Bud’s Tree Care

Requested a thorough trimming/​pruning/​expert opinion on large, older trees on a newly purchased property. Trees were trimmed on the same day as I had surgery, so I stayed inside and only glanced at the trees long enough to see that the branches had been cut back from brushing the roof, etc… looked fine at quick glance, wrote check… it is one week later, and a dead limb as big around as my arm fell last night, nearly missing me in my driveway… looked closely at trees, several LARGE dead limbs were left hanging, including some that are CLEARLY unsafe and hazardous, broken off and teetering. The kind that will clearly cause major damage to a car, or seriously injure a child or adult…
I contacted Bud’s, and the result was horrible… owner rude, lied and tried to say there had been a big storm here (when?), and wound up hanging up on me after telling me that he’d be happy to come out and quote me on «pruning the dead branches» which is apparently not included in «pruning» by a CERTIFIED ARBORIST who is a tree expert you can trust to… prune your trees as quoted. I have photos, the agreement, the email exchange, and a bunch of dead patches in my dry, NOT stormed-​on yard exactly where his truck was parked and leaked on my lawn, too… to back up what I say. Feel free to contact me. PLEASE reconsider using this crook… BBB and small claims court, next stop. NEVER AGAIN.
EDIT 08÷17÷15 — See BTC’s comment below, «blah blah blah, End of Story» is a perfect example of this young man’s attitude… I should have paid attention to the young lady who got cussed out (see other reviews). Thank GOODNESS for my neighbors who SAW the branches falling, the tire tracks and dead patches in my yard, etc — having just had surgery, I could not have made these limbs safe by myself — they helped me get them down and make it at least minimally safe. A ‘certified arborist’ leaving the trees in unsafe condition is irresponsible, and the additional work to be done later was a separate issue –the removal of two pine trees next spring… I was never even TOLD by Ryan that there were large, broken, dangerous limbs in the trees. Part of his ethical responsibility as an ‘expert’ would be to tell a client about hazards… and these were SO large, that there is NO WAY he should/​could have missed them. Again, please contact me if you have any questions about this company — I have the quote, the photos, and several witnesses to the shoddy work this man did… as well as several LARGE branches now in my woodpile I can show you… I’ll chalk this up to lesson learned, and be grateful to my kind neighbors. Beware if you use Bud’s Tree Care.

We used Bud’s before and had a good experience. However, the second time we tried to use their services was highly unprofessional and bizarre.
We had received a previous written estimate for the work several months ago (cutting down three dead or dying trees in our backyard). We called them last week to ask if they had any time to come out and do the job. They have business hours listed but we kept getting an answering machine during those hours, so we left a message. They called us back later and said that they could schedule us that week. We then called them back several times (still got the answering machine) to schedule the work and to confirm the price in the original estimate. Eventually, we were able to talk to someone (a woman) and confirm the date of the work to be done and the price.
However, when they came out to do the work, we were told by Ryan that they could not do the job for the price that was quoted and that he didn’t know why he had given us that price to begin with. When I asked what the new estimate would be, I was given a price that was very nearly twice what they had originally quoted us in the written estimate. I told them politely that we would not be hiring them for the job if it was going to cost us twice as much as they had provided in a written estimate and confirmed by phone just a day or two ago.
When we called later to ask for an explanation as to why the quote had doubled, Ryan became very agitated on the phone and started cursing.
This was a very bizarre experience, especially given that we would have been repeat clients.

I have been using Bud’s Tree care for tree removal for years. He has trimmed or removed trees on two different properties for me, and almost every situation was challenging. At one place, he had to trim a huge line of 5 story tall, thin pines that belonged to the neighbor, but were severely encroaching on my property and causing damage — plus there was a fence in the way. On another property, he cut down a huge walnut tree that someone planted 20 years ago in between my property and the neighbor’s. He had to deal with my neighbor (who desperately wanted the tree to be cut down) and another neighbor who was very angry and *did not* want the tree cut down! Ryan was in the middle of this mess, but got the job done, and was always professional and understanding with everyone. He’s one of the best workers I’ve seen in Champaign-​Urbana and I have worked with a lot of them. I highly recommend Bud’s Tree Care.

Mine was a small job, just trimming up a smaller tree in my front yard. Ryan came and gave me an estimate shortly after I contacted him. The job was completed on the day it was scheduled (even received a reminder contact a few days before), the tree looks much better, and everything was cleaned up when the job was finished. I will call Bud’s again should I need tree care in the future.

We had a dead tree that needed cut down as well some things that needed chopped and hauled away. Ryan and his crew were courteous, quick, clean, and professional. They did a great job cleaning up our property and all for a fair price. In fact, we’re having them back in a few weeks to do another job. A+

Ryan and his crew were very efficient and professional! Not only did they complete the task in a timely manner, they cleaned up the yard after and asked if I was happy with their work. I highly recommend them, and will use them for future tree care needs.

We had Bud’s & Burnett tree service take down two very large trees on our property that were right up against our house. They removed the trees very quickly and did a good job cleaning up. The crew was very professional, especially when dealing with my neighbors. Would recommend them for tree removal.