Jon Lad

I'd like something you can run lowering line through to get all the twists out of it, after its been used on a friction device a few times.

I foolishly once went to look at a job pruning several large old fruit trees, the day after flying back from the U.S. I was jet lagged & not thinking clearly. I complimented the lady I was looking at the work with - telling her that she had "a lovely pear" before realizing, from seeing her laughing to herself, what I'd just said must have sounded like. Still got the job though!

Thursday + Friday, hope the weather's like last time.

Some great shots there of that climbing competition.

I was dismantling a tree with another climber and one of the groundsman was this young lad. The customer brought a big tray out for us - tea pot, mugs, milk, sugar etc and gave it to this kid. He stood with it under the tree looking up at us and asked us what we wanted him to do. I told him to just tie it on for us, thinking he'd know I was joking. I could see him looking at the tray and our climbing lines so I suggested putting the tray in the wheel barrow and tying that on as it might be easier. So he brought the wheel barrow over and put the tray in it, and gets the climbing rope and starts feeding it under the barrow. Me and the other climber looked at one another and then he told him to triangulate the rope so it wont spill all over on the way up. He spent about 5 minutes trying to figure out how he was going to do this while us and the other 2 groundies just watched him until one of them told him to give over.

One of their main men is building a big place for himself near here, it'll be interesting to see whether he finishes it.

Dead oak for out.

You are right, I'll let it go. I should have confirmed in advance. Life's too short. I was shocked at her reaction, off the dial really, and have never had some one tell me point blank they aren't paying me for work I've done and I've been self employed 9 years and doing tree work 18. I went up there today to see her or her husband but they weren't in. I had a good look at the trees again and they've had a very good job done there for free, which is annoying to say the least. The weirdest thing is that during the phone call last week when she tore me a new one, the last thing she said to me was "I may use you again in the future when I've calmed down and I'm not so cross with you". I think I'd rather give up tree work!

How can it be arrogant, complacent or stupid to book a date with a customer for 12 months time, as I do with other regular customers. Which she writes in her diary and I put in mine. Then turn up on the exact day as arranged and do the work to the same standard as last time, with which they were so happy. Which incidentally was the reason they were so keen to book the work in again a year in advance! Considering you've never met me, know nothing about: me personally; my business; the people I work with; the work I've done or the experience I've got. The comments you made are quite offensive and insulting, yet you describe me as the arrogant one. As to giving you a good laugh at work today: that just about sums you up.

Tell me about it! I don't normally read customers wrong but I did this one. Got some legal advice today and turns out it's a continuing contract and it was as much her duty to inform me of a change in or cancellation of the date as it would be of me to do so. No trespass issues, as we had to go onto her property to carry out the work as arranged. I'll get a letter off to her soon if she hasn't paid up and see what happens. Hope things are ok with you.

Did a job last year 7 really large hollies to trim back into form, they'd been neglected for some time before this. The customer told me how pleased she was, that they'd never looked as good etc etc. I said that if they were trimmed every year that they would look even better - rather than getting them done every few years when they'd grown out of shape again. I suggested we book a date in for 12 months time, she agreed and wrote the date down and I put it in my diary. Last wednesday we went and did the job. There was no-one in but the trees were accessible so did the job. I rang her on friday to see if she was happy with the work. She went crackers down the phone. Asking how dare I go and do work on her property when she wasn't there? Saying that she would never have dreamed of getting us to do them again as they didn't need doing. Telling me it was sharp practice to just come and do it. When I pointed out to her that we had booked the job in 12 months ago. She got even angrier and told me, we hadn't booked it in we'd "pencilled" it in. She the went on to say that she wouldn't be paying a penny and that I could talk to her husband who was a lawyer and would be back tomorrow. With hindsight I should have rung before to confirm, but I have quite a few customers who are booked in every year and we just turn up and do the work. If they want to re-arrange the date or cancel, they ring and tell me. Any suggestions, I'm thinking small claims court?

The customers I find it difficult to deal with sometimes aren't the talkers, but the ones who are over-friendly. It's like you've automatically become their friend because your doing work on their property. I've had it happen a few times and always thought it strange. I do become friendly with customers, especially regular ones. But I still like to keep that distance between you, it's a business relationship at the end of it all. I have found that some of the ones who start out being your new best mate, end up wanting extras doing for nothing or expect the price to begin to decrease the next time you go.

:lol:

If a climber came to do some work for me and wanted to spike a tree that needed pruning, I couldn't use them. I would think that, in my opinon, they didn't know their job properly.

That is a great sequence of photos.

What type of work have you been doing over these past 4 years?

Big A frames

We do alot of big garden hedges and have 2 sets of Sargers A frame ladders, a medium a large. Between them and climbing up into the hedge we haven't come across a hedge that we wouldn't tackle. Other than that a platform, but that isn't always feasible on a domestic job.

It takes some doing. I don't look forward to it, but the jobs got easier over the years the more times we've done it. It is very time consuming though. That big cherry laurel hedge is about 25ft across the top at its widest:thumbdown:.

Big hedging job.

Ash removal - difficult access.

Sycamore to prune & alder to remove - difficult access.

Dead oak being turned into a monolith.

I have a large tree to brace and the consultant's report specifies Nerex kit to be used. I have never used this type of bracing before, just Cobra and old school steel cables before that. Is it as easy to install as Cobra? Are Sorbus (Fujikura) the only supplier in England?

I have noticed a significant amount of die back in the crowns of a number of Robinia pseudoacacia Frisia lately. I was wondering if it was localized to this area or if anyone else has noticed this. A consequence of the winter we had maybe?