Don Packard Tree Service

Don trimmed trees at the end of last year. Two of the maples still have some large, dead branches in them. I called him over 3 weeks ago to ask him to come and take out the dead branches. He said he’d be able to come the following week. I’m still waiting. I tried to call him and got no answer, but a message saying his mailbox is full! The job seemed good initially, but the follow up is frustrating.

Friendly, honest appraisals; Don’s very comfortable saying when he won’t take a job. I had questions about three trees on my property — two dead, one leaning. Don said the dead ones were fine where they were, and the big leaning one was far too sketchy a job for his taste. He suggested one or two companies with bigger crews and more equipment.
It’s always good to hear an honest opinion; too bad Don didn’t want the job. I’ll call him for my next one.

Not sure why, but lately Don’s service has diminished and he’s ducking customers, like a crook! He did an excellent sales pitch and price quote for trees in my yard late last year (Aug or Sept 2014). Then I called him for emergency service, after the Big Storm, which he promptly came to do (of course, at a premium cost). He cut a drooping, broken tree limb above my driveway. Although he did cut a couple big branches down, he charged me for removal as well, but claimed he’d be back to do the removal the following week. He gave me a few, credible, excuses about delays (man shortage, weather etc)! Until he stopped taking my numerous calls and never calling back, for months now! Now I’m out the money AND now have neighbors complaining because he left the limbs and debris in their lot!
I admit, his cutting job was immaculate, thus the 2 stars, however, I can’t recommend him because of his lack of follow up, and shady business tactics!

Never ever again!
Last September I called him to have taken down two trees, one large and another smaller one. He made an estimate for the two trees each priced separately and asked for ¹⁄₃ of the total in advance. After he got the start up money he only cut the smaller one and told me he has to order special gear to take down the tall tree. Weeks went by and he used one lame excuse after another until it got too late and cold. Then he told me I should look for somebody else.
He clearly took on a job that was way above his skill level and this is not the only «unprofessional» way he works. He also refuses to pay the money back he overcharged me and refuses my phone calls and the letter I wrote. He is the most unprofessional and dishonest person I have ever dealt with! Don’t waste your time and money with this guy!

I recently had Don out to my (new to me) home in Northville to trim some trees that had been let go. It’s a busy season for tree trimmers but Don responded to my call within a 24 hour period and he came out (on a Sunday) to give me an estimate. I had already received an estimate from another tree company so I knew a ballpark rate as to what I was dealing with.
Don came back with a very competitive quote and I asked to be put on his schedule. He called me a week later and told me that he had an opening the next day. I informed him that I wouldn’t be home and asked if that was okay. I was a little concerned about having the work done and not being home but when I pulled into my driveway after work, I wasn’t disappointed. Don and his crew did exactly what I had asked him to do and had it not been for me seeing the branches trimmed in the tree, I wouldn’t have known extensive trimming had been done in my yard– it was immaculate.

They recently removed a tree for us that other contractors wouldn’t even quote on due to limited accessibility to the yard. The job was done perfectly as promised and the price was very fair. I’d easily recommend them to anyone.

Walked into my dining room one day and saw the top half of one of my trees down in my backyard. «Well…this is new.» I thought to myself and then promptly began swearing. First step: call DTE. The tree was still hanging precariously close to a wire and I thought, «Cool, it might take out that electrical line. DTE should probably take care of it.» I called, DTE came out – it’s a communication line, not a power line. DTE left without touching the tree. Commence more swearing.
I knew I was going to have to call someone to take care of this so I looked up tree services here on Unilocal and found Don Packard. It was a busy time for him, since it had been a windy week full of a lot of downed tree branches, but he still rang me within 24 hours. Unfortunately, because of this, it also took a little while for him to get out to my house and I had to call a couple of times to check on the status of his initial visit and the removal visit. Aside from that small hiccup he did a great job. First he came to do an assessment of the damage and then a week later came with another fella to cut down the tree. They did it quickly and were very unobtrusive. I barely knew they were there aside from the sound of the saw! In addition to taking down the tree branch they also trimmed other branches that were dead (and would have caused a problem down the line) and didn’t charge me extra for the other cuttings. PLUS they cleaned everything up, disposed of the wood, and took a leaf blower to some piles of leaves on my deck and around my house. It sure made cleaning those up the next day MUCH easier. I was sincerely impressed. On top of that the price was REALLY REALLY reasonable. I had imagined I’d get charged a minimum of $ 200 and he quoted me under that. I was relieved. Also, Don and his colleague were both very nice. I walked away from that transaction feeling really good about it.
A week later we got the high winds from Sandy in the area and I walked out to no wreckage whatsoever. Had Don not cut down all those other dead branches I’m pretty sure I’d be dealing with another visit but he was proactive and it benefitted me in the long run.
As I mentioned, the wait was a little long but in the end I wasn’t too upset about it because: A.) he’s only one guy so he can only do so many jobs in a day. B.) The price was more than right. C.) He did such a fantastic, thorough job. Hopefully I won’t need to ring him again but if I do I won’t hesitate.

I had a large, once-​beautiful but now overgrown, oak tree in my yard with a huge dead branch dropping detritus everywhere. I saw that Don Packard had a few good reviews on Unilocal,and called him for an estimate. He stopped by my house and called with two estimates, one for exactly what I had asked for, and one for what he thought would clean the tree up for several years into the future. He didn’t pressure me at all to go with the higher priced service, but I did choose the larger trimming in the hopes that the tree might return to its former glory with a little extra work beyond the minimum. A few days later, the entire job was not only completed immaculately, but precisely on time and the tree is gorgeous. He and his crew not only cleaned up the branches they cut, but they cleaned my entire driveway, which was coated in stuff that tree and others had been dropping, and removed some large weeds growing out of the concrete! My driveway has literally never been cleaner. They did amazing work for a very fair price, and I would recommend him to anyone who needs this type of work.

The maple in the front yard had been dropping branches all summer and needed a trim. I got a quote of $ 450 from a local company, a no-​show from a ‘tree guy’ my neighbor knows and then decided to try Unilocal.Don Packard answered his own phone, came to check the tree and said he could do all the work I needed and stay under $ 250! Great! 2 days later the tree was trimmed, the yard was ‘spotlessly clean’ and he even took away 8 branches I couldn’t cut small enough to fit in the compost bin for pick-​up! He was a nice guy and you should hire him.

We needed to have the tree overgrowth cut back away from the power lines in the backyard. I’m talking trees that are very old and extremely huge. Three estimates were obtained, this company was half the amount of the other two. Just incredible the difference. Don and crew arrived on the day and at the time as promised. He also promised a «spotless cleanup», indeed every twig and leaf was removed. If you need this kind of work performed give them a call. You won’t be disappointed.