The Mafia?

[Graham]

My experience of AAAC application. I applied in 1989/90ish so time's moved on and requirements may be different now.

 

On the application I had to give a list of recent jobs completed covering a whole range of arb work that they could inspect on the given day.

 

The day arrived and I spent about four hours discussing office procedure, health and safety, accounting etc. After lunch we then toured my yard and went out onto site to view a job in progress which was a crane dismantle of a large beech on a railway embankment.

 

I assumed we'd be looking at the trees I'd listed and had prepared a local list to enable them to see as many as possible. No....they wanted to see trees that were not on my initial list. I smelt a rat! Why so awkward? I did my best and wracked my brain for examples finally rounding off on a site where we'd carried out work on one half and a local AAAC had done the other half. The other half of the site exhibited work of an exceedingly shocking standard: trees 'topped', numerous stubs and to top it all a bracing with every cable slack. It was made clear that we had not carried out this work.

 

So after a long day the inspectors left with 'our decision will be in the post'.

The post finally arrived and surprise, surprise. Everything was well and truly fine except my inability to be able to exhibit a wide enough range of work and that I should be most welcome to apply in the future when I had completed a varied cross section of arb work!

 

To this day I believe the 'Old Boys Club' had sprung into action with the main protagonist being the AAAC whose other half site we'd visited.

 

What I couldn't stomach was the AA's condescending, patronising plum-in-the-mouth approach at the time. I vowed then I would have nothing to do with them and never have.

[Czlowiek Drzewo]

My experience of AAAC application. I applied in 1989/90ish so time's moved on and requirements may be different now.

 

On the application I had to give a list of recent jobs completed covering a whole range of arb work that they could inspect on the given day.

 

The day arrived and I spent about four hours discussing office procedure, health and safety, accounting etc. After lunch we then toured my yard and went out onto site to view a job in progress which was a crane dismantle of a large beech on a railway embankment.

 

I assumed we'd be looking at the trees I'd listed and had prepared a local list to enable them to see as many as possible. No....they wanted to see trees that were not on my initial list. I smelt a rat! Why so awkward? I did my best and wracked my brain for examples finally rounding off on a site where we'd carried out work on one half and a local AAAC had done the other half. The other half of the site exhibited work of an exceedingly shocking standard: trees 'topped', numerous stubs and to top it all a bracing with every cable slack. It was made clear that we had not carried out this work.

 

So after a long day the inspectors left with 'our decision will be in the post'.

The post finally arrived and surprise, surprise. Everything was well and truly fine except my inability to be able to exhibit a wide enough range of work and that I should be most welcome to apply in the future when I had completed a varied cross section of arb work!

 

To this day I believe the 'Old Boys Club' had sprung into action with the main protagonist being the AAAC whose other half site we'd visited.

 

What I couldn't stomach was the AA's condescending, patronising plum-in-the-mouth approach at the time. I vowed then I would have nothing to do with them and never have.

 

Hi Graham,

 

Thanks for your post. I have recently been thinking if i should join them or not but aftern hearing this i think it will go on hold until i hear more reaplies to this thread.

 

I have heard bad things about aaac before. - 'pencil pushers with no real world idea of tree work' but i was skeptical until now.

[Amelanchier]

Are we seriously having this debate again? Bottom line - people see consipracy everywhere, it's human psychology to ascribe motive to a chain of events and to see patterns where there aren't any (or even to berate inanimate objects for their malevolance). More often than not, your suspicions are wrong.

 

If you had ever worked with the people that are accused of being in the old boys club, the Masons or the Mafia (really?) you'd realise that none of them has the time, inclination or the individual power to make the kind of impact needed to swing a decision. And that's leaving aside the obvious allegations of dishonesty which quite frankly are insulting. I wonder how they'd be taken if the shoe were on the other foot?

 

Anyway must be on my way now so I can beat all the old ladies in micras and tractor / combine drivers who wait for me to drive down the road so that they can pull out in front of me and make me late. I swear they communicate.

[butler]

So we slagg of "rouge traders" and then professionals who join the AA ect, this to me suggests that some people can only identify with people on the same "level" as them, I find this very sad, is it a confidence, or jealous, thing or just a lack of empathy?

[Andy Collins]

No we slag off everyone, it is the British way don't you know old chap

[felixthelogchopper]

Anyone who says that who you know doesn't affect the amount of work you get is naive in the extreme. I personally have benefitted and been disadvantaged by this over the years and I would imagine most people on here have too. It's when palm-greasing or the like is involved that it is cause for concern.

[Gollum]

No we slag off everyone, it is the British way don't you know old chap

 

[Rupe]

My experience of AAAC application. I applied in 1989/90ish so time's moved on and requirements may be different now.

 

On the application I had to give a list of recent jobs completed covering a whole range of arb work that they could inspect on the given day.

 

The day arrived and I spent about four hours discussing office procedure, health and safety, accounting etc. After lunch we then toured my yard and went out onto site to view a job in progress which was a crane dismantle of a large beech on a railway embankment.

 

I assumed we'd be looking at the trees I'd listed and had prepared a local list to enable them to see as many as possible. No....they wanted to see trees that were not on my initial list. I smelt a rat! Why so awkward? I did my best and wracked my brain for examples finally rounding off on a site where we'd carried out work on one half and a local AAAC had done the other half. The other half of the site exhibited work of an exceedingly shocking standard: trees 'topped', numerous stubs and to top it all a bracing with every cable slack. It was made clear that we had not carried out this work.

 

So after a long day the inspectors left with 'our decision will be in the post'.

The post finally arrived and surprise, surprise. Everything was well and truly fine except my inability to be able to exhibit a wide enough range of work and that I should be most welcome to apply in the future when I had completed a varied cross section of arb work!

 

To this day I believe the 'Old Boys Club' had sprung into action with the main protagonist being the AAAC whose other half site we'd visited.

 

What I couldn't stomach was the AA's condescending, patronising plum-in-the-mouth approach at the time. I vowed then I would have nothing to do with them and never have.

 

 

Times have changed since then.

 

Also, what has this to do with planning applications being approved if carried out for AAAC's only?

[Dean Lofthouse]

Are we seriously having this debate again? Bottom line - people see consipracy everywhere, it's human psychology to ascribe motive to a chain of events and to see patterns where there aren't any (or even to berate inanimate objects for their malevolance). More often than not, your suspicions are wrong.

 

If you had ever worked with the people that are accused of being in the old boys club, the Masons or the Mafia (really?) you'd realise that none of them has the time, inclination or the individual power to make the kind of impact needed to swing a decision. And that's leaving aside the obvious allegations of dishonesty which quite frankly are insulting. I wonder how they'd be taken if the shoe were on the other foot?

 

Anyway must be on my way now so I can beat all the old ladies in micras and tractor / combine drivers who wait for me to drive down the road so that they can pull out in front of me and make me late. I swear they communicate.

 

Tony, you,ve led a very sheltered life my friend.

[White Noise]

If the grass is greener on the other side then start watering your own grass . Price and a good standard of work is key to the domestic market . Commercial it boils down to who you know the majority of the time . Just speaking from my own personal experience .