Rice Tree Service

We completed job as our agreementThere was parts to the jobthey split costs with neighbor on line tree for $700/2nd part trees in back of house on bank for $take down only.They paid full amount after 1st part was complete on there ownWe received snow so getting to trees on part was impossible due to the trees were dead and needed to be done with a crane.When snow was gone and ground solid we took the trees down in back.***'s husband then tried to tell me that the other guy with a beard told him we would also remove more Tree for free and clean up messI am the one who talked with him and am the guy who does estimatesI do not have a beard nor have I ever had a beardI don't know if they have us mixed up with a different tree serviceThanks [redacted] ***

Revdex.com: I have reviewed the response submitted by the business and have determined that the response does not satisfy or resolve my issues and/or concerns in reference to complaint # [redacted] [redacted] said: > We completed job as our agreementThere was parts to the jobthey> split costs with neighbor on line tree for $700/2nd part trees in> back of house on bank for $take down only.They paid full amount> after 1st part was complete on there ownThat's not what happenedWe paid in full prior to any work being doneWe were quoted $for our share of the two border trees, plus another $for two trees on the hill if all four could be done at the same timeIt was noted that a Rice would need to bring in a small crane [redacted] said that we'd be fine with any branches and debris that fell on the forested hill (not in the yard) being left to decompose in place to make the job easier, but cleanup was never waivedWe made out one check to [redacted] that included our half of the split with the neighbor, plus the full amount for the trees behind the houseWe've never received any written documentation before or after the work, including any quote, any work order or change, or any receiptIf work details had been provided at any point ahead of time, nearly all of the problems would almost certainly have been prevented before there were any difficulties> We received snow so getting to trees on part was impossible due to> the trees were dead and needed to be done with a craneThere was no snow when the border trees were taken down, no snow for some time afterward, and no snow throughout the following summerWe anticipated that the trees on the hill would come down on the same day that the border trees did, as indicated when the quote was made (less expensive if they didn't have to come out twice)They left after removing the border trees, and we didn't know whyWhen we inquired, we were told that the trees on the hill needed to be removed via the street above (which wasn't what we'd initially been told, but was fine), and that needed to be arranged with the townThere was still no snow cover at the time> When snow was gone and ground solid we took the trees down in back.The snow was gone and the ground solid for many months before any work was done in backAfter winter was over, we'd placed several phone calls over several months to find out what was going on, with no responseNo phone calls were ever returned, and nothing happened in back until August of > ***'s husband then tried to tell me that the other guy with a beard> told him we would also remove more Tree for free and clean up mess [redacted] denies this in the strongest way possibleThe guy with the beard is on Rice's crew; [redacted] spoke with him on the day that the first trees came down, while it was still our understanding that the whole job would be done at the same timeAssuming that the work was going to continue, [redacted] pointed out the two dead trees to him and reiterated that any branches or debris that fell on the hill could be left to decompose in placeAt the time, [redacted] thought this person was in a position of authority with the company [redacted] never asked him for anything for free, was never offered anything for free, and never tried to claim anything of the sort> I am the one who talked with him and am the guy who does estimatesI> do not have a beard nor have I ever had a beardI don't know if they> have us mixed up with a different tree serviceWe've spoken with no other tree service before or sinceOur neighbor had taken bids and recommended Rice Tree for the work, and we went with his suggestionThe two trees on the back hill that we paid to have removed in were completely deadIn August of 2017, Rice Tree finally responded to our many phone calls by ringing our doorbell and telling [redacted] that they would remove the two back trees the next day, coming at them from below the hill rather than the street above - as originally quoted, but contrary to what we'd been subsequently told for many monthsThe hill is very steep, tall, and close to the housePrior to our purchase of the property, a large part of that hillside washed out in a major storm, and was rebuilt with loose-dumped dirt and stoneThe still re-establishing root systems of new trees are a major component of helping prevent that from happening againThey also provided quality of life functions, such as aesthetics and privacyl was concerned about damage to those trees [redacted] and I marked with red tape three trees at the base of the hill that we were willing to let them remove if any of those were in their wayWe did not ask or expect them to remove those trees; it was simply a way to designate all the other living trees as ones that were important to preserveWe did not [redacted] the two large dead trees that were supposed to be removed because they were difficult to access and, as the only trees that were dead, they seemed distinct and obviousWhen the crew arrived, they began chainsawing live smaller trees in the rebuilt hillside that were not marked and that they had not asked about removing [redacted] stopped them to find out what was going on, and was told that the work couldn't be done with those trees in the way [redacted] felt like he needed to make a quick decision now that the work was finally happening, and agreed to let them continue - with as little unnecessary cutting as possibleIt was contrary to what I had agreed to, but [redacted] did permit itMore "weed" trees that were "in the way" were cut than he thought would beI was shocked when I saw that the central portion of the part of the hill next to the back lawn was clear-cut and there was a pile of previously-living trees on the lawn, in addition to one dead oneAbout the large living tree that they removed instead of the other dead one, which later fell on the power lines, [redacted] says: "When we initially met about the work last year, I said that we wanted the two dead trees on the hill taken downThat was always the intentI had no idea that there was any misunderstanding until the work finally was happening months later - and the wrong tree, which was not dead, started coming downI immediately stopped the work (for the second time that day) and asked about itI was told that the second dead tree was in the town's right of way and Rice couldn't touch itI accepted that explanation with frustration, and OK'd the long-delayed job to continue, but that wasn't the work we'd paid for(Now that the remaining dead tree has blown down - away from the house fortunately, but landing on power lines on the road above - and the stump isn't hidden by foliage, it doesn't seem to me to have actually been in the right of way.)" I do not know how much we will need to spend on cleanupI do not know the monetary value of the collateral loss of the living trees, nor future costs we may incur from erosion, landslides, and flooding as a result of hillside destabilizationI have not counted the number of hours we have spent during the past eleven months trying to get Rice Tree to complete the work that was supposed to be done last DecemberI do not know what monetary value to assign to the affects of worrying about dead trees falling on our house during the approximately ten months between the time that all the dead trees were supposed to be removed and when the last of them fell on the power linesTheir lack of providing any documentation before or after the work, their presumptive attitude, and their lack of responsiveness indicates that they will treat at least some of their future customers with the same cavalier disregard if they do not need to make any sort of recompense Regards, [redacted]

We completed job as was agreed with husband she was not there when job was discussed.There was only check writtenWe were told that we said we would do a 3rd tree for freeTo resolve this matter I am willing to pick up the wood and chip brush within 2weeksIt should only take about hours and I don’t want to have any more hard feelings than we already havePlease let me know if this works.Thanks *** ***

Revdex.com:
I have reviewed the response submitted by the business and have determined that the response does not satisfy or resolve my issues and/or concerns in reference to complaint # ***. Yes, we paid all at once in one single checkThat is what we have always saidThe fact that *** *** believes we said something different indicates that he misread what we wroteWe ask that he please read back through everything we have written to the Revdex.com, preferably more than once, and try to understand what we have been saying, what consequences we have faced as a result of their actions, and what consequences we will continue to face in the future. *** and *** have been equally involved in writing these statementsWe've spent many hours writing, correcting, rewriting, and checking records (including correspondence we've had with our neighbor, friends, and relatives over the past year) to make certain that our details are accurateThat is in addition to all the time we spent over the past year worrying about trees falling on our house, making phone calls that were never returned, and attempting to speak in person only to be brushed aside*** is wondering, does he need to open a separate Revdex.com ticket in his own name? The job "as agreed with husband" was to cut down and remove completely dead trees in 2016, not to remove dead tree in and then in August of cut down more dead tree and a bunch of living trees and leave them on the back lawn. We (*** and ***) have been discussing what *** *** said about cleaning up the back lawn, but how can we trust that they will not damage any living plants, infrastructure, or other things when they do not believe that there is anything wrong with the damage they have already done to our property? They consider cutting down a large living tree in August of to be an acceptable fulfillment of a fully-prepaid contract to remove a completely dead tree in December of (the dead tree that later fell on power lines)They did not see any reason to ask permission before clear-cutting a steep hillside that threatens our house - what they called "weed" trees were valued and valuable as stabilizing infrastructure, as well as for views and privacy. *** (the husband himself, in his own words) says: Cleanup of the back lawn was always supposed to have been in the scope of work, and I still consider it Rice Tree's responsibility - but I can't bring myself to trust Rice Tree anymoreIn hindsight of the things that happened due to their misunderstandings, presumptions, and failure to provide advance documentation of all (let alone any) actions they'd be taking, I'd just expect more unpleasant surprisesI'd rather another service did the work, and Rice cover the cost. I want to clarify in no uncertain terms that the job was not completed "as agreed with husband." As noted in the previous response, the quote given was based on all the work being done at the same timeEven if an unexpected-snow excuse is considered reasonable, there's no defense for the ten-month delay. As noted in the previous response, I said that any branches and debris that fell on the hill could be left to decompose in place to make the job easierCleanup was never waived. As noted in the previous response, I have no idea where the "free third tree" thing is coming fromI never asked for anything for free, was never offered anything for free, and never expected anything for freeThat's not how I live my life or do my business. I only ever discussed having the two dead standing trees removed in back - not one dead one and one live oneI don't know an elm from an ash from a cherry, but know the difference between a dead tree and a live one. The time to talk this out would have been by responding to any one of the repeated calls I placed over several months trying to find out why the work wasn't getting doneIn hindsight, contacting the Revdex.com at that time would have been a more expedient option. *** ***, the husband
Regards,
*** ***

We completed job as our agreement. There was 2 parts to the job.1 they split costs with neighbor on line tree for $700/2nd part 2 trees in back of house on bank for $800 take down only.They paid full amount after 1st part was complete on there own. We received snow so getting to trees on part 2 was...

impossible due to the trees were dead and needed to be done with a crane.When snow was gone and ground solid we took the trees down in back.[redacted]'s husband then tried to tell me that the other guy with a beard told him we would also remove 1 more Tree for free and clean up mess. I am the one who talked with him and am the guy who does estimates. I do not have a beard nor have I ever had a beard. I don't know if they have us mixed up with a different tree service. Thanks [redacted]

Revdex.com:
I have reviewed the response submitted by the business and have determined that the response does not satisfy or resolve my issues and/or concerns in reference to complaint # [redacted].  [redacted] said: > We completed job as our agreement. There was 2 parts to the job.1 they> split costs with neighbor on line tree for $700/2nd part 2 trees in> back of house on bank for $800 take down only.They paid full amount> after 1st part was complete on there own. That's not what happened. We paid in full prior to any work being done. We were quoted $600 for our share of the two border trees, plus another $900 for two trees on the hill if all four could be done at the same time. It was noted that a Rice would need to bring in a small crane. [redacted] said that we'd be fine with any branches and debris that fell on the forested hill (not in the yard) being left to decompose in place to make the job easier, but cleanup was never waived. We made out one check to [redacted] that included our half of the split with the neighbor, plus the full amount for the trees behind the house. We've never received any written documentation before or after the work, including any quote, any work order or change, or any receipt. If work details had been provided at any point ahead of time, nearly all of the problems would almost certainly have been prevented before there were any difficulties. > We received snow so getting to trees on part 2 was impossible due to> the trees were dead and needed to be done with a crane. There was no snow when the border trees were taken down, no snow for some time afterward, and no snow throughout the following summer. We anticipated that the trees on the hill would come down on the same day that the border trees did, as indicated when the quote was made (less expensive if they didn't have to come out twice). They left after removing the border trees, and we didn't know why. When we inquired, we were told that the trees on the hill needed to be removed via the street above (which wasn't what we'd initially been told, but was fine), and that needed to be arranged with the town. There was still no snow cover at the time. > When snow was gone and ground solid we took the trees down in back.The snow was gone and the ground solid for many months before any work was done in back. After winter was over, we'd placed several phone calls over several months to find out what was going on, with no response. No phone calls were ever returned, and nothing happened in back until August of 2017. > [redacted]'s husband then tried to tell me that the other guy with a beard> told him we would also remove 1 more Tree for free and clean up mess. [redacted] denies this in the strongest way possible. The guy with the beard is on Rice's crew; [redacted] spoke with him on the day that the first trees came down, while it was still our understanding that the whole job would be done at the same time. Assuming that the work was going to continue, [redacted] pointed out the two dead trees to him and reiterated that any branches or debris that fell on the hill could be left to decompose in place. At the time, [redacted] thought this person was in a position of authority with the company. [redacted] never asked him for anything for free, was never offered anything for free, and never tried to claim anything of the sort. > I am the one who talked with him and am the guy who does estimates. I> do not have a beard nor have I ever had a beard. I don't know if they> have us mixed up with a different tree service. We've spoken with no other tree service before or since. Our neighbor had taken bids and recommended Rice Tree for the work, and we went with his suggestion. The two trees on the back hill that we paid to have removed in 2016 were completely dead. In August of 2017, Rice Tree finally responded to our many phone calls by ringing our doorbell and telling [redacted] that they would remove the two back trees the next day, coming at them from below the hill rather than the street above - as originally quoted, but contrary to what we'd been subsequently told for many months. The hill is very steep, tall, and close to the house. Prior to our purchase of the property, a large part of that hillside washed out in a major storm, and was rebuilt with loose-dumped dirt and stone. The still re-establishing root systems of new trees are a major component of helping prevent that from happening again. They also provided quality of life functions, such as aesthetics and privacy. l was concerned about damage to those trees. [redacted] and I marked with red tape three trees at the base of the hill that we were willing to let them remove if any of those were in their way. We did not ask or expect them to remove those trees; it was simply a way to designate all the other living trees as ones that were important to preserve. We did not [redacted] the two large dead trees that were supposed to be removed because they were difficult to access and, as the only trees that were dead, they seemed distinct and obvious. When the crew arrived, they began chainsawing live smaller trees in the rebuilt hillside that were not marked and that they had not asked about removing. [redacted] stopped them to find out what was going on, and was told that the work couldn't be done with those trees in the way. [redacted] felt like he needed to make a quick decision now that the work was finally happening, and agreed to let them continue - with as little unnecessary cutting as possible. It was contrary to what I had agreed to, but [redacted] did permit it. More "weed" trees that were "in the way" were cut than he thought would be. I was shocked when I saw that the central portion of the part of the hill next to the back lawn was clear-cut and there was a pile of previously-living trees on the lawn, in addition to one dead one. About the large living tree that they removed instead of the other dead one, which later fell on the power lines, [redacted] says: "When we initially met about the work last year, I said that we wanted the two dead trees on the hill taken down. That was always the intent. I had no idea that there was any misunderstanding until the work finally was happening months later - and the wrong tree, which was not dead, started coming down. I immediately stopped the work (for the second time that day) and asked about it. I was told that the second dead tree was in the town's right of way and Rice couldn't touch it. I accepted that explanation with frustration, and OK'd the long-delayed job to continue, but that wasn't the work we'd paid for. (Now that the remaining dead tree has blown down - away from the house fortunately, but landing on power lines on the road above - and the stump isn't hidden by foliage, it doesn't seem to me to have actually been in the right of way.)" I do not know how much we will need to spend on cleanup. I do not know the monetary value of the collateral loss of the living trees, nor future costs we may incur from erosion, landslides, and flooding as a result of hillside destabilization. I have not counted the number of hours we have spent during the past eleven months trying to get Rice Tree to complete the work that was supposed to be done last December. I do not know what monetary value to assign to the affects of worrying about dead trees falling on our house during the approximately ten months between the time that all the dead trees were supposed to be removed and when the last of them fell on the power lines. Their lack of providing any documentation before or after the work, their presumptive attitude, and their lack of responsiveness indicates that they will treat at least some of their future customers with the same cavalier disregard if they do not need to make any sort of recompense.
Regards,
[redacted]