internaughtfull wrote:
I have a crape myrtle
[...]
When I checked it out they cut it to about 6 ft high and the branches
are 1-2" or so thick.

That's called "topping". A lot of yard care businesses do it; it is
so common that I think many clients actually expect them to do it like
that. I always make a point of asking the neighbors who cut their
tree, without a whiff of disapproval. That's how I found a business
that does not do topping. They do really good work.

Crape myrtle survives severe cutting far better than many other trees.
It should come back. You may want to cut it some more, in a year or
two, to speed its recovery from the topping.

Una