Ponderosa Tree Service

I picked Ponderosa for tree work because the owner gave me some free consulting about a hazardous tree on a neighbor's property a few years ago. He's a good guy and I appreciate that.

For this job, the estimator (who is a certified arborist) showed up right on time. We reviewed all my trees and identified two that needed work; there was no attempt to upsell me in any way. Another good guy.

I scheduled the job through the Ponderosa office and the crew showed up on time, accompanied by the estimator who confirmed the work scope with the foreman. The crew got right to work, removing a medium-size tree and doing major pruning of a large tree. They worked efficiently, reviewed the results with me, and cleaned up thoroughly.

Everyone I've interacted with--owner, estimator, crew, office staff--has been professional, competent, reliable, and friendly. I recommend Ponderosa without hesitation.

They left my gate to my deck open and my dog got out. Luckily a neighbor found my dog before he got run over by a car, lost, or stolen.

I checked the videotapes recorded on my Ring security cameras. They came onto my deck 3-4 times and left the gate open for over an hour. There's clearly a doggy door onto the deck and also a fake grass area there for my dog to go potty. You can even hear my dog barking at them on the videotapes. They never closed the gate, my neighbor did after she found my dog. I had ignored the Ring camera notifications at work all morning bc I knew they would be there. Luckily I finally checked one of the videos and saw my dog go out the gate. I was unable to leave work since I was about to start an operation (I'm a doctor). I was literally panicking ab my dog. Thank God one of my neighbors was home and found my dog outside.

I would have been so heartbroken if something happened to my dog. And it ruined the rest of my workday. They offered me a 10% discount but I don't really think this is enough considering the potential ramifications. They should have at least closed the gate behind them, or notified me that they would be on my deck so I could lock my dog inside.

I was very impressed with the level of service from Ponderosa. Craig, their arborist, came out and met with me to determine what needed to be done for each tree that I was concerned about. He wore a mask and kept his distance during this important time. Some trees needed a full trim and shape, and others just needed cleaning up. When the crew arrived (I would have given 5 stars but they didn't check in with me when they got here and didn't start until after the arrival window) they worked efficiently and cleaned up after themselves. I will use them again and would recommend them to anyone looking for a great job with a knowledgeable arborist.

Great work! Appreciate that everyone was mindful of the garden while servicing tree. Thank you

I know why these guys have 5 stars. Great service! We met with a few companies to get bids for cutting down a dead trim and trimming others to improve our view. From the 1st meeting, it was clear that they know about trees and understood our needs. These guys came in, got the job done quickly, cleaned up after themselves, solicited our feedback during the process, and adapted to some change requests. We couldn't be happier & I can't say enough about the quality of work and professionalism. Call these guys!

A neighboring landlord contracted them. As far as the trees, they did a good job. But the truck they used left a trail of black oil all over the parking lot on our side and the mutual driveway (on the way out only). They had put a tarp and plywood under the truck when it was parked in the neighbor's parking lot, so they knew about the leak.

DOG - I see someone complained that a gate was left open and a dog got out. I thinks its the dog owners responsibility to inform them in advance or secure your pet for the day. We did. Our dog was happy to let them do their work. They did a great job. Removed a two large fruit trees, major pruning of a very large black oak and fine trimming of another. Planning to use them again this year. We will be ready with payment when they finish.

Worth every dollar - total pros! I tried contacting a number of arborists for quotes to prune four trees and never heard back. Ponderosa's crew showed up when scheduled, they came prepared with clear instructions and a solid understanding of what we needed done, they did a beautiful job pruning and shaping all four trees, and they did a thorough job cleaning up afterward. Ponderosa's customer service was top notch from beginning to end: they responded to our request for a bid within 24 hours, their email communications were clear and prompt, and their foreman walked through with us before starting and after finishing the work, and made some final touches based on our input.

Ponderosa was a pleasure to work with. We called and made an appointment for a consultation and we worked with Craig who came to evaluate the work that we wanted done. He was courteous, knowledgeable and professional.

There were about 5 guys that came out to do the work, Craig also came out to go over the work to be done. The guys were quick and precise. They made sure we were happy with their work before they left and to boot? They cleaned up all the debris in our yard and our neighbors yard!
We had about 12 trees chopped down ranging from small to large and we have a beautiful gigantic Oak Tree. Berkeley has strict rules about Oak Trees and they made sure to stay compliant.

We actually hired them to do work for us twice because after their first job, we decided we wanted more trees cut down to add more sunlight to our yard and Craig made awesome suggestions. We now have tons of blue sky!

Huge disappointment with disastrous results costing us thousands of dollars. Ponderosa advertises "specializes in removal of large trees in delicate surroundings." Not the case with our Pine tree removal. Ponderosa destroyed our ground cover, plants, butchered our Oak tree, broke branches and left them hanging. We are still cleaning up Ponderosa's mess. When Perry finally showed up at the end of the tree removal he whined he was unable to sleep, worrying about the difficulty (which he said was a 10 out of 10 difficulty) so why didn't he show up to supervise? Never again.

Update to review: Though the canopies could not be lowered (and the trees could not be completely shaped) due to staying away from power lines, the pruning that was done was done well and it does look better.