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When Brian Wierzbicki decided to start Precision Stump Removal LLC in West Salem, it was customer service that was the driving force.

“It’s almost kind of silly how it all started,” said Wierzbicki, who owns the company with his wife Lynn.

“I was unhappy with so many of the other businesses I’ve had to deal with. People don’t wait on you, they don’t return calls and they don’t seem to care whether their customers are satisfied. I wanted to prove that a business could be run well and with high standards and succeed.”

It appears that Precision Stump Removal is doing just that — and filling a niche in the process.

“There seems to be a need for it,” Wierzbicki said. “I worked with Coulee Tree Service the past few years and there weren’t a lot of people doing this service. Things are going well, I do a lot work in the village and it’s also nice to provide service locally.”

One of the reasons that things are going well is that Wierzbicki is a relatively small-time operator with big-time equipment. The diesel-powered stump cutter he uses cost $30,000. It grinds the stump into wood chips, which can easily be hauled away.

Wierzbicki said that his main customers are tree services, landscape contractors and homeowners. He said some of the big tree companies might have a machine like it, but individual contractors usually don’t. That gives him an opening.

“I know it’s a cliche, but I try to provide the best service people could possibly expect. I return phone calls and I show up when I say I will,” Wierzbicki said.

Another plus for his business is his flexibility as to when the work will be done. He will work on weekends and evenings.

“I’ve got a generator, so I can set up lights on the work area if I need to,” Wierzbicki said. “I get a lot of calls where people say ‘I can’t let you into my backyard during the day because I’m at work. Can you come at night?’”

There are also businesses like golf courses where it’s not possible to do the work when customers might be disrupted. Schools, too, sometimes need work done either late at night or early in the morning.

Wierzbicki seems most proud of being able to “reclaim” land for homeowners. His machine will cut down to 6 to 8 inches below ground level if the area is to be replanted with sod or lawn. If the customer is planning on planting something else or perhaps laying a concrete slab, the machine can go down as far as 17 to 20 inches below ground level.

Wierzbicki’s business will also remove the considerable amount of wood chips that accumulate during stump grinding. Afterwards, once the stump is removed, Precision Stump Removal can deliver topsoil to fill the cavity created. The area is then tamped and grass seed or sod applied.