F.A. Bartlett Tree Experts

Revdex.com 290 Donald Lynch Blvd., Suite 102 Marlborough, MA 01752-4705

26 October, 2012

We have now endured a 15-month-long stretch of contemptuous treatment from Bartlett Tree Experts This has reached a peak with our being billed at second time for services which have been acknowledged by Bartlett ’s Waltham as never having been performed.

When we lived in Pittsburgh, PA we were loyal customers of Bartlett Tree Experts and always received exemplary service: Prompt, professional and timely with clear and consistent communication between us and the Pittsburgh office. It was only natural that when we moved to Boston that we would again retain Bartlett Tree Experts. We had no way of knowing what a mistake that would be.

In August of 2011 we requested an estimate from Bartlett Tree Experts to remove tree limbs that were making contact with the roof of our house. Estimator [redacted] came and looked over our situation He promised to send an estimate by mail within a few days.

Alter two weeks with no estimate being received we called Bartlett’s Waltham, MA office and left a message. The next day Mr. [redacted] called and started talking about services that had nothing to do with what we had requested When I pointed this out he claimed he was confining our job with that of another house on our street and assured us he would send a correct estimate shortly. About a week later we received a written estimate which appeared to be correct, so we approved it and mailed it back the following day.

three more weeks with no communication we made a phone call to Bartlett’s Waltham office and

a message for Mr‘ [redacted] We received no return call.

In early October I called Bartletts office in Waltham again and gave them one last chance to provide the services which we had requested. Mr. [redacted] returned our call the following day and said he would have a crew at our home on October 27 (2011), At this point I was sufficiently skeptical of Mr. [redacted]’s promises that I started making a note of the dates involved.

On October 27 it rained nearly all day and no work was performed. This is understandable in itself, but we heard nothing from Mr. [redacted] or anyone else at Bartlett about rescheduling for another date. At this point we began looking for another company to hire to perform the tree branch removal.

On Saturday, November 5, 2011 we received a bill for $3 5000 from Bartlett even though the work we had requested had not been performed! On the following Monday (November 8) I phoned Bart1ett’s Waltham office and demanded an explanation. The receptionist promised a response by the next day.

On Tuesday, November 9 Mr. [redacted] phoned and left a message on our answering machine acknowledging that the bill was a mistake and explaining that he had (once again) eonihsed our job with a different one on our street. He was in the midst of leaving this message when I entered the house and heard him speaking to the answering machine; I picked up the phone just as he was promising to send a crew to perform the work we wanted and I told him in no uncertain terms that I did not want him or any other Bartlett employees to set foot on our property or contact us in any way ever again Because of what I shall charitably call the “unreliability” demonstrated by Mr. [redacted] and Bartlett Tree Experts over the preceding months, I decided to keep this message on our answering machine, rather than delete is as usual. I still retain a copy and I would like to point out that, because Mr. [redacted] was aware that he was being recorded (he was speaking to an answering machine, after all) this recording will be admissible in court in the state of Massachusetts, should the occasion arise.

I also sent letters to Bartletfs office in Waltham, MA and corporate headquarters in Stamford, CT informing them we would no longer do business with them.

This is where matters stood until October 1, 2012 when we received a second bill — this one including a $52.50 late fee! — for the services that were never performed!

This matter has now gone beyond comedy and entered the realm of outright farce We have been alternately ignored, lied to and/or mistaken for other customers multiple times without receiving any

services and we have been billed — twice for the privilege. At this point we must assume that we have been confused for yet a third time with this alleged “other house on our street”. Though such a mistake occurring again might appear absurd it seems the most likely explanation largely because we haven’t yet seen anyone at Bartlett display adequate competence to convince us that it could be anything else.

Is there any way in which such disgraceful business practices can be excused? Is there any possibility of setting the bar for customer service so low that this scenario couldn’t slither under it? I can’t imagine one but I would be most interested in any tale sufficiently fabulous that it would justify treating customers with this level of contempt.

What we want — what we demand —— is a written apology from the person responsible for the management of the Waltham office of Bartlett Tree Experts, with confirmation that we owe them precisely nothing.