Woody’s Tree Service & Landscape

I called Woody’s very recently when we decided to sell our home and in need of some basic landscaping to give it some curb appeal. Mike came out and gave really great ideas on how to make our backyard look like a retreat. He also assured me he would stay within our budget. I couldn’t. believe the difference it made — every person that looked at our house commented on the landscaping. so it was worth every penny. The work was great, the workers were extremely nice and always on time. I would hire this company again and refer to anyone needing landscaping — for small or bigger projects.

I felt disappointed on the service I was provided with by Woodys… I found good reviews and expected the same… this company was my first to try in regards to landscape of my front yard I’m fairly new at this so I contracted them to do the service… the original design I wanted I spoke to Mike and he didn’t recommend it because of the space which I understood… I ended up making my final decision… the problem started with a sprinkler system on the front yard it got in the way of the construction… Mike said he would take care of it… then he had to hire a plumber to take care of it which raised up my cost… if I would have known this I wouldn’t have started the project already since I was on a budget overall the work took some weeks to finish because we couldn’t agree on a design and time… the plumber came and left my front yard dirty he apologized and made his crew clean… not only that his workers removed come grass from the yard and he replaced… I had payed part of the initial amount n I was going to pay for the rest, once the work was done I felt pressured to pay right away and didn’t feel happy with the overall work… everything went sour I payed the amount which went over my budget… We where suppose to do a lighting system which his prices were high he ended getting a solar system which he told me was $ 70 n easy to install… the system wasn’t great n I told him I don’t want it, he said «I won’t charge you for that?!» I’m like so you were going to charge me for the lights n you guys installing it since it was just getting the light out of the box n putting it on the grass! and that is labor work? He said «we make sure our customers are happy» well once we started the contract their is a charge of $ 450 for anything you want to change? $ 300 for his design which was actually my idea! He only changed minor details which was a cost of $ 300 plus for the plumbing issue he said he could take care of! overall I’m very unhappy with the work he said he gave me a great deal but I didn’t feel like that I felt I was being charged for mistakes he had done and his workers too! I felt he wanted the money right away n that’s it… no feedback no nothing I will never hire them to work for me again… I assume his work is different with other customers and some are happy I was unlucky to be the unhappy customer…

we hired mike to do a decent size job at our new house (new construction). both of our schedules were pretty hectic, but when i got back from several weeks out of the country, he met me the next day to finalize the scope of the work and get started (that same day!)
the work was complete in seven days and was of very high quality. his crew knew what they were doing and had pride in their work which showed. mike made recommendations on different items i was unsure on which proved helpful (some of which i took and some i didn’t).
as is mentioned below, it’s just mike and a small crew. while you won’t get a receptionist to answer the phone nor someone to respond to emails 20 minutes after you send them, you get personal, quality service and an amazing end product :)

This is the first time I’ve ever used a professional landscaping service and I honestly can say I really lucked out finding Woody’s. Unlike several places I tried calling for a bid Mike was one of the first to call back, come assess the project and give me an honest quote. When he came out to scope out my yard he really knew his stuff as far what trees and shrubs should go and which ones needed trimming. He even tested out the irrigation system. On top of this he was very friendly, professional and honest. He wasn’t the cheapest bid but I got the best vibe from him and his knowledge of landscaping.
Within days he and his crew were at my place and they got right to work. Overall they did a fantastic job making my yard go from looking like Jurassic Park to a normal backyard. All of his workers were efficient, detail oriented and diligent… especially in 100 degree weather. When they were finished I seriously did not have one minor complaint about anything. They even cleaned up the place nicely when leaving. Overall for the quality and promptness of their work the price I got was more than reasonable. If you’re looking for any type of professional yard and tree work you seriously cannot go wrong with Woody’s. A+ all the way.

Mediocre overall. The work is decent, but responsiveness is flaky (some messages are totally ignored), and I had to ask them to come back to finish stuff they missed.

As a new homeowner, I’m learning what I have to do and what I cannot put off until I «feel like» doing it. Weeding my xeriscaped yard is one of those things I stupidly put off. Luckily Mike and his team were able to come in, clean up the weeds, trim some dangling tree limbs and add new mulch/​gravel just in time for a big party.
Mike is honest, hard working and his team does great work. It’s nice to work with professionals who understand the need for upfront communication and work hard to get the job done right.

I had nine shrubs removed. Mike was great– very communicative and flexible with scheduling. His crew got the job done quickly. Bid was a little higher than others but Mike was able to do it sooner.

Mike is legit!
If you like dealing with real people who clearly care about their customer, Mike is your guy. He went the extra mile and did a fantastic job.
Mike called me back within a few minutes (although as he gets busier due to his good work I imagine it will eventually take longer, so be patient) and was able to help out quickly. He delivered and helped well beyond expected works hours (and even cut into Cowboys game watching!).
Thanks Mike and crew. Anytime I need tree, landscape assistance I’m calling you.

Well, Once again Mike shows up to look at yard, says he’ll get an estimate, then drops all contacts. You can email or call him & if he decides he doesn’t want to do your lawn, he’ll just ignore you. He may do great work when he finally commits, but beware for the possible blow off.
I came on Unilocal and created an account specifically for post.
Hey Mike, here’s some advice — Just say you’re too busy to do the projects you don’t want to do, instead of pretending to be eager to get started, & then ignore everyone.
Update:
Response to the Reply by Mike on 9÷17÷2014:
That’s a lame attempt to make your lack of customer service seem like it’s my fault by using «.maybe it in your junk mail.». That’s ridiculous. This review is just 1 of many, stating that you have blown people off after going to their homes to look at their yards and then ignoring emails & phone calls. I will let everyone else be the judge. Just read the 1 star reviews. I have no doubt that if you do decide to do the work, it’s a great job.

These guys are are efficient, fast, honest and hard working. Highly recommend. They did a fantastic job removing 2 stumps and clipping back all my trees. I will definitely be using them again.

I’m so glad I found Woody’s on Unilocal.Before I hired them, our courtyard was basically a pile of dirt with overgrown weeds and bushes. The courtyard was not attractive, not a liveable space, and was in our entryway which was an eyesore.
When I contacted Mike, he responded right away and set up an appointment. He called me when he was on the way to our house and met us within 15 minutes of our scheduled appointment. He took his time to listen to what we were interested in doing with our courtyard and then gave us some great ideas. You could tell he had a passion for his company and really cares about what he does. We decided to hire him right away. We let him take creative freedom because he obviously knew what he was doing, knew what would look good and also knew how to accommodate our needs.
Within one week, he totally revamped our courtyard into a beautiful living space. They excavated the plants, bushes and small trees, built a beautiful stone garden and paved the rest of the courtyard with paver stones and gravel. He set up a timed irrigation system in the garden and even tied it into the planters they put in, so we don’t ever have to water our plants manually (this was important because we don’t know how to keep plants alive).
Throughout the work, he and his employees were professional and courteous. We are very happy with the results and we now have an awesome we can hang out in!

I didn’t actually use this company’s service, but the owner did refer me to his friend’s company, which I ended up using last year!
Woody’s said they mainly do work in South/​Central Austin so he passed the work along and I am thankful for a great recommendation!
The guy I ended up using:

We were really excited to find Mike on Unilocal.Great reviews and seemed like an awesome guy to work with. Sadly, we had the experience several others did here on Unilocal with the one star rating. Met with Mike on December 28^th. as of today we’ve had only one interaction with Mike by email… where he basically emailed us the same thing we had already discussed on the 28^th. We are trying to get our yard ready for our son’s 1^st birthday so it’s a huge disappointment to be starting over in our search.

Mike and his crew are awesome. Really nice guys who show up on time and get the work they promise done.
Mike’s done two jobs for us, and both times, he has gone above and beyond to make sure that the job was done exactly the way we wanted. It’s rare these days to find someone who cares about their customers and cares about the quality of their work.
Highly recommended!

Mike and his crew cleaned up a dangerous old tree for me that was lurking over the street. We determined that it was on its way out, and they came and cleaned it right up, and made sure to spray the cuts to seal them. They also took out a giant bush in front of my entrance, and now the entire property looks much cleaner and inviting.
Mike is the best to work with! He’s knowledgeable, conscientious, and knows his trees. He texts throughout the day so he’s reachable if something comes up. His services include hauling the wood away so you don’t have to worry about it. He also calls ahead if he’s going to be late, so that you can plan your day accordingly. With a background in art, he’s got an eye for design, too.
Woody’s takes checks and cash, and they’re based out of South Austin. I haven’t used Woody’s services for landscaping but am seriously considering doing something with the giant patch of dirt in front of the entrance now. Maybe a half circle of paving or flowers? He quoted both and helped me understand what I could do within the budget I came up. We’ll see!
I would definitely be a repeat customer.

Mike is the nicest guy ever. Although he was slightly more expensive than the other top rated tree removal company, he showed up for my appointment (got stood up by the other guy). In addition, he was super friendly and seems passionate about landscaping. Our builder liked him so much he hired him for additional work on our lot!
I would recommend him to anyone. Every contractor is Austin right now is very busy. Give him a break and call him back if you don’t hear back the first time. Not only did he take down all our trees quickly & haul everything off, but he mowed my lawn and cut down a few stumps he saw. We can’t wait to have him back to bid our sod.

Met with Woody and was very impressed and excited about his fabulous ideas for my backyard, And then it slowly dissolved…
I called him, emailed him and waited, and waited. He finally emailed back yet no still nothing. Never received an estimate or follow-​up, he just dropped off.
So disappointing.

How bad was our yard? It was so bad that when Mike’s guys stripped it down to bare dirt, we started getting compliments.
Based on our yard, you’d think we aren’t picky. But it turns out we are. We wanted to move sprinklers, recontour the yard for run-​off, aerate and amend the soil, etc. Mike and his guys dealt with all of it and without telling us off.
Let’s talk about service. These guys work it. I forget how many yards of soil we brought in. 10? Then there were the amendments. And sod. Get this — we didn’t have quite enough sod to finish the back yard, so Mike’s guys took all of the trimmed pieces and pieced them together. And they rooted!
Additional perks: Mike gave us some tamales that one of his guys makes. They could start a side business. Oh — and we got a rose. But we’re cool. So we can’t say if everyone will get these perks.
Anyway, our yard is done and it looks amazing. We are no longer the creepy house on the street. We haven’t gotten any compliments recently but that’s because our neighbors are speechless.

Our front and back yards were all barren earth and weeds when we hired Mike last spring. While shopping around for a landscaping contractor, we got a professional-​looking quote with drawings and pictures from a large company. Mike, our other contender, quoted a much lower price with an informal e-​mail and a hand drawing on a piece of paper torn out of a notebook, but what ultimately «sold» us was that he had a much more interesting idea about jazzing-​up our front yard than the other bidder.
Fast forward a few weeks, Mike and his crew did a lot of heavy-​lifting (moving earth, cleaning up old trees, tilling, fixing the fence, putting in new sod, building a retaining wall, etc.). In the middle of it all, we realized that we needed a sprinkler system, and Mike referred us to another small company he works with. Those guys were great — fast, diligent, and also gave us a good price. All in all, we wound up with great results for a very reasonable price, plus Mike and his crew were wonderful to work with.
Only once we got to a point when a few finishing touches were left, Mike got busy with his other clients (hey, I am not the only one gushing about him on Unilocal), so we didn’t see him for weeks on end, then he would suddenly reappear for a couple of hours… We were so close to being done and yet we weren’t! The very final piece of work sat there unfinished into the dead of summer, so I finally called someone else to come in and wrap it up. It was all done in a few hours after the guy showed up. This is the only reason for my 4-​star (and not a 5-​star) rating. I am an impatient person, so waiting for this last finishing touch was hard for me.
Overall, if you are looking for a sleek, professional company that will give you computer-​generated drawings, communicate with you regularly by e-​mail, and follow a strict timeline, Mike is probably not your guy. If you are comfortable with more informal arrangements and can put up with the ebbs and flows that every small business experiences — you will definitely get your money’s worth and then some.

I have a large landscape project to get done this year, and after reading reviews here on Unilocal,I requested information from various well rated services. I heard back from Mike about three days after my first email, in which my telephone number was very clearly listed. in his response, he asked when I was available, and I responded. Then, after two weeks of not hearing back, I wrote him back, wondering what happened. Here is his response:
«Sorry about taking a while. Its not that I have so many jobs but so many emails clutter my inbox this got lost in the mix.
Its just me and a small crew and wish we would be a bit more organized.
Sorry about that!
mike»
So, if you’re getting ready to drop 10K or more on a big project, is this really the guy you want in charge? Not me. I am looking for a professional company that communicates with me, from start to finish. Really. is that too much too ask? From my search, it seems that there are a lot of guys out there, working whenever they feel like working, and since there’s so much business available, they can give whatever customer service they’re in the mood for at the minute.
The search continues.