Freedom Tree Service

Quick overview: I was blown away by Freedom Tree and give them my very highest recommendation.

Context: My wife and I needed several large trees removed, a few more trees trimmed, and a giant tree thinned. The job took two crews working here from 9:00-4:30.

Experience: Since this was a large job, I went to Checkbook.org and AngiesList.com, created a list of highly-rated companies with a good track record and asked for three bids. Freedom Tree was one of the highest-rated companies and had the lowest bid. Here are some specifics about my experience:

* Estimate: Howard came to look at our property to give us an estimate. He was on time, incredibly knowledgeable, and I especially liked that he never said, "You need to..." He always gave options with pros/cons of every choice. The whole thing felt like a collaboration. Along the way, I learned so much about trees and things I should be aware of moving forward. Freedom Tree e-mailed me their estimate, the same day, that looks like it came off of a spreadsheet - very easy to understand with options clearly outlined (The other two estimates were hand-written and difficult to decipher). Their office person, Melissa, was always easy to reach and highly professional.

* Scheduling: I work at home and am frequently on client calls with some weeks being especially busy. After expressing this to Freedom Tree, they were highly accommodating to fit my schedule.

* Work Day: Freedom Tree showed up at 9:00 as they said, and did a phenomenal job. I think of the work done at our house in two categories - taking trees down, and trimming/thinning. The result of taking down the tree is the same no matter who does it (assuming they do it properly and don't damage anything in the process - which is not a given in this industry). But trimming, and especially thinning trees is part biology and dendrology (the study of trees), part physics, and part aesthetics. We have a massive tree in our front yard that started hanging too low, was overhanging the roof, was a little too dense (potential danger in high winds), and had a lot of dead branches. Freedom Tree was brilliant and what we ended up with was stunning and will hold us for many years to come. I especially appreciate that they wanted my input as to how far to go.

Their workers were all friendly and clearly competent. They really like working for Freedom Tree too - it didn't seem like just another gig to them. Howard told me that he pays medical benefits and takes good care of them - and it showed. Their equipment seemed top notch - how they used their bucket truck in thinning our big tree was especially impressive.

One thing stood out - I asked if they could save some of the dead branches from the big tree so I could use them for firewood (those 1-2 inch branches are great in starting a fire in the fireplace). Not only did they save them, but they cut them up in firewood sizes for us. Totally not expected or anticipated - but it showed an attitude of people who are really customer-focused.

During the work, the yard was a mess as you would expect. There were a lot of leaves, branch fragments, wood chips from the chain saw, etc. But at the end, they took out blowers and cleaned up well. The property looked better than when they got there. Other than the actual tree work, there was no evidence that they were there.

I typically don't write reviews, and when I do, they are usually not this long - but Freedom Tree did such an exceptional job that I felt that such stellar work deserved a proper write-up.

I got 3 quotes for this job. All three were within $100 of each other. Freedom got the job because they responded very promptly to the request and I had a quote in hand 4 days after contacting them. Should have gone with a competitor.

They did an acceptable job removing the tree and grinding the stump. But it took FOREVER to get the work done and communication was horrible. I was told it would be 20 business days before to get the tree removed- it was three weeks after that when they cam out, and they did not grind the stump at that time. It took another 6 weeks to get them out there to grind the stump. Very unresponsive.

Was a pleasure working with Howard Curtis.