Arb Approved

[Jon Heuch]

13 hours ago, pleasant said:

So....it's all about CYA.....covering your arse. So if it goes belly up, you can say to your boss or insurance company  'well, I used an approved contractor'

 

That's the reality

It's not just about CYA but that provides a neat aspect to it. Avoiding belly up in the first place is probably the starting point. Accountability, transparency too. People need to find competent people, with some ease. Nationwide. A complaints process adds another degree of reassurance. 

 

Please suggest an alternative?

[Jon Heuch]

7 hours ago, Clutchy said:

 

 

Could you elaborate on the benefits you've found from being a member, does it extend to jobs you've won specifically because you are AA or does it help in a sense that it is 1 factor of many that means your company gets you work, or does it help skip certain compliance checks on new tenders/big companies? 

 

Genuinely curious. I will join when a contract forces me to, but it would be nice to hear some first hand good experiences that have come from joining. Speaking to someone from the AA is sort of like asking a car salesman why you should buy his car IMO 

 

 

I am not sure what "someone from the AA" is - an employee, a volunteer, a member? If you think you know it all then clearly you don't need to learn anything, nobody can teach you anything and you simply have no need to talk to anyone. Well done. More humble folk will understand that joining together in a professional association will allow people to exchange knowledge, be innovative, learn from others and share experiences without worrying too much about a competitor pinching every idea you have to benefit their business. Most members see those benefits pretty simply. It really costs peanuts in relation to those benefits. Furthermore, the world is a complex place, rules change, the commercial environment changes and there is no way any small business can keep up to date without someone to lean on. 

 

And if you can see those benefits but think the AA could do it better......that's why there are various ways of volunteering in regional branches, at the Arb Fair, in committees and as trustees. Or you could just sit on the side and throw stones. By yourself.

[GarethM]

Are you an ex UPVC salesman?.

 

You've still failed to actually have a convincing argument, except lament about how great this new quasi religious organisation is.

 

There are plenty of other similar schemes and trade organisations, until the quickening happens maybe scale back the one true religion overtones.

Edited February 16, 2023 by GarethM

[Mick Dempsey]

He’s not alone in throwing stones, far from it.

[benedmonds]

14 hours ago, Clutchy said:

 

 

Could you elaborate on the benefits you've found from being a member, does it extend to jobs you've won specifically because you are AA or does it help in a sense that it is 1 factor of many that means your company gets you work, or does it help skip certain compliance checks on new tenders/big companies? 

 

Genuinely curious. I will join when a contract forces me to, but it would be nice to hear some first hand good experiences that have come from joining. Speaking to someone from the AA is sort of like asking a car salesman why you should buy his car IMO 

 

 

My first post listed the main benefits as I see them. I am no zealot for the arb association but as evidence of its worth:  

 

From a Borough Council tender: 

2.2.2     In order to be considered for this Contract, Suppliers must be for the lifetime of the Contract, an Aborcultural Approved Contractor.

 

 

You might see it as an old boys club, but it is a club that anyone can join and there are benefits of being a member.

 

[Clutchy]

11 hours ago, Jon Heuch said:

I am not sure what "someone from the AA" is - an employee, a volunteer, a member? If you think you know it all then clearly you don't need to learn anything, nobody can teach you anything and you simply have no need to talk to anyone. Well done. More humble folk will understand that joining together in a professional association will allow people to exchange knowledge, be innovative, learn from others and share experiences without worrying too much about a competitor pinching every idea you have to benefit their business. Most members see those benefits pretty simply. It really costs peanuts in relation to those benefits. Furthermore, the world is a complex place, rules change, the commercial environment changes and there is no way any small business can keep up to date without someone to lean on. 

 

And if you can see those benefits but think the AA could do it better......that's why there are various ways of volunteering in regional branches, at the Arb Fair, in committees and as trustees. Or you could just sit on the side and throw stones. By yourself.

 

 

Someone said to ask Paul at the AA so I was evidently refering to employees. 

 

I don't think I could of asked my question in a more genuine or less offensive way.

[maybelateron]

On 14/02/2023 at 09:34, doobin said:

I'm not really Arb, but from how they have conducted themselves on here and with regards to certain aforementioned articles in their magazine, I'd have to be really desperate for work before I considered it. Same if anyone asks me for CHAS, Safecontractor etc.

Totally agree with you with regards to Safecontractor. I am coming to the end of my final year bothering with Safecontractor now the only commercial work I do is for two local parish councils. Ten years ago I had to get accredited with them for a contract I had. The only thing it proved was that I could say the right things and fill out forms correctly, in addition to having the certificates I need anyway. I could not believe when I had a phone call to say they were nearly ready to sign me up, but I needed to submit my scaffolding erectors certificate. When I asked why the young man said for when I was working on trees. How on earth can an office based excercise which asks such a stupid question really say I am a safe contractor? 

[Excels1or]

14 hours ago, Jon Heuch said:

It's not just about CYA but that provides a neat aspect to it. Avoiding belly up in the first place is probably the starting point. Accountability, transparency too. People need to find competent people, with some ease. Nationwide. A complaints process adds another degree of reassurance. 

 

Please suggest an alternative?

We're going down the ISA route. Granted, not the same "benefits" as the AA, but we've found Chas is sufficient for commercial clients, and domestic clients can be assured we're "accredited". 

[Joe Newton]

15 hours ago, Jon Heuch said:

You might want to look the word up; I go to see my doctor, a member of that exclusive club that has passed his or her exams and is competent to work as a doctor. Do you have problems with that cartel (it's not a cartel but that's the way you seem to want to use the word)? Exclusive, well yes, excluding those who are not competent, not passed their exams. Yes doctors as a whole have agreed that standard. I don't see a problem with this and quite a few benefits.

Your analogy doesn't work I'm afraid, in that the AA isn't a governing body. It's not only possible but more common than not to be qualified, insured and competent to work in arboriculture without the oversight of the Arb Assoc.

[GarethM]

Maybe he was getting confused between a surgeon and a tree surgeon?.

 

I'll shut up before AA tony at the butchers shop sends Paulie to discuss the matter.

 

Seriously tho, I do have to wonder what Lantra and C&G and any other certification providers thoughts are in the longer term.

Edited February 16, 2023 by GarethM