What's on your mind? TCI Magazine wants to know

southsoundtree said:
I disagree that they are outdated and time consuming. They are complements to modern techniques to be used as appropriate.

Some jobs/ rec climbs are hike-in. Light can be right.

A taut line or Blake"s on a standing end is way faster than someone going to the truck and sending up gear.

Often, I can do something the 'hard' way much faster than waiting on a gadget, so less work in a way.

I would not be limited to these old standbys.
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I agree completely. We are a production outfit, with all of the "proper" rigging gear, and yet we still do a lot of natural crotch rigging with trunk wraps to provide friction. It is a lot faster to lower one or two pieces that way than it is to set a block in a tree, hang a porter wrap, and thread the whole system.

I love the modern gear, we carry a lot less than many companies because we simply bring in a crane when the rigging gets more than basic, but we have the modern gear when we need it.

I know climbers who have spent many years climbing on a Blakes hitch, our former lead climber who was recently deported was that way. He's been climbing on a Blakes hitch about 25 years, and moves faster in a tree than most guys half his age with all the fancy mechanicals. I climb with a mechanical system myself on the very rare occasion I leave the ground, but can still tie a Blakes as well.
 
Reach said:
That's funny, because I was explaining the exact same thing to a new hire on Friday. Telling him how we provide a superior level of service, but the only way the customer knows it is because we leave the lawn looking nice, show up in nice clean trucks, and crisp uniforms. They don't have a clue what proper tree care looks like, but they sure do know what a clean truck and a nice lawn look like.
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We've began advertising/selling minimal raking jobs. We'll machine rake and go. Reduces cost (that 5-10% of cleanup takes 25% of the time) and gives another option for flexibility.
 
Reach said:
I agree completely. We are a production outfit, with all of the "proper" rigging gear, and yet we still do a lot of natural crotch rigging with trunk wraps to provide friction. It is a lot faster to lower one or two pieces that way than it is to set a block in a tree, hang a porter wrap, and thread the whole system.

I love the modern gear, we carry a lot less than many companies because we simply bring in a crane when the rigging gets more than basic, but we have the modern gear when we need it.

I know climbers who have spent many years climbing on a Blakes hitch, our former lead climber who was recently deported was that way. He's been climbing on a Blakes hitch about 25 years, and moves faster in a tree than most guys half his age with all the fancy mechanicals. I climb with a mechanical system myself on the very rare occasion I leave the ground, but can still tie a Blakes as well.
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This, it's like folks have forgot about the grind.
 
Brando CalPankian said:
We've began advertising/selling minimal raking jobs. We'll machine rake and go. Reduces cost (that 5-10% of cleanup takes 25% of the time) and gives another option for flexibility.
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I like that idea, maybe we should give that a try. I'll have to see how difficult it is to add that to our quotes, because you are right, that last bit of raking takes far longer than one would think on a lot of projects, and could result in a considerable cost savings.
 
southsoundtree said:
I disagree that they are outdated and time consuming. They are complements to modern techniques to be used as appropriate.

Some jobs/ rec climbs are hike-in. Light can be right.

A taut line or Blake"s on a standing end is way faster than someone going to the truck and sending up gear.

Often, I can do something the 'hard' way much faster than waiting on a gadget, so less work in a way.

I would not be limited to these old standbys.
Click to expand...
Yup! Did a 80’ red alder today, tied it off at about 2/3 the way up. Shot a line into a neighboring tree. Took 2.5 trunk wraps and made 3 cuts. Got the butt floating and pushed it into the chipper.

Chipped and lowered appropriately until we dropped it from the lowering line. About 1 hr vs Turing it into salad (maybe 2 hours).
The most labor was tying it off.
 
evo said:
Yup! Did a 80’ red alder today, tied it off at about 2/3 the way up. Shot a line into a neighboring tree. Took 2.5 trunk wraps and made 3 cuts. Got the butt floating and pushed it into the chipper.

Chipped and lowered appropriately until we dropped it from the lowering line. About 1 hr vs Turing it into salad (maybe 2 hours).
The most labor was tying it off.
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And still, most of the guys I've worked for insist that way takes longer. They keep insisting after decades that you should just start up the damn thing and start cutting; sooner you get started the sooner we finish.
Some guys don't think that there's anything left to learn
 
Matias said:
And still, most of the guys I've worked for insist that way takes longer. They keep insisting after decades that you should just start up the damn thing and start cutting; sooner you get started the sooner we finish.
Some guys don't think that there's anything left to learn
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Well that also brings up another interesting point for me. Even if it took longer to set up and execute it burned less calories and no one broke a sweat
 
Serf Life said:
More of a general thing, but I appreciate the few articles which actually get into the nitty gritty and assume the reader is a well versed professional. Edit out 3 paragraphs of fluff and over explanations (have a couple references so people can read more if needed) and use that freed up space for in depth info. Basically not every article has to be readable/understood by every reader.
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THIS! I saw a presentation a couple of years ago by a local professional, about prescription pruning. He spent the majority of the allotted hour explaining the pruning styles/types (natural, espalier, pleaching, pollarding...) to a room of certified arborists, then realized he was running out of time and tried to cram in the meat of the presentation in the last 1/4 hour.
 
Reach said:
I like that idea, maybe we should give that a try. I'll have to see how difficult it is to add that to our quotes, because you are right, that last bit of raking takes far longer than one would think on a lot of projects, and could result in a considerable cost savings.
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I've often had the idea of selling cleanup "grades" that could be represented by pictures maybe. Grade "A" is like golf course green clean, nearly 100% of debris generated by the job is cleaned up, Grade "B" is less than 25% fines (define "fines" by largest particle size and smaller) left behind, Grade "C" is less than 50% fines, "D" is no cleanup. Or something like that. Just stuff I think about when raking
 
Analog said:
I've often had the idea of selling cleanup "grades" that could be represented by pictures maybe. Grade "A" is like golf course green clean, nearly 100% of debris generated by the job is cleaned up, Grade "B" is less than 25% fines (define "fines" by largest particle size and smaller) left behind, Grade "C" is less than 50% fines, "D" is no cleanup. Or something like that. Just stuff I think about when raking
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We've been experimenting with this. I've found it helps to use size as an explanation, much like when targeting deadwood. Our "standard" raking is mowable, 1/4" diameter debris left. This lets people know we're going to clean up the bulk, but there may be mowable fines left. It's eliminated most of the conflict over cleanup. We put it in out T&C's as well.

I see it like this. Most tree work is elective. Most people have a budget in mind. Most people don't know the difference in quality arboriculture, but they recognize someone they can trust, who communicates, and who protects the client through operational procedures. The frustration from cleanups tends to come from mismatched expectations, and often from feelings of ineptitude on the clients side as they don't truly know what they're paying for. By laying expectations clearly as to what the cleanup will be they tend to relax a bit more.
 
"Signature service" is how I think grade A.


I like hourly pruning/ working for regulars in that they get exactly however much cleanup they want to pay for.





On verbiage, I use "protect rhododendron" or "protect fence", "Protect lawn", "Client accepts landscape damage from dropping logs", "We will fill divots with soil from log impacts, "put on ground only, no processing. Clients will repair lawn damage".
 
southsoundtree said:
"Signature service" is how I think grade A.


I like hourly pruning/ working for regulars in that they get exactly however much cleanup they want to pay for.





On verbiage, I use "protect rhododendron" or "protect fence", "Protect lawn", "Client accepts landscape damage from dropping logs", "We will fill divots with soil from log impacts, "put on ground only, no processing. Clients will repair lawn damage".
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This, exactly.

One thing I've been learning going through TCIA accreditation process is that we tend to hardly bat an eye regarding holes in our legally binding contracts. The TCIA examples helped me address things I hadn't thought of and helped us design stronger "boundaries" to protect us from not great clients. This alone has reduced the number of tire kickers and price hagglers.

It all elaborates on the client's expectations. We take for granted the work we do, we know what the end result should be. The client has an idea but generally won't be able to conceptualize it readily. Folks get upset when they feel taken advantage of, lied to, or betrayed.
 
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