Anyone else just fed up of customers at the moment

[Clutchy]

6 minutes ago, Mick Dempsey said:

Lanky apples like that usually break under the weight of fruit anyway

A good point 

 

6 minutes ago, Mick Dempsey said:

Not sure about your 7/12 year doomsday scenario, but even if it were true, so what? Plant another, it’s a fruit tree not some oak Robert the Bruce hid in.

Not so sure on that out look, you can re-plant but that doesn't seem like the best way to conduct work, also it would take many years to get back to a substantial tree. I don't rate Apple trees so wouldn't have one.

 

Still doesn't get away from the fact I'd have to see an abortion of a tree in Winter without the leaves to hide the sins.

 

Each to their own I suppose which helpfully does make me understand the customer's view point more so thank you

[kevinjohnsonmbe]

On 04/03/2021 at 19:07, Mike Hill said:

 

No one gets to do the right thing all the time.

Even the "best" Tree firms top things sometimes and everyone,e-v-e-r-y o-n-e  does nasty things to Trees to pay for nice things for themselves.

 

Did a Beech reduction Thursday like that. 
 

Absolutely no other reason than homeowner wanted evening sunshine whilst enjoying a beer on the terrace after work. 
 

(and I make absolutely no criticism of that)
 

He’s been waiting since back end of last year for it to be done. Every couple of months I’d tell him it’s not what I’d advise. 
 

Turned up Thursday to do it and he actually said - I really thought you didn’t want to do it.  Both myself and climber said - we don’t!

 

As a machinery dealer I compared it to how he’d feel if I told him I was running a machine on wrong spec of oil. He’d know it was wrong and could have longer term implications - but if I “had” to do it it would have to be at my risk. 
 

Ultimately, it’s HIS tree and he is at liberty to do as he sees fit with it. 
 

When Jeremy Barrell did one of the first AA webinars he was adamant that it is the ‘arb’s’ responsibility to ‘educate’ the tree owner. I posed the question / made the point that, whilst an admirable aspiration, it simply doesn’t hold water in the domestic work space where budget and outcome are not always conducive to best intervention for the tree. 
 

He didn’t agree but that just illustrates a level of detachment from reality which, I guess, comes from not being particularly well connected to the reality of domestic Arb. 

(whilst I do recognise what we did was not ‘best’ for the tree, it certainly IS better to retain a heavily reduced (<5m height reduction) tree than to have had it removed altogether)

 

We did the best we could whilst (hopefully) achieving the desired outcome for the tree owner. 

[Paddy1000111]

Out of interest how do people feel about doing some of these jobs? I was watching a video on YouTube from an American landscaper and he turned a job down because he knew the outcome would look garbage and he didn't want to put his name to it. I've felt sometimes, especially with work in public view that I want to turn it down through fear that it will not just look garbage but kill the tree. I'm sure some ARB company will pick up the job but I am wary of being the company who made the tree look crap or "killed my beautiful tree" even though it was what the customer specifically spec'd

[Kent Arboreal]

Out of interest how do people feel about doing some of these jobs? I was watching a video on YouTube from an American landscaper and he turned a job down because he knew the outcome would look garbage and he didn't want to put his name to it. I've felt sometimes, especially with work in public view that I want to turn it down through fear that it will not just look garbage but kill the tree. I'm sure some ARB company will pick up the job but I am wary of being the company who made the tree look crap or "killed my beautiful tree" even though it was what the customer specifically spec'd

Just say yes if it’s in the back garden [emoji23]

[Marc Lewis]

North and North West London 
 
I have done that quite a few times which does help but its not a perfect science as I fear we would he held exactly to the shape/cut 
 
Also, here are 2 pics where I tried this on recently. Mine is in red, theirs in yellow. 
 
I sent the red, they sent back the yellow!

Cool, much easier to do[emoji16]

[IronMike]

My customer these last few days is causing me a few headaches. Wealthy family, dad must be in his 80’s and still appears to be the holder of the purse strings. Clearly been an active and involved fella on his land but now not capable. Son who is in his 40’s is an absolutely lovely chap but has no idea what he wants doing with his woods. They’ve had me hoovering up and sorting out some windblow that’s been down for 4 years. Some decent sized larch mainly. But the spec changes almost hourly 🤦🏼‍♂️ First I was to process and extract windblow. Next they decided they wanted some for milling (!) so I had to grade off (!) the best stuff for that, the rest they’ll keep as firewood. Then they wanted “a wagon load” of saw logs to sell?! From where, I have no idea! I have had to start felling some heavily leaning Larch just to try and make up a wagon load for them to recoup some money. It’s ran on from one day initially (they thought I could do it in a day obviously) to three days now, and I’m being paid to fell these Larch to make up a wagon load to ultimately reduce the cost of me being there..... it’s backwards! But I’ve been honest, told them my thoughts and at the end of the day, I’m doing what they ask. 
 

Sometimes you can’t win. Or you can win. Or maybe it was a draw..... 🧐

[lux]

My customer these last few days is causing me a few headaches. Wealthy family, dad must be in his 80’s and still appears to be the holder of the purse strings. Clearly been an active and involved fella on his land but now not capable. Son who is in his 40’s is an absolutely lovely chap but has no idea what he wants doing with his woods. They’ve had me hoovering up and sorting out some windblow that’s been down for 4 years. Some decent sized larch mainly. But the spec changes almost hourly 🤦🏼‍♂️ First I was to process and extract windblow. Next they decided they wanted some for milling (!) so I had to grade off (!) the best stuff for that, the rest they’ll keep as firewood. Then they wanted “a wagon load” of saw logs to sell?! From where, I have no idea! I have had to start felling some heavily leaning Larch just to try and make up a wagon load for them to recoup some money. It’s ran on from one day initially (they thought I could do it in a day obviously) to three days now, and I’m being paid to fell these Larch to make up a wagon load to ultimately reduce the cost of me being there..... it’s backwards! But I’ve been honest, told them my thoughts and at the end of the day, I’m doing what they ask. 
 
Sometimes you can’t win. Or you can win. Or maybe it was a draw..... 🧐

Hopefully you are doing it on a day rate and it doesn’t matter how many times they change their mind. Only wasting their own time and money then.

[Mick Dempsey]

That stuff gets right on my tits.

You have my sympathy!

[Mick Dempsey]

While we’re on a customer rant..

 

Drove an hour to see some work, further than I’d normally go for a quote but they were friends of other clients.

When I get there the husband is keeping stuff from me, suggesting reductions and fells that are odd, then asking me if I think it’s a good idea, so I say ‘sure we can do that, what is it you’re after?’ More light to the pool apparently. So we go through a number of scenarios and then his wife comes out and we go through the whole thing again (that really pisses me off) and she reveals that they’ve had numerous tree surgeons to advise and now they don’t know what to do.

It becomes clear that he was trying to find out if the poor bastards who were there before were lying to them, or trying to rip them off somehow.

Then they want a mix and match of prices and options, so I’m fed up by now and just rattle off a load of exorbitant costs and get in the van and go, fuming.

 

Bullet points.

1: Clients who are keeping stuff from you.

2: Couples where one can’t be arsed to come out and listen to your pitch, even if it’s a 2 hour round trip.

3: People who haven’t a clue what they want.

4: People who get loads and loads of quotes, wasting people’s time.

5: People who ask for a menu of options, like it’s a sweet shop.

 

[IronMike]

16 minutes ago, lux said:

Hopefully you are doing it on a day rate and it doesn’t matter how many times they change their mind. Only wasting their own time and money then.

Yes, on a healthy day rate thankfully. It’s hard to step back sometimes and accept that things aren’t always done in what you perceive is the best, correct or most efficient way. Not everyone looks at the job the same, the contractor and the customer are always going to see it differently I feel. It’s the contractors job to advise as best as they can, but ultimately it’s the customers decision what happens to their property/land/woodland. 
 

I can come away from this job knowing I did the best I could, and offered the best advice I could to ensure the customers needs were met. Unfortunately their expectations are different from the outcome, but they aren’t foresters so hardly surprising.