Walked away after starting a job today

[climbingmonkey24]

Today I terminated a contract and walked off the job after starting…not a typical experience. Here’s why.

We had a contract, signed and dated, that specified exactly what was gonna be done with the hedges. Nearly an hour after we started, they come out telling me they are unhappy, why isn’t it more straight, and also they want me to go in more. The amount they wanted me to take it in would leave it completely hacked and down to bare stubs. This wasn’t what we agreed to. However, I tried to meet them halfway and go in a little more. Still wasn’t good enough, goal post kept changing.

Regarding the bow, that’s because a section of the arborvitae were younger and therefore not as wide. So I followed the natural contour of the hedge like I’ve done on dozens of others and did my best to blend it in, trying to explain that to get it to a more straight line would mean cutting severely into the wider arborvitae.

Then they said the stihl extension hedge trimmer I was using wasn’t the proper tool, that I should be using a chainsaw to cut the sides until it’s almost bare.

When we initially looked at the job, the client stated they wanted both hedges on either side property to eventually be same height. One was taller, one was shorter. What we talked about and what we wrote in the contract was the taller hedge we would perform a reduction or 1-3 ft, and then the shorter one either a light trim or let it grow depending what the final height of the taller hedge comes out to, with the long-term goal of matching them.

Now they don’t want that, they want to perform a more significant height reduction on the shorter hedge.

I’ll try to accommodate changes and things as much as possible, but the whole nature of the project changed from properly trimming an arborvitae hedge to hacking them back to bare stubs all the way around. That’s just not the kind of pruning we do for obvious reasons.

And then when I pulled up the contract and tried explaining why I was doing what I was and my thought process, they said I was trying to make things more difficult.

They don’t care if it kills the trees, it’s just a tree they say. Okay, but that doesn’t change the fact that it greatly changes the scope of work and how long it’s going to take.

Never has someone suggested to me that I should be using a chainsaw on the sides of their hedge instead of a professional hedge trimmer.

I’ll put up with a lot, but I felt no matter what I did it wasn’t going to be good enough. All I was doing was wasting their time and mine.

Put in a half day’s worth of work, cleaned up my mess, and didn’t charge them for any of it.

 

[climbingmonkey24]

The wife is the one who signed the contract, the husband said he didn’t read it.

One individual did feel the need to mention how it must be harder for me because I don’t have the proper equipment, and how someone across the street had bushes trimmed and it was 3 guys with a lift and they did a great job. We have a lift, orchard ladder, and all the tools you could need.

I said this trimmer is literally designed for this work, that it’s not very typical to come in with a chainsaw to trim the sides of a hedge and they argued with me that it wasn’t, and that the last people to do it used a chainsaw or something similar and it grew back…

Then she asked if it’s just me (I was by myself), and I said no, I do have other workers but didn’t really need anyone that particular day, that typically we have one person doing the actual trimming on a job like this. And they replied saying “well the company across the street had multiple people cutting.”

Oh, and then at one point one person said they wanted to create a V-tapered top on this flat top, 12ft-14ft+ tall hedge like she’s seen with others, and I said to do that properly might take some time without hacking it, that usually the hedge is trained that way. Then the other person said just go flat across.

It finally became very clear at the end that what they were expecting was someone to come in with a big saw and just hack it back. Not the kind of experience I pride myself in as a business owner walking away like that, but I honestly don’t see that it could’ve turned out well if I had continued with the job. It was still pretty early on where I left it. Which was disappointing because I felt like I was making good pace and had got the hedges to a point they would be happy with.

Thanks for reading / listening.

 

[atreeperson]

Sounds like a good move to walk away

 

[Merle Nelson]

Good to clarify your boundaries to a client like them, great to reaffirm your boundaries to yourself - after a bit of the annoying sting wears off.

I welcome people being various versions of this, just not with me. They can enjoy their life with others.

 

[Bart_]

Be glad you cut your losses. I had a sh_t customer once who wanted a straight, flat geometrical hedge on a dual direction sloping yard. No listening to reason. Any reasoning. When I tried to explain and demonstrate heights, grade, slopes etc they actually laughed at me. No (wrong) remediation done by me, I got stiffed and I walked. Some people are just shitty.

For reference other regular customers nicknamed me the hedge whisperer.

I've stopped doing hedges and every old customer has been dissatisfied with their new guy. Word often used "butcher".

Have pride in the successes you leave behind and carry on.

 

[flushcut]

Never has someone suggested to me that I should be using a chainsaw on the sides of their hedge instead of a professional hedge trimmer.

You must be fairly new to the industry lol customers say the darndest things. Give it time and you will hear it all.
“Hey can you prune out this buckthorn” is a personal favorite of mine.

 

[climbingmonkey24]

You must be fairly new to the industry lol

No.

I get what you’re saying though.