I took most of the tree down myself. I called them to remove the 6ft tall trunk. Claude was nice & friendly when he came to give me an estimate. He seemed certain that there would be a lot more roots other than what were visible from me digging. He said that there was no way of knowing for sure & said that it would be about $200.
A couple of days later he wrapped a chain around it & pulled it out with his pickup trunk. The trunk fell into the side of a bush causing some damage - I guess this was understandable but it irked me because he didn't acknowledge it. They had a very hard time cutting it up for removal and he told me that his chainsaw was dull from the previous job. I thought it odd that he wouldn't have a spare on hand if this is your business. It was hot and they were sweating from the struggle.
When I asked how much to make out the check for he said $200. I questioned it saying that there were no hidden roots and his response was that $200 is my minimum for a job like this. I f that were the case he should have told me that up front & not made it sound like it might be less. It just made me feel like I was charged a bit extra because his chainsaw was dull & made the job difficult.