Taupotreeman

Can someone keep us posted on the book please? There's a couple of us down here in the land of the long white cloud that would like a read of it. Awful lot of shafting of the little guy goes unpunished around these parts.

Most people in my neck of the woods want there trees topped so they can see the lake or mountains. I spend a lot of time explaining the pitfalls of topping and try and encourage them to have the tree removed and replanted with something more suitable (the trees, more often than not, have been topped several times) that can be suitabley managed. Unfortunately many customers can't see this and just want the tree hammered. I am not in a position to be able to turn work down no matter what it is. This is a small community and most work comes via word of mouth. I'm pleased some people in the forum are able to stick to their principles and refuse to cary out this kind of trimming but I certainly can't and although I dislike topping immensely I want to stay in business rather than have to go work in a factory or something. Even the local council is happy to top trees so should I refuse council work too on the basis of my principles?

A couple of things; I've been in this industry for 20+ years and I'm still learning as I go. A lot of good information comes from this forum and if new comers to the industry can learn anything from criticism, take it on board and improve it can only be a good thing. Some customers, no matter how much you try to convince them otherwise, will always want their tree/s topped for sunlight, views etc and if it's topping(let's call it what it is) they want and their willing to pay what can you do when money is short? If you want to see some bad pruning take a look at plantamnesty.org and click on sheer madness galleries. They also have some pretty good leaflets.

I need some help with boots. Having read the millionty threads I now have square eyes and a splitting headache so sorry to start all over again. I currently have a pair of the old clima air tirrols which have seved me brilliantly but I'm in the market for a new pair. Can anybody here actually give me any comparisons between the air tirrols, Meindl airstreams and the klima zermatts? I'd get another pair of tirrols but they're starting to push the budget. I spend a lot of time on spikes doing take downs and I like the support and chunky feel of the tirrols but as I have no access to to suppliers to try the boots on I don't want to buy something floppy and soft like oregon or elten. It's down to a choice between the first three so anybody who can compare any of them; your thoughts would be appreciated.

I have to say, since I had my vehicle sign written I have had a massive increase in work. It's more because people now know what I do. Some people still don't know what an arborist is but the sign writing explains all. Neither do they bother to look in the phone book but plenty driving past stop and grab a card. It wasn't that expensive either, at least not in the grand scheme of things. It worked out about the equivalant of 400 quid including the design work.

She's an oldy alright but it costs me sweet fanny adams to run and repair and chews branches faster than I can feed the thing. Near on scared the daylights out of myself when I saw how much a second hand bandit was.

Here's mine. It's a bit of a mish mash but it does the job until I can afford to upgrade and, yes, that is a chuck and duck behind it but that also does the job, if the job is being constantly smacked around the head as branches go through it. Suppose it saves the wife doing it when I get home.

Cheers for all the input guys. I've only had one person who didn't pay and then did a runner on me. Fortunately it wasn't much that was owed. I also had one large company who didn't pay for six months. I finally got a credit collection agency involved who got straight onto the company's accounts department. Turns out they weren't going to bother paying and didn't think I'd get a credit collection agency involved because the amount was so small. And there in lies the problem. To get a credit collection agency involved the amount owed has to be worth the cost of the agency and generally, the amounts are less than the cost of the agency and the customer often knows it. I do like the suggestion of 7 days, reminder, 7 days and then a pay up in 24hours or the account gets filed with a collection agency but if the customer knows his legal stuff he (or she) will just sit on it. A friend of mine has several accounts that don't get paid for up to 6 - 9 months. I don't know how small businesses survive with that kind of payment plan.

OK, so I'm getting a bit frustrated with some of my one off customers. I run 7 day invoices for the every day customer and 30 day invoices for the bigger companies and councils. The frustrating part is people who refuse to pay their invoices until they're ready, usually with the quote "we don't pay our bills until the 20th of the month". I've tried the nice phone call, interest fees and overdue payment fees but some people remain oblivious to the fact that I have a business to run and roof to keep above my head. Does anybody else have the same problem and if so, how do you deal with your overdue accounts? Do any of you demand payment (maybe demand is a little too strong a word) on completion of the job or do you just wait until your customer is good and ready to pay?

Just a couple. Not exactly tonight's but pretty all the same.

So yesterday it persisted with precipitation and today I ended up fiddling around doing little snippy hedge trimmy stuff in wet shrubbery so decided to stop for a break on the way home. S'funny how the day can change.

If it's in Auckland it will probably be mainly on council contracts doing street trees and parks and reserves. Nothing too huge except the odd big Pine in a reserve. The climbing interview I did with them was pretty easy but there is the option to do bigger stuff if you want. I agree with Maninahat; they are a pretty goog company to work for and the better of the two big companies in Auckland.

Class 1 is a full car licence.

It's down on the side of the state highway at Raurimu which is on the Taumarunui to National Park road just south of the mountains. I can't wait to see the jurassic park if he gets that far.

So some clever clogs has built this thing alongside a local highway. I watched the building process and it never ceases to amaze me what some people's imaginations are capable of. He's now on about making a whole park of deadwood dinosaurs and native fauna. Should be worth a look.

A couple of big Macs at the local Marae. They prove to be a constant source of work as they keep shedding limbs. Pain in the preverbial to climb though.

Saw the Black Caps sneak home against the Lankans this morning. Here's hoping we a get a few upsets.

Similar event happened to an outfit here a few months ago. Chainsaw operator didn't know what he was doing and put his (so called) face cut on the uphill side of the tree opposite the direction of fall. The tree (Willow) split approximately 20 feet up the trunk, speared back and landed on him. Punctured lung, busted shoulder and arm etc. ICU for a few days. Soft ground saved his life as he was squished into it. Pictures of the gob cut attached. I iwsh people would call in the pro's instead of trying to save money or time then we wouldn't have to hear about so many of these untimely deaths.

I find that having slightly bent knees works for a while but then starts to put a strain on my lower back. When I first started I used the old Buckingham leather climbing saddle (Asplundh standard issue) and after a few minutes on the spikes I could hardly get my breathe. I had to stop every few metres and stand straight legged on the spikes to get my wind. I suppose its horses for courses and a matter of finding the technique that best suits.

Rob, you can get a working visa just by applying to immigration NZ and you should be able to get details of their website. If you can actually t up a job with a company that's registered with immigration as an approved employer you should be able to get a 2 or 3 year visa like I did. It does mean that you can't just quickly grab a visa and hop on over and will have to do the leg work with organising employment and letters from the employer first but it depend how desperate you are. As for the missus; you can do what I did. She can come over on a holiday visa and look for work over here then apply for a work visa or just do the same as you and apply for a temp work visa before she leaves the UK. Usually it's just a case of having sufficient funds to in the bank and a return ticket already paid for. It really all depends on how long you want to vome over for.

Probaly not, I didn't move down to Taupo until about five years ago but it could well have been the company I worked for at the time (Treescape) as they had a few large bucket trucks, or maybe even Plateau. I think most of the big bucket trucks in NZ top out at 60 feet, are all insulated for work around the lines and are owned by Treescape or Assplunderers. Not too many of the big trees left in Taupo now unfortunately; most have been cut down for the view of the lake but there's still some monster Macs at Huka lodge.

I've done a heap of spiking for the power line companies in OZ and the previous advice is pretty good. Lean back into your flipline or strop but not so far out that you can't touch the tree. If you get koala syndrome you can always try using two strops or flip lines. I usually use two on smooth bark trees like gums; one wire core and one thicker rope strop. Generally, if you do slip the two tend to tie up together and stop you sliding to far but angle of the body to the tree is most important. Always keep your spikes sharpened to manufacturers specs or it makes it hard work getting them in to the pole and then keeping them in. And if you do slip you can always use your face as a brake

Can't speak highly enough of NZ. Originally I was going to move on to OZ but the climate here is easier to cope with. Winters aren't as harsh as the UK and summer is slightly warmer. It's like Britain used to be when I was growing up; safer and more chilled and with a population of just over 4m definately less crowded. Some places you can get a beach to yourself and people are a whole lot more friendly. Add to that the current issues with immigration, crime etc in Britain NZ is just way better from my point of view. The wages aren't as good but the whole lifestyle you get more than makes up for it. My old man came over for a two week holiday back in 2000 and loved it so much he applied for residency which has just been approved. You can find negatives with any place you go to but if you just immerse yourself in the place it's all good. It beats my hometown of Loughborough and working in Snowdonia any day of the week.

Oh, and from what I remember, temp visas are available for one and two years and if you have a good job offer you can just keep extending them. Takes a bit of work but that's how I survived for several years.

OK. one by one. Safety standards in the UK are higher than they are here. For example the safety boots here only need to be steel toe capped and the chainsaw pants only need front protection and even that isn't always that good. Harness supplies are few and far between but I believe there is one outfit in the south island that keeps up to date with the latest gear. Most companies will give your gear a once over to check for fraying etc but general requirements are lower than what you are used too. Couldn't tell you about the cost to get over here but my old man comes over every year and it costs him about 800 sterling return. Be careful with the big companies. With some you become just a number and sometimes safety can go out the window. It also dpends on who you work with. Safety is the responsibility of the individual so if you're working with a nonce who doesn't care what the rules are....... and sometimes it's a case of just get the job done whatever it takes. Be warned.