H.O.W. Foundation

I really wanted to use this foundation since I believe in their cause. Too bad they are not able to honor any appointment time. Made an appointed twice and when I called to verify they were going to show once told «your not on the board» and just now told «we weren’t able to contact you». I asked what number he used and he stated I threw the paper away. Customer service fail!

Had them trim two huge trees at my home. They have a very skilled arborist who gave detailed instructions to the crew. Gave me a great price and did a wonderful job! Would definitely have them come again when I need tree work.

I signed a contract with H.O.W. tree trimming. For $ 1,200 to trim a tree at my home. To be paid $ 100. Per month. I paid the first payment at the time we made the contract. One month later they came and cut one branch of the tree and promise to come back in 2 weeks to finish the job and take all the trash. They never showed up so I call them. They promised to come back on the 16 of this month. Have not heard from them. I call and left massages no respond. They have not call or come by to pick up the trash they left in my back yard or finish the job. I paid $ 100 when I sign the contract and $ 100 when they came to start the job.

The H.O.W. Foundation ended up coming through when a large company in town left us hanging and I cannot recommend them enough.
When my husband and I moved into our current house, the previous owners had left a dead ash tree in the front yard. They had also added two Mexican palms right at the edge of the front yard and two sago palms in a small garden bed near the front of the house several years before we purchased the property. The palms didn’t fit with the Holly bush and crape myrtles and took a HUGE amount of upkeep, risked damaging our house/​sidewalk and caused line of site issues.
When we decided to get them removed, we first got an estimate from Bartlett Tree services in town — they had good recommendations and we were told that while they were pricey, they would be able to haul away the dead tree, palms, and trim our crape myrtle. They came, gave me a quote (which was over $ 1k), and my husband and I decided to accept the quote and emailed them as requested so that we could complete the contract for services.
Over a month and several unanswered e-​mails later, we gave up on this big company and dug out the flyer we had received from the H.O.W. Foundation advertising tree services. They are based in Austin for their phone number but also service San Antonio and within a day of calling one of their full time specialists was at my house giving us a quote. He was timely, professional, and very open about exactly what the H.O.W. Foundation did and how they worked. He explained that he was a full time staff member and if we hired them, the crew that came to remove the trees would have a full time supervisor and a couple of men who were training as part of their rehabilitation/​training program for individuals in recovery from substance additions. He was also very clear on the price (which was less than $ 500, with $ 150 of that being considered a tax deductible donation), the $ 100 deposit they would need at the end of the estimate if we wished to book their services (cash/​check) and the fact that they would have to come out in two groups — one to do the actually trimming/​removal and a second visit with the stump grinder to finish reducing the palm stumps to ground level.
After paying a deposit they called the next day and we scheduled the service, which took place exactly on time for the day we scheduled a week later. The men were professional, fast and very clean and left everything for the grinding crew in a neat pile so our HOA wouldn’t have reason to get upset. Final payment was due once they finished and the supervisor made sure I was happy before we did the final paperwork.
The only «hitch» (and it was hardly that) happened on the day they were supposed to come by with the grinder. The guys were overdue by an hour and when I called the company it turned out that someone had run into the truck they used to tow the grinder and they were still working to get a new truck/​notify customers about the delay. They were very apologetic and polite despite the fact I could tell the person I spoke with was stressed out dealing with the accident and he quickly rescheduled me for a couple days later. Sure enough, they showed up on time and ground down the stumps on the day we rescheduled to, with the guys cleaning up the sidewalk and making sure I was happy with the results before they left.
I later received the tax form I needed for the «donation» portion of our bill in the mail. I recommended them to my friend, who ended up hiring them to get an incredibly large and old Pecan Tree in her front yard trimmed to protect her roof from falling branch. She said that she was shocked at how cheap they were compared to other companies she used, especially with how professional the crew that did the trimming was.
For the insanely good cost and customer service, as well as the fact that they are providing a very important service to people trying to maintain sobriety and get back on their feet, I cannot recommend H.O.W. Foundation enough. Especially when the «big» company left me hanging.

AWFUL!
I called these guys to come cut my trees. After we had a big windstorm, it became apparent that I needed my trees trimmed, or they would fall on my roof and power-​lines.
I made an appointment, and two guys showed up, an hour late. They quoted me a price that I felt was high. I began to tell them that I thought that they were asking too much, and they instantly brought the price down by 20%. They asked me for a $ 100 down payment, which I paid by check. They said that they’d be back «shortly» to cut the trees. Somehow, I (wrongly) assumed that this would mean later in the week. Two weeks went by, and nothing. I called them, and they said that the guy who was supposed to cut my trees got fired. I asked if I could still get my trees cut. They set an appointment for a week down the road. This was the first time that they gave a concrete time to come by. My appointment time came, and went. Nobody showed up. I called to complain, they apologized, and said that they couldn’t fit me in for another month and a half. I sighed deeply, and told them to put me down for then.
In the mean time, we had another wind storm come through, and the offending tree branches came down. I called to tell them that Mother Nature had done their work for them, and I no longer needed their services. I demanded a refund of my down payment. They came up with excuse after excuse as to why they shouldn’t give me my money back. I called, and called, and called, and finally was told that they can’t write checks buy only once per month. I was pissed, but waited and waited. A week after they said that they’d refund my money, still no check. I called and complained again. Finally, I got a check, but it was made out to someone else. I called, and asked them if they knew what a refund meant– you are giving somebody their money back. Instead they wrote a check to a third party. These guys are completely incompetent. I am considering filing a law suit against these guys, as they still owe me my down payment, and never did anything right. I know that this is supposed to be a charity, or supporting ex-​alcoholics, but I think that all that alcohol pickled their brains, or they’re still hitting the bottle.
AVOID!

The HOW Foundation is a place outside of San Antonio that «was established to create an environment where those recovering from alcohol and drug addiction could become self-​supporting, productive members of society by providing needed services to the community.» (from the website)
They have both a San Antonio and Austin phone number, but it’s the same place.
I got a flier from them in the mail and gave them a call to come give an estimate. They gave me a great price on taking down a recently dead 40ft tall Red Oak in my backyard. I paid a deposit of half down and they scheduled to come out about 3 weeks later. The day they were scheduled to come I gave them a call around 2pm to ask if they were still coming and they said they still planned to. I got a call about 30 minutes later and he told me they wouldn’t be able to make it that day and rescheduled for 2 weeks after that.
They came today to start working on the tree. Both the guys who initially came to do the estimate and the ones who came to take down the tree were really nice and friendly. They are very open about the goal of the H.O.W. Foundation and will tell you how much time they’ve put into the program and what it’s done for them. I don’t know much about the program beyond what’s on the website and what they told me, but it seems like a nice program to help them get along to whatever it is they are trying to accomplish. Also, it is a non-​profit and the workers don’t get paid. Being able to stay at the facility and be in a supportive environment is their compensation.
They took down the tree in about an hour and a half with no major problems. One of the branches hit the side of my house and left a small mark but there was really not much that could be done about that branch. The tree was pretty dead in some places and they did have it roped off.
Having them reschedule and not knowing that was going to happen until well into the day (I worked from home) was a bummer. But I’m not taking any stars off because they gave a really great price for the work and the staff (estimators, main office, tree trimmers) were great. I would definitely use them again if I needed any more tree work done.