Peterson’s Tree Works

We’ve had our large Chinese elm trimmed by Peterson’s Tree Works for years, so it was natural to call them when we needed not only the tree trimmed, but our backyard cleared, too. We did get another estimate, but were uncomfortable with the estimator. Our Peterson’s estimator has always been Mike Moore, who gave what we thought was a reasonable estimate (the crew did refer to the backyard as a «jungle»), so we set an appointment (the first was cheerfully changed to meet our needs), Told the crew would arrive between 7 and 8am, we saw the 4 men drive up at 7:30, ready to work. Mike arrived shortly after that, and talked with the crew leader about what was to be done. At 3:30 that afternoon, we had a tree ready to withstand the Santa Ana winds, and a backyard cleared to the dirt, bush stumps ground. I had little contact with the workers, who were focused on their tasks, but they were pleasant when addressed, and the crew leader was the same one who had led the crew the last time our tree was trimmed. Everyone, from the young women who answer the phone and set appointments, to the men who came out to the house, were professional and easy to work with.
One note: The emailed written estimate I received was very brief, but having talked with Mike, I had no worries that everything we’d discussed would be done. I’ve no doubt you can get a fuller description of the work to be done if you ask.

Peterson’s has handled my tree trimming for 5 years but no more. They charged over 1000 dollars to trim 4 birch trees and I pepper tree, take out one stump and plant small tree. In the process they cut my landscape lighting and offered to fix for 75 dollars an hour plus parts. Poor business practice.

Good work. Nice, accommodating workers. I knew the cypress removals, and cypress toppings, and Italian stone pine lacing would be done well. Confidence in their arborist. Never sure about contractors clean-​up, and so happy it wasn’t a concern with them. Happy with the work. Just not totally pleased that they didn’t show up when scheduled, and didn’t call, and when they did arrive they could only work for 40 minutes as it was the end of their work day, so a second date had to be scheduled. This next date, I was the first scheduled customer of the day and all went well. I would use again, but would hope for better communication if they were going to be delayed.

I was told that Peterson does great work, so I gave them a call a year ago when we first moved into our house. They quoted me a very reasonable price to trim the tree in our backyard, but due to the fact that we had some other work to do, we held off on trimming it. A year later I called them back, and they said they’d need to send someone out to give another quote. This time, they quoted me almost twice as much, and when I asked why, they gave me a lot of excuses.
I wouldn’t have minded this conversation face-​to-​face, but unfortunately the person they sent out, Jeff, the owner of the company, pulled up out front of the house, had his OFFICE call me to tell me he was out front and to ask permission to go in the backyard. This would have been a smooth way to avoid me if it weren’t for the fact that I have security camera footage of him pulling up and leaving within 30 seconds of arriving. He didn’t even get out of his truck.
They said they’d get in touch with him, and when they returned my call, he spoke to me over the phone to give me the quote. Apparently in the last year a tree went from $ 650 to trim to $ 1100 to trim. Typical over-​priced BS with the excuse that «everyone who is cheaper is un-​insured and un-​licensed» or doesn’t know what they’re doing.
Save your time and call a real tree service that will stick by their quotes and not try to inflate the prices without even stopping to actually estimate the job.
*** In response to the owner’s comments, I would have appreciated if you would’ve actually talked to me instead of pulling up out front and driving off. Being unwilling to get out of the car and come to the front door and talk to the person who called and setup an appointment is very rude. I spent my time waiting for you for your two-​hour window, but you spent only 30 seconds (I have the security camera footage to verify this) in your car out front of my house before driving off.
Furthermore, acting like you’re the only one with licensed arborists and insurance is both arrogant and uninformed. Since I can guarantee that you haven’t gone to every competitor in the entire Southern California area and verified their training, insurance, and otherwise, your statements are far from accurate.

peterson’s tree works was amazing from beginning to end…
i had a very different situation for removal… huge trees that had to either go down a steep slope or a very long walk to get them out of my back yard… parker came out and gave me the estimate after having to jump the fence and determine the best way to remove the trees… i procrastinated for a few weeks until there was a fear of rain and wind and i knew the huge dead tree just had to go… quick called back peterson’s and told them of my fear of the tree possibly falling… the best phone customer service ever… they were out in two days… big crew… all in my yard and sammy, the supervisor, at my front door… arrived on time and got right down to business… all were professional and friendly… they made a very difficult dangerous job look almost easy… not only was it done in no time but they cleaned my yard and the slope over the fence and left leaving things spotless… i
highly recommend peterson’s…

We got up early around 6:30am and waited. They never showed up, did not call until about 5 hours after scheduled time to let us know they would be running late. A little frustrating.
They ended up showing up late and took $ 150 off of our bill! Very apologetic, and they did a good job. Our trees look good and they were very helpful.
They definitely turned our frowns upside down. Thanks Peterson’s

These guys were great. Very accomodating. Very personable. Very professional. I had multiple trees trimmed, including a giant sycamore, and multiple removed. The estimate was clear and detailed.
An entire army of people showed up for the work and they got things done in a few hours. They introduced me to the foreman in case I needed to tell them anything, but then 2 more supervisors showed up, and when the job was nearly complete, the owner of the company also came by to check on things.
One little touch that I really appreciated is one of the supervisors even got my pool leaf rake and pulled out as much of the debris that made its way in to the pool. They were consciously trying to avoid getting anything in the pool but some was unavoidable.
I chose this company because it is run by an arborist, I think its only the owner, and maybe one other person that is actually a «certified» arborist, but plants have hormones too, and they control the growth of the plant and the hormones are produced in different parts. Cutting off the wrong part could cause the tree to grow too fast or incorrectly, or actually sicken the tree.
I am interested to see how my trees grows over the next year or two, but I am pretty confident they did it right. I will update my review if they didnt.
I will be calling these guys again when I need my next tree trim.

I have used Peterson tree works for over 15 years and they are reliable, knowledgeable and do quality work… they identified 10 different species and know what they are doing. I did everything over the phone and will use them again

Will use again and again. Peterson’s staff is highly knowledgeable and well equipped to do a quality job. Tree trimming is actually a much more challenging job than one might think, their certified arborists trimmed my trees in a way that have left them growing healthy, full and beautiful for years afterwards. Its like getting a haircut from a proper salon versus Fantastic Sam’s. Staff and crew were friendly polite and left my yard looking better than before they arrived. Thanks Petersons!

We have been using Peterson’s for over 15 years and they have always done an incredible job. The trees never looked hacked up. They take the time to ask us what we want, offer advice, and then carefully trim or lace out the trees. We just had them out this week to cut all our trees and to remove a giant redwood that was causing damage. They did all the work in one long day and cleaned up every bit of the mess. Great company!

I’ve used Peterson’s twice and been really happy with their work. My trees look really healthy and natural.

Have used Peterson’s Tree Service twice in the past 6 months on clients’ homes. They are always responsive and truly understand what needs to be done as professional arborists.

Peterson’s Tree Works has pruned my trees for the past two years and have done an excellent job. They are efficient, neat, and professional. I consider the cost of their service reasonable for the work done.

We recently had our trees trimmed by Peterson’s Tree Works and were very pleased with the work! We have a very large Carrot Wood tree that needs very careful precise handling and Peterson’s workers really came through! When they finished, their cleanup was very thorough and complete! A really fair price for an excellent job well done! We highly recommend them! You won’t be disappointed!

This is an update to my previous review… Karen Peterson called me that night to apologize, update me on what happened, and told me she could have a crew at my house first thing in the morning. I appreciated the call and agreed to let them finish job. She sent what looked like two crews and they showed up exactly the time she said they would. It took only an hour to take out three mature trees. They also ground up a stump from a small tree I took down myself at no additional charge. They did a great job.

They TOTALLY ripped me off. Gave me a quote and i agreed to do only part of the work at this time. They trimmed back about 10′ of ivy next to my pool and charged me $ 400. They sent two guys over and spent 1 ½ hours, didn’t finish the work and left branches and leaves in my pool. I called to ask when they were going to come back to finish the work and clean the pool and they assured me someone would come back to finish the job and clean the pool. No one came back! Now my pool is full of algae. I spoke with Mike and he claims $ 400 is a reasonable price for cutting 10′ of ivy, about 6″ back from the edge of the water. I wanted to get the ivy cut back so that my pool guy could get down that side of the pool. My pool guy called me today do say the work they did was useless, he can’t get to the pool because they didn’t cut enough ivy back and now he has to drain and wash the pool to fix the algae.
I’ll consider this a preliminary review… if they do good on their word by cleaning up after themselves, like it states in their proposal, and finish the work I’ll come back and update this review.
At this time I cannot recommend them at all… they are thieves and liars!

REVISED REVIEW — 12/​04/​2014
After my negative review was posted, I was contacted by Karen Peterson, who apologized for the problem and said there was miscommunication with the office staff person (who is no longer employed by them). Peterson’s has now reimbursed me for the cost of the repair, as well as an additional amount for my «stress and worry.» This is an excellent business response to an unfortunate situation, and I now highly recommend Peterson’s as a competent and professional group.
DO NOT USE THIS SERVICE if you are concerned about broken pipes as a result of tree removal! After experiencing this situation and contacting them, the office person told me that Jeff (the owner) said they «…do not take responsibility for this ‘unforeseen circumstance’.» I was ready to give them a 5 star review, based on their professional approach to the estimate and the job — which cost $ 1200. They did a great job removing our trees and cleaning up afterwards, but leaving us with a broken pipe with total unwillingness to help with the expenses for the repair is not only unprofessional but unethical. I could not be more disappointed. Next time I will stick with the Angie’s list recommended vendors.

Fair price. Good work. Great service. I will for sure use them again.
They did a very good job.

We have had Peterson’s Tree Works out twice to help at our residence. The first time was to remove a 60′ pine tree that fell in our backyard. Since they did such a great job, we decided to entrust them to trim our many trees on the huge slope in our backyard. We also had them remove and replace an underperforming decorative tree. Jeff is also an arborist and was able to honestly tell us which trees needed care and which one’s were doing fine.

They are the most professional people and such great service. They are very careful with the trees, how & where to cut & trim. Will always use just them.