Seven Questions to Ask Before You Hire a Tree Service

Tree work goes wrong in expensive ways. A limb lands on a roof, a crew drops a trunk across a fence, or the person who quoted the job isn't the person who shows up. Most of that can be avoided by asking a handful of plain questions before you agree to anything. Here are seven worth asking any company, along with how Premier Arbor Services answers them.

Who shows up, and are they covered?

Question one: will the owner be on the job? This is the question that sorts companies fastest. In some outfits, the person who walks the property and gives the quote hands the work to a crew he may never see again. In an owner-operated company, the person making the call about your trees is the person running the saw. Premier Arbor Services is owner-operated, and its website says Scott Keen will be on each and every job the entire time. Scott has more than 20 years of arbor experience.

Question two: are you licensed and insured? Ask directly, and ask for proof of insurance (a certificate your agent can verify). Without it, an injury or a damaged roof can turn into your problem. The truck wrap on Premier's rig says “Licensed & Insured.” If you want the specifics, ask when you call.

What the estimate and clean-up cover

Question three: is the estimate free, and what does it cover? A free estimate on site is standard. Ask the company to spell out what's included: which trees, whether stump grinding is part of it, whether the wood stays or goes, and whether clean-up is in the price. Get it in writing if you can, so you and the crew agree on the scope. Premier offers free estimates on all of its services.

A reviewer named Deborah Brown described comparing bids: “I did get 3 estimates. 2 were the same and another was a little higher. In the end it came down to how the owner of the business spoke to me.” That's a useful reminder that price matters, but so does how you're treated.

Question four: what will you recommend, and why? Good arborists explain their reasoning. Ask what they'd do with the tree and why they think so, and listen to whether it fits what you see. Be wary of anyone who wants to remove every tree on the property or who suggests topping a tree without discussing the alternatives. Many arborists steer away from topping because the regrowth tends to be weakly attached and the large wounds invite decay, so a company that proposes it should be able to tell you why it's the right call in your case. A trustworthy crew also tells you which trees to leave. One Premier customer at Lake Anna wrote about having Scott sort every tree on the property into “taken down right away,” “could wait a few years” and “completely healthy.”

Question five: is clean-up included? Branches, rounds, sawdust and chips are all part of tree work, and somebody has to deal with them. Ask whether the crew hauls debris off or chips it on site, and whether they leave wood for firewood if you want it. This is where reviews tell you the most. The reviewers who praise Premier keep coming back to clean-up. Von Horst wrote, “Cleaned up afterwards. Owner is responsive and timely to requests.” Jeanne Potter said the crew was “punctual, professional and did a great job with clean up.”

Equipment and storm response

Question six: what equipment do you bring? The right machines make the work safer and faster, and they cut down on damage to your yard. Premier's crew works with a Morbark Beever M15R chipper, a stump grinder, a Kubota excavator, a Takeuchi track loader and dump trucks. That matters when the job runs past a single tree. A company with its own excavating and hauling equipment can do the removal, the stump work, the grading and the clean-up without subcontracting pieces of it.

Question seven: what happens when a storm hits? Trees fall at bad times, and storm season in Virginia is not a surprise. Ask whether the company takes calls at odd hours and how quickly they usually get back to people. Premier lists itself as open 24 hours a day, seven days a week. The site says if a call is missed, it will be returned within 24 hours.

One more check: what customers say

Read the reviews, and look at what they say, not just the star count. Premier has a 4.9 rating on Google from 109 reviews. The details are the part worth reading. People mention large trees taken down close to houses and fences without damage, neat clean-up, and an owner who responds to messages.

• Owner on the job, start to finish
• Licensed and insured, with proof you can see
• A free estimate that spells out what's included
• Clean-up and debris removal in the price
• Equipment suited to the size of the job
• Someone who answers when a storm brings a tree down

Premier also offers 5% off for senior citizens and has a military discount (call to learn more). To ask any of these questions of Premier directly, call (540) 718-3794 for a free estimate. They're at 32234 Wilderness Farms Rd in Locust Grove and serve the Piedmont and Northern Virginia.