ComplaintsforSB Tree Service LLC

• Initial Complaint

  11/20/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Product Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  On 10/14/2022, I paid SB Tree Service in Holly Hill, FL $850.00 to trim and shape my umbrella tree after damage from Hurricane Ian. They said they would use a bucket truck to get to the top of the tree to cut and re-shape it. When the workers arrived, they had all of the equipment, but told me they wouldn't use the bucket truck and instead would use a pole saw. So the bucket truck immediately left the area. I could tell they were in a hurry. I kept telling them to shape it like an umbrella with the top curved like a dome. After some time of me trying to tell them what to cut and how I wanted it shaped, it was obvious they did not know how to do this. I later called the office and told Janet that since they never used the bucket truck, I should get a discount off what I paid, because on the receipt it emphasizes bucket truck. She said the price is still the same with or without the bucket truck. This company did a lousy job and now I want a full refund from them. I have attached before and after photos of what the tree looked like before SB Tree Service trimmed and after they trimmed. I had to hire another company to come and do the job SB Tree Service didn't do.

  

  Business response

  01/05/2023

  Business Response /* (1000, 5, 2022/11/22) */ We apologize if you had an unsatisfactory experience in anyway. We do want to come to a conclusion regarding the matter but feel like a full refund is not justified. When the work was completed you were satisfied with the project prior to any payment being made and this has come as a surprise to our company. We spoke a few weeks back when you had reached out to our office regarding a discount on the project weeks after completion but never stated that you were unhappy with the work. You had stated a discount was desired as the bucket truck was not used to perform the work. As we discussed, the pricing of the project is not based on the necessity to use any specific equipment. When our crew arrived to complete the project, we chose not to put the heavy equipment on your pavers driveway when the work could be completed with a pole saw. If we were at your property and realized we would need any additional equipment, such as a crane for example, we would never raise the price of the project that was previously quoted. Pricing is based on project timeframe, debris amount, technicality of work, etc.The bucket truck is a standard piece of equipment brought with the crew on a daily basis to ease the trimming and removal process. Additionally, when we spoke you made no statement of being dissatisfied with the work itself only wanting a discount on the work that was Done because we didn't use the bucket truck. If this were the case we would have immediately sent the crew back to touch up any areas of the project you saw fit to meet your satisfaction. Notification of such issues would have avoided any need of hiring a secondary company as we do stand behind the quality of our work. I do not feel that is is fair to request a full refund in this case Consumer Response /* (3000, 7, 2022/11/25) */ (The consumer indicated he/she DID NOT accept the response from the business.) I do not accept their response. I felt pressured to hand over payment because the workers were in a hurry and they kept telling me that they would not trim down the top of the tree because the tree needed to keep the height. Since they did not know how to trim and shape an umbrella tree, they should not have taken on the job in the first place. If they came back to do more trimming they still would not be able to do an appropriate job since they didn't know from the very beginning how to trim an umbrella tree. Every day after they were here and I looked at the tree, not seeing where they had done any shaping or trimming I knew I could not settle for this work. I feel like they took advantage of a senior person and weren't listening to me. All they wanted was their money and to get out of here. I hired them because of their BBB membership and fairly good reviews but that doesn't always work out, as I have now found out. Business Response /* (4000, 9, 2022/12/06) */ We are willing to discount your project 200.00 but wish you would have expressed your unhappiness with the job itself as we would have come back out and completed the work to your satisfaction. We want our customers to be happy with our work all the way around. Consumer Response /* (2000, 11, 2022/12/11) */ (The consumer indicated he/she ACCEPTED the response from the business.) The company has made an attempt to correct this issue and right a wrong. I hope they will follow through.

• Initial Complaint

  11/16/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  Date of Occurrence: Monday, 11/07/2022 I'm very disappointed with the lack of professionalism from this company. I contacted this company to remove a tree stump (which they did) however they damaged my irrigation during the removal. When I contacted them they refused to repair what they damaged. Immediately after the stump was removed a drip line was found laying in my yard in the location of the removed stump. This company apparently cut the drip line, left a portion in the yard and then buried the damaged portion without notifying me. Knowing the drip line was found, I tested my irrigation, which was clearly damaged. I messaged the company and asked them to replace what they damaged-which they refused to do. We had no issues with flooding or irrigation before the stump was removed. They left damaged irrigation buried in my yard without notifying me and refused to repair what they damaged. Not pleased with the company.

  

  Business response

  01/05/2023

  Business Response /* (1000, 5, 2022/11/18) */ I apologize that you are unhappy with the service, but we were never made aware of any drip line or irrigation when you reached out for stump removal. Upon grinding a piece of the drip line came out that was imbedded in the stump and root system. The drip line had grown into the tree and was already broken as the tree was uprooted completely from the storm. The tree that uprooted was removed (not by SB) and the ground was pushed back over and drove over from the photos you sent us for the quote. He left the piece out so you could see it, he never buried anything he only raked ups that area after he was done. We ground the area where the stump was in as you requested. I sent the photos to you as you were not home even though you scheduled for us to come that day. I have attached the photos you sent us to prove that the irrigation was damaged from the tree uprooting. I do not feel that is is fair to make us pay for damage done by the storm. We are a repeatable company and explained why we would not be fixing this immediately after you reached out to get no response until we received notification of your complaint yesterday. Consumer Response /* (3000, 8, 2022/11/24) */ (The consumer indicated he/she DID NOT accept the response from the business.) We hired your company expecting to receive a professional job. The stump was removed however in the process irrigation was damaged and we were not informed of the damage. We found out that the irrigation was broken from a neighbor. You stated that your crew member left the piece of broken irrigation out for us to see. There was a piece of pipe out in the grass, but your crew made no indication that it was from the stump you removed or was a broken irrigation pipe from our yard. The actual broken pipe was packed under dirt (as shown in the photos) and we had to dig the whole area up to find where the pipe was broken. Our irrigation has been functioning incorrectly since the stump was removed by your company. The area now floods when the sprinklers are turned on. It did not do this when the stump was present, even after the tree fell and was removed. We were also not aware that we had to be home for the job to be performed. Your company scheduled us for a Monday- for outside work- not mentioning anyone should be home. This shouldn't have been the reason for not mentioning the damaged pipe. You sent photos since we were not home to show the job was done, but neglected to mention that anything was damaged or being left out for us to see. I called after the job was finished and you messaged me with photos- you could have mentioned the damage during the phone call or in the message. As stated previously the irrigation was working before the stump was removed and now the area leaks and the pipe is broken and was torn out of the ground and we were not informed of this. Had we not noticed this right away we could have had additional damage from the irrigation running while damaged. Business Response /* (4000, 10, 2022/11/30) */ You are correct we should have mentioned it to you, I was not aware of the damage until you reached out on messenger. Usually when we do stump grinding on any removal it would be written out on a proposal explaining that we are not responsible for any underground utilities. I failed to discuss this as the tree was uprooted and in the open. Drip irrigation was ran years ago as the hoses were entailed in the root system. The ground was previously disturbed from the tree falling over, being removed, and then the ground being compacted back down with whatever you guys drove over it to flatten it out. I will have someone come and asses the damage. The tree has been removed so the drip irrigation is not needed in that area any longer. When would be a good time to send someone over? He will need access to the irrigation system in order to turn on and test. Please call us to schedule a good time. ************

*Some consumers may elect to not publish the details of their complaints, some complaints may not meet BBB's standards for publication, or BBB may display a portion of complaints when a high volume is received for a particular business. ↩