another good joke

[treeman82]

I was giving an estimate for a small job yesterday and heard something funny. I told the guy that it would be $1,200 to cut a couple trees down, and chip up the brush. The funny part was that he thought the price would go down if I took the wood away. I promptly corrected him on his misconception.

 

[Tinwoodman]

I always take the wood away unless they say they want it. It's all covered in the bidding. Why would I want to give it up? Wood is an asset. Or the labor to haul it off gets paid for. I figure it all in. Most people don't want the wood. That's why they called me. To remove the tree. Timber goes to the sawmill, firewood goes to customers, junk goes to the dump. It's all in the bid. Make'm pay.

 

[hobby climber]

I try to see what the customer needs and only do what is necessary. I tell him I could cut wood to firewood size and he can sell it himself and make a few bucks or give it away etc. Saves them some money and me the time it takes to haul it away. Then on to the next job. Keep in mind I do this as a hobby/business and not as my primary income. A co-worker of mine told me of a situation she had with a local tree service years ago,(before I got into the biz). She hired this company to T/D her tree only but then asked how much more to haul away the wood. They said $300 and she agreed. A neighbor two doors down approached this company and wanted the wood. The company said its yours for $300 if you haul it away yourself. The neighbor agreed, payed the money and removed the wood before the company took the stump out. That company took an extra $300 from the customer to do nothing and took another $300 from the neighbor for also doing nothing! Others may disagree but to me thats just not right. Sure the company had the right to do this but it still doesn't sit well with me. What would YOU do in this situation ??? HC

 

[TimberMcPherson]

Its on the edge on being dodgy but the guy did want to pay for the wood and she wanted to pay to have it removed. I have charged to remove wood only to have someone want to take it away. Sounds like he got a double whammy.

 

[Tinwoodman]

I would've let them have it for free. I would be afraid the two neighbours would talk, you know. Besides, I would have bid high enough it would be ok not to get the $300 or $600. Your reputation is extremely important.

 

[hobby climber]

TinWoodman, my thoughts exactly. You can have a dozen people say good things about you but it only takes one to say something negative and thats what people will remember. If you are honest and have integrity, customers will seek you out and hire you. If you have a reputation of an opportunist (Hack) who will take advantage of less knowledgeable people, word will get around and your business will suffer big time! JMO . HC

 

[NeTree]

As I have said before...

Do a good job, they might tell someone.

Do a bad job, they'll tell EVERYBODY.

 

[pmuscato]

I get a lot of people that want to keep the wood for discount. Problem is they only want the 3"to 5" clear wood cut to lenght. Heck thats more work then hauling it sometimes.I have to tell them i can't save them alot money.I do very little firewood sales. But if leaving the wood is the difference between 1 load or 2 (trips to dump) lets deal

 

[jason j ladue]

my ideal is to let the brush lay where it hits the ground- i'll cut it into pieces and arrange it so that it is easy to handle and make sure it is somewhat out of the way. i dont care to dally w/ the disposal. my move is make sure the customer knows how much they will be paying for the disposal phase. usually i wind up having to clean up only where the lot around the house is not big enough to have a burn pile...which is about half of the time. i dont own a tow-behind chipper. the one i have runs off the pto of the tractor. i live on a big property in a fairly rural setting so i will either burn the resulting debris from my jobs, or chip it right here- give the chips away. i guess i could sell 'em, but it seems like a hassle. if never have a problem getting somebody else to take the firewood- most likely i dont want any part of that either. i just wanna git it on the ground safe, get the$, and be gone

 

[Thor's Hammer]

I was giving an estimate for a small job yesterday and heard something funny. I told the guy that it would be $1,200 to cut a couple trees down, and chip up the brush. The funny part was that he thought the price would go down if I took the wood away. I promptly corrected him on his misconception.

Been there treeman, know how it feels . when they say that to me i try to hide (unsuccesfully) my mirth and offer them a 20% reduction in price to leave the wood and brash onsite - they soon come round to my way of thinking...

 

[Tinwoodman]

Hauling off the wood saves me money if it's good enough for the sawmill to buy it.