There was a note posted on my door two or three weeks ago saying my building was finally going to get painted this summer. They're doing the whole complex. I think it's about a 10-year project which means that when they finally finish, they'll have to start over again. The note prompted me to finally do something about the pine tree in the patio. It's too big. Many of the branches are only a couple of inches from the walls of my townhouse. It took a couple of weeks but I finally remembered to send an email message to our property manager asking for the name of the tree trimmers they recommend. I got the name yesterday morning and gave Justin a call. No answer so I left voice-mail. He called back yesterday afternoon and I told him I'd like him to look at the tree...that I wanted to remove it or, at the very least, trim it way back. He said there'd be a $150 minimum. So, I gave him the address and he said he'd drive by today and give me a call.
He called just after I got back from lunch and said he could trim the tree above the roof line, give it some injections (of what, I have no idea), and it would be great. I said I thought it was really too big for the space and was expecting that it would have to be removed. He assured me it would be fine to keep it so I decided to do that. I mean, I really didn't want to be cutting down a tree if it didn't need it. So, I asked when he wanted to do the work. "Right away." Oh. What about payment?...did he need me to come over? Nope. He said he could just swing by and pick it up after he was done. I feel compelled to note at this point that I've not said a word to him about where I work. So, I told him to go ahead. He called back about 2 hours later to say he was done and ask for directions. I gave him the intersection and told him to call when he got here and I'd take a check down. 'Bout 20 minutes later, he was downstairs. I went down, looked for a pickup, found one across the street with a long ladder and tree saw in the bed, and hollered for Justin. Around whipped his head. So, I gave him a check for $150. This to a guy I've never seen before that I'm assuming did the job he said he'd do. Hmmm...
Odd way to do business, eh? I'm rather bemused by the whole incident. I wish I'd thought to take a picture this morning before coming to work. Of course, at the time, I had no idea the tree would be trimmed today. I thought he'd give me a call, we'd set up a date, and then the tree would get trimmed, removed, whatever. I can't wait to get home and see what I paid for.
Update. The tree looks great. I wondered what I'd find at home. Would there be a pile of limbs left behind by Justin and his helper(s)? I mean...we didn't discuss it, really. So, I was very pleasantly surprised to find that not only did they take away any debris they created, they also cleaned up all the pine needles that had accumulated in my patio area since the last time I cleaned up. Which was (I'm not particularly proud to admit) probably about six months ago. Cool.
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