The Hisey Company

Used this company to remove a tree from my yard
The job got done… but BAD customer service
Lack of communication with the staff, etc
Will use another tree removal company next time

We filed a homeowners insurance claim late April 2015, adjuster came out on April 28^th to assess storm damage as did Hisey Company. Out of two contractors we decided to go with Hisey Co. based on knowledge of the insurance claim process and a previous tree trimming job they did for us in the winter. However after the initial meeting with the adjuster, communications were sparse to say the least. Since then Hisey has failed to show up when they say will do the work more than 50 percent of the time. Of our laundry list of at least 14 storm damage repairs only two items have been completed to date. When they do show up for work they only get to a fraction of what is promised and then are absent and unresponsive for a week or more and only respond after we have had to hound them by phone, text and email and threats. I’m weary. They promised to have our project done by July 15^th and now it is four weeks past that, 16 weeks since we started, and we are no closer to being finished. Their lack of communication and terrible customer service is appalling, we can not recommend this company to anyone and we will not ever hire them again. If they can not complete this job in the next 10 business days we will be hiring a new contractor.

Old trees need much care,
if you hope to keep them here.
Deft and knowing cuts.
We have three old pecan trees on our property that had sprouted «suckers» all along their branches. All three had been badly pruned at a very young age, and as a result have very long, spindly and prone to breaking limbs.
Having the trees pruned had been on our to-​do list for awhile. One day a knock on the door brought us in contact with Labinot with Hisey Company. Call it serendipity, but we decided to request a follow up call for a free estimate. It helped that Hisey had recently trimmed trees for our neighbors and were fully bonded and insured.
Greg with Hisey was prompt and very knowledgeable. As a certified arborist, he immediately saw the issues with the trees and what needed to be done to clean them up. He also pointed out that several other branches from our trees and branches from the neighbor’s hackberry trees were touching our roof and needed to be trimmed back. I talked with him about a reoccurring fungus that has been plaguing one pecan, and he immediately knew what the fungus was and pulled up a photo on his phone to confirm. It’s not good news for the pecan, but it really instilled a lot of confidence in me that this guy knows trees. It was also good to know that when (not if) the pecan needs to be cut down, he can work with the city to get the permission to do so. This really just confirmed what we’d suspected all a long. But Greg ventured that if removal was something that we needed to have done in the short term, the he would work out an estimate that factored in the cost of the recent trimming.
Greg gave a generous discount because we were willing to wait to be scheduled for when he had other jobs in the vicinity. The crew he sent out, headed by Alex, was professional and quick. They trimmed all the trees, removed all the branches touching the roof, and treated the cuts. They also did a great job of cleaning up all debris.
We had a great experience with Hisey and would highly recommend them.

I just won a Small Claims court judgement against Hisey Tree Company and Matthew Hisey, an owner. The took $ 1,950 from me on a contract to plant a hedge between me and my neighbors. Said the «knew exactly what to plant that would grow a tall hedge» and I suggested some cherry laurels and even showed their «arborist» (turns out he was NOT) salesman photos. The crew planted Mountain Laurels and now 18 months later one has died and they’ll never create a hedge. The judge agreed. I showed paperwork proving that Matthew Hisey actually came to my house and admitted it was Hisey’s fault and promising to replace them. That’s the last I ever heard of them and despite calling, leaving voice mails and sending letters, HISEY refused to do what it promised so I sued and WON. I’m abstracting the judgement and intend collect, but for now I want others to know that this company misrepresented their skills and refused to correct a mistake it made.
THERE ARE MANY TREE COMPANIES IN AUSTIN WHO HAVE BETTER REPUTATIONS THAN HISEY. Choose one of them to work on your trees!
JM in Austin

Against our better judgement we hired the Hisey company to trim our 30+ year old oaks last week. A salesperson from the Hisey company was walking up and down the street looking for business when he came up to our house. He asked about our trees and I told him that we were looking at a couple of companies, but would entertain his quote.
At this point, we should have done more research on this company. If we had, we would have definitely used another tree cutting service. A job that seemed to start off well, quickly took a wrong turn. The crew leader came up and quickly ran over the trees that were going to be cut. From there, his crew of 4 got to work. What I didn’t notice as I was watching this team cut the trees is that he left.
At first, I didn’t think it would be a huge deal, but it turned out to be a HUGE deal given that this particular crew needed oversight. As the crew started to cut very large tree branches from the tree hanging over our roof, I noticed that there was NO CARE taken in how they tossed them down.
Just about every tree branch hit our bushes on the way down. While there was someone collecting the branches, he wasn’t moving fast enough to pick up the heavy branches that basically left our hedges in disrepair (with large gaping holes and smashed overall).
The crew leader and Brian K. said that ‘damage’ to landscaping should be expected. That’s a crock. I’ve seen professionals cut and clean up after trimming trees and the landscaping wasn’t damaged. I think it’s a poor excuse and overall way to do business.
After I expressed my dissatisfaction with the work that was damaging our landscaping the work was stopped. Brian K. came out to see the damage to our landscaping the next morning and promised to make it right by taking off $ 100 and ‘fluffing’ our bushes back into shape (whatever that means) and being present to make sure the job was done right. It’s not like $ 100 will replace even one bush, but trying to keep an open mind we agreed to let them finish the work.
The crew came back the following weekend to finish the trees in the front of our house. The tree was trimmed and most of the trimmings were cleaned up, but when we asked about the hedges, the crew didn’t know what we were taking about and Brian K. never showed. So, much for sticking to your word and extending good customer service.
And after checking out the trees this afternoon, I noticed that there are a bunch of areas that were NOT SEALED after trimming. So, now I have worry about my oak getting OAK WILT. We’re in the process of researching a Professional Tree cutting service to correct the damage the Hisey company created and left.
My advice to you? You’ve been forewarned. Don’t waste your time or money going round and round when you can find the right, reputable, customer-​service driven company to take care of your tree trimming needs.
I would not recommend this company to anyone.

These folks did a great job and delivered exactly what was promised. They were prompt, friendly and worked efficiently, even trimming a few additional limbs that were not originally in the quote. They cleaned up all trimmed limbs, raked up the leaves knocked off in the process, and even swept up the deck. After completing their work, the job supervisor reviewed the original quote with me, walking the perimeter of the house, verifying that everything was done to my liking and as promised. A little pricey, but definitely worth it!

The company was very slow to come back and do some follow up work. But, they did good work. They need to work on their communication skills with the customer.

January 27,2015 Hisey Company arrived to remove a very large oak tree. The work went well until they dropped huge chunks of the tree trunk onto a sidewalk that adjoins my driveway. One large section of the sidewalk is now broken as well as several walkway tiles where large chunks of tree trunk were thrown down from the roof of my garage. A complaint was given to the company and Rodney came out on January 20 to check the damage and took pictures with his cell phone. We called the Hisey office on January 29 as had no follow up regarding the damage. Effie said would follow up and call back. No response. Called Hisey Co. again on Feb. 2, 2015 and Effie said someone would call back. No response. On February 4, 2015 I called again. Was told that Matthew wanted to talk to me. Today, Feb. 5, still have not had response regarding repair of our damage. The company is quick to give an estimate, arrive to do the work, and get paid in advance as the work begins. They are not good with customer service and satisfaction when a complaint is brought to their attention.
I would NOT USE THIS COMPANY AGAIN!!!
UPDATE: March 26, 2015 — To date Hisey Company HAS NOT REPAIRED the damage done to our property when they removed the tree on January 27, 2015. We attempt to reach Tom Hisey on his cell phone but he will not take our calls. We have been told repeatedly by the woman in their office who answers the phone that they will be here to make the repairs time after time and guess what: THEY HAVE NEVER SHOWED UP TO MAKE THOSE REPAIRS!!! Do not use this company — use a reputable tree service as listed earlier on this site.

We keep trying to get our pool fence repaired. It’s been two months now. Amazon has the sections for $ 84.95 apiece. Texted with Bryan E. Koepke who sent «comments» to his boss owner Bryan Hisey (and his brother Matthew) who then called my husband to complain about me. Bryan Koepke said that he had never been treated so rudely as I treated him and that both he and his crew leader smelled alcohol on my breath. Nothing about their work just unkind comments about me. What does that have to do with ruining our pool fence during their tree trimming? Nothing. Just misdirection. Save yourself the hassle and call someone else. Owned by Bryan and Matthew Hisey. They walk neighborhoods trying to get work, If they were that great the work would come to them. Finally I have convinced my husband to never use a solicitor again. Bummer they ruined the fence and were jerks because the overall job they did was adequate. Not great but okay for the money they charged… however ruining our pool fence is a safety issue and now Bryan Koepke whose card says arborist/​supervisor is being a jerk. $ 200 dollars isn’t that much… we hope my two honest reviews give them at least that much advertising.

These guys are constantly trolling for business in the Brushy Creek area. I don’t know how many times this year I have told them «no thanks, please don’t ask me again» but they keep bothering me month in and month out. I wouldn’t do business with such hard-​sell artists on a bet.

Would have given a nice review if it had not been for poor customer service at the end. Professional salesman saying if I need anything to call anytime did not respond to my request when I needed it. Office called him and he said he was tied up. Fine, but call back.
When job was done and they left everything seemed fine. Upon further inspection, I noticed garden items broken, broken branches left on the roof in front yard where they can be seen (I need a tornado to get them off. a light wind will not remove them). Black paint on my walkway when you first walk up to my porch. Its the stuff they use to seal the trees. It drips and had to drip where you can see it on the walkway.
The worst part is that a large and heavy branch (had to have been cut and left on the tree) fell off the next day. It was not windy. It fell and broke a part of my fence. I called and asked to have someone look at it. Nice receptionist said they would come out that day. No one did for hours so I called again. They said they would send owner or manager out, someone would come and they would call before. I took off the whole afternoon and no one called or came. Next day I emailed back the gal who said she would send someone asking her to send someone out next day. No one has responded or called. I am not spending my valuable time hunting them down. Had they at least responded to my concerns any cost would have been minimal (remove the large branch, sweep off the roof, and pay for a minor fence repair). Now, they have a bad review and I will never refer anyone to them. Money lost way more than they would have had. Do not use this company. Salesman said when he first came to give estimate how other bad tree companies give the good ones like theirs a bad name,… well you are now among the list.

BEWARE! BEWARE!
The services received did not match the expressed services to be provided — this company did not perform the activities as described during the estimating process.
First, Mike Ruiz came out and I explained to him what we were looking to get done with our trees. He gave suggestions that sounded really good. He also gave me information on what to make sure a tree service does when they come out, be it «our company or any other company» (and he named a few). Such as they should clean the tools before using them on Oak trees so the tree won’t get any fungus; all the cuts/​wounds should be painted black or that could cause the tree to get diseases. He also said it was ok to cut Oak trees before June; it was just in Lakeway and Westlake that they can’t. He claimed this was because of residents getting anyone to cut their trees and the person not knowing what they are doing i.e. not cleaning the tools between jobs. He also said that he would come out and instruct the crew on what needed to be done and even though he wouldn’t be on site the whole time he would be in and out making sure things were going right. He said we were getting a good deal because they were doing work two doors down.
The girl from the office called to schedule an appointment for them to come out and she said they would be out between 9:30 and 10:30 am I told her closer to 10:30 a.m. would be great because I would be home by then and she said «oh yeah, it probably would be closer to 10:30.» I ended up canceling my appointment just in case they did come out earlier, they didn’t show up until 2:15 pm. The crew leader said they had another job before us that started at 9:30 — 10:30. The crew leader asked me what I would like them to do, and when I asked if Mike was going to come out to tell them he said «no» he wouldn’t be coming out. I told him that Mike has said he would be out to direct them and the crew leader said he would call Mike. I then tried to explain to him what Mike and I talked about.
Anyway, Mike NEVER showed up at ALL! Not even a call to see if everything was going ok. The crew leader said he tried calling Mike several times and he didn’t answer his phone. I didn’t see the guys clean their tools. On the smaller branches it looked like they broke them off rather than cutting them off. I think it was because they had a saw which was good for thicker branches, but they were also using it on the tiny ones which ended up ripping them off. Not all cuts on the oak trees were painted (NOW I AM PRAYING OUR Oak doesn’t get wilt). They did not pick up all the cuttings. My husband and I went around painting the cuts that we could reach and picking up the cuttings.
All in all I am very disappointed. In addition, they did not go two doors down as the crew leader and Mike said they would be doing. So BEWARE of this company who does not do as they say and if you do use them I hope it works out better for you than it did for us. I will never use them again or recommend them to anyone. I will make sure to pass on our experience to family, friends and others who are looking for tree service

I’m writing this review to say that these gentlemen are incredibly professional they were clean quick efficient and affordable I highly recommend using Heisey particularly Michael the sales rep and Alexander the foreman they were wonderful to work with and I would deeply recommend them to anyone else who asked

I had a satisfactory initial experience with Hisey that has been far overshadowed by their recent failures. I had some work done and was pleased with their service. Fast forward a few months and after I witnessed one of their salesman URINATING on a neighbors house (in broad daylight and in view of the street) I called and let them know about it. Although they were apologetic, they said they would call me back after checking into some things.
I never got the call back and despite 5 or more calls to their office to get someone to speak to me, no one was «available» and although I was promised a return call, they would never call me back. Bryan was initially great to deal with, but alas he too has failed in any degree of customer service since the initial work.
I was always polite and professional when I called, but they’ve worn down my patience.
I will NEVER use nor recommend their services to anyone. I’ll gladly pay double to another company to assure Hisey never to sets foot on my property again.
Use them at your own risk, but you’ve been warned.

We just had a ‘salesman’ come to the door. «Hi, I saw the no soliciting sign but thought I’d ask anyway. You guys have a tree touching your house and we offer free estimates and can send an arborist out. He’s certified with the ISA and sh**»
The tree in question is in my backyard and is not visible from the road, he had to go to my side yard and look over my fence to see it. I have a no soliciting sign that he ignored to present us with a greeting containing curse words while my daughter is standing behind me. My wife heard the commotion and came out to ask if he had a business card or something. «No, I don’t have anything, I can get your phone number and my receptionist can call you though.»
It’s Memorial day weekend and a guy ignores a no soliciting sign, has no business card, was clearly in my side yard looking over my fence. Reddit has been reporting people doing this who are actually casing your house for robbery. So we called 911 and went to take a picture.
Having taken their picture, they (apparently there where 3 more in the area) immediately jumped in their black Ford SUV and chased us through the neighborhood. When we stopped at a neighbors house and explained to them what was going on, the ‘salesmen’ get out and shove a Hisey Company flier at us. The cops arrived shortly thereafter and we returned home. The police talked with them but I’m not sure what was said. The four ‘salesmen’ drove back by my house ten minutes later and flipped us (wife, daughter, and myself) off.
Absolutely lovely business practices. Guess I needed a reason to go back to Academy and stock up on ammo.

They came by my house and I had my trees trimmed. They did an outstanding job on the trees and clean up. However, they have since returned EVERY WEEK with some kid telling me they trim trees. I said can you not look at my trees and see they have been trimmed and not only that YOUR company did the work.
PLEASE STOP ringing my door bell and asking me to trim my already trimmed trees. AT LEST you could give your representatives a LIST of houses you already have done to skip the SALES CALL.
What an annoying company !!!

Everyone at the company is Aggressive! Wouldn’t use them again for this exact reason! Not a pleasant experience!

Okay either Hisey has significantly reviewed all of their bad comments and acted upon it in a quick and professional manner OR I just got extremely lucky with their service today. I’ve seen their business card planted on my front door several times over the past year but have been waiting to trim my front and side oak for when my husband was back from Afghanistan. The first tree company I used 2 years ago when we first moved in, I feel I was ripped off because I’m a chick and that’s what happens to chicks sometimes, we get ripped off.
I called Hisey up last week and left a message. Bryan called me that evening and asked if he could come out to do the estimate the following day. I said sure. He showed up and I explained the whole shenanigan of what we wanted done to our oaks AND 4 small trees we wanted removed in the back yard. Yeah, yeah, yeah, a lot of mumbo jumbo was thrown out there about his company being «high service» (whatever that means in comparison to other tree-​trimming services) and the insurance wasn’t mentioned until I asked. I just took his speech as what he does for a living — he’s a salesman for gods sake, what do you expect, people? My husband and I talked him down on the price from his original quote (which I’m sure was already predetermined in his head — again he’s a salesman but we expected that) and were satisfied at the price settled.
Hisey called the day prior with a reminder that their crew would be out today AS WELL as calling 45 minutes prior to showing up. A 3-​man crew came (the team leader spoke English, the other two, not so much) and we went over what was discussed with Bryan. Although they took roughly 3 hours to cut both of our oaks, most of which was chopped into firewood and palletized for us, as well as the removal of 4 of our trees in the back yard, plus clean up, THEY FAR SURPASSED WHAT WE HAD EXPECTED. OUR YARD LOOKS BEAUTIFUL — FRONT AND BACK!
If quality service comes from a pushy salesman (which, I’ve totally experienced worse), than I have no problem with him :) Thanks Bryan and Team!

The owner of Hisey thinks it’s ok to solicit door-​to-​door while trespassing on private property within gated communities. In the past year, this company has come to our home (9 times) soliciting their services. We have told them in no uncertain terms that we have no intention of using them and have even called the company directly to ask them to stop. But they have ignored our requests and have ignored the posted warnings at the locked gate of our community. Beware of any business that solicits door– to-​door to generate sales.

OK here’s the story as short as I can tell it.
I had Hisey out to give me an free estimate. Bryan was the rep who showed up to do the estimate. Very hard sell like another reviewer mentioned. Lots of BS about how hard it would be to take down the tree I wanted cut (which took them a total of about thirty mins when it finally came down to it and the guys probably could have done it blindfolded), and about their 2 million dollar insurance policy which Bryan INSISTED on showing me a copy of. I was like, «Buddy, I do photoshop, I know how easy this would be to fake. I’m not stupid. This means nothing, and the fact that you’re so rabid to show it to me is creeping me out!» The price he quoted me originally actually made me laugh because it was over twice as high as the first company I had gotten an estimate from. Bryan REALLY wanted me to sign a contract then and there which I refused to do. I told him I would check Hisey (pronounced «Hi-​C» like the drink, not” Hissy” like the fit) out on line. I told him that I wanted to check with my husband, before I signed anything, and I would get back to him with a decision the next day.
Hisey’s reviews on line were not promising. Unilocal had two, one of which, the one with four stars, looked a lot like a plant (the reviewer only has two reviews total) and the other was from a person who didn’t use the company after being turned off by their hard sell salesman. I decided to pass on Hisey.
The next day was THURSDAY (this will be significant later). Bright and early my phone was ringing and it was Bryan’s number. I ignored it cause it made me mad that he called so early. I hadn’t even gotten out of bed yet and this guy was pressuring me already! It wasn’t until around 4 PM that I listened to the several messages that Bryan had left for me. He kept throwing in extra services for no additional cost and he had come way down on the original (sky high) price he quoted me. Finally he offered to throw in stump grinding for no charge. I shouldn’t have caved in but I did. I wanted those stumps gone! I called him back and he came over around 6 PM (again this will be significant later) and I signed my name on his phone screen contract. Bryan said the service would probably take place on Saturday (two days hence) but he couldn’t guarantee the day. I was getting a much reduced price he said, so they had to piggy back my job on with another job in the same area and couldn’t put an exact date on when that job would take place. Regardless, he said, someone would call at least an hour before the crew showed up.
So the very next day, Friday morning, bright and early, I’m once again barely up, just putting the tea on and I look out and there is the tree removal crew pulling up. No warning. «What the f***?!» I run to pull on some clothes and my phone is ringing. Its the crew chief and he wants to know if I’m actually at home because when he showed up yesterday morning I wasn’t.
Wait.
Showed up yesterday morning?! I didnt even sign anything until yesterday night? What was going on? The guy also had no orders to do the stump grinding and didnt even have the equipment to do any of the extra stuff that Bryan had supposedly thrown in for free. And yes, the company had sent him out to my house yesterday morning before I had even agreed to have the service done. Talk about HIGH PRESSURE!
I was pissed! I made the crew wait while I got a manager on the phone and got everything straightened out. The manager (Justin I think his name was) was pretty good. He got a truck with a stump grinder out to my house and promised to uphold everything Bryan had thrown into the deal. The crew who actually cut down the trees were VERY good; fast, professional, courteous and best of all, they didn’t drop any heavy limbs on any fences or roofs or dogs or anything else. So ultimately the service turned out OK.
I think the real thing to be wary of when you use this company is the initial hard sell. They will quote you an OUTRAGEOUSLY high price to begin with so that once they’ve knocked some money off and thrown in some free stuff you think you are getting a great deal when really, you are still paying slightly more for nothing special. I think the whole speech about how they are insured is a bunch of hooey. I bet homeowner’s insurance already covers most people in this situation and I question whether Hisey even has any insurance. Bryan made a big deal out of having to have the neighbors sign a waiver so they would be covered by Hisey’s «oh-​so-​amazing» insurance, but when the crew showed up unannounced, and I asked if they needed to wait until the neighbors signed the waiver everyone (including the manager) was like, «Oh no, we don’t really need that.»
Uh huh.
Oh and the five star review just showed up this week and if you notice, the reviewer (as of now) has not reviewed anything else. Plant? I’m betting yes. They seem like THAT kind of company.