benedmonds

In a commercial operation it is difficult to give the new climbers the climbing experience, as that would mean the the work is being completed at a slower rate and the climber is working on the ground and therefore not working to their potential. This is why it is so expensive to train staff. its not the cost of the courses its the time.. You need to find an employer who is willing to give you the opportunity to get the experience. It is catch 22, you are slow and uneconomic so you don't get the experience, and as you don't get any experience you never get faster.. Do as other have said. Practice in your own time, always offer to jump up the small stuff. Offer to do a bit at the start or the end if there is time. Work doubly hard on the ground so there is an extra time for you to fanny about in the tree.. One thing I used to do on big reduces was have the newbee up the tree at the start, as at that point you would normally have 2 guys watching you...it gave them the opportunity to climb the tree, see me doing it and do a bit but when the groundie was becoming swamped I would send them down.. The other really useful thing is to work for a company doing street trees as there is almost always the opportunity to do some climbing during the day..

If you can tow over 750kgs don't bother with a sub 750Kg machine.... They must make some compromises to keep the weight down. If you are looking a used machine you can get big chippers for similar costs to the smaller ones that can last longer..

How much do you sell a 3.5 ton truck load of chip for? Don't post if you give it away, I am not interested... Most of our chip goes to biomass we are paid around £8 or £9 a ton.. but we get a few calls for can I have truck load, I am happy to do it but the faff loading and delivering means I don't think it's really worth doing for less then £80. Yet we sell our bulk bags of logs delivered locally for that.. There is a lot more work in logs...

Place we went great for beginners and about 1 third the price of the alps..

Making efficiency savings are great, in the same way being a bigger size company can also make savings as costs are not always proportional. But more profit from your increased efficiency would be nicer.. and if you are charging the same as 10 years ago you might be helping to keep prices down... I agree competition is healthy and there has been alot of talk about what the market allows etc, but we can't compare prices like a supermarket.. I rarely know what others have charged, sometimes I hear and my price seems expensive sometimes the opposite.. From the feedback on this thread is sounds like many go out quoting, thinking what do I need to win this job.. My prices have increased a little below the rates they should have, if others in the industry are doing the same we are contributing to setting the market rate. I don't have a solution and am not suggesting price fixing. It is a pretty easy industry to set up in. A few months training a few grands kit and your a tree surgeon. Ex forces guys can get free training and have the resources to set up, new guys out of college with a few grand inheritance, off you go.. It is also a lifestyle career with people doing it because they enjoy it and have huge amounts of kit that is paid for and they are never going to replace so do it like a hobby,.. It is not an easy industry to become rich from in my experience although you can make a living.. There are many reasons the rates are what they are but I think some of us who have been in it along time are not helping... How many of us have a Mrs Miggin's hedge that we have been doing for years that is still the same price...? As was discussed in another thread, expectations have changed, 20 years ago we were happy to live with old cars and no heating, today everyone expects the newest mobile, TV, warm house and a new car. That's good it's progress.. My reason for starting the thread was highlight the fact that some of us might not be moving with the times.. and if everyone increased their rates I could go skiing in the alps instead of the Czech rebublic..

The guys are enjoying our new yellow Eurocargo..

Threads on here about wages are always end up stupid as folk end up not comparing like for like. Also remember (this has been discussed here before) the HMRC would classify your groundie as employed and therefore technically could claim all the benefits you have not been giving them... so be careful with your £130 groundie, the HMRC turn around and chase his employer the tax he hasn't been paying. and He could take you to an employment tribunal and get his holiday pay, sick pay and even sue for unfair dismissal.. It is why I have moved over from employing people "free lance" to employed. Unfortunately potential employees see threads like this and think they should be on £130 a day grounding "that's what Bootroyd pays..."

Is this PAYE, paying for their training, 28 days holiday, sick leave, pension, etc.. thats £33,800 a year, you must be doing something right...

Why would I want to buy a house in the SE? I grew up in London and moved away the first opportunity I got. I am not moaning. merely pointing out that many of us have not raised our prices as much as we should have and that the truths often stated like house prices always going up are not as true as we all thought when you actually look at it. Maybe the oft stated truth that it is new startups that keep the prices down is actually wrong, maybe it is old timers who's prices haven't kept track on inflation is keeping them down.

And we want to keep it that way...

Not in the last 10 years.. Unless you live in the SE. We all think houses have gone up loads, but another handy calculator shows that after taking into account inflation 50% have not. Mine hasn't... http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-41582755

Crazy thing is it doesn't seem that long ago.. What will it be like in another 25 years..?

I was a student in 1994, as I recall I had about £3,400 a year grant plus whatever from holiday jobs that went on travel... It paid for food, room and beer.. I don't think we needed or expected anything else...

£30 in 1994 → £56.22 in 2017 Any new guys should stop their complaining....

£100 in 2011 → £114.83 in 2017. It's quite a difference..

I was communicating with another member and employer and examining the wages I pay, They suggested: The problem is, we’re all just left charging the same as we did 10 years ago, whilst people expect to earn about £5000 more. Got me thinking... Has the day rate I charge and the rate I pay my staff increased inline with inflation... In my case the rates I pay staff have increased inline if not slightly above. But the rates I charge are 4 or 5% lower then they should be. For those of us who have been doing this a long time put you 2007 day rate into the UK Inflation Calculator http://www.in2013dollars.com/2007-GBP-in-2017?amount=100

I am open all sorts I have taken on experienced guys who's best climbing days are over, to total newbees.. Having an old hand in a team can be great for getting the newbees experience and they can drive (pre 97 licence even better), unlike many youth today.....

It's not just the skilled staff. previously a job offer on arbtalk would get half a dozen responses, last couple of times none... It can't be to do with rates as they are not mentioned on the advert. My issue at the moment isn't because we have lost staff, I am pretty happy with my teams at the moment, I just need some more.. I have changed to way we employ and we now don't use many freelancers like we did in the past. I have invested in upskilling our full time employees and that is now starting to pay off.. The down side is I used to have a pool of 5 or 6 freelancers, but as I have not used them in a while they are now running their own show or with their regular firms..

You didn't mention the site is completely enclosed by tree protection fencing... It's going to be a pain to get anything onsite.....

In the past I have advertised for freelancers and permanent members of staff on here and always got a bunch of enquiries...... Not always good, but I have taken on good people in the past. Some still work for me.. Several others are now running their own teams now. Others have moved on.. The last couple of times I have put an call out for employees I have had no replies... Has word got out I am horrible to work for? Does my online persona make Canopy look like an awful place to work..? I am looking for freelancers, and full time climbers, in an ARB approved firm, with great kit, good guys, fair pay and you rarely ever see me on site... Honest.. [email protected] 01332 875 869 Based in Draycott- DE72 3NX - East Midlands - Not a silly work day 8.00-4.30. Mostly domestic work. Willing to invest in and look after our staff..

Upgrading the springs is pretty inexpensive...We have however found you had to be careful with Iveco daily's, apparently some have heavy duty clutches and are fine, others don't and are pants if towing and heavily loaded....

Get the white of the truck wrapped or sprayed orange to match the chipper

Deffo slower here on my pants connection..

Drop me an email: [email protected] or give me a call 0797 0325 361

Due to our continuing success Canopy Tree Services are looking for an additional member/members of staff: We are an ARB approved contractor offering high quality tree works throughout the East Midlands, Based in Draycott DE72 3NX. Ideally we would like an experienced qualified climber to be part of our full time team, but would consider freelance and part time positions. There is also the opportunity for the right individual to help/undertake surveys and consultancy work. Good rates of pay, regular hours 8.00-430, paid overtime, 28 days holidays, regular training, work wear, PPE etc... etc...