Refusing irresponsible tree work

[tomstrees]

Have you refused to do irresponsible tree work. I saw a woman property owner on Next Door complaining about the estimates she was getting on tree removals on her property, she was trying to solicit scab workers who'd remove trees for under a thousand.. A lot of good sized trees in this suburban NY suburb take quite a while to take down safely. As one arborist locally who pays his workers sixty five dollars an hour or so, told me a given tree was a $2200 or more job, I'm not sure if he was including removing the wood.

Types of customers wanting irresponsible work: taking down healthy, quality trees without good reason. Whether we are talking oaks, sugar maples, hickory trees, and many other types--there really needs to be a good reason to take them down and arguing to keep them would be indicative of a healthy conscience regardless of whether someone "needs the work". I've had customers paranoid about healthy oaks over their houses with no risk. You don't want to tell a customer that what they want is indicative that they need professional help, but frankly there is no rationale for what many of them want. Around here, they move up from the city and figure they can always replace what they have with nursery trees. Unfortunately many of the large nursery trees have been in the root ball too long and are root bound; so problems develop such as girdling.

A local church in this town decided to take down a bunch of Norway Maples. I know some arborists call them "junk maples" but there are a lot of positives with them. There was no discussion before they removed them, no fluorescent tape wrapped them as every tree service I've known will wrap potential removals with. As a result there was a lot of anger over this.

 

[Lumberjack]

Unless I'm missing some legality aspect, someone removing a tree on their property isn't irresponsible, it's their purview over their domain.

A tree over a a house is assuredly a risk to the house, to say otherwise in a professional setting is interesting. Just last week we had a $15k mitigation job where the customer said the previous company had said the tree was no risk.

I won't do work I don't want to do. "Sorry, we're not a good fit", it's been 11 days since the last one of those that I recall.

 

[ATH]

I refuse work I don't want. Especially removals...but we do very few of those.

Won't top trees...even if it means not getting the job - but most of the time I can talk someone out of that.

I agree @Lumberjack no tree is "no risk"...but many many trees are "low risk" and it's our duty to explain to clients, IMHO.

Norway Maple was mentioned...is it more or less irresponsible to leave an invasive species or remove an invasive species? (I'd suggest it has to do with the setting and want the next plan is...for example in a natural woods, I think they should go...only trees on a property and they aren't going to be replaced, maybe leave them...IMHO).

 

[Bart_]

In my experience when I counsel or refuse work those people will simply find somebody else who will do the work. I get to look at a 3/4 dead maple hatrack straight across from my house to remind me. Lion - tail-ifying spreading oaks particularly bothers me. Held one customer on track for 20 years before losing that oak's integrity. An aggravating factor is customers being pressured into bad tree prunes by their neighbours. I breakage pruned a lion-tail-ified linden that was "trimmed like the neighbour's tree over there" and promptly broke in the first wind storm. Survived countless storms in it's original form. Bit negative I had a bad people encounter today.

 

[27RMT0N]

Never work for someone who goes online to complain about a company/service, unless it is 10,000% clear they are actually right. Most are ignorant and wrong. They won't be happy with anyone's work and will also go online and talk smack about you as well, no matter how good it is.

But yes, I turn down work on occasion if it's un-necessary, against my personal ethics, asking for removal of a tree I believe should stay, or would reflect poorly on my reputation.

Edit: I was actually just talking with my employee about a related thing this afternoon regarding difficult customers. When you are sending emails, especially turning down jobs, keep it short and simple, make a final declarative statement ("I'm not the right person for the job but I'm sure someone else can do it for you") and write it in a way that if it became public, it wouldn't make you look bad. Your tree work should be the same.

 

[tomstrees]

Unless I'm missing some legality aspect, someone removing a tree on their property isn't irresponsible, it's their purview over their domain.

A tree over a a house is assuredly a risk to the house, to say otherwise in a professional setting is interesting. Just last week we had a $15k mitigation job where the customer said the previous company had said the tree was no risk.

I won't do work I don't want to do. "Sorry, we're not a good fit", it's been 11 days since the last one of those that I recall.

There are a lot of towns around here, mainly in NY that require permits for tree removals. Though it may be a legal "right" to have someone remove a tree on their land it may be morally wrong. Think of how much trees add to properties. Calculations on a full grown healthy tree's value on a property can be quite impressive. Whether a tree stays or is removed often comes down to whether or not someone cares. People move up from the city into this suburban area and want to "make their mark" on the property, some have poor taste white collar money managers where no one will put a check on what they do on their properties. This town is starting to consider summer bans on gas leaf blowers with increasing cfms and noise especially in the last few years as other towns have implemented. My concept of property maintenance is more from the standpoint of a caretaker or steward of the good on a property, fixing and cleaning up problems, making real improvements. And for me that precludes the use of toxic sprays, pesticides or fertilizers mindful of the effect on the life on the property. I remember cutting down a perfectly good apple tree in the backyard of a local property years ago the mother paid me for. Her little girl was crying at the loss of a vital part of that property. In retrospect my willingness to do that was wrong; the tree was healthy, the reasons to cut it down were flimsy and stupid. There is no harm in telling the customer that it would be wrong to remove a good tree rather than some spineless, passive and bland statement that you're not the right person for the job. Tell them they are doing wrong and that they need to consider the removal of a tree that belongs there and how difficult it can be to get a tree to maturity on a property.

 

[Gorman]

Ive refused a job where a woman tried to get me to destabilize her black cherry by cutting the roots so it would fall on her neighbor's property. lot of good stories about her. I blocked her number.

 

[Mick Dempsey]

If they want it out for their own reasons, and they pay then I’ll take it out.
Who am I to lecture people on things on their own property?

 

[VenasNursery]

If they want it out for their own reasons, and they pay then I’ll take it out.
Who am I to lecture people on things on their own property?

Removals I totally agree but topping or bad pruning mainly property line trims I will refuse if not done correctly and also neighbors on agreement of the project being done correctly.

 

[Mowerr]

There are a lot of towns around here, mainly in NY that require permits for tree removals. Though it may be a legal "right" to have someone remove a tree on their land it may be morally wrong. Think of how much trees add to properties. Calculations on a full grown healthy tree's value on a property can be quite impressive. Whether a tree stays or is removed often comes down to whether or not someone cares. People move up from the city into this suburban area and want to "make their mark" on the property, some have poor taste white collar money managers where no one will put a check on what they do on their properties. This town is starting to consider summer bans on gas leaf blowers with increasing cfms and noise especially in the last few years as other towns have implemented. My concept of property maintenance is more from the standpoint of a caretaker or steward of the good on a property, fixing and cleaning up problems, making real improvements. And for me that precludes the use of toxic sprays, pesticides or fertilizers mindful of the effect on the life on the property. I remember cutting down a perfectly good apple tree in the backyard of a local property years ago the mother paid me for. Her little girl was crying at the loss of a vital part of that property. In retrospect my willingness to do that was wrong; the tree was healthy, the reasons to cut it down were flimsy and stupid. There is no harm in telling the customer that it would be wrong to remove a good tree rather than some spineless, passive and bland statement that you're not the right person for the job. Tell them they are doing wrong and that they need to consider the removal of a tree that belongs there and how difficult it can be to get a tree to maturity on a property.

Hey Tom I live in upstate near your Saratoga county. I run into these situations a lot and have a lot of thoughts on this but where in New York are you operating?? Pm me if your more comfortable

 

[XTREEC]

I encourage people to leave trees that are healthy and low risk. I’ve found that addressing it as if were in reference to my own home, what I would do. I have had occasion to remove healthy oak trees because the elderly owner was afraid (legit) of falling on the acorns (steep hill). I could only convince them to keep them for so many years I did get the trunk milled into some beautiful lumber. I will only top trees that are going to die anyway. I have a customer that put a retaining wall and 4+ feet of dirt around a bunch of maple trees.

 

[Mowerr]

I encourage people to leave trees that are healthy and low risk. I’ve found that addressing it as if were in reference to my own home, what I would do. I have had occasion to remove healthy oak trees because the elderly owner was afraid (legit) of falling on the acorns (steep hill). I could only convince them to keep them for so many years I did get the trunk milled into some beautiful lumber. I will only top trees that are going to die anyway. I have a customer that put a retaining wall and 4+ feet of dirt around a bunch of maple trees.

You work in NY too? Where about?

 

[XTREEC]

You work in NY too? Where about?

New Hampshire
I try to avoid NY