Homeowners get roped into this type of 'trimming' all the time. Some dude knocks on the door and says they have a crew and will trim the tree for 1/2 price! WOW what a deal! right...
sorry to say it happens very often. I tell people all the time that they killed the tree. It leafs out the next spring and thats about it. These trees dont usually live for very long (many of the species I see are ash, oak, and other trees that are severely harmed by topping).
A lot of people like to pollard the mulberry, crape myrtle and others but this is a different process all together.
here is an interesting article on pollarding:
http://www.mntca.org/Newsletter/newsletters/pollarding.htm
Again, this is a very different thing to do and I dont promote this type of pruning either, but if done yearly, these trees can be kept safe (small) and provide the homeowner with what they are looking for.