Do you think tree removal gets more focus and attention than other aspects of tree care?

climbingmonkey24

climbingmonkey24

Carpal tunnel level member
Location
United States
Anyone else notice that it seems like larger removal jobs and crane work seems to get more attention / interest than other aspects of tree care like pruning, etc.

I’ve had my fair share of people watch us while we are doing a smaller scale project, or ask for a card to inquire about a quote. But then there are days like yesterday where I was climbing for a friend doing removals with a crane and we had an audience for most of the day and multiple people approach inquiring about a quote for tree removal.

I guess it kind of makes sense. To someone who doesn’t do this kind of work seeing a climber hanging from a crane and picking big sections of tree probably seems a lot more interesting than cutting a few branches off a tree or taking out deadwood lol.

I don’t know about anyone else, but it’s sometimes hard not to feel insignificant so to speak when pruning or performing other smaller-scale tree care work in comparison to a large removal operation. Even though it’s providing an important and sometimes essential service.

Goes without saying I guess that too much thinking and comparing can be counterproductive. Especially if you’re focusing on more of a different market / niche than another company.
 
I completely agree. Did a large removal project this week and every neighbor came and got a card.

You just take what you can get. I try to be the voice of reason for clients. No fear based work. Act with integrity. Save what I can, remove what's necessary. Unfortunately we don't protect trees the same way some European countries do, and removals seem like the only option to many customers.

That culture is slowly changing in some areas. It'll always be there. Someone will be more than happy to come cut a heritage tree down for bragging rights and a case of beer, even if it's often less technical than other forms of work.
 
It is more of a show for sure (or can be).

Its also a bigger money game (maybe not higher ROI, but more dollars).

Equipment companies make more money (probably dollars and ROI) selling big iron for removals, so they highlight removals in marketing materials.

So to answer your question...yes, they probably get more attention.

I'm good playing behind the scenes though. If I leave knowing the tree we just pruned or treated will serve the client better because we were there, I'm great. If their friends look at the tree and say "that doesn't look like they even did anything" I'm great (assuming we accomplished the goal... getting it off the house, cleaning out dead, improving long term structure, etc... I'm saying the tree still has natural form).

I could feel good about removing big trees that were hazardous. I'd struggle removing the "it has too many leaves" or the couple who just bought a house in a wooded development saying, before the boxes are unpacked, "we just cannot have trees tall enough to fall on the house" or "we just can stand the squirrels, so take all the big trees". And we don't serve a big enough market to say "no" to all of those. Their tree, they can do what they want...just would be hard for me to feel motivated doing those.

The more I reflect on what I do well and how I want to grow my business the more i shy away from removals...big attention or not.
 
People are impressed by things they Know they can't do.

They are also waiting for a YouTube moment. They have vucarious adrenaline.


Once, as I was about to go for a back cut on a basic-to-me, but if done wrong it would be a house crusher, the customer calls out, "Not on the house!".

I called back, "Wait! On the house, or not on the house."

I smiled. They laughed a bit. Tree fell on the ground.

People are funny.



Homeowners sometimes Have to tell me about what they Know has to happen, especially old men.



Pruning is slow and boring for most people.
Oh, watch me matchstick deadwood a Japanese maple and make 300 tiny snips. Ooooo...riveting!
 
southsoundtree said:
People are impressed by things they Know they can't do.

They are also waiting for a YouTube moment. They have vucarious adrenaline.


Once, as I was about to go for a back cut on a basic-to-me, but if done wrong it would be a house crusher, the customer calls out, "Not on the house!".

I called back, "Wait! On the house, or not on the house."

I smiled. They laughed a bit. Tree fell on the ground.

People are funny.



Homeowners sometimes Have to tell me about what they Know has to happen, especially old men.



Pruning is slow and boring for most people.
Oh, watch me matchstick deadwood a Japanese maple and make 300 tiny snips. Ooooo...riveting!
Click to expand...
The awaiting failure is so frustrating.
 
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I don’t necessarily sell removals only, but honestly it makes life so much easier. Zero room for interpretation: have a tree, make it disappear without collateral damage-done. Some clients ideas of pruning are far different from mine, and/or industry standards. I also feel it’s hard to charge or sell a pruning job for what the labor/involvement of pruning is really worth….
 
No one in my area specifies in removal, I always thought it'd be a smart idea for the right people for reasons mentioned above. I was on a removal only crew for a summer and loved it.
 
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Chris Schultz said:
I also feel it’s hard to charge or sell a pruning job for what the labor/involvement of pruning is really worth….
Click to expand...

Very true. I often have situations where removal is less work than pruning, but the customer wonders "why is does it cost that much, it's only a few branches?!" *sigh*

I really liked climbing and pruning trees in Seattle when I started tree work years ago. These days it's almost all removals, as I live in a forest and it's basically minimizing hazards (or view...) in some of the 1,000 trees on peoples many-acre properties. The best part of working 'in the woods' though is not having nosy neighbors seeing what you are doing.
 
Chris Schultz said:
.... I also feel it’s hard to charge or sell a pruning job for what the labor/involvement of pruning is really worth….
Click to expand...
It goes the other way sometimes...some might ask "why should somebody pay you [what I'm assuming you are worth], when that other guy will do it for $500 and a case of beer (payment delivered before the job starts of course)?"

If there are enough specialized/technical removals in the area that probably sorts itself out to a degree.
 
ATH said:
It goes the other way sometimes...some might ask "why should somebody pay you [what I'm assuming you are worth], when that other guy will do it for $500 and a case of beer (payment delivered before the job starts of course)?"

If there are enough specialized/technical removals in the area that probably sorts itself out to a degree.
Click to expand...
Fortunately there isn’t much of that happening here. Truthfully, if that’s who the client wants to hire, fuckem, both…. I’ve only once had a client try to pull that card on me. Told me the other guys price, I knew instantly who had quoted him. I also knew these trees were well beyond this persons skill set, and really, so did the client…. Stood my ground, named my price, got the job.
 
Pruning for show.
Removals for dough.

Removals are better cos everyone gets the result they envisiged.
Trimming or whatever you call it often results in disappointment at how little you have done or horror at how much (apart from re-pollards of course)
 
That disappointment is either about communication or the the actual work. It is very rare that we have a client who is disappointed after we are done pruning. I'm sure it helps that I am the one doing the communication with the client and I am on the job site either during the pruning or directly administering it myself.

The only initially negative feedback I can think of this whole season was when we sent pictures of the completed job to a client who is out of town. They have a crabapple tree that is not doing well but do not want to remove it. We talked about cleaning all the Deadwood. When I sent the picture the reply I got was "wow, there's a lot missing". But we only took out dead. They are having us back for oak pruning this fall....
 
ATH said:
That disappointment is either about communication or the the actual work. It is very rare that we have a client who is disappointed after we are done pruning. I'm sure it helps that I am the one doing the communication with the client and I am on the job site either during the pruning or directly administering it myself.

The only initially negative feedback I can think of this whole season was when we sent pictures of the completed job to a client who is out of town. They have a crabapple tree that is not doing well but do not want to remove it. We talked about cleaning all the Deadwood. When I sent the picture the reply I got was "wow, there's a lot missing". But we only took out dead. They are having us back for oak pruning this fall....
Click to expand...
Ditto
 
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