Why one tree quote is double another
Robinson Tree Service · Memphis, TN
It is almost never the tree. It is how the tree gets out — and that is worth understanding before you decide which quote is the good one.
You get three prices for the same removal and they are $1,400, $2,600 and $4,900. Nobody explains why. The temptation is to assume the cheap one is honest and the expensive one is chancing it.
Sometimes that is true. More often the three companies are quoting three different jobs, because they are each imagining a different way of getting the tree on the ground.
Access decides nearly everything
The single biggest number in a tree quote is whether equipment can reach the tree.
On a large lot out toward Eads or Olive Branch, a crane sets up on the grass beside the tree and the whole thing comes out in a handful of large cuts. It is quick, it is safe, and the price reflects a short day.
The identical tree on a narrow Midtown lot is a different job entirely. The crane cannot get in, so a climber goes up and takes it down in pieces, each one roped and lowered past a roof, a fence and somebody's conservatory. That is not a more expensive version of the first job. It is several times the labor, over a longer day, with more that can go wrong.
- Can a truck get into the back yard, or does every piece come out by hand through a side gate?
- Will the crane sit on a driveway, on plywood to spread the load, or not at all?
- Is there room to drop the wood, or does it have to be lowered on ropes?
- Does the power have to come down first — and who is arranging that with MLGW?
What is underneath and overhead
A tree over an open lawn is felled. The same tree over a roof, a pool, a fence and a run of service wires is dismantled from the top down. Each piece has to be controlled all the way to the ground, and nothing can be allowed to swing.
This is also where the gap between quotes gets widest, because it is the part an inexperienced estimator underestimates and then has to make up on the day — or walks away from.
The things that quietly get left out
Two quotes can describe the same work and still not be comparable. Worth checking on each one:
- Is haul-off included, or is the brush being left on your yard?
- Is the stump ground, or is it being cut low and left? These are different prices and different days — grinding is not done the same day as a removal.
- If the stump is ground, how far below grade, and are the grindings taken away?
- Does the price include dropping the power, if the job needs it?
- Is the company actually insured for tree work, and will they show you the certificate without being chased?
That last one is not a formality. If an uninsured crew puts a limb through your roof, or a climber is hurt on your property, the exposure lands on your homeowner's policy. Ask to see the certificate. Any legitimate company hands it over without blinking.
When the cheap quote is genuinely the right one
Plenty of the time it is. An open back yard, nothing underneath, a truck that can back up to the trunk — that is a straightforward job and it should be priced like one. We quote plenty of work at the low end for exactly that reason, and we will say so when a job is simpler than it looks.
What is worth a second look is a price well under the others on a job that is obviously awkward. That usually means one of three things: the stump is not in it, the haul-off is not in it, or the crew is not insured. All three turn into your problem rather than theirs.
If this is your situation
Questions about a tree on your property? 901-363-3539, or send us a note. Estimates and preventative check-ups are free.
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