I have been doing business with Davey for years, and they have removed and planted trees on my…read moreproperty, performed lawn care, and pest and disease control. I have spent thousands of dollars on this work, and I have been generally satisfied with the service. Over the last year two years, their service has definitely slipped, and recently I have had a particularly bad experience.
Last year the arborist had pointed out root girdling around some trees, and he suggested a root excavation to cut some of the roots. I was never advised that there will be such significant or even any branch dieback from this procedure, so I had the work done last year, and this spring I noticed that the two October Glory Maples, trees that I had planted myself over 13 years ago, had significant branch dieback, and a different arborist came out to inspect them. He informed me that the dieback was concerning and resulted from the root excavation, which he would not have recommended. He accepted responsibility for the damage, and offered to have Davey use a bio treatment to stimulate growth for the next two years, and to prune out the dead branches at no charge.
The trees continued to decline, and after 3 months without anyone reaching out to me, I emailed the arborist, but he did not respond. I then left a message at the office, which was not initially returned, so I continued to call.
A rep from the office finally called me back to inform me that that arborist no longer worked at that office, but that the bio treatments and pruning will still be done at no charge, and that the new arborist, Bill, could come out on Wednesday to see what work needed to be done.
When I met with Bill, he advised me that he was unaware of any agreement to perform this remediation work at no charge, and that he has no record of any previous agreement. He also informed me that he didn't even know what a bio treatment is, even though I informed him that even the office rep knew what it was. I told him I have an email from the previous arborist on Davey letterhead confirming this agreement, and he insisted that he needs a "signed" document. I asked him if he could call the arborist as the previous arborist still works for Davey at another office, and he refused, and he wanted me to email him the letter from the previous arborist. He gave me little to no information about remediation efforts, appeared to be dismissive of my concerns, did a half-hearted, cursory viewing of the damage to the trees, and was reluctant to agree to the pruning. I was left with the impression that he felt he was being inconvenienced and completely uninterested in the health of my trees and in keeping me as a valued customer.
He advised me that they would be having a scheduling meeting at Davey on Monday, and that he would contact me as to when the pruning will be scheduled. To be continued...
Update: a Davey Tree Expert Company Mokena arborist, Brendan, who currently works for them and I know personally, did a 5 star Google review for the company about a week ago. Look for yourself...
