Agri – Con

I found Agri-​Con on Home Advisors and I would never hire them again. I posted this same review there but if you wish to contract their services based on other reviews; I’ll offer some suggestions for you to keep in mind so you can learn from my mistakes. 1) Get a written estimate not only for monetary purposes but to have a written record detailing the work to be performed. 2) Be sure to understand who will be the point of contact on the day of the job to ensure that the work performed is clear to all parties. Especially if the person who provided the quote/​estimate is not onsite at the property. 3) On the day that the work is to be performed, be sure the objective is clear (and walk through if necessary) to the workers to minimize miscommunication. 4) Last but not least, make sure the work to be performed is what you want NOT what the arborist wants.

Have used Agri-​con 3 times now for a 4-​acre property in the mountains above Cupertino. They are very effective and they nailed everything on our list in one day. Used a crew of 6 who did about 6 hours of continuous chipping. Both detailed tree work and major brush removal.

Walter and his 7 guys spent 1.5 days trimming my trees. They did a thorough and very professional job. I recommend them without reservation. They took all the chips and debris away and even raked the yard!

Cut back some overgrown tree limbs threatening power lines, cleaned up palms, trimmed back fruit trees, hauled away and mulched a large pile of organic debris which PG&E left behind.
The owner called promptly after my inquiry to come out the next day and do an estimate. He did a walk-​around and provided recommendations for each tree on the property. He seemed to have a great deal of experience and expertise and also supplied tips on watering and treatment of each. His written estimate was detailed and thorough. The guys doing the job followed his instructions precisely. They arrived about 4 business days later with a complete crew and went right to work like a platoon of marines. Did a great job in only about 3 hours; I was amazed at how much they got done so quickly. They cleaned up nicely after themselves – even swept the patios and cleaned the leaves from the pool! Highly recommend.

You can add us to a list of satisfied customers. Our mountain property has numerous trees, some of which had dead limbs or were dying. Walter and I took a walk through. I told him what I knew needed to be done and he had some great suggestions for other things that would be significant improvements. His knowledgeable three-​man crew arrived the following week, worked hard for two days, and did everything I expected, even suggesting a couple of things I hadn’t thought of. They were great and easy to work with. After chipping and carting away a very large truck full debris, the place looks great! Trees were thinned as well as trimmed, everything was left cleaner than when they came, the place looks well tended – not scalped, and the fire danger has been greatly mitigated. I feel confident recommending Agri-​Con.

Surgically removed 5 large damaged pine trees around the house, trimmed out 10 redwoods in our fairy ring and trimmed and tidied a few large oaks. Polite team, very tidy, did everything in time and no damage to the garden. My wife’s comment ‘they really worked their arses off’ so highly recommended !

I decided to call Agri Con having read the previous reviews. We had several trees that were overgrown and needed to be cut correctly. I met with Walter who is easy to deal with and very knowledgeable. His crew showed up on time and took away all the cuttings and debris. The yard was left perfect. I would have no hesitation in using this company again.

I had them trim a huge, overgrown tree in my backyard. Aaron came out to do the estimate and assessment of what needed to be done, and listened to my request to trim back a particular branch. I had gotten a few bids on the job from a few different contractors. While Agri-​Con was not the lowest bid, they seemed the most reputable and professional — they are CSLB licensed, insured, BBB accredited w/​no complaints on file, good rating, etc. The guy who came out for the quote had a much better attitude than the other companies I’d spoken with as well. All that and their price wasn’t too much higher than the lowest bid, so they seemed like the best choice.
So I went with them and they came out to do the job on time. Once they told me they were done, I went out to inspect and noticed they didn’t trim the branch that I specified! I pointed this out to the crew foreman. He called Aaron and they spoke about it – no problem, his crew ended up taking care of the branch. No issues there. I was happy with their work, their crew was courteous, and they cleaned up well. I hate when you hire a contractor and they just leave everything a mess; didn’t experience that with them. Good experience overall, but minus one star for the tree growing back out way faster than I was told. Kind of minor deal, and I would use them again.

Walter’s company delivered as promised. I needed a tree removed from my front yard and and received three quotes. While Walter’s price wasn’t the best, I felt strongly that he knew what he was doing. I let him know that it was important to me to have the tree gone before I had to leave for vacation and he managed to take care of it. And even though Walter doesn’t do stump removal he made the arrangements to have it taken care of. Fair price, pleasant person to deal with and I couldn’t argue with the results. I’ll be calling him back for future work.

I met with Walter from Agri-​Con to have a large elm in my backyard thinned out. He promptly met me during the holidays when Agri-​Con was closed, and he told me what his crew would do and why. He was knowledgeable on the subject. On the day his crew came he called when they were on their way. I was very happy with their work and they did a great job on the cleanup. Walter called the following day to check with my satisfaction of the job. Their price was the lowest of the 3 quotes that I received and I would highly recommend them.

I was totally impressed with Agri-​con. I called them up to remove some old dated Juniper trees that was on the border of my property. After my neighbor approved the removal of the trees, the company sent out a two person crew to remove the trees. They showed up when expected, worked efficiently, and had all debris gone in half a day. The estimate that I was given was the same price that I paid upon completion. The work and the process went extremely smoothly. I learned that those Juniper trees definitely were adding to my sever allergic reactions being activated in the Spring and pleased to have one less cause removed. I would highly recommend using this company again!

This would have been a 1 Star Review, but my review comes with a caveat. In the end, the work done was efficient and satisfactory.
HOWEVER, the experience we had dealing with Walter, the owner, was infuriating and very unpleasant. Unpleasant enough for me to consider joining Angie’s List just so I could get the word out.
We were in the process of getting our house ready to put up on the market and Walter came highly recommended by our realtor. He came to do an estimate. He sounded knowledgeable but spoke with a very confident, arrogant, and condescending tone. When we asked him for references or yards he’s worked on, he was visibly offended and we got a distinct take-​it-​or-​leave-​it attitude from him. We still decided to hire him and his crew.
The day his crew came (which was unannounced), Walter wasn’t with them. The guys just started in on our trees. It looked like to me they were hacking them all away. To be fair, our realtor had insisted that our trees’ branches be cut away so that she could get a view and up the price of our home. But, I made it very clear to Walter and the crew that as the owner of the trees and property and the family paying him, we wanted to clear the dead trees and only enough branches to improve the health of the trees. We enjoyed the canopy and the privacy it provided. Anyway, after a bit of shouting, frantic phone calling, and insistent «foot-​stomping» I got the crew to go against Walter’s orders and stop shaving our trees naked. Walter never showed up.
Two weeks later, he didn’t contact us once to collect. Three weeks later, he called my mom. Before she could say one word about the whole situation, he huffily said, «Just give me $ 2,000.» The original estimate we talked him down to was $ 2,500.
I have never experienced such horrible customer service and disrespect. Walter made us feel like we were below him and that he was giving us a huge honor by gracing us with his service.