Monster Tree Service

One the day of the work we had 6-8" of snow on the ground and of course there was some [redacted] that fell through the snow On the day of the work we notified [redacted] that we would need to use her driveway to access the tree and then the yard to minimize the mess clean up In the process we did create a few small ruts and some impressions in the grass that we were again not able to see at that time because of the snow Mind you in the summer the trucks can get stuck in wet grass and we had high temps in the teens or lower for at least a week prior Later in the month I received communication about the work area and promptly looked at it informed [redacted] that we would come back early this spring to take care of both Somewhere along the way this became unsatisfactory to her and she insisted that we make two trips to resolve I explained that I would continue with what I had said from the beginning Nearly all emails were responded to within hours, but some the next day depending on time of day All calls were responded to either by phone or email I explained over the weekend that this would be resolved this week As of yesterday, the [redacted] and ruts were repaired I have much more detail, but it is not necessary MTS has closed the loop on this Thank you for your patience.***

I am rejecting this response because:You did not meet my expectations at allAll I was asking for was to have my yard ruts repairedYou certainly did not go beyond any terms of agreementIf you would have, and I have repeatedly stated, that if you would not have used the drive way and if you would have used the field access, which is in our agreement, and why I used your company, this would not even be an issueThat day the field was frozen and from your ruts it seems like you were in the field, and the pictures I took even show thisThe tree fell in the field and it was cleaned up from thereI am sorry to hear that you do not feel like you should resolve this through the Revdex.com and I will have to go to the next step to get this resolvedI am sorry that this has had to come to this

For whatever reason, I never received another email from the Revdex.com about this caseI checked it last week and saw there was a responseWent back earlier this week and the portal wouldn’t pull anything up. We strive to meet all of our customers expectationsAs soon as a problem was identified, we responded with a plan of action and executed it as explained and even went beyond our terms of our agreement This will conclude our participation

Initial Business Response /* (1000, 5, 2017/06/23) */
Contact Name and Title: [redacted], Owner
Contact Phone: XXXXXXXXXX
Contact Email: [redacted]@whymonster.com
Mrs. [redacted],
You might not be aware, but I was aware of the damage to the easement and actually was the party to bring to [redacted]...

and [redacted] attention. I'm a little confused that I'm now just being contacted about this almost 60 days after I was told that everything was to satisfaction. My number is listed on Google, my website, the phone book, and the neighbors should have my business card. I have attached a copy of most of my correspondence with them, I believe some is missing somewhere. Below is the most relevant. Do you have a copy of a paid invoice for the work completed that I could look at to see what was done?
On [redacted] 5th, I sent a text to Rich "[redacted] from monster tree service. We should be good now. I've brought in a little over a yard of dirt and seeded. Didn't use straw because the ground is plenty wet. If the seed doesn't take for some reason , I'll come back out."
On [redacted] 7, 2017, at 7:48 PM, [redacted] wrote:
Hello, [redacted].
Our neighbor is now satisfied with the final attempt at damage repair that was completed on Friday. I am now ready to pay the invoice.
Thanks
[redacted]

Initial Business Response /* (1000, 6, 2017/10/03) */
At the bottom is the text from the estimate. I missed a call mid day, listened to his vm, and then called my crew leader to see if he followed the work order. Received a text apologizing for his vm. I visited Sept 27th to look at the work and...

found the work to have been completed exactly as captured in the estimate. He then started speaking about all the things "we" could do to get him some shade. I listened until he made it clear that I was part of "we". The limbs we cut were physically resting on the roofs. Sycamores generally have all their leaves at the end of the limbs. The work was written up and performed with proper cuts. If not done this way we might be removing the rest of the limb or perhaps the rest of the tree in the future. During the estimate process, I went to length with a laser pointer to indicate where the limbs would be cut. We performed our work as agreed and we were also paid for this work.
Tree at right of garage.
Remove limb going over comm and power drop to the right of drive
Elevate silver maple to roof height.
Sycamores in back yard.
Should have access from neighbors drive.
Create 8' of clearance above both roofs. Cuts back to laterals where we are able.
On rear tree, remove the first limb at trunk, next two to back to laterals.
On front tree, cut back limb hanging down over patio, and one that is hanging into the middle of the back yard.
Might be able to work from roof for some.
"MONSTER TREE SERVICE
Terms and Conditions
1. By signing below, emailing your consent or giving a deposit, you indicate that you have read this entire form and agree to have Monster Tree Service perform the work described above for the price(s) listed.
2. The information on this form represents the entire agreement between you and Monster Tree Service. No verbal agreements, prior versions of this agreement, or any other communications are part of this agreement. Only the work described in this agreement will be performed, and only in the way described in this agreement.
3. These terms and conditions are superseded by notes indicating otherwise on this form.
4. Your acceptance of this agreement indicates you are ready to have the work performed now and do not need prior notice to crew arrival. Crews may arrive unannounced to perform the work. You may be charged up to $150 if a crew arrives but cannot perform the work due to circumstances under your control, such as physical barriers, you or your agent sending the crew away, etc.
5. Unless otherwise noted, all brush and wood resulting from work in the agreement will be removed from the property.
6. Unless otherwise noted, ""leave wood"" indicates cutting wood to 16-20"" round lengths and leaving these unsplit pieces on the ground where they were cut.
7. Unless otherwise noted, the mixture of wood, soil, and air resulting from the stump grinding process will be raked over the site of the former stump and not hauled away. Shavings will remain in a mound and will not be level with the ground.
8. Unless otherwise noted, flushed stumps will be left no higher than 12"" from the surrounding grade.
9. Lawn damage and/or ruts may occur during tree work. Unless otherwise noted, you agree that Monster Tree Service is not responsible for repairing any lawn damage or ruts.
10. Changes to this agreement requested by you or your agent after crew arrival to your property are subject to approval by the crew foreman or Arborist (listed below), may require additional charges, and must be made in writing. Reductions to the invoice due to canceling part of the work on this agreement are at the discretion of Monster Tree Service.
Likewise, there are circumstances that are unknown to both Monster Tree Service and/or you that may add additional costs to complete the work as described, such as foreign objects in the trunk of a tree.
11. Payment in full is expected immediately upon completion of work and or receipt of your final invoice. Interest of 2% per month will be charged to your invoice each 30 days your invoice is past due, unless prior payment arrangements have been made in writing.
12. You agree to pay all court costs, attorney's fees, collections costs and/or additional sums incurred by Monster Tree Service if your invoice is more than 30 days past due."
13. Coupons are not valid on late payments.
Initial Consumer Rebuttal /* (3000, 11, 2017/10/28) */
From this point forward Monster Tree Service will be referred to as"MTS" in this reply.
MTS responded by giving two main reasons why they cut the trees the way they did.
1. Sycamore trees"generally" only have leaves at the end of the limb. A call to any tree service would prove that statement to be false. As well as a visit to Google, just googling sycamore tree will pull up plenty of pictures showing that not only do they have leaves from the trunk to the tip of the limb, which could exceed 30 feet in length, but sycamore trees are well-known to be shade trees with a lot of leaves. My trees in particular have leaves from the trunk to the tip. This statement is not accurate.
2. They should not prune or cut limbs at the ends or halfway out as it may cause death of the limb as well as the tree. Totally inaccurate excuse as well. The video included in my response will show that not only did they cut the majority of the limbs on my trees halfway out or longer but some well past 20 foot out from the trunk. The only three limbs that were cut all the way we're the exact three limbs that I specified needed to be 8 foot above the neighbors roof. Those limbs should have been kept at least 20 foot give or take a foot. They are gone now. That's why that entry was put in exactly the way it was in the contract. "8 foot above the roof". The sun crosses that side of those two trees and that's why I paid double the cost as any other tree service to have the pruning done meticulously, I asked to preserve the shade in the backyard by only trimming those branches with 8 foot of clearance. I have included a video showing the limbs on the east, west, north side of both trees that weren't cut far from the trunk, most extend past 15-20 feet, those limbs aren't going to die I hope? There is a sealer you can put at the end of the limb anyway if that's a concern. Sycamores are known to be one of the strongest trees in the Midwest region. Not prone to dying easily. As well I show video of the three limbs that took away the majority of the shade. Those limbs needed to be accessed from the roof by hand as the contract states. The problem is, they used a lift and that angle that lift straight arms out, there was no potential for doing anything other then cutting those limbs completely off. This was a rush job, it took two hours, $1100 for two hours labor everyone else wanted 500-600 to use a lift and do a quick job just as they did. The fact that I was willing to pay double only shows that there was more to this job to focus on. I could understand how some people may consider this complaint to be petty, I spend so much time on that patio practicing barbecue, spending time with coworkers and friends and family. Eight months out of the year, they would totally understand this predicament. I have spent hundreds of hours practicing the art of competition barbecue, I have two grill set ups and one smoker, two patio tables and seating for a dozen people. That's not an option until I find a way to keep that backyard reasonably cool for myself, for my plants, for my visitors, and for my grandson, and my pets. Not looking for cost of damages or building in some sort of shade, looking for a refund of $1100, because services were not provided as promised, willing to mediate with Revdex.com if that is an option. Several videos have narrative, those are self explanatory. One video narrates about"cameras", that video was one month before trimming. Shows shade as well as how long those limbs were extending onto my neighbors roof at that time before they cut them off. Remaining videos with myself and my kids playing in backyard will show what the shade was like prior to cutting . Competitive quote will be added to media file as well.
Final Consumer Response /* (3000, 16, 2017/10/30) */
Obviously I am totally unsatisfied. Making payment has nothing to do with satisfaction. As a painting contractor people pay me before seeing the final project very often and if there is a problem I do whatever it takes to correct it, if there are damages I pay for them somehow. That's how I have kept an A+ rating for almost a decade at the Revdex.com. MTS approached me on the north door which is the side door facing the driveway. That's where I made payment, right after I left to go do estimates went out the back door which faces the west, that's where the problem is. But 10:30 in the morning the sun is on the east side of my house giving direct sunlight to the front yard. At 10:30 that morning my backyard was totally shaded by the height of a two-story house. I didn't recognize the devastating effect until I got home that day at 3:30 PM. That's why he received an upset call for me that very same day at 3:30 PM. I will take video on the next sunny day in the a.m. to show what I was looking at when I left that day. Definitely not happy with either responses from MTS,First response had two excuses that were totally untrue, that's why there was no rebuttal in his defense in his last response, now they claim I was satisfied when I'm obviously not. Since Greg isn't going to correct this issue in anyway, not even making effort to meet me in the middle or anything, I will be forced to move forward with some sort of mediation and/or legal action. I will plan a morning video to prove there was no way for me to tell what I was in for when it comes to afternoon direct sunlight. Bottom line he broke contract, it states 8 foot above the roof and some areas it is 25 foot, that's not a minor discrepancy in height. That's a huge difference. That's not trimming 3 limbs that was removal of 3 limbs. Breach of contract. At this point I feel MTS is trying to come up with any excuse so they can get out of what they have done.
Final Business Response /* (4000, 18, 2017/11/07) */
Monster completed the work as described and verified that it hard been done as such. We will not be participating in any further responses. Thank you

One the day of the work we had 6-8" of snow on the ground and of course there was some [redacted] that fell through the snow.  On the day of the work we notified [redacted] that we would need to use her driveway to access the tree and then the yard to minimize the mess clean up.  In the process we...

did create a few small ruts and some impressions in the grass that we were again not able to see at that time because of the snow.  Mind you in the summer the trucks can get stuck in wet grass and we had high temps in the teens or lower for at least a week prior.  Later in the month I received communication about the work area and promptly looked at it informed [redacted] that we would come back early this spring to take care of both.  Somewhere along the way this became unsatisfactory to her and she insisted that we make two trips to resolve.  I explained that I would continue with what I had said from the beginning.   Nearly all emails were responded to within hours, but some the next day depending on time of day.  All calls were responded to either by phone or email.  I explained over the weekend that this would be resolved this week.  As of yesterday, the [redacted] and ruts were repaired.  I have much more detail, but it is not necessary.  MTS has closed the loop on this.  Thank you for your patience.[redacted]

I am rejecting this response because:You did not meet my expectations at all. All I was asking for was to have my yard ruts repaired. You certainly did not go beyond any terms of agreement. If you would have, and I have repeatedly stated, that if you would not have used the drive way and if you would have used the field access, which is in our agreement, and why I used your company, this would not even be an issue. That day the field was frozen and from your ruts it seems like you were in the field, and the pictures I took even show this. The tree fell in the field and it was cleaned up from there. I am sorry to hear that you do not feel like you should resolve this through the Revdex.com and I will have to go to the next step to get this resolved. I am sorry that this has had to come to this.