Visions Tree Service

In reponse to the complaint agaisnt our company,  Visions Tree Service,  by Mrs. [redacted] let me begin by saying we never try to get paid before a customer is satisfied with our work. We simply asked Mrs. [redacted] to come out and inspect our work as we always do.    This was a tree...

that we removed at the end of winter. Unfortunately somehow Mrs [redacted]  was under the understanding that we could provide dirt to fill the stump hole. I usually make it clear to customers that no dirt is available this time of year. No suppliers sift dirt until after spring thaw. Somehow the [redacted] had gotten Rays phone number as a contact instead of myself. There is no one more skilled at trimming and removing trees than Ray. He is exceptional in the field. However he does not usually bid jobs nor does he do the follow up. The miss communication on this was most likely because Ray did not explain this to the [redacted].  I did agree to bring in dirt when it became available and Mrs. [redacted]  felt she should hold back some portion of the payment to be sure we would.    The stump hole, for lack of dirt , was lower than the rest of the yard. Mrs. [redacted] decided this could be changed by having us grind the grass and dirt around the edge of the hole. The look of impatience she described was most likely from me. I felt that she had expectations that could only be met with backfill to the hole. Never the less we did,as she said, and spent another hour grinding dirt from around the edge of the hole. This is about a 15' diameter hole as we  removed all the surface roots as well. She was of course still not happy but that was expected at this point.    Mrs. [redacted] wanted me to give her a day the backfill would be done. I could not tell her that as the supplier could not tell me when they would be able to sift. I said I would call her when it was. We were able to get dirt about a week and a half later and I again invited Mrs. [redacted] to inspect the work before paying the balance. She did.   It must be noted that when you remove a large tree there is as much material below ground as above. The difference is with the stump all the material is within 3' of the surface. We only grind 12" below grade. This is standard practice as most stump grinders are designed to only go about that deep. So you will always be able to find some roots or stump if you dig for it.   Mrs.[redacted]  was digging and found some stump. I admint it was very close to the surface.  It was also at the edge of the stump ground area. About 8' from where the actual tree was. Even after all the contact between the [redacted]  and myself for some reason they decided to call Ray about this. I did not hear about it until I received the letter from the Revdex.com. Ray  told me he did get a call but had not gone out to look yet. This is really why I do the follow up part of the job.    I called Mrs [redacted] the day after receiving the letter and agreed to come out that very afternoon to resolve the issue.  We agreed on a time but Mrs. [redacted] also required a call a half hour before so she could be there. I apologized for any miss or non communication. I called that afternoon and was there at the agreed upon time. Mrs [redacted] was not but I could see the root she found. I ground that out and a bit more. Then replaced more dirt. Then I waited.  Mrs [redacted] came about a half hour later. She inspected the work and again I apologized for the miss communication.  I asked that she please contact me if anything came up in the future.  About twenty minutes later Mr. [redacted] called and said his wife called him and said she found more roots. I turned around and came back and we ground out another area for her. Again she checked. Again she was satisfied with the work.     Mrs. [redacted] does still seem unhappy with the lack of communication from Ray.  I do feel we let them down in that regard . I dont know how much of this could have been avoided had I been the first contact but there is no excuse for not being responsive to a customer.  I have done all I can to make it right with the [redacted].   Tom DuPaul  Visions Tree Service  ###-###-####