The way to get the best deal for tree related needs is to hire the more competent company and one with a proven reputation for honesty and accuracy in their price quotes where the price doesn't go up once they have your business.

And that's what consumers told us they enjoy about Ventura County firm Gold Coast Tree Service in Simi Valley CA, run by owner Mike Sokoloff with 28 years of experience, and with the crew, expertise, and equipment to complete jobs safely, including tricky ones that leave other companies confused.

Gold Coast Tree Serivce: More Efficiency and Lower Cost Through Greater Expertise

There are varied reasons why some operators out there offer cut-rate price quotes. One is that they don't carry liability insurance, leaving you on the hook for property damage that occurs.  Another is that they don't have the right worker's comp insurance, so you'll pay when their workers get hurt on your property. This is especially so with companies doing tree work with only a C27 license for landscaping.  What's wrong with that? That license only lets them do tree work up to 12 feet high, so their insurance doesn't even cover injuries that happen over 12 feet up. Worse still, your homeowner's insurance then won't cover it because policies say in the fine print that you're responsible for hiring the right kind of licensed contractor.  That means you could even lose your house. In contrast, Gold Coast Tree Service has the required D49 license specifically for trees, making them the properly licensed company for work at all heights and even tricky removals using cranes.

Another reason for low-ball price quotes is inexperienced or even illegal labor. Mere gardeners will offer to do your trimming and pruning, however it's too easy to kill your tree by pruning it in the wrong place, or the wrong time of year. Gold Coast Tree Service owner Mike Sokoloff explains, "Some trees shouldn't get trimmed during hot months because it leaves them open to diseases and insects. For example, when sap flows it attracts beetles. Trees get infected and die."

Often that too-good-to-be-true price quote is exactly that, and the company will bump it up after they start work. Like one recent instance, a realtor went with a quote that was $1,500 less than another, only to be given excuses why they needed to increase the price to that of the original honest bid.  Unlike those companies, Gold Coast Tree Service in Simi Valley CA has a reputation for honest quotes to have jobs done right, in a way that brings a high rate of repeat business. This was attested to by consumers we called as research for this article, like one named Denise who said of Gold Coast Tree Service, "I love them. They are awesome. They do a great job. I'm a realtor and use them all the time. They're professional. They keep the place clean. They do all the right things." And another named Joselyn reported to us, "In regards to Gold Coast Tree Service, I use them once a year and they are fantastic. They are on time. They do what you ask them to do."

Gold Coast Tree Service and owner Mike Sokoloff are especially the company of choice for tricky jobs due to their greater expertise and equipment, making the jobs less costly because they get done sooner compared to other companies doing it by hand that have to come back day after day.  This also means they can do jobs that others just can't.  As one consumer named Chris reported to us, "We just had our humongous tree cut down by Gold Coast Tree Service and we were very satisfied with their service. It was a very challenging job in a very tricky spot. We had three other guys who wouldn't even put a bid in because it was such a tricky job. It was a good experience.  Very professional. Very efficient."  Owner Mike Sokoloff shared, "In that job it came down to who's got the skilled labor. Not everyone can take down huge tree over a house and power lines. Even though the site prevented the use of a crane, there's still special equipment, like fractioning devices, lowering devices, pulleys ropes for difficult technical removals, and not every company has them or knows how to use them. We make it a priority to keep up with the industry and have state of the art high-quality equipment so that customers benefit from the greater efficiency that comes from that."

Ventura County resident Michael Sokoloff lives in Thousand Oaks CA where he was born and raised. He started doing tree work as far back as high school and has been doing it ever since. As might be expected from someone who's chosen his career, he loves the outdoors and the sports that let him enjoy it like kayaking along Malibu, river rafting, ocean fishing, and dirt bike trail riding. Friends describe Mike as outgoing and helpful, and customers say he's proven his willingness to do whatever it takes to make the customer satisfied.  After so many years in this business, how does he still enjoy it so much? "I like doing big difficult jobs that others don't like to do and make it look easy. Like for the customer last week in the Hollywood hills, he couldn't find a company that would do it. He told me, ‘I like your attitude. All others told me why they couldn't do it. You told me how you could.'   And I still like doing the smaller services like trimming because I know customers are getting it done the right way without harming the health of the tree. As we tell customers about Gold Coast Tree Service, no job too small or too tall."

According to consumers we heard from, Gold Coast Tree Service in Simi Valley CA and owner Mike Sokoloff provide everything from trimming to moving and removals with honest, accurate price quotes, greater expertise, and state of the art equipment that means the assurance of jobs done right at affordable rates, including 24-hour emergency service. In the words of customer Joselyn, "They are very, very good and I recommend them. They're awesome."