For years, three large Black Walnut trees inhibited the healthy growth of our garden. Realizing that our food was more important than these beautiful trees, we grudgingly decided to let a few arbor-care companies submit bids for the task of removal. There were garden trellises within close proximity to where I was told the trees would fall if they were to be simply cut. Therefore, the first two estimates reflected this purported "difficult" nature of the job, for which I was told required the use of several ground men, a skilled tree climber, and rope man. I decided to seek out one more company for an estimate, and quickly found Hill Treekeepers through word of mouth. I contacted Todd, and was relieved that the estimate could be scheduled within a single weeks time. To my surprise, Todd arrived to perform the estimate himself! In my previous experiences, the estimator had been an employee that was unable to provide any timetable for when the work could actually be performed. While taking a quick walk around the trees and obstacles, I briefly outlined the conclusions reached by the two former estimators. "I was told that the branches need to be lowered by rope, and placed right here for chipping", I explained. With a little pacing and shaking of a post, Todd decided that simply removing the trellises, dropping the trees, chipping, and replacing the trellises would save a tremendous amount of time, and thus, labor costs. I agreed, with the only reservation in my mind being that he might not have the know how to disassemble and reassemble our trellises correctly (these are of a special design specifically tailored to grow grape vines). On the morning of the job, Todd arrived on time, but with only one person to provide him with assistance. We hadn't covered how much help he would need, and my mind went back to the other companies and their requirement of four or five total laborers. I immediately had a few (now quite embarrassing) doubts pop into my mind. I took a deep breath, and went to discuss things. Again, to my surprise, no further discussion was really required. Todd's employee, a reserved, thin man resembling a mix between Survivorman and someone just picked up off the street, assured me that he would be able to be able to remove and reinstall the trellises without damaging them. Inside I go. As I watched the crew of two begin to take action, I saw SurvivorMan run for the bolt cutters. Oh no, I thought. The trellises were removed within thirty minutes, and the posts and wire neatly coiled and placed in a safe area. Within ten minutes, both trees were on the ground, right where Todd said they would be (the apex of one landed within 5 feet of an ornamental planting, as he previously stated). After the trees were chipped, Todd raked, blew, and removed all of the debris while his assistant reinstalled the trellises. When all was said and done (a half day job!) they looked great, actually better than they did the day after they were installed! I had to ask SurvivorMan what he did. Apparently the wires had lost tension after their initial installation, or were never tensioned correctly from the start. I am sorry if this statement is offensive to anyone, but a tree company with skilled, competent ground workers is refreshing to see! tl;dr Todd, with his exquisite planning and execution will save you money, this is proven. You can also trust his judgement in the help that he uses, illustrated by the fact that his worker actually improved my grape trellis, one that I was unaware could even be disassembled at all. Five Stars. read more

If there was a ZERO star, that's what I would use. Several years ago my life partner did some IT work, web design and other tech support for this company. After the owner did not pay the outstanding bill for the work, they came to a "gentleman's agreement" for him to cut down some trees, in lieu of payment, at my partner's mother's property that were threatening damage not only to her home, but the neighbor's, which was determined after an inspection of the trees by Mr. Hill. Mr. Hill promised for almost 2 years to do this and never did. My partner's mom died, and he inherited the property. He put my name on the new deed. Mr. Hill still promised to do the work, but did not. My partner passed away last March, and I inherited the property. I informed Mr. Hill that my partner had passed and therefore would no longer be maintaining his website or addressing his IT issues, which he had been doing all along, without payment or the fulfillment of the promised tree work. Mr. Hill asked if I would still like him to fulfill the promise of the tree work, and i said I would. Months passed, with several unfulfilled promises of the work being completed. Unfortunately, I had to sell the house, and the buyers were aware of the cost that they would incur to have the unstable trees cut down. Mr Hill then promised a payment to me since he had not fulfilled his promise to cut down the trees. He even stated on Dec. 7, 2019 in an email that his lawyer had a form that he would be sending me in the next week, that they needed me to sign and have notarized. I have never received the form or payment, even though I have tried to contact Mr. Hill several times, with no response from him. I realize I did not do the IT or website work for Mr. Hill. But since he made a supposed "gentlemen's agreement" with my partner which he failed to fulfill and he made promises of both work or payment to me and did not keep and which subsequently effected the price of the property I sold, I do feel Mr. Hill showed he is not a man of his word or trustworthy. He should not be making promises he does not plan to keep. I feel bad having to resort to bringing his untrustworthiness to the attention of the public this way. But I hope by doing so, perhaps another business that does work for Hill Treekeepers will be spared promises of payment that they may not receive. Also, I'd suggest not "bartering" with Mr. Hill for something in lieu of payment for work done for him, because it might result in a situation like my partner and I have had to contend with. It's disheartening and sad to feel my partner and I were taken advantage of considering our tragic circumstances. I hope Mr. Hill does not put anyone else through a situation like this. I have always tried to see the good in all people and take them at their word hoping they will be honest and trustworthy. It's sad when you come to the realization that there are people out there that are not. Sad it had to come to this. read more