AA

[Mr Ed]

I know for a fact that the AAAC status is held by the manager of any organization. Be that the company owner of a small business, or the area office manager of a large outfit like glendale's or fountains.

[Yorkshireman]

What are you trying to imply Ed !!

[Andy Collins]

Slightly off on a tangent, but on the way home tonight, we were trying to think, outside of Arboriculture, what the general public think of instantly if asked "what does the AA mean?" We came to the opinion most would either think of the Automobile Association, or Alcoholics Anonymous. Neither of these would be suitable, approved or otherwise, to care for their trees. Is THIS the most confusing thing for the identity of our trade???

[Andy Collins]

I know for a fact that the AAAC status is held by the manager of any organization. Be that the company owner of a small business, or the area office manager of a large outfit like glendale's or fountains.

 

So is it just the manager who is Approved? So what if the manager changes companies?

[MattyF]

an injection of new blood who can for those that can afford to pay is good........ not that im saying any one deserves not to be AA aproved ........old boy network is what gets me and that is the case from what ive seen of it all ,some dude who new so and so( maybe illl be cutting my throat in future but some of these people should not be on there).......there managers are 60+ most cant see past 30ft but becouse they have always been in there old boy network they get the pie!

[Frimsley]

So is it just the manager who is Approved? So what if the manager changes companies?

 

The company is approved, but must name a manager responsible. I believe if the manager moves on, reassessment is necessary.

[Frimsley]

Slightly off on a tangent, but on the way home tonight, we were trying to think, outside of Arboriculture, what the general public think of instantly if asked "what does the AA mean?" We came to the opinion most would either think of the Automobile Association, or Alcoholics Anonymous. Neither of these would be suitable, approved or otherwise, to care for their trees. Is THIS the most confusing thing for the identity of our trade???

 

I guess you're not an AA member then, or don't read your post if you are

 

The AA is embarking on some market research to assess whether it really has the right name, in terms of being recognised by the general public. A quick visit to Google Trends will tell you that whilst in the states people looking for tree work will search on 'Arborist', in the UK they are far more likely to search on 'Tree Surgeon'. Most people in the UK haven't much clue what arboriculture means. The internal debate is likely to focus around should we change our name to something recognised by the public, or should we make more effort to promote understanding of the term 'arboriculture' amongst the public. I'm quite sure there will be strongly held views on both sides.

[Steve Bullman]

i tried to sell arboriculture in my first year in the yellow pages....didnt get a single call...now changed it to tree care and its definelty made a difference

[Mr Ed]

What are you trying to imply Ed !!

 

I dunno. My post was pretty straightforward. What do you think I'm implying??

[Mr Ed]

The company is approved, but must name a manager responsible. I believe if the manager moves on, reassessment is necessary.

 

Thanks Frimsley, thas what I was trying to say. If the person responsible for the standards set by the company / area team moves on, re-assesment is mandatory.