What's the wildest request on a removal job.

[Mick!]

I was thinking about this thread today and it reminded me of an incident a while back.
Some clients for whom I'd worked for previously had decided, after a suggestion from me, to have a large leylandii removed amongst other smaller tree works and grinding. Now the real meat of the day was the leylandii so naturally we wanted to do it first and get it out of the way then coast through the rest of the day.
We had backed the truck up to it and were starting the saws when the husband came out and said " my wife would rather you did the tree this afternoon as she wants a chance to say goodbye and connect with it before you cut it down"
When I first started out on my own I might have listened but after over twenty years of dealing with this new age nonsense it gets pretty short shrift.
PS they were Americans!
Back when I worked in. London I have had things thrown at me and uncontrolled sobbing and wailing from these sorts.

 

[Tucker943]

Bid a removal once and went to do it. HUGE silver maple in a tight backyard. I wasn't even the one climbing. My climber got a ways up into it and tells me the central lead is hollow. Really hollow. There was a 20' spruce under one side of the tree. The tree was bid to be roped down on that side because of the spruce. My climber has been at it 30 years and tells me, "No way Im going 30 more feet above this hollow and roping wood. No way, no how."

Couldn't get a crane in there. Talked HO into letting us take the spruce down so we could bomb out this bad portion of the tree. They agreed but said their daughter needed time to say good bye to the tree. The kid came out and howled for like 10 minutes over this tree. Then I notched it and dumped it.

 

[MasterBlaster]

I've gone up more than one tree only to find a bad spot that couldn't be seen from the ground that forced us have to rething the situation.

 

[SouthSoundTree]

How do you guys word contracts for such eventualities? I had cool customers that went with felling when I told them I didn't feel good about roping down a big leaning alder with a hollow unseen from the ground. Same price, a little more impact, more work for us to move stuff uphill.

 

[Mick!]

I do a lot of jobs from photos these days, if I start it, I'm committed and have to hold the price.
Any re negotiation is before any cuts are made.

 

[MasterBlaster]

No way I'd do that. I've walked on more than one job when something crazy came up outta the blue that changed everything. Let someone else have fun with it.

 

[SouthSoundTree]

I do a lot of jobs from photos these days, if I start it, I'm committed and have to hold the price.
Any re negotiation is before any cuts are made.

Sorry, I forget/ don't know you name.


Have you seen Nick's business management thread about bidding from pictures? How does that work out for you?

 

[Mick!]

My names Mick, and I'll explain, as well as my French clients I get a lot of calls from Brits living out here (A lot of retired folk)
They, by and large, don't speak very good french so are wary of local tradesmen, and they are often too far away to justify a hour and a half trip just for a price, they send me a pic, we chat about the variables like disposal of materials, roads, electric lines and suchlike. I give them a price, then we take it from there. In 9 years I've only ever got it really wrong a couple of times. For me it works, although my circumstances are unusual.

 

[SouthSoundTree]

Sounds like the benefits well outweigh the rare underbid. I am at the edge of an area where there a lots of loggers but not low impact climbers. I would be more inclined to bid by pictures for some of these jobs if I get more requests over time. I like a small geographic area for disposal jobs, but am open to going farther with a packed pick-up, no chipper or other trucks.

 

[Mick!]

You've got to love going to work with a box of matches, firelighters and a blower!nfirenfire:

 

[cory]

La becasse- great avatar

Chris- good story! Was the climber yo uncle?

 

[Tucker943]

No. My mentor for several years. A guy named Ed.

 

[cory]

You've worked with some real vets, nice.

 

[pantheraba]

Copy that on the avatar...I likes that chimp!!

 

[woodworkingboy]

I've worked with some real vets too. Veteran tree workers and veteran drinkers, often at the same time in those days. Newer guys wouldn't understand......

 

[Tucker943]

No. My mentor for several years. A guy named Ed.

Anyone work for Bartlett in Grand Rapids, MI? Ed is there now as a crane op.

 

[cory]

Ed is cold today.

 

[mtt.tr]

Attach rose Bush to a pine. Can't climb pine with out being ripped to shreds so climb birch swing into pine canopy abseil down attaching rose, cut hands arms . But was a laugh something different. Then swing back into birch with a boss that didn't expect me to be able swing tree to Tree