Kelly's Tree Care

I have a large maple tree in my yard that in my opinion is too big and out of control. When I asked Kelly's for an estimate, I specifically said to the person who took the call to "cut it back as far as you can without killing it". My intention was to not have to pay to have this done for many more years to come. So when I received the quotation for around $900 (I was not home when the quote was done), I thought that was quite reasonable. I glanced over the arborist's notes/work order - they simply described which branches to cut, etc. There were no other notes - just instructions for the crew. So I hired Kelly's and the work was done on a day I was not home.
I was quite surprised to see when I got home that the large lower branches had indeed been cut off - great. But the top had not been touched. My instructions for "cutting it back as far as you can without killing it" were definitely not followed.

When I spoke with the company, they said the arborist's instructions were followed exactly. The arborist came out on another date and reviewed the work with me. It turns out that it is not good for this type of tree to be cut at the top; it can cause disease, etc. The arborist reiterated to me that the work was done as instructed and it was my responsibility to review the work order and I had agreed to what was written. There was also a lower branch hanging over my neighbour's side that I disputed should have been cut - she said that if I had requested that specifically at the time, it would have been done and included in the price. But if I wanted it done now, they would charge me $450 just for coming out again. She admitted to no errors on behalf of the company.

All in all, yes I made some mistakes. I had not commissioned work like this before and should have done my homework first. But I also feel there is an accountability to the company in all of this. I said on more than one occasion when speaking with various representatives over the phone the same thing "cut it back as far as you can without killing it". Not once did anyone ever say to me that this was not their practice or this could be bad for the tree, etc. Was this message even passed on to the arborist before her initial quote? I have no idea. If it was, why didn't she call me directly and tell me that this was not their practice? Or at least make a note of it on the work order?

The crew did a fine job. They cut the tree as instructed and left no mess behind.

Learn from my mistakes when hiring this or any other company:
1)speak directly with the arborist before agreeing to the work.
2)Make sure you are home when the arborist comes to give you a quote and make sure he/she fully understands the work you are expecting to be done.
3)Make sure you are home when the work is done.