Arbor Day Tree Care

Date: 8/20/ Response to Revdex.com email regarding client response to 7/Arbor Day Response In the original complaint filed by Mr [redacted] (Revdex.com Letter dated 7/27/2017), he mentions that the job scope was $10,to remove the large pine tree, $to trim the neighbor’s tree for their view and $for ivy removal , trim smaller trees and bushes and remove smaller trees The total cost for the work was $16, This is correctI specifically discussed the two varieties of ivy on the property with the [redacted] s in my initial walk through I explained that English Ivy enhances property where Algerian Ivy is a breeding ground for rodentsThe agreement was to remove the Algerian Ivy They decided after the removal of the Algerian Ivy that they wanted ALL the ivy removed at which point, I explained that was not the scope I think it would be great if the client could provide photos, however it would be helpful for Revdex.com to properly assess the volume of work if they could also provide before photos to see the significant difference after pruning The pulled ivy was staged for removal as we had tried to contact a neighbor who’s property we needed access to transport the ivy to the truck They were not home that day We had planned to remove the ivy when we returned Regarding the permit, again, at the time I was able to secure the Emergency permit for the neighbor’s two trees through the Tiburon Fire Department in FebruaryI was also told at that time that they would be issuing an Emergency permit for the [redacted] ’s trees as well The issuance of the neighbor’s permit confirms that I did indeed have this conversation with the fire department Once we found that the emergency permit was not issued, I asked Mr [redacted] to secure a permit through the city and he agreed and then called me to tell me that he wanted to go with a different tree service Hence the reason we have not been back to complete the work yet Regarding the neighboring properties, we completed $10,work for one neighbor and she has no complaints about our work We’ve maintained that particular property for years now We did some additional work for another neighbor while trimming their tree for the [redacted] ’s view This neighbor also has no complaints and is satisfied with our services as well In this recent complaint letter dated August 14thfrom Revdex.com, Mr [redacted] mentions two quotes for $5,and $8,to remove the same tree that I quoted $10,to remove I’m not sure why Mr [redacted] contracted me to do the work if he preferred to have the work done by these more competitive companies He was aware of my cost to do this tree as he clearly stated this in his original complaint to Revdex.com I am not able to do the tree for these prices It’s not fair to get me into the work and then try to renegotiate the cost we originally agreed to Lastly, I did have some delays in scheduling as I suffered a major injury in May and then had surgery in June I will be happy to accommodate the completion of this work for the [redacted] s for the outstanding balance of $ I am happy to write an arborist report at no cost (normally $250) to help Mr [redacted] secure a permit through the City of Tiburon Mr [redacted] paid me $in increments as I completed phases of the work Again, I cannot offer a credit as it was paid for work completed and I still maintain that there were scope changes initiated by the client throughout the project On two occasions when discussing scope changes, Mr [redacted] said that he could not spend more than the agreed to amount for the work as they have other work planned In an effort to keep the client happy, I did not ask for additional payment for the changes in scope changes Please let me know if you have any additional questions! Regards, [redacted]

While working on neighboring property for *** ***, I was referred to *** and *** ***This was during the heavy storms in February and March I called the Tiburon Fire Department and spoke with *** *** *** *** who issued two emergency permits for the *** ***’s
trees and assured me that they would also issue a permit for the ***’s tree as well at the timeIt wasn’t until our job was stopped that I learned the emergency permit was never issued for the ***sI contacted the fire department again and learned that *** *** had left her jobI then called the Town of Tiburon and they advised that regular permit would be needed which is something that I normally have my clients handleI explained this to *** and he was fine initially but a few weeks later, he called back and said they are “taking a different route” and asked for a refund of some of the money already paidHe wanted to go with a different tree serviceI explained that I was happy to return the complete the work, however the $was paid for work already performedI also offered to write an arborist report free of charge for the permit requestMy daily rate is $per day and we had spent + days on the job alreadyI now have $14,into this job and was paid $The reason for his is that the clients continued to request changes in job scope resulting in more volume than originally agreed to and us doing the same work twice and three timesThey would direct my crew to their work without checking with me regarding scope changesSpecific examples were while pruning the Pittasporum hedges, we originally talked about pruning them to the height of the upper window of neighbor’s house, they then asked to have them brought down to under the window then finally once again asked to have them cut to the groundAnother example was that we agreed to top the neighbor’s cypress tree to certain height and they asked us to re-trim the entire width of the foot canopy one foot lowerWe agreed to remove the Algerian Ivy on the left side of the house and from the fence and the shrubs below the swimming poolThey then wanted us to remove all the English Ivy as well which we did not do because it was not in the original agreementWe pruned the pear tears to 50% and they asked us to trim even smallerAfter pruning some other trees, they decided they wanted them removed completelyNo additional money was offered for all these scope changesI would like to now address the broken railing on the carportAt the start of the job, I spoke to the ***s to express my concerns about removing the upper section of the carport railing to make space to swing the branches while pruningThey advised me not to worry about the carport because they were planning to replace the entire carport as all the support posts were all rottedI even offered to return to put up a temporary railing and they said they wanted to deal with it when the tree was downIn conclusion, once the client has secured a permit, I am happy to return to remove the tree for the outstanding balance of $I am also happy to write an arborist report free of charge if necessary to support he permit requestI called *** and *** and left a voice mail for *** on 7/22/letting him know that that I would be happy to return to finish this job but have not heard backI am now responding to a complaint filed on 7/26/after my numerous offers to return in good faith
We had forgotten to mention that the reason the Ivy was left sitting is that we needed access from a neighbor who was not home that dayWe had intention to remove all the debris when we returned

Date: 8/20/2017
 
Response to Revdex.com email regarding client response to 7/26 Arbor Day Response.
 
In the original complaint filed by Mr. [redacted] (Revdex.com Letter dated 7/27/2017), he mentions that the job scope was $10,000 to remove the large pine tree, $1000 to trim the neighbor’s tree for their view and $5000 for ivy removal , trim smaller trees and bushes and remove 5 smaller trees.  The total cost for the work was $16,000.  This is correct. I specifically discussed the two varieties of ivy on the property with the [redacted]s in my initial walk through.  I explained that English Ivy enhances property where Algerian Ivy is a breeding ground for rodents. The agreement was to remove the Algerian Ivy.  They decided after the removal of the Algerian Ivy that they wanted ALL the ivy removed at which point, I explained that was not the scope.  I think it would be great if the client could provide photos, however it would be helpful for Revdex.com to properly assess the volume of work if they could also provide before photos to see the significant difference after pruning.   The pulled ivy was staged for removal as we had tried to contact a neighbor who’s property we needed access to transport the ivy to the truck.  They were not home that day.  We had planned to remove the ivy when we returned.
 
Regarding the permit, again, at the time I was able to secure the Emergency permit for the neighbor’s two trees through the Tiburon Fire Department in February. I was also told at that time that they would be issuing an Emergency permit for the [redacted]’s trees as well.  The issuance of the neighbor’s permit confirms that I did indeed have this conversation with the fire department.  Once we found that the emergency permit was not issued, I asked Mr. [redacted] to secure a permit through the city and he agreed and then called me to tell me that he wanted to go with a different tree service.  Hence the reason we have not been back to complete the work yet.  Regarding the neighboring  properties, we completed $10,000 work for one neighbor and she has no complaints about our work.  We’ve maintained that particular property for 20 years now.  We did some additional work for another neighbor while trimming their tree for the [redacted]’s view.  This neighbor also has no complaints and is satisfied with our services as well. 
 
In this recent complaint letter dated August 14thfrom Revdex.com, Mr. [redacted] mentions two quotes for $5,410 and $8,200 to remove the same tree that I quoted $10,000 to remove.  I’m not sure why Mr. [redacted] contracted me to do the work if he preferred to have the work done by these more competitive companies.  He was aware of my cost to do this tree as he clearly stated  this in his original complaint to Revdex.com.  I am not able to do the tree for these prices.  It’s not fair to get me into the work and then try to renegotiate the cost we originally agreed to. 
 
Lastly, I did have some delays in scheduling as I suffered a major injury in May and then had surgery in June.  I will be happy to accommodate the completion of this work for the [redacted]s for the outstanding balance of $7000.  I am happy to write an arborist report at no cost (normally $250) to help Mr. [redacted] secure a permit through the City of Tiburon.  Mr. [redacted] paid me $9000 in increments as I completed phases of the work.  Again, I cannot offer a credit as it was paid for work completed and I still maintain that there were scope changes initiated by the client throughout the project.  On two occasions when discussing scope changes, Mr. [redacted] said that he could not spend more than the agreed to amount for the work as they have other work planned.  In an effort to keep the client happy, I did not ask for additional payment for the changes in scope changes. 
Please let me know if you have any additional questions!
 
Regards,
 
[redacted]

Complaint: [redacted]I am rejecting this response because:
Mr [redacted] implies that the emergency permit was only a recent issue when in fact, he assured us he had a permit at the start of the job in February  Our neighbor whose two pine trees Mr [redacted] did remove (for $4000 per tree according to our neighbor), can confirm this. The cost to remove our tree is significantly more than the $4000 Mr [redacted] charged our neighbor, and we have written quotes from other tree removal companies for $5,410 and $8,200. This includes crane Encroachment permits as well as Tree removal permits from the City of Tiburon. So it is unrealistic for him to ask for yet another $7000 to remove the tree when he has received $9000 already.
There never was, nor is, a scheduling conflict as we have been available at any time over the last six months and have been asking him repeatedly over and over, to return and remove the tree, and we only decided to hire another tree removal company mid July, after we got fed up waiting for Mr [redacted] to stop lying to us over the last six months, that he wanted to finish the job.  If he wanted to finish the job he could, and should, have done so in March, April, May, June or July as he promised to do. Repeatedly.
I can upload photos of both the ivy and the pittasporum hedges he says he cut to the ground.  The pittasporums are not cut to the ground and we originally asked for them to be window height. Mr [redacted] decided they should be roof height according to the man who cut them so I asked him to cut them to window height and he said he had to ask Mr [redacted] before doing so.  Which he then did and returned the next day to cut them to window height. We were paying Mr [redacted] to remove ALL the ivy on the property and do not even know the difference between varieties so to specify that we agreed to just one type of ivy being removed is bizarre. The scope did not change. Mr [redacted] story does.
Sincerely,[redacted]