When Marshall Widman installed a surveillance camera near the front door of his home, he knew family and friends would give him a hard time.
After all, the most exciting thing the camera captured every week in the quiet Johnson County neighborhood was the trash pickup, he joked.
"It was just something that was fun. It was more or less a toy," Widman told 41 Action News.
But the investment value of that new toy quickly paid off last fall when it saved Widman from forking over $130 for a service he never received.
On October 16, Widman returned from work and found an invoice from Tree Doctor Inc. stuck in his door. According to the bill, an employee had stopped by earlier in the day and applied deep-root fertilization to three of his trees.
That was nothing alarming. Widman paid for the service for the first time in 2013 and had already agreed to a renewal treatment.
But Widman saw an opportunity to try out his new technical equipment. He loaded the surveillance video on his laptop and cued up the footage to the moment he spotted the company truck pull up to his home.
His jaw dropped when he saw what happened next.
"It was vindication for all the people who made fun of me for putting in the camera," Widman said. "And then it was just anger."
Widman watched the tree service employee walk up the driveway and ring the doorbell. After lingering on the stoop for more than a minute, the man placed an invoice in the door, and returned to his vehicle.
Widman expected the worker to pull the high-pressure hose from the back of the truck and begin applying fertilizer.
But suddenly, the truck shifted into gear and pulled forward, disappearing from view.
And since Widman's street is a cul-de-sac, there's no doubt about what happened next. Roughly 30 seconds later, the company truck passed by the video screen in the opposite direction, leaving the neighborhood.
Widman figured he had to be missing something. He watched the previous three days of footage to make sure the employee hadn't stopped by for the fertilization earlier. He inspected near the trunks of his trees, looking for any puncture holes in the ground.
He even called the company to confirm the work had been done and to inquire about the health of his trees.
The employee in question, Tim, left a message on Widman's phone, confirming he had done the work on October 16.
"I was scared to death I missed something," Widman said. "The biggest worry I had is that I got it wrong and might be accusing a legitimate business of doing something."
41 Action News contacted company owner Paul Weaver, who immediately agreed to come to the station to view the surveillance video.
Weaver said what he saw on the screen left him sick to his stomach.
"It's shocking, discouraging and angering," Weaver told 41 Action News. "I always tell my employees to do every job like it's your grandma's house and the customer is standing right behind you."
During his 22 years in the tree care industry, Weaver said he's purposely kept his company small to maintain quality control. The employee, Tim, was someone Weaver had known for 15 years and considered a friend.
In a search of court records, 41 Action News found no legal issues connected to the company. Attorneys general offices in Missouri and Kansas had no complaints in their systems. And Tree Doctor Inc. had an A+ rating with the Better Business Bureau.
"Obviously, you don't stay in business for over 20 years for doing what just happened in that video," Weaver said.
The company owner fired Tim and told 41 Action News he is disputing his unemployment claim, saying he doesn't deserve benefits after committing a "fraudulent act."
Weaver also typed a letter of apology and sent it to Widman.
"I write this letter with a heavy heart full of sadness," it read. "It is every service provider and homeowner's greatest fear that an employee does not do the job they are trained and paid to do completely and properly."
The letter concluded by asking the homeowner if he would consider allowing the company to perform the service the right way and continue as a customer.
Widman is appreciative of the offer, but admits his trust of the broader home service industry--cleaning, heating, air conditioning--has been broken and will take some time to repair.
He also feels for any other homeowners who might've paid for a service they never received, and didn't have the video to prove it.
"If he's done it to me, how many times has he done it before?" Widman wondered.
Ryan Kath can be reached at ryan.kath@kshb.com. You can follow him on Twitter or connect on Facebook.
