darkstar
ArboristSite Guru
yeah .... i cant compete with that crap ...
po'd at my competition since they have no workmans comp and dont with hold
- Thread starter darkstar
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BlueRidgeMark
Addicted to ArboristSite
Drop a dime to the IRS.
Problem solved.
Problem solved.
begleytree
H. sapiens moderatus
call workers comp and report them.
-Ralph
-Ralph
darkstar
ArboristSite Guru
rrrggg
I would call but , just seems like bad karma .Oh well doing things right pays off in the long run . Just venting here . dark:bang: :bang: :bang:
I would call but , just seems like bad karma .Oh well doing things right pays off in the long run . Just venting here . dark:bang: :bang: :bang:
2Coilinveins
Former Member
Dark, it's a dog eat dog world, and you're wearing Milkbone underwear. If your situations were reversed, do you think for a second that your competitor would hesitate to blow the whistle? I don't mean to imply that something bad is ok just because someone else does it. However, your competitor is screwing his/her employees and undermining the integrity of the industry as a whole. Pick up the phone.
skwerl
Will Climb for food
Thank God I'm a sole proprietor/ subcontractor with no employees. I hate WC with a passion and would rather give up the work than deal with those bloodsucking scum.
begleytree
H. sapiens moderatus
here, if you are a sole prop, with 1 employee including yourself, you MUST carry w/c
-Ralph
-Ralph
skwerl
Will Climb for food
I spent two years trying to play their stupid games, going rounds with the WC office trying to get an exemption. Then I went to my insurance agent (which specializes in WC and small businesses) and they were unable to write me a WC policy because I was a S/P with no employees. So it looks like my business doesn't fit into any category so everyone tells me to go away. And for that I am grateful.
Redbull
ArboristSite Guru
Dark, would you call the police on someone breaking into your neighbors house? I hope so. Theres nothing wrong with letting the proper authorities know that someone is operating illegally.
kf_tree
Addicted to ArboristSite
dark
are all your employee's paid by check, no cash at all? so i guess then you also deposit all your cash in the bank.
i personally can not understand how a tree svc can operate as a totaly legit business and still turn a decent profit and have decent equipment.
are all your employee's paid by check, no cash at all? so i guess then you also deposit all your cash in the bank.
i personally can not understand how a tree svc can operate as a totaly legit business and still turn a decent profit and have decent equipment.
rfwoodvt
ArboristSite Operative
Darkstar,
You wouldn't standby and do nothing if someone were raping your neighbor's daughter so why watch some schmuck rape thier employees?
Cheating is Cheating and should be called for what it is. Make the call.
KF, as for doing it legit: yes it is tough to turn a profit, but it is because too many people have let the illegits get away with it for so long.
When the cheaters screw up the rest of us get penalized.
If you don't like the rules then at least play by the rules until you can get them changed. And if you really want them change then put your efforts where your mouth is and work your tail off to make a change.
And, if you decide to not play by the rules when you can get them changed then be content in knowing that so someday you will get caught.
Far as I am concerned we gotta play by the rules and if we don't then we shouldn't be surprised if we notice a huge target painted on us.
I don't like many of the rules either but until they can be changed I say deal with it and make it open season on the cheaters!
You wouldn't standby and do nothing if someone were raping your neighbor's daughter so why watch some schmuck rape thier employees?
Cheating is Cheating and should be called for what it is. Make the call.
KF, as for doing it legit: yes it is tough to turn a profit, but it is because too many people have let the illegits get away with it for so long.
When the cheaters screw up the rest of us get penalized.
If you don't like the rules then at least play by the rules until you can get them changed. And if you really want them change then put your efforts where your mouth is and work your tail off to make a change.
And, if you decide to not play by the rules when you can get them changed then be content in knowing that so someday you will get caught.
Far as I am concerned we gotta play by the rules and if we don't then we shouldn't be surprised if we notice a huge target painted on us.
I don't like many of the rules either but until they can be changed I say deal with it and make it open season on the cheaters!
darkstar
ArboristSite Guru
Good points . Ill think about it . Its hard for me to rat on somebody when i was there not to long ago. We all got to start somewhere . Not many of the tree men i know had much more than a pick up and a saw when they got started . Its a tuff biz. like Treeco says competition like that aint going away . We got work and more work so i might as well not complaine . rrrggg dark
KentuckySawyer
ArboristSite Operative
Any thoughts on what route to take for getting a city to implement (and then enforce) licensing for tree operations? There is none in my area, and I wonder if it would help.
Everybody has heard that you get what you pay for, but they always go with the cheap guy in the end. I actually had a lady call for an estimate and tell me, "I need your rock bottom price." I bid it fair, she accepted, signed a contract, and then called back a week later and cancelled because she got some toothless hoosier to do it cheaper. Beatch.
Everybody has heard that you get what you pay for, but they always go with the cheap guy in the end. I actually had a lady call for an estimate and tell me, "I need your rock bottom price." I bid it fair, she accepted, signed a contract, and then called back a week later and cancelled because she got some toothless hoosier to do it cheaper. Beatch.
skwerl
Will Climb for food
If you can't sell yourself, don't fall under the illusion that more legislation will make you more money. Too many people like yourself with no experience working in cities with idiotic and expensive 'arbor laws' think that more legislation is the answer. When was the last time you saw the government do anythnig fairly and efficiently??? The areas around here with the strictest arbor laws are also the areas with the most hack work taking place. Legitimate businesses won't deal with the headaches and idiotic hoops necessary to work there, so they don't bid jobs in those areas. Hacks don't care because they aren't legitimate anyway.KentuckySawyer said:
BlueRidgeMark
Addicted to ArboristSite
2Coilinveins said:
There is nothing bad about reporting someone who is doing something bad.
Stumper
One Man Band
Amazing. People hate the tax system. People hate being told what they must do with their money. Some people realize that WC isn't a good deal for anyone yet everyone is screaming to call the bureaucrats and yell "sic 'em" to save yourself from the competition. It doesn't compute for me. My 2nd worst competitor has no employees and the worst one has a huge crew-who are all family members and can beat the system that way -So? I'm better at what we do. It hurts to see their butchery but it makes my work look even better.
Redbull
ArboristSite Guru
I can see Darks frustration. There are a lot of laws and regulations that I don't like, and I'll whine about them, but they have to be followed, like it or not. I can still whine though.
KentuckySawyer
ArboristSite Operative
skwerl said:
Good point.
kayakvt
ArboristSite Lurker
Turn 'em in
It sucks to have to deal with WC, but it's there for a reason. If it wasn't mandatory, a lot wouldn't carry it and they or their employees would get screwed... The WC insurance company that covers my dad's construction company is still paying through the teeth for a worker who came on and six weeks later claimed to have wrecked his back... The insurer has paid out $300,000 to the dude and has been fighting him in court over it and losing consistantly... Oh, and the funny part, the guy took a chunk of his $300k and opened his own gym... He's now a personal trainer... Hows that for a wrecked back...
It'd be one thing if you were operating a cushy office where no one gets hurt, but I've been working in the "high risk" industries all my life (till six months ago) and been grateful for WC on a number of occasions both as a business manager and as an employee... (The place where I have seen most WC claims is not in construction or in trees, but in kitchens. I cooked for 6 years and chefed for a few more and there was kitchens that had WC claims at the rate of 1-2 per week, big kitchen, high speed, lots of unskilled preppers trying to work their way up to line cooking = lots and lots of stitches)
WC insurance should be there... It shouldn't be as expensive as it is, the Insurers shouldn't be making the profit that they are for taking on NO risk (they are all re-insured) and what REALLY ticks me off is that most of the WC insurance companies around here (Northern VT) aren't even based in the US, so thier income is untaxed and they don't have to give anything back to the government that mandates the use of one of their highest-profiting products... They all have PO boxes in the Bahamas...
I'm looking at getting back into trees, as an owner this time, and, if it happens, it won't be for a couple of years now... Part of the reason is that WC rates are big... If/when I get back into this, I WILL be a dude with a small truck, some rope, and a chipper, and part of the reason will be that insurance rates are so high... But I'm gonna do it the right way anyways 'cause I can't be gambling with my future income, house, assets, etc... (also, that way I'll just be a SMALL pain in rfwood's neck)...
So turn 'em in... They are a REAL danger to their employees, most of whom probably don't know what WC protection can be worth to 'em if they lose an arm to a chipper and have no way to support a family... And on top of that, they hurt the good folks, and the industry's image...
It sucks to have to deal with WC, but it's there for a reason. If it wasn't mandatory, a lot wouldn't carry it and they or their employees would get screwed... The WC insurance company that covers my dad's construction company is still paying through the teeth for a worker who came on and six weeks later claimed to have wrecked his back... The insurer has paid out $300,000 to the dude and has been fighting him in court over it and losing consistantly... Oh, and the funny part, the guy took a chunk of his $300k and opened his own gym... He's now a personal trainer... Hows that for a wrecked back...
It'd be one thing if you were operating a cushy office where no one gets hurt, but I've been working in the "high risk" industries all my life (till six months ago) and been grateful for WC on a number of occasions both as a business manager and as an employee... (The place where I have seen most WC claims is not in construction or in trees, but in kitchens. I cooked for 6 years and chefed for a few more and there was kitchens that had WC claims at the rate of 1-2 per week, big kitchen, high speed, lots of unskilled preppers trying to work their way up to line cooking = lots and lots of stitches)
WC insurance should be there... It shouldn't be as expensive as it is, the Insurers shouldn't be making the profit that they are for taking on NO risk (they are all re-insured) and what REALLY ticks me off is that most of the WC insurance companies around here (Northern VT) aren't even based in the US, so thier income is untaxed and they don't have to give anything back to the government that mandates the use of one of their highest-profiting products... They all have PO boxes in the Bahamas...
I'm looking at getting back into trees, as an owner this time, and, if it happens, it won't be for a couple of years now... Part of the reason is that WC rates are big... If/when I get back into this, I WILL be a dude with a small truck, some rope, and a chipper, and part of the reason will be that insurance rates are so high... But I'm gonna do it the right way anyways 'cause I can't be gambling with my future income, house, assets, etc... (also, that way I'll just be a SMALL pain in rfwood's neck)...
So turn 'em in... They are a REAL danger to their employees, most of whom probably don't know what WC protection can be worth to 'em if they lose an arm to a chipper and have no way to support a family... And on top of that, they hurt the good folks, and the industry's image...
