A-1 Tree Service

We had a very large tree on our parkway with branches starting to brush against our roof. Called A-​1 and left a message. Sy called back and came out for an estimate the same day. He discussed which branches he’d want to trim to prevent the problem from occurring again but leaving as much of the tree in tact as possible. Agreed upon the price and told me he’d get in contact with me in a few weeks to a month.
Fast forward a few weeks later (I assume to get the permits in order), Sy and his crew come. Everything was trimmed in an efficient manner and they cleaned up all debris as well. Sy even trimmed some extra branches free of charge which were not included in the estimate after taking a second look.

We had dying Ash tree in the back yard, 60−70ft tall with a canopy spread over into two neighbor’s backyards.
Sy came by within 24hrs of us calling for an estimate. The first time he came out was an informal estimate he wasted no time and was very straight forward. He was able to scope out the tree while we were not home. Told us that the tree could last one more season then it would become dangerous and more expensive to remove.
I went out to get 3 other estimates. Each company took much longer and had a more formal process, checklists, and forms, and follow-​up calls, and in-​person walk-​throughs ect…
We ended up calling Sy back and he squeezed us in before the weather got too bad. Our neighbors commented on how nice the crew was. They had to remove a fence on our property and the neighbor’s to get to the canopy with a bucket truck. After cutting the tree, they left our backyard in better shape than they found it. They even cleaned out the gutters on the garage where branches had fallen. They cleaned the alleyway of debris. And left us the wood for the fireplace.
Really great crew, efficient service and very reasonable price.

In late October our condominium management company hired A-​1 to trim the two trees on the side of our building. The instructions were to remove any branches that were touching the building or looked dead or dying. What A-1’s crew of trimmers did was all but eviscerate our large, beautiful trees, depriving us of shade, nature (we love watching our birds and squirrels), and most importantly, our privacy.
A-​1 removed 75% of the branches on one tree and 85% on the other. Instead of enjoying the greenery (in spring/​summer/​fall) I now see the ugliness of the empty lot on the corner, the laundromat, and the strip of stores across the street, oh, and my condo neighbors and I can now see what we are eating for dinner each evening.
There’s no doubt that the literal hack-​job done by A-​1 has further reduced our condo’s values and removed a valuable, enjoyed-​by-​all asset to the residents and neighborhood.
When one of the other condo residents went out to ask them why they had removed almost all the branches, the on-​site manager did a lot of shrugging and «whatever“s. A-​1 showed a total lack of concern for the issues raised… as is typical of people in business and power in Chicago.
Given the outstanding reviews on Unilocal prior to our trimming, I’m baffled why they did such a terrible job. Nonetheless, we are very unhappy and wouldn’t recommend A-​1 to anyone.
I’m going to add pictures showing during and after the «trimming» so people can see the extent of the live, green leafy branches removed and the bareness afterward.

I have not received service from A-​1 but I am already impressed. I requested a quote from A-​1 and I was expecting to set up a time when I called. Well, no need for the back and forth. By the time I called Sy back, he had already driven by our property and thoroughly assessed the situation. My Ash Tree has «caught the beetle disease» (my words) and is unsalvageable. His price is incredibly reasonable for the work. Now it’s a matter of getting it approved by the association.

Sy and his team were the most professional tree people with whom I have dealt. I have huge old trees. The finished a major and high trim 3 stories up for three trees in an hour. Amazing to watch and extremely nice guys. 100% recommendation to use them

Sy was very responsive and very easy to work with. Called him to schedule tree removal and he was here the next day on time with enough guys to get the job done quickly. They also did a nice job cleaning up the debris. Would highly recommend A-​1 Tree Service!

A-​1 did a great job removing a tree and six bushes from my front yard. Sy is polite and prompt; he kept his word about when he’d perform estimates and services, and he always answers the phone. (This is not the case with many contractors!)

I was very impressed with Sy and his business. He gave me a great price, called me back very promptly. He came and took down a large tree in my front yard, they were quick, and cleared up really well, I would highly recommend him to anyone.

Excellent in every respect. Sy called us back immediately, and was extremely accommodating in working with our busy work schedules to get his crew out to our house. We have a pair of beautiful 110+ year old basswoods in front of our house. Since the trees hadn’t been trimmed in about 20 years, we called Sy and 4 others to come bid on the cleanup. Sy gave us a competitive bid (far better than a couple of big name competitors and directly in line with a couple of others). We ultimately chose Sy because he was extremely responsive and incredibly friendly throughout the process. Then, he and his crew came and did an amazing job with both trees. We are very happy, and couldn’t recommend Sy and his crew more.

I own a number of investment properties and Sy/​A-​1 are top notch from my experience with a lot of contractors. My first mistake was waiting for the city of Chicago to cut down a dead parkway tree. It took them a year to come out. When they finally made it, they left most of the stump behind. If I had it to do over again, I’d have called A-​1 earlier and had them do the tree removal too. That didn’t happen, but I did have them remove the two stumps. A-​1 returned my call right away, gave a simple estimate, and took the stumps out quickly and completely. They also didn’t damage the parkway retaining wall, which showed they had some skill. Use them, they’re fast, cheap, and good. I paid by check and don’t know if they take credit cards.

I don’t know where to begin. Me and my husband have bought our home in April 2014 and we had a huge tree in our back yard that they built our fence around I called many tree service companies and no one called us back to come out for a quote except A1 I am so glad they did. Not only did they give us a fair price they came out and took the tree out in less then 3 hours! And cleaned up afterwards. They ran into a problem while taking the tree down but didn’t charge us extra for the work even though they could have. I would recommend this company to anyone and will be using them again. :)

Did a nice quick job taking down a tree on alley that had been butchered by electric company… as well as other trimming. Very satisfied with responsiveness to initial call for estimate and with the work. Would use again.

I would recommend Sy and his crew to anyone on the north side or in the northern suburbs. Sy gave me the best price of all the places I called. They were in and out in an hour – trees cut, stumps chipped, mess cleaned, logs piled for firewood. #ftw

Sy called back the same day I left a message. He came out, gave us an estimate for pruning and dead limb removal (2 trees), then we had to wait a couple weeks for City permits. He and his crew arrived on a super cold day (¹¹⁄₁₇) but finished the job quickly and cleaned up too.
We’ve tried to get this work done since Spring 2013, trying both Bartlett and Care of Trees — I guess our little job was not important enough for them. Our Angie’s List advisor suggested A-​1 might be able to help and they did.

Called Sy to cut through some tree roots that halted my garage project. Very quick response. I told him over the phone what needed to be done, he stopped by and looked at the project and gave me a fair estimate and did the job the very next day.
After the project was done I had some concerns and he came out and cut back even more of the tree roots. he followed up with me to make sure the project got back on track.
Will not hesitate to call him again for tree issues.

They don’t service the south side meaning the black neighborhoods. SMH… «only north side» she said. WTF. I guess the trees are a harder to cut down on the south side. She just lost tons of business. I need trees cut down all the time for my customers who are about to lose their insurance policies.

Very Nice Guy! Owner showed up within hrs of me calling for an estimate. I had 3 businesses give me quotes for the same tree trimming.
This business quoted me $ 1800 then went down to $ 1500
JDK Arbor quoted $ 850 with written proposal and knew what type of each tree that needed trimmed
The tree guy in Oak Park, IL knew about trees, had proposals, licensed and bonded for $ 600
All in all, If I had an extra $ 300 – 900 for this guy, I would certainly get it done with him
I would recommend written quotes in what would be done but it wasn’t that important

Echoing all the other 5 star reviews! I called on Monday about the removal of 2 small trees from my backyard. A professional and friendly receptionist took my information and said I would receive a call the next day. Sy called that same evening and said he would come out the next morning to give me an estimate and that I did not need to be home. He did and called later the same day with the quote, which was very reasonable. He and his crew came out today and swiftly got the job done. You would never know they were here or that there used to be two trees in the yard. I highly recommend Sy and A-​1 for your tree service needs!

Same as the rest — Sy and A-​1 Tree Service is Amazing! I negotiated the price with Sy, which was very very reasonable, and he took care of the rest along with contacting ComEd to move the power lines for my very large tree.
Trust the reviews. A-​1 Tree Service is for real.

I called these guys about a stray cat that had been stuck in a nearby tree for a few days. I’d called at least 10 other places who all refused to help. They came out within 20 minutes. Both Sy and his female accomplice (forgot her name!) were incredibly personable and helpful. I highly recommend these folks!
Thank you both for being so helpful, even though the cat hurt himself on the way down!