Cutting to the chase with DTE on tree trimming work for Ann Arbor homeowner
Jen Eyer | AnnArbor.com
Aside from being a danger to power lines and nearby houses, the trees are located right on the edges of his property, where he would like to install a fence to contain their puppy.
Duckett called a local tree service company to get an estimate, and was told that, for safety reasons, DTE would need to trim the brittle branches away from the electrical wires before they could do the removal.
On June 26, Duckett called DTE and informed them of the situation. What followed was more than two months of rigmarole —multiple phone calls, plus two rounds of paperwork and visits from DTE workers — but no action. Then Duckett read my Aug. 29 column about a couple who had a problem with AT&T tree trimmers, and he decided to contact me.
“DTE have been incredibly unresponsive to my requests,” Duckett wrote in his initial note. “Although they acknowledge that the trees represent a danger, they haven't done anything about it for 2 months, and meanwhile a branch fell off in a storm, narrowly missing my neighbor's house.”
I spoke with Duckett on Sept. 7, and he outlined the time and effort he had spent thus far on the issue.
Duckett said a couple of days after he called DTE on June 26, he received a card from the company on his front door. It stated that the trees were a danger, and requested that he sign an attached form giving DTE permission to perform the trimming and acknowledging that Duckett will be responsible for removing the branches.
Duckett said he signed the form and mailed it back the next day. A couple of weeks passed, and he decided to call the number printed on the card. Although he left multiple voice messages at the number, no one returned his calls, he said.
In mid-July, he called the main customer service number again, and asked what was taking so long. On July 22, another DTE worker was sent out, and this time Duckett said he spoke to the man.
“I met him, and he said, “Those trees are a threat. We've got to take care of it as soon as possible.’ But when I came back from vacation in the beginning of August, nothing had happened yet,” Duckett said.
So, on Sept. 2, Duckett said he called the customer service number again. This time, he said he was told — inexplicably — that the trees had been trimmed and the case was closed. He informed the customer service representative the trees indeed had not been trimmed, and noted her name and ID number. Duckett then sent an email to DTE that day expressing his frustration, and mentioning that he had contacted AnnArbor.com.
The next day he came home to discover another DTE permission slip on his door. He signed it and mailed it back the next day.
I called DTE media relations on Sept. 7 and asked why the process for Duckett had been so convoluted. Spokesperson Scott Simons returned my call on Sept. 8, and told me the job had been delayed because workers have been too busy doing restoration work after storms.
"So all summer long, there's been no break in the action, no chance at all for them to do this work?" I asked.
“Apparently not,” Simons said. “Hopefully it will be done tomorrow … or at least by the end of the week. Unless there’s another storm — then all bets are off.”
If the workers have been so busy, I asked, why doesn’t DTE bring on more contractors?
Simons replied that there aren’t any more trained line clearance workers available in the area.
I also asked Simons why a customer service representative would have told Duckett the case had been closed. Simons declined my request to look into the records, saying he was too busy.
However — happily for Duckett — two workers showed up at his house on Friday morning. Within an hour they had trimmed the trees all the way down to below the power lines.
“They did an excellent job,” Duckett said.
Jen Eyer is on the Community Team at AnnArbor.com, and she writes a citizen advocacy column. Do you have a problem you’d like to share? Contact Jen at jeneyer@annarbor.com or 623-2577, or fill out this form.
Comments
Brad
Mon, Sep 13, 2010 : 8:53 a.m.
They aren't sagging that much, trust me. Nor is arcing that much of an issue at the voltages of the lines in the neighborhood. And I don't have HV lines, so that isn't an issue. I think I'm sticking with "trim-job done by clowns that don't know what they're doing".
Basic Bob
Mon, Sep 13, 2010 : 6:25 a.m.
"Evidently they were under the impression that sometimes branches sometimes fall UP" Some facts you might not have considered: Power lines stretch when they are overloaded? They sag down toward the tree due to gravity. Electricity does not care which way the tree falls, sparks and arcs go any direction, whichever is closest. Maybe you should see the work ITC crews do near the high voltage transmission lines. Your tree would be trimmed into a stump.
brad
Sun, Sep 12, 2010 : 9:10 p.m.
A neigbhor's overgrown back yard was encroaching on our lines, and it became problematic over the past week with the high winds knocking out one leg of our power for a few minutes at a time. Put in a call with DTE customer service, who sent someone out same day to reviewed the problem and put in a call for tree trimmers, who came out the next morning to cut everything back from DTE's portion of the lines. I'll admit the work the DTE contractors did really didn't look pretty, but a few ugly branches are much better than the alternative... Guess we were lucky!
AlphaAlpha
Sun, Sep 12, 2010 : 8:33 p.m.
...fixed your typo: "The utility's inconsistent and sometimes obnoxious response to customer needs should be widely condemned by numerous regular annarbor.com commenters as living "proof" that government management of essential infrastructure represents a completely flawed and reckless failure." Another great thing about being a regulated monopoly: you don't need to provide good customer service, because you are protected by law from any competition. What a deal! And, gosh, if you don't like DTE's service, you can complain to the government regulators. They will listen carefully and attentively, and respond right away. Not.
Speechless
Sun, Sep 12, 2010 : 7:53 p.m.
"... One of the very best things about being DTE, a 'regulated' monopoly: you are legally guaranteed a profit, regardless of corporate inefficiencies." Here we go again, seeking any anti-regulatory angle to try and shield the guilty from being held responsible for their corporate actions. In a fantasy world, readers might believe DTE representatives and contractors behaved like jerks because the government told them they could, and should, do it. Without what little regulation there is, and without muckraking reports like these, then DTE, AT&T and other utility giants would behave even worse. I'd bet that If DTE were actually a full-fledged state department under the governor and legislature, we'd have 100 comments right now, instead of 10. The utility's inconsistent and sometimes obnoxious response to customer needs would be widely condemned by numerous regular annarbor.com commenters as living "proof" that government management of essential infrastructure represents a completely flawed and reckless failure. Instead, DTE is a large, private sector concern, which is problematic for most of the flacks who typically jump at any opportunity to champion unrestrained corporate power. Nearly all fall oddly silent in response to a report like this.
Stewart
Sun, Sep 12, 2010 : 3:48 p.m.
Shoulda called Arbor Valley from the get go and paid out of pocket
Bones
Sun, Sep 12, 2010 : 11:51 a.m.
I had similart problems with DTE and the tree that I ended up paying to have taken down just so I did not have to deal with this anymore. They came after almost three months of me calling to get it trimmed. Just to do very little in the problem areas and making a nice mess for me to pick up. I contacted a tree service and hired the tree removal myself. It was easier that way. Just do not be late with your bill though!
AlphaAlpha
Sun, Sep 12, 2010 : 11:50 a.m.
One of the very best things about being DTE, a 'regulated' monopoly: you are legally guaranteed a profit, regardless of corporate inefficiencies.
Sonya
Sun, Sep 12, 2010 : 9:54 a.m.
The crews who work for DTE (Davey) are appalling. Both times they have done work in our neighborhood the workers have openly urinated in the street. This most recent time they got into a snowball fight across several driveways. The actual tree trimming is a joke--more like mangling. The groups are all male and so rowdy I feel intimidated and unsafe for myself and my young girls.
Kafkaland
Sun, Sep 12, 2010 : 9:49 a.m.
I can add a recent anecdote about DTE tree trimming as well: During a storm, one of the tree branches that were long overdue for trimming touched a wire of the 14kV main distribution line in my backyard. The branch caught fire, so I called the fire department who responded quickly, just to tell me to let it burn and call DTE. I did so, and they came two days later and looked at the situation and agreed that it's time to send the tree trimmers out to prevent further incidents. Two weeks later, still no tree trimmers, but another storm, and another branch on the same tree fell into the high voltage line, now taking two of the three wires down, right into the creek below. Quite some fireworks, molten rocks and all, several fire trucks, power outages for over a day etc. That finally got the attention of DTE, they brought out serveral crews to look at the damage, none knowing what the previous crew had done, but eventually they re-strung the lines, and, miraculously, even the tree trimmers showed up to cut back the offending tree, or what was left of it at that time. An ounce of prevention could have saved major damage to the power distribution network, and helped keep the rates down. But that's probably asking for too much...
Brad
Sun, Sep 12, 2010 : 9:24 a.m.
I contacted DTE a couple of years ago after one if their "trimmers" BUTCHERED one of our trees that had been *professionally* trimmed just a few months before. Evidently they were under the impression that sometimes branches sometimes fall UP, because they also "trimmed" branches that were below any of the wires.
Scotsman
Sun, Sep 12, 2010 : 9:17 a.m.
The City of Ann Arbor has a department of Urban Forestry. Do they have no ability to influence a for profit company that holds a monopoly over the city's tax payers? It seems to me that would be a city service that Ann Arbor citizens would value.
AA
Sun, Sep 12, 2010 : 8:51 a.m.
DTE is quite simply the worst. They have immature 'employees' (mostly subcontractors) that could care less about ANYTHING. I called to have branches removed from the wires at my home and they eventually arrived (about 8 months later) and removed about 40% of the branches off the wires, being sure to leave enough to cause a future problem or to have to come back (job security). They lopped off a branch that was 50 feet from the wires just to tick me off (and they did). My advice is to document every branch (pictures, videos), get workers and supevisors names, be at home when they perform ANY work. Even after all this, they could care less about what they do to your trees or to you. They are untouchable at the subcontractor level. Good luck.