Long Story, Short Version:
Joe and Joe gave me a cut-rate price on taking down a lot of trees, took down about half of them, then made me wait for months before an offer of a few hundred more dollars convinced them to return to finish the job and take a few more trees down. Yet they still left about a dozen logs in my front yard. I ended up having to cut up and cart away the logs myself. They worked hard, but not very professionally.
Long Version:
Joe Cooke and Joe Kiker stopped at my property in Rolesville in early August, informing me of a dead tree they had observed that might threaten to fall on my, or my neighbor's, yard. I thanked them for informing me of the problem, and agreed to pay them a very small fee to take it down, which they did quickly and efficiently on the spot. I disposed of the tree myself. Impressed with their work, I asked them for a business card and a quote to clear the other possibly diseased pine trees from the same area. Joe Kiker wrote a quote of $900 on the back of his business card.
About a week later, a large upper section of a sweet gum tree in my back yard was broken by high winds, and fell into my neighbor's yard. Clearing the debris myself was punishing work, and this experience motivated me to have the remainder of the sweet gum, and additional pines, removed. I phone Squirrel & Cooke, and they agreed to come out to clear 16 trees from my yard, for $1600.
They began the work, and very effectively began to remove the trees. Ten of the trees were taken down. However, the sweet gum and many of the pines were left standing, and several logs were left on the ground along with plenty of brush. I had paid them the full amount they requested, and they left without completing the job.
The following photos illustrate the mess Joe Cooke and Joe Kiker left in my yard.
The blue tarp seen on the right covers a well-house, which I have been unable to properly access due to the presence of the debris. The unsightly mess has remained since August 2007, when Joe and Joe were paid for the work. They have not finished the job despite numerous phone calls from me, and despite them having given promises to return on specific dates.
Although both Joes were apologetic, and Joe Kiker visited to pick-up ropes he left, the job remained unfinished as of mid October, 2007. Cooke was working as a tree sub-contractor for the Wake County school system, so he was busy, but three months is ridiculous.
They didn't return until I offered to pay for an additional tree to be taken down. Cooke brought a chipper to clean up most of the remaining brush, and they took down the trees they had agreed to take down. Even so, they left without removing ten of the logs!
Enough was enough. After three more good-faith calls, I decided to make this post and at least clean up my yard. I felt like I was being played. It took three days of work for my Huskvarna and a circular saw to reduce the logs to manageable pieces, and cart them away, after which I was sore for a week.
They worked hard when they were here, and gave me a great offer, but now I can't recommend either.
