M & M Tree Service

M&M did a great job removing my 30′ tree and grinding the stump out. Watching them cut each branch and set them down onto the same spot on the ground was poetry in motion. The crew was very friendly and they even saved a birds nest at the top of the tree at the request of my neighbor’s young kids! The crew also saved several pieces of the trunk to be used as chairs or tables in my neighbors backyards and carried them to their yards.
The only problem I had was a miscommunication over the date they were supposed to come out and plant a new tree. They showed up a day late without calling, but still did a good job.

M & M removed 2 large pines that were hitting the house when windy. We live on a steep hill and expressed our concerns about possible damage to irrigation, drainage and landscaping. They did what we what we thought would be impossible. No damage, in fact, barely a trace anyone tip-​toed over the landscape. And we appreciate the fair and reasonable price charged.
So of course we hired M & M again when we had to have an old sick cypress removed. We don’t know how they got the stump grinder up the slope, and again no disruption to landscape, etc. Amazing!
Bravo! We highly recommend!
Brad K.

I can not tell you enough how happy we are with the great job M&M Tree Service did
for us this week.
From the time we bought our house almost 3 yrs ago we saw that several large trees on our property needed maintenance, none had been done for years.
One of the services we contacted was M&M. Mark, the owner came out and walked around our property with us. The information he gave us is/​was invaluable. He spent quite a long time with us, answered all our questions and was very knowledgeable.
We had concerns about our very large, old Oak trees, one enormous Redwood tree
that now had grown so large at ground level, it was threatening the house and it’s foundation and was pushing up the fence between ours and the neighbors property. Strong winds also broke off a large branch that ended up on the neighbors side of the fence right next to their house.
Mark advised us we may need a permit from the county to remove the Redwood tree. However, when speaking with the county we learned that there is an exemption to the required permit if the tree is causing safety issues.
All in all one huge Redwood tree was removed, six Oak trees trimmed, one very large Walnut tree trimmed, two large, almost dead Locust trees, that leaned over the
street and looked like they could fall over any time, were removed.
Mark also noticed two large trunks of the Guava tree were dead after we had accepted
the estimate, but removed those without any additional cost.
The estimate he gave us was reasonable and his crew was able to start in a few days. Within a weeks time, from walk thru to work completion, it was done.
The crew worked very fast and expertly. All of them, 9 guys, worked like a well oiled machine but stopped whenever I had a question or saw something additional to be
trimmed. Each one seemed to know why something could or could not be done in regards to trimming. (I tend to want to cut too much).
Both my husband and I learned a lot from Mark and his crew re. tree maintenance.
They left it cleaned and neat. Actually neater looking than before. Truly deserve five
stars.
I want to share this positive experience with anyone that is contemplating
tree maintenance/​removal.
Due to having so many trees, all in need of trimming, not knowing who to hire and what reasonable costs are, I was worried.
We had a walk thru with an owner of another tree trimming company that we never heard back from. Very strange, perhaps he didn’t need the business?
Finally, we will hire M&M Tree Service when we need tree maintenance again.

What a proficient company!!! Mark and his expert team of professionals just worked for us again! He has been treating our trees for years, and recently had to remove a giant oak because of SOD. His crew of workers were professional, efficient, and extremely sensitive to my neighbors’ yards, cars, etc. as to any debris or sawdust that went onto their properties. Over the years, almost all of my neighbors have used this service as well, with equal satisfaction! What has always impressed me the most over the years is his willingness to save trees, and he has talked me out of more work than I’ve actually done. Big difference from other tree companies! Always get a second opinion, and make sure M & M is one of them! You won’t be sorry!

After seeing ads for M&M in the local paper, reading reviews on Unilocal and checking in with neighbors, we decided M&M was the way to go. Mark came out, checked out the trees, wrote up an estimate and I received it later that day. It was within my budget and I sent off the signed contract and deposit. Everything went smoothly. The crew was terrific, friendly and great professional work ethic. They cleaned up after all was finished and we couldn’t be happier with the results. I love Unilocal. It gives me a choice of who to use without wondering whether things will work out. And thanks Mark!

I met the M & M rep in the backyard of my house and explained to him that there was a huge old vine behind my garage, and it needed removal because it was spreading onto the roof of the garage. I showed him that we could go behind the garage and walk between it and the back fence to see the vine, but couldn’t walk all the way to it because the previous owner, instead of running the fence to the property line (about 24 ft), had run it about 10′ and then put up a panel there to keep in his dog. I explained I had broken this panel open so he could see through it.
We walked behind the garages and he looked through the panel and saw the vine, and immediately stated ‘the vine is not on your property.’ Ok so he didn’t listen to the whole story about how the vine was really on the property. I mean, the two buildings equal about 25 ft, but when you walk behind them you run into the panel in about 10′, basically the whole second garage that’s being smothered by the vine is on the other side; the roots grow out of an area within 2 ft of the base of that garage.
So I pointed this out. (The previous owner told me his mother planted the vine and his father was loathe to take it down after she died.)
Then he said he wouldn’t do the job anyway because ‘the vine will just grow back.’ I told him that was my problem and that I was knowledgeable about how to get rid of the aftermath of vines. In response to that he said, «You don’t want to hear what I’m saying.» Well, true there. You’re a poor listener and not making sense, so its a struggle that’s for sure.
I felt this guy’s only real goal was to make sure I heard loud and clear his opinion that I was not competent to take care of my own property.

First let me say that M&M tree service trimmed my Oak tree about 7 – 8 years ago and did a great job for $ 1100. the tree was very full and needed it badly, with that said it would seem apparent things have changed with Mark Minges. I called him out recently for the same tree and at this point it only had about half as much work to do because 1 side for whatever reason had not produced a whole lot of foilage since the last pruning. The tree also had some oozing of some black substance and some blackening in a couple of spots. Right away Mark said it has SOD (sudden oak death) which after some research I found out is not curable. Mark had quoted me a price of $ 1200.which I thought was a lot since there was only about half the work as before but he disagreed. I then told him I had a bid for $ 600. and he adamantly said «NO WAY!» He also wanted $ 200. to spray it and when I asked how frequent it should be sprayed he said twice a year with his head down, mmmm ! I told him to send me the estimate and that it wasn’t only about the money. He said he would send it asap. I got curious after this conversation and so did my wife. She then took «his ad» which has him advertising «arborist» but no certifacate No. and that he is a member of the Calif. arborist’s assn. My wife checked, HE IS NOT. After contacting the arborist’s assn I found out they have no clue who he is and the logo he is using is their old logo. Next to this logo is some symbol he made up that says honesty, quality work, and affordable ! ha ha he he ha ha he! Just to think of this makes me laugh, please excuse me. After going on line we got wind of a mtg .at UC Berkeley that very night (9−18−14) with a discussion about SOD so we went with pics and a sample of bark from our tree. What they said was very interesting. This is coming from DR. Garbaletto who is well known in this field.
1) you cannot diagnose SOD just by looking at it. It has to be sent to a lab.
2) when I told him I was told it needed to be sprayed twice a year he laughed and said that’s ridiculous ! once a year after Oct. in the fall is plenty.
3)There has to be a Bay Laurel near by (within a few yards) that is infected with SOD and that is how the Oaks get it. There are no Bay Laurels close by to our tree.
4) I tried calling Menges the next day but we ended up playing phone tag and my wife and me left for our anniv. and I let it go at that. I never did get his estimate.
I actually did have the tree trimmed for $ 600. today (9−30−14) by Mack Tree co.
Mack Tree Co. came out on time, did an awesome job on my oak. They were curtious and professional all the way and left no mess. By the way I also checked before the work on Macks certificate to see if he is certified or not and yes he is. His number is right on his estimate. Thank you Mack Tree Co for a great job, Dennis Navarra

My neighbor and I used M and M to remove 26 diseased 60 – 80 foot Monterey Pines on a difficult hillside. They did a superb job, within budget, and cleaned up as spotlessly as is possible. All of the guys were friendly, considerate, and worked their as***s off. They worked within the confines of the property, removing all the debris without damaging any of our property. They also were the least expensive. Mark, the owner of the company and an arborist (the below negative comment is incorrect) was very knowledgeable and straightforward in his assessment of our needs and what it would cost. Their estimate was $ 2 – 5000 less then the other estimates we received.

After receiving several quotes I decided to go with M & M trees, they had the best reviews and there credentials were accurate. The front office and Mark were very helpful and did not mind all the followup phones calls with me. They removed 5 large and 1 small Monterey Pine trees that were dying and taking over my backyard for years. The crew arrived on time with 6 men willing and ready to work.
If you never watched large trees being cut you are in for a really treat. The way they attack a job is precision. I thought the whole process was amazing and enlightening. The tree climber/​cutter was amazing and did a great job, he literally walked from one tree to the next. Those guys did the work of 10 men. The process took a full day with a 2 hour clean up the next day which I did not even mind, they told me and arrived earlier then the time they told me.
If I ever need trees cut down again I will call M & M trees again.

This company totally ignored our city ordinance regarding cutting trees down willy-​nilly. when i informed them they needed a permit they simply smirked at me. They were rude and inconsiderate. They cut down 2 beautiful maple trees in my neighbor’s backyard which only needed to be pruned, not cut down. The landlord, Dr. James Lee with Riverbend Medical Associates didn’t even let us know this was happening.

They were contracted to remove a 120′ Monterey pine from our back yard in downtown Novato. The tree was in the far corner of the property, ruling out the use of a crane. In addition to having to cut one branch at a time, the had to do it with three sheds and and an inlay unit directly underneath this seven foot diameter tree.
Their performance was the love child of Cirque du Soleil and Axe Men. Upon completing the job on budget, on time and with no damage, they cleaned all the affected yards of saw dust and pine needles, ground down the stump and left.
From initial contact to completion, these guys were awesome.

M&M did a thoroughly professional job removing a very large tree for us. But what’s more, they returned months later to grind some additional stump that was exposed by our re-​landscaping plan. They have the equipment, the know-​how, and the customer service orientation that makes for happy customers. Highly recommended!

They did what they said they would do, on time and on budget. What else can you ask for? We are calling them in again for a second job on our property and this time we won’t even bother to get competing bids. We trust them enough now that it won’t be necessary.

I had to have a beautiful 70′ tree removed in my backyard, unfortunately. I called for a few bids, but was very impressed with the professionalism, promptness and price of M&M Tree Service. Mark, the owner, provided the bid and he was able to schedule the removal within a few days of bidding. I was so impressed with his crew that showed up! They were also extremely professional, on time, and considerate of my attachment to the tree. I wanted to keep the wood to give to neighbors and friends, and they cut it to my specifications — amazing. Considering the mess that comes from cutting down a large tree, they were careful of where they put the pieces. It took 1 day to cut it down and 1 day to grind the core (it was huge). After they completed their work, they cleaned up my yard and honestly, it looked better after they left, than it did before they came! Do yourself a favor and at least get a bid from this company — I think you’ll be as impressed with them as I am! Thanks to Mark and his team, for such a great job!

I have seen M and M tree more and more around the Bay Area in recent years and there is a reason for that. They plain and simple get the job done and done well.
I have had both friends as well as myself contract for their services. In these cases M and M has done some serious removal work of some very precarious trees near our residences and have done it with flawless climbing and roping efforts with all consideration given to protection of structures, utilities and landscape adjacent.
Their crews are kind and professional and they are prompt and detail oriented.
Mark Menges is a genial man that knows his stuff. He is very qualified in coming out and scoping out a job and giving you facts that are succinct and qualified. Some reviews here mention that this company is unqualified since they are not licensed arborists, however, I can attest that having an arborist license doesn’t mean a person is intelligent. It just means they can pass a test and pay a fee to get a title. Even idiots can have licenses as we see everyday everywhere.
Additionally…
If you are looking for perfection in every bit of sawdust swept up and a sterile footprint afterward, you will NEVER find it in any tree removal service. ITS DIRTY WORK PEOPLE! HOWEVER… M and M are the ones to call for being the RIGHT crew to get the dirty work done quickly, neatly and as specified… and they are very reasonably priced!
In summary, like the crew’s tee shirts state, «the BIGGER the BETTER». I agree in their case with the caveat that their shirt should say «We always do our jobs better while having a BIG WOODY»
Kudos Fellas.

My neighbor hired M&M to remove trees. The guys were inconsiderate about dropping leaves, crap and dust all over my yard and trampling over my shrubs. They parked their large truck and chipper in front of my garden and ruined some of my beautiful plants. When I spoke to the owner about the damage and asked about keeping the truck away from my property he was defensive and argumentative. I hope your neighbors don’t use M&M!

I chose Skyline for price and protecting my other plants, plus thinking all of the pines might not need to be taken out today. I agree.

M&M is a tree REMOVAL company, they are not ARBORISTS, and that’s ok, except they give bad and unsolicited tree related advices toward hiring them, even if that mean your trees will be damaged forever.
I got in contact with M&M when a huge tree fell in my neighbor’s yard and was impressed by their hardware and removal know how. Clearly they can remove a huge tree, fast, and apparently cheap. I decided to trust them based on that, they came to inspect my trees and gave me an unsolicited recommendation on one of my big redwood that would have been a total and permanent disaster.
Only hire these guys if you know exactly what should be done. Do not take their recommendations at face value, they have an incentive to recommend expensive work. Work with a licensed arborist that will have an incentive to keep your tree healthy.

I also had a great experience with this company. They were able to accommidate my schedule and came out within the same week. They showed up on time, ready to work. I had a HUGE sequoia tree in my back yard up against my neighbors fence. Not only did they take down this massive tree without disturbing a board in the fence, the guys climbed the fence and swept up my neighbor’s yard! They were tidy, polite and did an AMAZING job! They even raked up the shavings from the stump and spread them out in my garden for me! I would HIGHLY recommend them to anyone and everyone I know.

Unlike the other reviewer, I have had an excellent experience. They were quick to respond, totally fair with their quote, willing to jump on the job right away, and they took on an absolutely enormous monterey pine tree that many companies were hesitant even to deal with. Their crew was courteous, cleaned up very efficiently, and Mark was terrific, explaining things all the way through the process.
I would use them again for sure.