Dealing with a major entitled neighbor on the worksite

Well we had a difficult neighbor on the job site and he demanded we remove his tree for free and he would also not allow us to step one foot on his property. I'm curious to know if you guys thought we did the right thing. Also I would add that we help people out all of the time and if this guy would have been cool we would have most likely helped him.
Man that guy just wasn't getting it was he...lol just ignorant. Man those days suck. I have enough drama at home I don't need any at work
 
@hammsarborcare

Skimmed through some... did you say you knew you were trespassing, after he politely told you not to, but you are already working, so Tough S@#$?



With the trunks all being from one root system, doesn't that mean it's one entity with multiple trunks?
No he didn't say that. The guy said that another neighbor called him and said the tree cutter were on her property
 
Not sure what this arbosrist meant by 2 seperate entities. Thats 1 tree with 2 stems. Sure the HO that hired this arborist to remove the leaning side had that right because it over his property. I disagree with his assessment that removing 1 side will not effect the other. That being co dom at the base by removing 1 side could destablize the other. Correct this aborist isnt required to remove the neighbors side. But after he removes the customers side and IF the other side was to fail he would be in the line of fire if there is a lawsuit. I walk away from these property line trees unless both neighbors are in agreement on how to deal with the problem and get written understanding, usually an email. Honestly IMO the arborist tone in this discussion was a bit confrontational.
 
Sorry to hear neighbors are such a pain for people.

They are so often my next good customer.

Rarely is there any conflict.
Virtually never.
Given the music that comes from your parts, this makes sense…

(I’m sure it is also a reflection of who you are and how you talk to people..)
 
No he didn't say that. The guy said that another neighbor called him and said the tree cutter were on her property
The outriggers were one foot over a very funcky property line situation where three properties share a corner. The other neighbor never approached us but I switched to the driveway setup shortly after that clip to be "above reproach". We actually work hard to please the neighbors. We been in business since 1998 and have a 12 week backlog for 10 production staff. We didn't get there by ticking neighbors off:) Their properties were spotless when we left.
 
Given the music that comes from your parts, this makes sense…

(I’m sure it is also a reflection of who you are and how you talk to people..)
I totally agree. Don't we all rely on "neighborhood" work. This guy left a bogus google review for the President of the non-profit just to get back at him. The president is just a local business man who is literally the nicest guy and polite in every way. The problem is another local company was going to throw his side in but couldn't get there for almost a week. As you can see, the situation was better handled sooner vs later.
 
Not sure what this arbosrist meant by 2 seperate entities. Thats 1 tree with 2 stems. Sure the HO that hired this arborist to remove the leaning side had that right because it over his property. I disagree with his assessment that removing 1 side will not effect the other. That being co dom at the base by removing 1 side could destablize the other. Correct this aborist isnt required to remove the neighbors side. But after he removes the customers side and IF the other side was to fail he would be in the line of fire if there is a lawsuit. I walk away from these property line trees unless both neighbors are in agreement on how to deal with the problem and get written understanding, usually an email. Honestly IMO the arborist tone in this discussion was a bit confrontational.
Again, an act of God destroyed the one side and they are separate stems at the ground. A true co-dominant stem shares the same xylem below the crotch. if you injected die at the base of the stem I removed, I am quite certain none of it would get into the apposing stem. I would wager you could inject herbicide into one side with the other side unaffected. Now potentially there are some shared roots but the root flare doesn't telegraph it. If this were a true co-dominant two feet above the ground there would be a stark difference in my opinion.
 
Dolt needs a solid comeback in usage! Now a Hubristic Dolt would be apt. However in this case it might be a pot and kettle situation.

The term co-dominant needs to be redefined, in forestry it refers to two separate trees!
Stem bifurcation is much better in the arboricultural world, and I agree that the argument of the two stems being separate trees is bullshit.
Now would the removal of one affect the other physiologically? Not likely, until decay fungi get on with it many years from now. BUT with the increased exposure the likelihood of failure of the remainder just increased substantially.
The legal question though is duty of care. The client is exercising their duty of care by mitigation hazard of a active tree failure. But in doing so it increases the potential likelihood of failure of the other stem (which looks pretty icky to begin with. The argument is POTENTIAL vs ACTIVE failure. It wouldn’t be a hard argument in court.
 
Did you do the right thing? Eh, I would have cut it right along the property line and left it at that. If the remainder falls, deal with it too when the time comes. The actual tree was on their side so your customer wouldn't have any right to mess with it, however your customer has 100% rights to take the tree down all the way to the property line.
Also, the guy/lady deserves to have the rest of the tree crush that boat in two.If they were so worried about it falling the other way due to a shift of balance, the CORRECT way to address it would be to get a bid while you're out there to take it down too.
If they can't afford it then he should move the boat and get his fat, greasy rear up that tree and cut it himself like any regular guy without a 100k boat in the yard would do. That's my 2 cents.
 
If they can't afford it then he should move the boat and get his fat, greasy rear up that tree and cut it himself like any regular guy without a 100k boat in the yard would do.
Bahaha.

I watched the video and I think you handled this pretty well, especially with the prior history that you explained. This person is solidly in the ‘dick’ category. What kind of person lets their tree fall on their neighbors house and doesn’t even pay for it?
 
Just from that little bit you could definitely tell the husband and wife are squeaky wheel gets the grease type of people. Headaches.

But from looking at the tree, did you not remove the most difficult part? Already had the crew, lift, loader, truck, drive time accounted for. Could you not have handled the interaction differently, made the goofball feel like he's getting something, had him move the boat and take out the other side in a few big, easy chunks. Have him throw you a bit of extra cash for the discount of being there and sleep well.
 
I'm dealing with a neighbor dispute myself right now. It's a small project and not worth the time and energy, so I'm probably just going to walk.
 
Distraction and frustration from a conflict are ripe opportunities for injury and/ or damage.

You are the problem-solver, not the problem maker.
Walk your way to another job.


My attitude these days is that I'll have full price work for the rest of my career somewhere near my shop.
So what if someone else does this job.

Carpenters, busy at one house, shouldn't be upset hearing building happening in the distance.
You can only hammer one nail at a time.
 
Well we had a difficult neighbor on the job site and he demanded we remove his tree for free and he would also not allow us to step one foot on his property. I'm curious to know if you guys thought we did the right thing. Also I would add that we help people out all of the time and if this guy would have been cool we would have most likely helped him.
Personally I would’ve told boat guy if that’s the play he wants to run, I’d be more than happy to document his tree in eminent failure for my client’s insurance and he can deal with the consequence.
I’d then encourage the client to make boat guy pay for the removal whether or not I did the work
 

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