disturbed" is different than mine. Totally crushed and trampled is disturbed.
I will take some responsibility for my email. That is outweighed by the confirmation of the time of the appointment and showing up 3 1/2 hours early, starting on the tree before I can get off with the phone and shut down the Ipad, put on shoes and grab the shovel which was already by the back door. Before you laugh too hard, a phone call would have solved the whole issue. Had they called when they were on the way, as does the furnace company, the plumber, the electrician, and even the dreaded Warner Cable, all this would have been avoided. BTW, I I probably would have given them a better overall grade. They cleaned up, took away everything, and were quick about it.
I reached out to Charter Oaks in Mid-November 2013. Javin came out and gave us an $1800?ish estimate plus hauling. I explained that I did not need hauling, and since I had recently used Charter Oaks for service at my rental property downtown, he agreed to $1250, plus a 10% Winter discount, if the work could be done after 12/1.
I called the Charter Oaks office that day to say that that price would be fine, and they could start 12/1. I did not sign any sort of contractual agreement, and was not made aware of any cancellation policy, etc. when I called.
Over the next few months, I reach out regarding the status of our job. It had been a pretty crazy winter with big winds. It caused many a sleepless night for my wife, scared that the tree would come plowing into our house! We have 2 small children, which added additional stress. I did receive some feedback during this time, but never speedy. I got the feeling that they forgot about us. We got really close to scheduling a job in early February...they said that maybe they could be out on a specific date, and that I should call to make sure they were coming. That's not an ideal customer service situation, and I felt a little awkward, as if I were the foreman of my own project. They didn't come, due to weather I'm guessing. Let it be noted that there were many days since December 1st, where there was no snow, plenty of sun, and ideal frozen ground to drive a truck back on my property.
As we move into later February, Charter Oaks makes me aware of a problem they are having with their bucket truck. It is in the shop, and it's out of service. As of that moment, they were not sure when the truck would be back up and running, but would keep me in the loop. I continue to explain our safety concerns. Again, many windy nights with little to no sleep. We were also forced to reach out to our insurance company regarding liability.
As we moved into March (90 days later), I had yet to receive any feedback in regards to the status of the bucket truck, and had begun to call/email to get any kind of information, and a target date. At this time, our tree is dropping huge chunks of bark, and large limbs are hitting our deck. It's getting pretty scary.
Finally, I call, and whomever I talked to was finally able to schedule a date. They said they would be out there on Friday, March 21st, a week or so later. I was a little suspect, but they did, indeed, arrive that morning before 10am. They had not called ahead to confirm, but I was happy this project was finally coming to fruition. I had taken the day off work. I?m a Sales Manager who?s paid based on performance. No work, no performance.
I had removed fencing to allow for access to the lower part of our yard. The team leader decided it best to take out a full corner of fence, and drive directly to the Northeast corner of the house, as the lower yard was too soft. They did ask if they could remove a limb(s) on another tree so they could move the bucket with more ease. I said OK, and they were able to get the truck over there. According to another tree service, the limb was not cut properly, but not a major concern.
The work done once the truck was in position was minimal. A few small branches, a partial trunk, and a full trunk (the easiest of the 5 to remove since it was leaning away from the house). I documented all of the completed work. The rest of the morning the crew leader spent on the phone, pacing the driveway, speaking with his boss, I was told. He came to the door and explained that he did not feel comfortable cutting the limbs over the house, especially with the bucket truck he was given for the project. He admitted that the truck that was listed to use specifically for this job was not the truck they brought. He was referring to the bucket truck that was in the shop. He said that the other bucket truck was not so top heavy, and would have an easier time navigating the yard, and get him up 10-15 feet higher. As they were pulling out, the truck got stuck. It took easily 45 minutes to get it out.
When they finally got the truck into the driveway, it was all about getting out of here. No attention was paid to the ruts in the yard and driveway (I fixed myself). None of the brush was carried away, and a big trunk just lay on the ground. No time was spent cleaning up, period. They did put the fence back up, but it was not in the same condition. It was leaning a bit more than usual, and our gate wouldn?t latch. Knowing that we were getting a new fence in the very near future, and it was an old fence I was OK with it.
As they were putting the fence back up, I called Charter Oaks. I explained what they already knew, that the truck they sent wouldn?t get the job done. They later said it was not their fault, and blamed Mother Nature, and the soggy ground. That would have been an acceptable answer to me, if they hadn?t had since December 1st to get this done. I pushed for an estimated time the other bucket truck would be available. I was told that they did not know, but the lady was going to put a note on the owner?s desk, and have he/she reach out to me.
I heard nothing. So on Tuesday, March 25th, I emailed again, stating that this project was ?growing hair?, and was slowing a lot of other projects down, and I needed to confirm a date to finish (once again). I received a voicemail that same day from Sherry at Charter Oaks saying that unfortunately she could not give me a date because they need their other bucket truck. They were ?waiting on more parts? for the original bucket truck originally ordered for the job. She said she ?tried to get around that, tried to use the other bucket, and obviously got ourselves in a jam?. She then goes on to say ?I am probably saying about a week, but I?m at the discretion of the mechanics?.
On Wednesday or Thursday, we once again had severe winds. Neither my wife or I got a single minute of sleep. About 4am, we decided we?re moving on. On Friday March 28th, my wife called two other tree services, and they came out the same day and both gave us quotes. They both said the exact same thing: that this needed to be a manual job, with a climber. And they both said that with the weather warming up, climbers would have a short window to do this, as the moisture would soon leave the tree making it impossible to climb.
On Sunday, March 30th, I notified Charter Oaks that we will no longer be needing their services (or lack thereof), citing that the job had not been completed in 120 days (1/3 of a year), and the fact that they left our yard in disarray without any sort of concrete idea as to when they would be returning. I expressed my disappointment with this experience, and would not be using their outfit again.
They immediately responded that we were under contract, and that if we chose to go elsewhere, our bill would still remain, and that they didn?t want to use ?higher measures?. I asked for the owner of the company to call me immediately. No call. I followed up with another email saying that companies who respect their customers would have called to remedy this, and that we would not be bullied. We exchanged numerous emails that day?.me asking for a copy of our signed agreement?..them telling me they recorded our phone calls. I said that the fact that they wanted to hash this out via email was absurd, and the owner of the company needed to call me immediately, or stop threatening me with litigation.
Today, Monday 3/31, our job was completed by another tree outfit. They quoted us on Friday, work was completed
"(Member name removed) contacted Stephensons Tree Service LLC to perform work at his residence on 3-21-14. We sent our crew out and due to the lack of wetness of his yard we were on unable to position our truck in the desired location to finish the job. We talked with (member name removed) on site and the he understood we could not be able to come back to finish the work until the yard was dried out. (Member name removed) knew the managers cell phone number but choose not to call but to email instead. On Monday when we called (member name removed) we told him we would be out on Tuesday to finish the job he had then proceeded to tell us that he had someone else out to do the work. With that said we thought the right thing to do was to charge him for only the time we spent at his location. We reduced the contract of $1250 to $750. That $750 bill still remains. Thank You, Stephensons Tree Service 614-888-1099"
9/14/11--Still no response, though I told them I was submitting this report.
Licensing
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