Alamo City Tree Care

I would not recommend Alamo City Tree Care. I had my trees trimmed and one removed due to disease. I came home to find several large branches of my front yard magnolia cut off after we discussed not touching that tree. He (Ken) said it was "in his way" causing him to duck down while removing the branches of the tree he cut down in the back yard. Also, he damaged my deck with his ladder and he sawed into it while cutting the large branches he had laying over the railing. Further, for my large oak tree in front, he did not do as we discussed and ended up cutting several of my favorite large limbs off the tree. It's heartbreaking to look at my trees now. He may be licensed and certified but, if you use him, I would recommend sticking around to supervise your tree trimming. Oh, and he doesn't use her cell phone.

unknown

This was our second time having Ken trim our trees.  He first came about 18 mo ago when we had first moved in and the trees were way overdue.  Ken pruned, trimmed and shaped the canopies with a long range vision which he continued withnthis second trimming.  What we like best is his artistic sense in looking at the tree and visualizing with us how we want them to look while also making suggestions based on his experience and knowledge about maintaining both the appearance and the health of the trees.  On this visit, Ken trimmed our two live oaks, a red oak and a holly, applied fertilizer and thoroughly cleaned up and carted off all branches except for that firewood we kept.  We have received many compliments on our trees in the past and have always recommended him to neighbors.

.

Kenneth Hermes was professional, polite, and thorough.  We have a high pitched roof with several angles.  He trimmed trees all round the house to clear the roof by 4 feet.  He removed one tree.  He was on time, worked throughout the day, and finished in one day.  We have trees growing on all sides of the house, including Live Oak, Cedar, and ornamental.  He trimmed and painted all cuts.  He is a registered arborist, so he knows what he is doing.  He picked up all cut limbs, placed them in his trailer, and hauled them away.  He was easy to do business with and I would hire him again and refer him to others.

Ken was professional and thorough, and kept me informed of his progress throughout. He was careful in his work and respectful of the property and the neighbors. The yard is beautiful! I will definitely use Alamo City Tree Care again and will recommend Ken to anyone looking for quality tree work.

The job Ken and his crew did for us couldn't have gone any better.  We've contacted several tree service companies recently and no one was as responsive and fairly priced as Ken.  We used him several  years ago and given what we were quoted for two other companies decided to give him a shot.  We reached out to him on Wednesday, received our estimate and he performed the work on Saturday.  They removed several large overhanging branches from the house and one particularly troublesome one over a road.  They also lifted the canopy of each tree to include two small Texas Persimmon Trees.  He inspected each trees health to  ensure we wouldn't have trouble in the future.  Once all the work was accomplished they cleaned up and hauled off everything they cut down.  Ken is who I'll  call exclusively for this type of work, no one comes close to what him and his crew can do.

Same as above....Great service

unknown

Ken has a real artistic flair about trimming trees and seems knowledgeable about tree health and maintenance.  As an example, he ensured every limb cut was treated with sealer within 30 min to ensure prevention of oak tree wilt.  We were aware of this from our own research and went out to check, but he was already on it without our asking.  The result was outstanding.

Ken is not always punctual and he does work late to get the work done, but we will certainly call him again because of his care and skill.

My wife and I were leaving our house on a Saturday morning to run some errands and could not help but hear the sound of tree limbs being sawed down the street. I got out of my car and asked Kenneth if could provide me with an estimate. He came by later that day and after some discussion we agreed upon a price. He stated the time and day when the work would take place and he promptly showed up on time along with his son Isaiah.
The work involved two large oak trees and two crape myrtles. I have always had my trees trimmed year in and year out, but the work was never done to the extent I really wanted. Meaning that the contractors in the past never would reach the very top of the trees - only the lower to mid-half of the tree/raising the canopy. Kenneth and his son climbed my oak trees; made sure that they were safely harnessed and work throughout the entire tree - top to bottom. While working on my oak trees he found that there was an issue that was developing in my front yard tree that was caused by insects. The issue was their were knots being developed in the tree limbs and eventually these tree limbs were dying. He provided a treatment that would prevent the tree from sustaining further damage. The crape myrtle trees only need some minor trimming.
All in all the work was completed safely, thoroughly, excess limbs were picked and hauled off and it was done on time. The cost I paid for this service was more than what I have traditionally paid in the past, but it's like the say "You get what you pay for". My wife and I live in a gated community, so appearance is monitored. I am very pleased with the product that Kenneth and his son Isaiah provided and will definitely use them again when the time comes - after a couple of years.

They were here when they said they were going to be here, and they were done aprox. when they said they would be done.

Came at appointed time. Worked alone or with his son. Did an excellent job. I would use this tree service again.

Lupe, the owner, was involved from start to finish. He knows the product and stands behind it. He is professional, courteous, and on time. Installation of the screens was without any problems. I am very happy with the experience!

Kenneth, was very personable and I felt he was a professional.
He did an excellent job on the trees up front but a sloppy job on the backyard. He underestimated the bid and asked for more money which I paid him. However he did not clean up the backyard or seal the tree trunks he cut in the backyard.
I called him and he seemed very irritated when I asked me if he was finished and he told me and quot;he was done! that is all he could do for what I paid himand quot;.
I was confused, even paid him $500 more. But still did not finish what he said he would. I have several rental houses and was considering using him. Too bad. He is a personable buy, just did not complete work to my satisfaction, professionalism or quality I would expect.

Well ok until they did NOT paint all the wounds on the live oak trees. I mentioned it to them and the and quot;bossand quot; went around and did some but not all.
With oak wilt a problem int his area, it is a must that all wounds be painted on all live oak trees.

after missing each other on several occasions, we finally connected and informed me what the big deal price would cover. did a tremendous job, that I have already hired him to do all my trees.later on this month.

Very well. I rated Punctuality a B because the work had to be interrupted for contingencies beyond the owner's control, not because of a lack of professionalism.

I would definitely recommend these guys to anyone. They were super careful and very efficient. Quick, clean and friendly is the description for the crew.

Kenneth did a good job and even came back later when I found that he had missed painting one wound where a branch was cut off. He did not charge me extra for the return trip. The tree looks beautiful and is no longer damaging my roof.

Excellent work and knowledge

I noted that Kenneth was working in the neighborhood and thought he was doing a good job. I stopped and asked for a business card. He asked if he could look at the trees later that day which he did and he called me that evening with an oral estimate. He began work the next day. A very positive experience overall. Kenneth indicated that this would be a two day job, but we were both flexible in letting it become a three day job with no price change.I would most definitely hire Kenneth for tree work in the future.

First of all, it took several days for a call back to get an estimate. After the estimate was given, there was a request for a $100 deposit, which no other company has ever requested. The work was promised, and after a myriad of problems (broken trailer, son needed to take a test, no helpers) the trees were cut down and partially hauled away. The yard was left with trees down and branches everywhere for two days. Additional work was done that was not requested, and he came to my house at almost 10pm requesting additional money, even though he had a deposit, and the work he had done was neither requested nor approved in advance. Eventually most of the remaining tree debris was removed, and he again came to my home late at night to get a check (no other forms of payment are accepted), I would not use this service again, although the work was eventually done for the most part, it was with great delay and drama.

Additional note: We noted that there was significant debris still at the site, and called,in the morning, and did not receive a call until 9:45 at night. By that time I had paid someone else to clear the remaining debris from the yard, at a cost of $150.00. The gentleman was argumentative with me, and said and quot;I thought it was okay because the tenant said he would just burn the rest of the branches.and quot;

When I pointed out that he had told me that the job was complete, when he asked for his money, he said and quot;I thought you wouldn't care because the tenant said he was okay with it.and quot; and then said I was harrassing him! I pointed out that he had called me, and ended the conversation after voicing my dissatisfaction with his service.

I did receive a call in a day or so stating that he would give me a credit toward additional work of the $150 that I had to pay to have th debris removed. So far I have not taken advantage of this.... not sure I will, because of the level of service received in the past. We'll see....

Decided to use Alamo City Tree Care for two reasons: 1. The owner/operator was in the neighborhood performing services -- was impressed with quality of work. and 2. Estimated cost of services was competitive. Kenneth Hermes seemed open, honest, and professional. He answered all my specific questions. I did get an uneasy feeling when he asked me to pay a deposit in order to schedule the work. No other tree service company required a deposit. He did show up as scheduled to perform the work. He did a good job of pruning the live oaks. He fertilized the magnolia. However, he almost left without cutting down a stump (as specified in the estimate). When I reminded him about the stump, he apologized and immediately did the work. He did leave without painting over about half the cuts on the live oaks. I realized he had failed to do this as he was driving off and called him to inform him, leaving a message when he did not answer the phone. He returned my call later that evening and said he would come back out to do the painting. After waiting a week for him to return to do the work, my husband finally did the painting himself. The trees are nicely pruned, the magnolia looks healthy, and the stump was cut, as requested. However, I will not hire this contractor again. He should have returned to paint over the live oak cuts as requested. It was part of the original job. I also did not like having to pay a deposit before the work was completed. We will use a different contractor next time we need tree service work performed.

Can't say enough *good* stuff about John Chalker, Robert (his crew leader), and all the men who worked on the job. Everybody bent over backwards to be sure we were pleased. They completed our requests, consulted us when there was a concern, and offered appropriate suggestions. Considering the amount of work completed, I think we paid a very reasonable price.
They bring to the job site a truck-mounted chipper, which they put to use on all the logs and trimmed branches, rather than hauling them to the landfill. Their stump grinder made short work of the felled tree, and you can't tell there was ever one there. We are amazed that they were apparently able to remove ALL the ball moss, clear up to the top of the 50-foot canopy. How'd they do that??!
This great service came as no surprise to us. John had responded immediately a previous time we called, when a very large limb from our 400-year-old oak fell on our neighbor's roof.
We have no reason ever to consider using anyone else for our tree service. John also really values his relationships with his customers, including Angie's list!