Absolute Best Care provides a wide range of tree care and landscape maintenance services for residential and commercial clients in parts of Alameda, Contra Costa, San Mateo, and Santa Clara Counties. The company currently services a number of homeowners associations, colleges, hotels, and city and state entities. In addition to handling everything from planting new trees to pruning, maintaining and removing existing trees, Absolute Best Care is qualified to install pavers, retaining walls, driveways, walkways and other products that help customers upgrade their landscapes.
Owner Michael Petrovich says Absolute Best Care’s customer-oriented approach to tree work has been a significant factor in its success. “We focus on giving our clients exactly what they want—if anything, they usually end up getting more value than they anticipated. Ultimately, we strive to leave their properties looking better than they did when we first arrived.”
Absolute Best Care prioritizes communication throughout every step of its customers’ projects, which Mr. Petrovich says is important for ensuring positive results. “We take the time to listen to our clients and clearly explain our work so here are no surprises. By drawing upon our knowledge, experience and communication skills, we’re able to help people bring their ideas to life.”
“Character is everything to us—we always do what’s right, even if it’s the type of work that no one will ever see. Our customers know that if they ever need help with their trees or landscapes, we’ll be there for them. Their satisfaction is our number one goal.”
When it comes to hiring a tree care company, look for one that adheres to industry-best practices for trimming, pruning and maintenance.
When tree care contractors and arborists agree to whatever their customers want, it can be detrimental to the health of the trees and cause serious long-term problems. “Sometimes people will want to cut a 60-foot tree in half, but that’s definitely not good for the tree,” says Michael Petrovich, owner of Absolute Best Care in Concord. “Industry standards exist for a reason, especially when it comes to pruning and maintenance.”
Regardless of what tree contractors are asked to do, Mr. Petrovich says they should care more about the long-term health and appearance of trees than the immediate demands of property owners. “Your contractor should prune your tree so it grows correctly and looks great for many years.”
The International Society of Arboriculture (ISA) has numerous standards that tree care professionals follow in order to best care for trees. Here are a few:
- Branches should only be removed for a reason (dead branches, to improve the form of the tree, to reduce risk from falling branches, etc.).
- Young trees should be pruned while they mature so they grow with good structure.
- Mature trees should only be pruned as a corrective or preventive measure.
- Weak, dead and diseased tree limbs can be removed at any time. Healthy branches should be pruned before spring growth.
- Tree topping is harmful and should be avoided. Safer trimming techniques such as pruning back small branches and limbs can preserve a tree. Otherwise, removing the tree and replacing it with a smaller species may be the best solution.
Maintaining customer satisfaction is a crucial aspect of any business, but it’s even more important for tree care companies that have earned the prestigious Diamond Certified award. For Absolute Best Care, the key to keeping clients happy is simple: utilize its decades of industry experience to provide them with exactly what they want. “Knowledge and experience are very important in this industry, and both of ours are strong,” says owner Michael Petrovich. “We have what it takes to bring our customers’ ideas to life.”
Absolute Best Care has been providing tree services for residential and commercial clients in Alameda, Contra Costa, and Santa Clara Counties since 2003. The company has the training and equipment to handle everything from planting new trees to pruning and removing existing trees, and it’s also qualified to install pavers, retaining walls, and other landscape-improving products.
Unlike less experienced tree care companies that do whatever their clients request without paying attention to what’s best for their trees, Absolute Best Care closely follows the standards of the International Society of Arboriculture (ISA) and takes the time to explain why those standards exist. “Sometimes people will want us to cut a tree in half or cut it back so it looks like a bush, but the ISA stresses a 25 percent reduction for good pruning, so that’s what we abide by,” explains Mr. Petrovich. “Some contractors might do that type of work to make a quick buck, but we care about the long-term health and appearance of our clients’ trees, so we always work on them with that in mind.”
Ultimately, Mr. Petrovich sees Absolute Best Care’s company-wide character as its most important attribute. “For example, we never ask our clients about bids they’ve received from other companies,” he says. “We’re interested in fulfilling their tree care needs, not beating another company’s price. We also don’t engage in hard-sell tactics. Of course, we always want a potential customer’s business, but we want to earn it the right way, and that means never trying to sell them something they don’t need.”