Columbia Tree & Lawn Service — Local services in Severn

Update (after business response): I never said that I had an issue or was frustrated with doing business your company, a small business. As I stated in my response to your tree referral email, my husband and his family have also been running a small business for years and I myself own a small business in the culinary industry so I totally understand the constraints when you have to do everything yourself as a small business owner. Kindly do not portray me as being against small businesses as I never said or expressed that. I am happy to do business with anyone (small, medium or big). How did you get the impression that I was not happy with your company when we discussed possible dates and you were to contact your guy to confirm that the work could be completed within a week as stated on estimate visit? Your tone and attitude changed towards me when I provided feedback. Your response below portrays me as an individual who has issues with working with a small business and I do not appreciate that.

Original Post: We were super excited to work with CT&LS for tree trimming, cutting as well as redoing the bushes in our front yard. The consultation visit was amazing and was blown away at how knowledgeable they were and the recommendations for spruce up our backyard and the front of the house. I was given a few suggestions on what type of plants/bushes would be ideal for our home, especially to prevent deer damage in the upcoming fall seasons. We were given a proposal that met our needs and were ready to move forward. Being the negotiator that I am, I contacted the office the next day to inquire about any coupons or offers available for the services outlined in the proposal. It took over a week of back and forth, late in the evenings over phone calls and emails to get an answer from Lisa, who seemed to be the only person I could speak to in regards to move forward with CT&LS. We finally speak this evening over the phone and I start the conversation with saying that we are happy to move forward with them to get the work done. She confirms that there is a 10% coupon available for use which I responded was great! She also stated that no one would be available to come out and do the work until July 2nd or the 12th (cant remember precisely) contrary to what I was told (1 week). I also kindly and respectfully provided some feedback in terms of perhaps improving communication with prospective clients as I did not understand why I could only speak to someone in the evenings as I wanted to get the work started and was excited to go shopping at Meadows Farms as recommended by the guy who came by for the estimate. Lisa explained that they were a small family owned business, which had been operating for 30 years. I was impressed. She continued to add that she was a government worker and could only attend to calls/emails in the evening after work. She continues by adding that she would totally understand if we decided to move forward with someone else and I told her that my comments were not ill intended and didn't mean to offend her and that as I mentioned in the beginning of the call, we were happy to move forward with them. I think she took offense to my comments and added we could not be a good fit to do business with their company. She then proceeded to hang up the phone on me. This literally just happened about 15 minutes ago and I am still in shock. I did not mean to offend anyone at CT&LS and was just providing some feedback based on my experience with them so far. After she explained why it was so, it all made sense. And she also provided more information on who could possibly get it done within 1 week and would reach out to him for further information. I do not understand how the call ended with Lisa with CT&LS, hanging up the phone on me when I was very pleased with the consultation visit and excited for them to assist with our little project. Again, I am still in shock that Lisa hung up the...

I recommend Columbia Tree & Lawn Service for bamboo removal. Whenever I need a future tree or yard service, I will be contacting them.

When we moved into our house, we had a small stand of bamboo in the corner of our yard, which gave us some privacy from the neighbors. We didn’t know anything about bamboo and we liked how it looked, so we left it. During the following years it spread like crazy, and I lost sleep worrying about how to get rid of it before it took over. I found Columbia Tree while I was researching on the internet, and I asked Mr. Peddicord to come out for an estimate. I was unable to have the work completed at that time, but he was kind enough to come out again later and update the estimate. We just had the work completed last month.

Mr. Peddicord is incredibly knowledgable about bamboo, and he has a very calm and confident manner. He explained bamboo growth and behavior and talked about the removal process and maintenance. He and his team worked very hard, and it looks like they did a thorough job--the yard looks so clean now! It was a two-day job: on the first day they prepared the dig site, and the second they did all the digging, debris removal, barrier installing, and grading.

There are two things that I am dissatisfied with, and I think both reflect an internal communication problem.

The first thing involves scheduling. When I was first given my appointment date, I reached out to the office to tell them that it would’t work—we would be out of town until that date and needed at least one additional day between getting back home and the appointment. It was rescheduled for two days after the original date. The reason I needed that extra day was to prepare my yard: I had some plants in the dig site that I needed to move, there were some other items that I needed to set aside (string lights, termite traps, etc.), and I was going to move the bricks, rocks, and pavers. However, as we were pulling in the driveway on the morning that we got back into town, we saw Mr. Peddicord and his team digging up our yard. Despite my saying that the date would not work, they showed up anyway. They did remove all the objects, but in the process they broke the string lights. And even though they ended up not having to dig as far as originally thought, they dumped all their tools on top of the plants that I was going to dig up and move.

The second thing involves the contract. The original contract stated that they would be seeding for grass. I contacted the office and said that I wanted that part taken out of the contract because I am trying to reduce the amount of grass in my yard and because I wanted flower beds and rocks. One of the areas in the dig site was an established rock bed that had no grass or weeds. However, they seeded for grass anyway. I did my best to blow and rake away the seed, but I already have grass growing in exactly all the places where I didn’t want it. I’d ordered plants to install in these areas and they arrived a couple days after the bamboo removal—I had no choice but to plant and mulch them, and now I have the extra work of trying to dig up/kill the grass that’s encroaching.

The price was reasonable for the amount of time and effort involved, and they were very careful while performing the work and cleaning up afterward. I have no complaints about the quality of work. Everyone was friendly and professional. If you have a bamboo problem, give Columbia Tree a call. You’ll sleep better knowing that you have a real pro...

My job was scheduled for 8:00-10:00am. As of 10:04 this morning, the time that I posted my review, NOBODY from your company called or emailed me. You claim your tech "knocked on the door." I received a text message from him at 10:51am, in which he notified me that the estimate was in my mailbox. I was awake at 8:00am and never heard a knock on my door. Plus, I have a DOORBELL which was never rung (and I tested it to be sure that it does work). I received your email at 11:00am and your text at 6:19pm. Because you guys did communicate with me after I posted my original message (though still late), I am giving you back two stars. However, I still stand by what I said, as the customer service still could have been better.

You said this was "just an estimate." However, even if I am only asking for an estimate, I expect to have a conversation with the tech. I would have also expected him to survey the area and let me know if there was anything else your company could have done to help. Yes, that is going above and beyond, but that is what I expect before I give five stars. Plus, doing so benefits your company, because you could have up-sold me and essentially made more business beyond what I originally asked. I gave three now, because you did make an effort after the fact, but still your tech was late and could have communicated better. Also - just to be clear - I do practice social distancing, so we still could have safely had this conversation.

Regarding what I said about the reviews, I did not outright accuse anyone of anything, but still I have deleted that portion of my post. I wish no ill will toward your company, but I stated the facts and stand by them.

Thank you, and I wish you all the best.

My original post: I scheduled a job 9 days in advance with this company. They didn't show up and didn't...