I was a customer for several years until June. The company has done my yard cleanup more than a dozen times and has done the queen palms and ficus 3-4 times.
Mike the owner is very knowledgeable about trees! The first time we met, he walked through the yard telling me about all the plants and trees and quoted me a flat rate of $175 to do quarterly cleanup (big trees are extra, once or twice a year.) Wow! So reasonable. He even gave me his cell number. It sounded great. The crew did a great job most of the time, especially on the big trees.
But there was an utter lack of communication from the company, and making appointments was unbelievably difficult. No one answers the office phone, EVER. So I had to leave a message every time. Usually I left 2-3 before I get a return call from the receptionist. I asked many, many times to be put on the schedule every 3 months automatically. This NEVER happened.
At least twice they didn't come at the 3-month mark like I asked, then charged me extra because the plants were overgrown. Once, in their absence my lime tree died. I asked for information on a new one several times over 4 MONTHS before getting a call back. By then I was fed up so I didn't bother returning the call.
The last job they will ever do for me was in June, 2 months late, and the job was sloppy. NONE of it was done the way we agreed on, the way they had cut it for years, and one 18 sq ft section was missed entirely. The company blamed me for not answering the door to tell them what I wanted. My absence had never been a problem before.
THEN I received the January & June receipts at the same time for $250 and $300. The $300 receipt mentioned my ficus, which they didn't even touch. When I asked about the amount I was told the cost of business was going up, and that actually we are charging all customers a $300 minimum. I said I would not pay more than the previously agreed amount of $175 for each cleanup. I was politely told I would receive a refund.
In her emails and on the phone the receptionist repeatedly said Mike wasn't able to get ahold of you or meeting with you has been a problem. She even wrote something to this effect on some of the receipts. Like trying to make me feel bad for that one unreturned phone call about the tree. Mike never called or emailed me before or since that one call. The office didn't call unless they were returning my umpteenth voicemail. No one ever asked me to be home during the cleanups or complained when I wasn't. I responded to their emails the same day, and paid promptly upon request. And certainly no one EVER tried to talk to me about a rate increase. So I have no idea what (or even when) she was referring to, or why she would keep bringing it up, and I think it's really rude.
I am dismayed at the five-star reviews here. I WISH I'd had a five-star experience. It would have saved a lot of headaches (and probably my lime tree.)