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Do's and Dont's... Because there are so many tree services in the Atlanta area, we decided that instead of simply using our website to advertise our business, we would give consumers an understanding of what to look for in a tree service, along with some important reminders for anyone using a tree service. Following is a list of do's and don'ts that should help:
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Do ask for insurance…
In the state of Georgia, all tree services are required to carry both property damage insurance and worker's compensation insurance. Businesses in need of tree services should also be advised that for commercial tree work to take place, the company doing the work must have a minimum of $1 million worth of property damage insurance. Ask for a certificate of insurance. If you have an estimate done, and they have a copy of the certificate of insurance with them, call the company listed, and double check. NEVER hire anyone to do the job who tells you that they will sign a waiver or that they don’t have to have worker’s comp. If someone gets hurt on the job, you will be the one held responsible, not them.
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Do get more than one estimate...
Tree work is priced on the amount of difficulty there will be in doing your job, and the amount of time it will take. Different services have different equipment and employees, so there is almost always going to be some variation in the price. Just remember that you pay for what you get; sometimes the cheapest service will not provide you with the quality of work that you desire, or have the equipment to complete your job in a timely or professional manner. We can, and will, usually meet or beat anyone else’s price. However, the quote must be from a reputable tree service that is in good standing and is insured.
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Do make sure the company doing the work is an accredited service…
If you ever have any doubts, look them up at the Better Business Bureau of Metropolitan Atlanta. You can also ask them to provide you with a copy of their current business license, or you can go to the GA Corporations website at http://www.sos.state.ga.us/corporations/corpsearch.htm and see if their dues have been paid. A qualified service is going to have advertisement, licenses, and if incorporated, their corporate dues kept up to date.
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Do call us…
If you decide that you want us to do the job, you have to let us know; we cannot complete any work without verbal or written consent.
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Do be cautious…
Please keep all children and pets inside or away from the worksite at all times while we are performing the work.
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Do inform us…
Please tell us if you have an underground irrigation system and/or where any utility lines may run. By notifying the staff of any potential problems, you are not only saving time, but you could be saving a life. If you don’t know where the utility lines are, you can simply contact the Call Before You Dig hotline at 1-888-282-7411 and give them your name, address, and any other information they need. Within 48 hours, they should dispatch someone out to your home to mark the lines for you. If we are not notified of these utility lines or of the irrigation lines and we cause damage to them, we are not responsible for the repairs.
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Do be courteous…
If you tell us to complete the job and we go out to do it and find that someone else has already completed the job, you may be asked to pay a service fee. If you don’t need our services, please let us know. Our time is valuable, as is yours.
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Do be patient…
When you call to schedule service, please note that we will put you on the schedule. Chances are, we will be able to get to your job sooner than we have you scheduled for. If we can, we will give you a call. Of course, with the weather as unpredictable as it is, if we cannot make it due to an emergency call or heavy rainfall, we will call you to reschedule service. The reason we keep everyone on a schedule is so that we know who is in line for the next job. If you would like to have a tree removed as soon as possible, please let us know, and we will try to work you in. There will not be any additional charge for this.
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Do pay for service…
Payment is due at the completion of the job. We accept cash, check, or credit cards, and we prefer to pick up payment before we leave the job. If you are not or will not be at home when we complete the job, please contact us so that we may pick up the payment after it is complete. FAILURE TO REMIT PROMPT PAYMENT WILL RESULT IN IMMEDIATE LEGAL ACTION.
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Don’t pay for an estimate…
Estimates should be provided free of charge by most businesses, especially tree services. However, if you feel that the estimator is ever trying to talk you into doing more work than you want done, or taking down trees that you weren’t planning on removing, simply accept the estimate and then call another service to give you an estimate. Or, ask them to explain in writing why they feel the additional work should be done. Also, beware of businesses that simply tell you that they charge a minimum hourly wage for all jobs, and that they don’t provide estimates. Chances are, if you tell them to come out and do the job, they will spend the entire day working on a tree that should only take one hour to remove, and then charge you for the entire day.
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Don’t hire someone before getting an estimate…
Every week, we get at least one person who calls for an estimate, and then when we call them the following day to let them know we are on the way to give them the estimate, they tell us that they already have a crew on the way. First of all, that’s disrespectful to us, as we have made time for them, and they haven’t called to tell us that they no longer need the estimate. Second, that is the best way to overpay for service. These people are so anxious to get a tree down in a hurry that they don’t care who does it, and when they call someone to do the job site unseen, of course they are going to send a crew out immediately. These “immediate service crews” charge you up to ten times the normal amount you would pay if you simply called and had an estimate. If you ever feel that a tree needs to come down immediately, please let the operator know, so that we can be paged and send someone out immediately to look at the tree. We can also dispatch a crew within an hour (depending on the location,) to take care of it for you. If you want a tree down immediately but it is not a true emergency, then you will be required to pay a minimum charge of $500, in addition to the estimated price. Please note that we do not charge this fee if the tree is a true emergency, or if the customer asks us if we can do it as soon as possible – we can always try to work you in. (A true emergency would be if a tree gets hit by lightning and is leaning towards your house, or a tree looks as if it is about to uproot and hit your home or automobile, or something like that. A tree that you want removed immediately because you have friends coming over for the weekend and you don’t want them seeing the tree because you think its ugly is not considered a true emergency.)
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Don’t pay any money until the job is finished...
On occasion, when working on very long projects that take more than a week, a service may ask for partial payment. This is fine – just don’t pay any more than you think has been done, and NEVER pay the entire amount up front. If a service asks for money up front, walk away – in most cases, these people will take the money and leave you with an incomplete job.
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Don’t hire anyone who promises “free pine tree removal”…
When you see this advertised, please steer clear of these people. These are what we call pulpwood cutters, and they are not insured for property damage, and are rarely insured for worker’s comp. They will destroy your property, taking only what trees they want, which are tall, straight, live pine trees. When they say they will haul the trees away, they are correct – they haul away the logs that can be sold to a sawmill, but will leave all of the brush, and any dead trees behind as well. Your yard will literally look like a disaster. A lot of people think they can just rent a chipper and grind the brush themselves, but the brush is usually more than the chipper can handle, and much heavier than most people can tolerate dragging. Another alternative is that people think they will save money by letting pulpwood cutters come and take down the trees, and then just hiring a tree service to clean up the mess. We charge very little extra to haul away the debris when we take the trees down ourselves, because we clean up the mess as it hits the ground. When we have to go back behind someone else and clean up their mess, which is usually in piles around the yard, it takes more time to clean it up, meaning more money that you have to spend. The safest, fastest, and most inexpensive way to remove trees is to call an expert.
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