Tom D

Makes you want to emigrate...

Its welded in place, It has no bearings, just a nylon bush I believe, does yours have a lot of play on it?

My guys get paid holidays, so at christmas they get a few quid and a card and a bottle of something. They get proper bonuses when I have made good money, if the current council contract goes well they will I hope get 4 figures.

I have heard that big businesses like supermarket chains etc change banks regularly, in order to keep them on their toes.

I had a pto hydraulic winch on my old landy, it was good but slow. Try VHS hydraulic components, that can supply all the necessary kit, to fit one.

I do like a whiskey mack at at this time of year, just tastes of christmas. I'll second the sloe gin / champagne cocktail too.

RBS here, I have found them pretty good, I only pay 4.5%over base on my overdraft (20k facility) and I really like their internet banking. My one gripe is that despite repeated requests they seem unable to provide me with debit card that works at automated fuel pumps, even though the one I got for an employee on the same account works fine??

Its always interesting to read others thoughts on pricing, It begs the question; do you price the job (time) or the tree? I tend to price the tree. So a tricky job like that which you may do in a day would be priced at maybe £1300+.If it takes two days than thats ok. at £850 if it takes two days thats not enough.

You can get them serviced at your local garage, so long as they use genuine parts warranty is good. Main dealer prices suck.

You can get 10,000 quality leaflets printed and delivered for about £1000. I guarantee that will bring in more work than a £1000 spent on YP.

All I am saying is; I have tried local press advertising, YP, Internet, local publications, shop windows etc. I keep accurate records of where all my jobs come from by asking EVERY client where they heard about us, this is marked on the quote sheets which are in triplicate so I have a record of jobs going back years. If you do the maths leaflet advertising pays better than everything except internet and referrals, internet has a very low cost and referrals are free. But, trust me, leaflets are in a very strong 3rd place, how many of you actually keep records of this kind of thing? Do you KNOW that they don't work? or is it just your opinion? Its easy to spend a few days in the rain dropping a few leaflets you printed yourself getting a disappointing result and saying thats it, they don't work. I KNOW they work because I have taken the time to find out. If there is anyone on here who has done a 10,000+ leaflet drop and found it didn't pay please speak up.

No. 98% of the public don't like them. And the two percent that do will more than pay for the cost of the rest.

Why not? I am proud to say that I have had over 80,000 leaflets professionally delivered over that last few years. They do work but you need to think big and do plenty. I have not done any this year as the domestic market has gone quiet and have concentrated on LA and commercial work instead. I have done some cold calling to get commercial work, and that has paid off too. If you run your own business then like it or not you are a businessman, and a good businessman knows how to bring in work. There will be plenty of great tree surgeons who have gone bust because they weren't good businessmen, and plenty of bad tree surgeons who have made a fortune........

Leaflets aren't begging for work, and do you really think that all these massive companies who regularly drop millions of these through doors up and down the country don't know what they are doing? If they didn't work no one would do them!

A wee kubota like this would pull more than a quad and can do so much more, stick a simple 3pl bucket/rake on the back and you can move rings etc, haul timber, tow a chipper, scrape snow, etc etc..... all for cheap££ edit, forgot link: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/kubota-tractor-/250953307247?pt=UK_BOI_FarmingEquipment_RL&hash=item3a6dfb946f#ht_500wt_1378

Alpine tractor.... Cheap pto implements compared with expensive hydraulic stuff on the loaders. Plus it will go places a loader won't.

At this rate there'll be a prize for every ticket! Well done everyone.

It did seem geared up towards selling gear for its sponsors. It would be nice to see a mag with some real journalism, looking at some of the more contentious issues in the industry. "Are we over trained and under-experienced" might be a good headline.

Pay off some of the mortgage, go on a really top notch safari, maybe build and extension on the house. I have invested a lot in the business this year, so I wouldn't spend any more..... Maybe I'd change the chipper...

The big guy was right, but he should have asked the kid first and told him that if he refused he would be forcibly removed. The real question is... will the kid do it again?

Nice work, we are doing quite a lot of graveyard stuff over the next couple of months, but none of them are as bad as that.

Ha ha. Thats what this place is for, There's a lot of penny's worth on here. Were you the groundie or the climber?

Just to update, I have had this for 5 months now, its still waterproof. I wore it during last weeks storm in some torrential horizontal driven rain and was totally dry all day. Probably the best waterproof I have owned....

The following was taken on thursday night from a lock up in edinburgh... Keep a lookout... Stihl chainsaws MS 200T – 167822436 MS 200T – 160936201 MS 200T – 151772592 MS 341 – 186999363 MS 441 – 171534405 MS 660 – 164230560 Stihl hedge-trimmers HL 75 – 155369361 HL 85 – 148622931 Leaf blower BR 380 – 6612400 Strimmer FS 400 – will get serial number soon. Helmets 2x Petzl full balance (ear & eye protection with chinstrap) Chainsaw strops 3x strops that were attached to the saws Karabiners ISC Mongoose x6

Worn clutch springs, allowing it to bite a little early, turn the idle down and see if it stops, if it does that could be the problem.