Will I ever learn.....????

[Mac McLennan]

Peeps, I need some shoulders to cry on.........

 

Today I am sat at home after getting pi55 wet through dead-wooding and thinning a Cupressus this morning.

 

It is not a great tree with loads of dead wood broken stems which are missing, and flat on one side where it got no light due to a tree being next to it, which has since fallen over.

 

I thought it might be a plan to carry out a thin reducing the weight of the stems and the wind bearing effects on the tree. Preventing future failure.

 

Anyway, the women we were working for brought the teas out 'eventually' at 1130hrs and says......I hope your gonna take a lot more than that off. So I say no, we were simply going to continue the thin throughout the whole crown as described in the specification (30%).

 

I explain that to take more off is not in the best intrest of the tree for reasons of health and appearance. So she says carry on then and we will see how it looks when you have finished...but that she doesn't think it will be enough.

 

I immediately Know, that no matter how much I take off, it aint gonna be enough, and I probrably aint gonna get paid.

 

So tell the guys to pack up.

 

Too cut a long story short .......I did not get a signature approving the quotation and specification I gave her..........I'm a W4nker I know.

 

Took a couple of photos on my phone as the guys were packing up....sorry about the quality.

 

 

 

[Mr Ed]

I feel for you mate. What she really wanted was the tree topping. 50% reduction of crown area minimum... Public eh?

[Zenfordinner]

Did you finish the 30%, as specified on the quote, before you packed up?

 

If so, then I would send the invoice and see what happens. If client has not paid within 30 days I would ring her to check she received the invoice, and if so could she pop a cheque in the post. If no cheque arrives shortly after, I would ring again, and at least once after that. If she refuse to pay, you can write it off as bad debt on your accounts.

 

People are funny, generally speaking. Such as it is.

[Mr Ed]

'Humans is the cwaziest people' - Bugs Bunny.

[Mac McLennan]

No....I had dead-wooded the whole crown and thinned one third of the tree. The bit on the left (third photo).

 

And, I left the arisings lying on the drive (2nd Photo) ......and I tipped the stuff on the truck in the drive.

 

Good point about the write off though. Had not considered that. May be easier than chasing payment up for what I have done.

[18 stoner]

Yeh, dont recon you will get a penny mate, especially leaving the brash.

 

Just right it off and move on, sometimes you just get into a corner and a rash decision is needed. My sympathy over the money mate:thumbsdown:

[Lancstree]

I reckon a possible way to prevent this happening is to have a portfolio of before and after pics to show customers examples of what a 30% thin would look like and a range of other pruning methods. I know it sounds like choosing from a menu but it would give them a better idea of what they are agreeing to. Most of the general public don't sympathise with the good practice we as professionals are striving to adhere to. It seems they just entertain us by pretending to listening to our advice so that we start the job, then they set about being awkward.

 

In the past I've had to remove a very insignificant twig after a heavy thin in a mature tree to make someone happy.

 

The work you did on that tree looked good

[Dean Lofthouse]

I've just had a customer phone me after getting home from work.

 

I lowered some conifers by 6ft which were 14ft wide (pillark of a job) and removed a xmas tree from the front.

 

"Erm, I thought the conifers would be much lower thean they are"

 

You asked for six foot taking off, I showed you a marker where it would be and you agreed.

 

"Oh, ok then, I would have thought you would have gotten the stump of the tree round the front a bit lower, I was intending to park my caravan there and I can't cos it's too high"

 

I have taken the stump to 1" from the soil level, I can't go any lower than that without grinding my chain in the soil, the fact that your xmas tree was mound planted is the reason it is too high. If you require it lower, I don't have a probblem coming back to stump grind but it will be £60 extra.

 

"Couldn't you do the stump grinding when you have another grinding job and make it cheaper"

 

Why don't you just phone stumpbusters and ask him for a price?

 

"Lastly, my wife asked you about taking the Blue Cedar down in the corner at the same time"

 

Erm no she didn't, I think I would have remembered her telling me she wanted a 40ft tree taking down at the same time

 

This is the very first awkward bastard I have had, so I am not too disheartened. There are far more good people out there than bad G7REE

[Mac McLennan]

I did...........This is the photo I showed them of another Cupressus.

 

 

I think I said recently you cannot please all of the people all of the time.

 

I've chilled with a glass (or two) of wine now. And will put it down to experience.

[Mac McLennan]

I've just had a customer phone me after getting home from work.

 

I lowered some conifers by 6ft which were 14ft wide (pillark of a job) and removed a xmas tree from the front.

 

"Erm, I thought the conifers would be much lower thean they are"

 

You asked for six foot taking off, I showed you a marker where it would be and you agreed.

 

"Oh, ok then, I would have thought you would have gotten the stump of the tree round the front a bit lower, I was intending to park my caravan there and I can't cos it's too high"

 

I have taken the stump to 1" from the soil level, I can't go any lower than that without grinding my chain in the soil, the fact that your xmas tree was mound planted is the reason it is too high. If you require it lower, I don't have a probblem coming back to stump grind but it will be £60 extra.

 

"Couldn't you do the stump grinding when you have another grinding job and make it cheaper"

 

Why don't you just phone stumpbusters and ask him for a price?

 

"Lastly, my wife asked you about taking the Blue Cedar down in the corner at the same time"

 

Erm no she didn't, I think I would have remembered her telling me she wanted a 40ft tree taking down at the same time

 

This is the very first awkward bastard I have had, so I am not too disheartened. There are far more good people out there than bad G7REE

 

 

Hope you have had a glass of wine too :wave: