After abandoning job, Georgia tree trimmer pledges to ‘make it right’

ATLANTA, Ga. (CBS46) - A metro Atlanta couple paid a local tree trimming service more than $3,000 to remove three trees, but the crew only cut one and then abandoned the job after only two days.

“I don’t understand how you can go to bed at night and treat people this way,” the grandson of Annette Hudgens, 85, said of Toby’s Tree Service in McDonough, Georgia.

Hudgens and her husband had used the service before.

Hudgens had given up hope the company, owned by Toby Spires, would return. A month later, her husband Bill passed away at age 90. Hudgens’ grandson and her neighbors said they made several attempts to reach Spires, but never got past the company’s receptionist.

Toby’s Tree Service has been in business for 22 years. Spire’s company has good reviews, but several customers complain online the company disappeared before completing the work. One customer started his complaint on the Better Business Bureau’s website with one word: “Run!”

The BBB issued an F rating.

When contacted by CBS46, Spires said he remembered the couple and apologized, blaming the pandemic and family issues.

“That’s when my son was running the business and I took it back over two years ago and tried to do the right thing,” he said. “When you have family members that’s how it is.”

Spires kept his promise. A week later, CBS46 returned and watched a crew remove the two remaining trees. Spires also promised to resolve any outstanding issues with customers.

“Anyone who calls, I’ll do whatever I need to do to make it right,” he said.

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