Not ever either, If we have something at hand like large bins or a ladder then it will be used... I think the general feeling among my clients is that sacrificing a few small plants at the base of a large tree to be removed is a worthwhile saving as opposed to trying to preserve them. I was caught out last year on a land clearing job where we smashed and chipped a 2m Frangipanni, client tried to claim $1200 which I staunchly negotiated down to a replacement tree, these clients were utterly opportunistic but it taught me a valuable lesson.
I told a customer to find someone else to do their job today, its something I rarely ever do but I think I just followed my gut feeling and I'm pretty sure they are more hassle than they are worth. They are now calling me and leaving messages wanting me to call back (so far ignored). They engaged me to do some roof clearance of their yet to be completed house and these are the accumulated reasons that have made me wary of, and essentially fed up with them.
1. Wanted to argue the scope of the pruning permit, they eventually & reluctantly agreed to what is permitted under the permit but its obvious they want way more cut than it allows.
2. Told me that they found the quote pricey but would award me the job at a reduced rate, I felt there was satisfactory margin to allow for a small discount so agreed and reduced by 12.5%
3. After asking for the discount and accepting the price said I was free to schedule the work on a Saturday, as both husband and wife work mon-fri and wanted to supervise the job it could only be on Saturday. I try to avoid working Saturdays for the most part as I like to maintain some semblance of a social life however ended up agreeing in the interests of getting some work done.
4. They tell me I can do the work from 11 am onwards on Saturday, at which point I have asked them to contact somebody else- their schedule is way to inflexible for me to operate efficiently. ( I can't afford to twiddle my thumbs until 11am on a saturday)
I guess you could say its nice to have the freedom to knock back work, it always feels strange though. I know they would have tried to be foreman and point at branches etc. and that is why the schedule had to be Saturday only. I'm sure plenty of people would have just swallowed it all up but its all circumstance dependant.
