Local Tree Companies Suck in my area!

Don't you get it Ginko?

It's Hank and Poindexter's freedom of choice to do whatever they choose on their own properties that I'm defending here.

Me personally?

I'd leave my trees alone.

jomoco
 
An educated consumer i a good companies greatest asset and a bad companies greatest enemy. If the companies in your area suck, educate your consumer on why they should choose higher quality tree care. I live in wyoming, land of shitty tree care (at least 80% of the trees I work on have been topped at least once). I give free talks and seminars in an attempt to educate the public about once a month. The tide may be slow to turn, but every customer who chooses a responsible professional instead of a hack is a victory.
 
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I live in Wyoming, land of shitty tree care (at least 80% of the trees I work on have been topped at least once).

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That.Is.Sad.
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I'm in Asheville..there is LOTS of topping here too. Fresh stuff done every day :(

Wulkie shared this pondering point:

Is there more tree damage done from topping or by overpruning?
 
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Is there more tree damage done from topping or by overpruning?

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That, is a great point! Easy to say they both cause numerous structural shortcomings. "Lions' tailing" is a real problem here with certain tree companies. And some homeowners seem to think that lion's tailed trees are "how trees are supposed to look". It's a constant effort to dispel those myths.

Luckily topping trees has been a greatly reduced practice in and around where I live in Southern Wisconsin...but unfortunately several tree hacks are still selling topping as a legit practice.

Trying to educate folks on this can be frustrating, but a journey of a million miles is done step-by-step.

You can get plastic surgery in a strip mall in Tijuana, or at a legit doctor's office with a lengthy list of positive testimonials...that's up to the consumer.
 
I live in Fort Worth and there alot of good companies in town and the surronding cities.Several of them do crane work as well and dont top trees or lions tail. You should check out the the climbing competition May 18th and 19th in plano , theres alot of good arborist from the metroplex and the state that attend.I think Mark Chisholm is doing a workshop on the 17th before the comp. keep lookout at JL mathews supply they may have a great workshop planned for June.
 
Thanks Jimmy, I guess the number of hacks is far greater than the number of pro's... It's sad. I guess I just only see the hacks out & about due to the massive amount of them out roaming our streets.. thanks for the heads up on the info. I will look into that..
 
I hope you guys don't mind a bit of a newb/outsider perspective in this discussion.
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As a licensed electrician, I work in a highly regulated profession, complete with a formal apprenticeship, tests, journeyman and master licenses, and annual refresher courses required by the state licensing board. Even with all that, there are still numerous hack electrical contractors that do shoddy, substandard work in this trade.

It seems tree work is no different. I think there are hacks in every occupation, and I'm in agreement with the sentiment that the hacks outweigh the considerate professionals who truly care about their occupation and advancing it. It's frightening to see people who have 20 or 30 years experience, which means they have one year of experience they have been repeating 20 or 30 times.

As for the licensing/regulation aspect of tree work, I have the same feelings I do about my own licensing requirements. I live in a state where both trade and tree work are state licensed occupation. It's a double edged sword for me. On the one hand, I'm in agreement with the principle that a man has a right to earn a living without needless government interference. That might mean a guy with a Wild Thing saw, a 1989 dump truck and whisper chipper, or a guy with a pair of pliers, coil of wire and "Electrishun" written on the side of his car with electrical tape.

On the other hand, licensing and occupational regulation does create certain barriers to entry that tends to keep out the truly hack and dangerous practicioners. It cannot stop them completely, but it does make it harder for them. There will always be the old dump truck tree guy and trunkslamming electrician, but they are the exception and not the norm, at least in my area. In other parts of the country, it's surely different.

Bottom line for me is that I would love to work completely unhindered by the gov't and work on the principle of "Buyer Beware". But I do benefit from the protection and credentials that licensing and regulation has to offer. The problem is that gov't regulation tends to only increase and stifle business, so in the end I don't think regulation has the desired and intended affect.
 
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Peter- I agree with you except for the vehicle and vehicle lettering part... You don't need to own a fancy truck or even a chipper at all to do quality work. You don't even need to know how to spell arborist!

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Not sure if you're messing with me or not, but I'll take your post at face value.
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I'm assuming you're being facetious, but if not, I'll run with it.

Generally speaking, the condition of one's equipment is also a testimony to the quality of one's work. I've found this maxim to be true over and over in life regardless of one's discipline. Are there exceptions? Of course there are. I know that someone starting out may be a stellar arborist but not have enough money to buy new or even decent equipment. Many companies started out on a shoestring budget with equipment late for the scrapyard. I totally understand this.

On the other hand, if an established company is still using the first chipper that Bandit ever made, I'm going to have to wonder why that's the case.
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