treeman82
Addicted to ArboristSite
I don't get it.
I pay a LOT of money (for my company) each year for proper insurance coverage. I carry 2 mil of general liability... if something happens, I'm covered. The trucks are covered, the guys are covered (almost 30% through the state insurance fund) etc. However to get the liability I had to jump through a bunch of hoops and was lucky to get it. They audit me every year, and are very strict about that. The comp, they audit me quarterly... and that's a headache in and of itself. I am proud however that I have proper coverage, and that my customers are protected if heaven forbid something should ever happen.
However I see all these other guys running around... landscapers. They pay next to nothing for coverage, they aren't covered for the tree work, or excavation work that they do, and yet they do it anyways. A customer asks... "Do you have insurance?" They reply with "Yes, I am insured." Meanwhile if they do any damage... they know they aren't covered, and try to get out of it however they can. They aren't audited yearly, and they don't have to jump through all kinds of hoops to get coverage. Just "I'm a landscaper, I want $X in coverage please." They get all the jobs they want, because they're there anyways for the lawn, or have made the connection through whatever other means... money in their pocket is better than in the pocket of somebody else.
I mean it's only natural that a landscaper should have big excavators, big trucks, backhoes, and big chippers. Only makes sense right? As for knowledge of the business... "Meh, that pine is dead, you should take it down." Meanwhile it's a larch.
On the other end of things...
The price of fuel is going up, lots of things are going up. What's coming down? Prices. Last year I could sell wood for $300 a cord without a problem. This year it's down to $150 - $175 per cord, try getting $200 per cord and you're gonna be sitting on a pile of wood for a while. It's becoming a war of the undercutters now. You'll do it for $4,500? He'll do it for $3,500. The guy who gets it isn't even charging $3,000. Meanwhile it's a 3+ day job for 3 people, all the junk wood and chips have to go. Or... you want $12,000 for these trees that you need to bring in a crane for, and have to pay to get rid of the wood? Well this other guy said he'd do it for $8,500, and we have another price for $4,500... that's who got the job BTW.
I'm sorry... but prices should be going UP, not DOWN.
I realize that complaining about this isn't doing any good, but what else can be done really? I mean I'd love to go to ALL of the insurance co's and say "You're busting my chops about the work I do... when I do my best to comply, and am flat out telling you that I do dangerous work... I pay for that too. Why don't you go and bust all your landscaper clients' chops too the way you bust mine?" Level the playing field sort of. Like the saying goes "If you don't want to run with the big dogs, then stay on the porch." You want to compete with me for work, then do it the right way. As for prices... well there's not much I can do there. Companies want to keep their guys busy... I can't ask a customer to spend more money with me just because I want to make money off of them.
I pay a LOT of money (for my company) each year for proper insurance coverage. I carry 2 mil of general liability... if something happens, I'm covered. The trucks are covered, the guys are covered (almost 30% through the state insurance fund) etc. However to get the liability I had to jump through a bunch of hoops and was lucky to get it. They audit me every year, and are very strict about that. The comp, they audit me quarterly... and that's a headache in and of itself. I am proud however that I have proper coverage, and that my customers are protected if heaven forbid something should ever happen.
However I see all these other guys running around... landscapers. They pay next to nothing for coverage, they aren't covered for the tree work, or excavation work that they do, and yet they do it anyways. A customer asks... "Do you have insurance?" They reply with "Yes, I am insured." Meanwhile if they do any damage... they know they aren't covered, and try to get out of it however they can. They aren't audited yearly, and they don't have to jump through all kinds of hoops to get coverage. Just "I'm a landscaper, I want $X in coverage please." They get all the jobs they want, because they're there anyways for the lawn, or have made the connection through whatever other means... money in their pocket is better than in the pocket of somebody else.
I mean it's only natural that a landscaper should have big excavators, big trucks, backhoes, and big chippers. Only makes sense right? As for knowledge of the business... "Meh, that pine is dead, you should take it down." Meanwhile it's a larch.
On the other end of things...
The price of fuel is going up, lots of things are going up. What's coming down? Prices. Last year I could sell wood for $300 a cord without a problem. This year it's down to $150 - $175 per cord, try getting $200 per cord and you're gonna be sitting on a pile of wood for a while. It's becoming a war of the undercutters now. You'll do it for $4,500? He'll do it for $3,500. The guy who gets it isn't even charging $3,000. Meanwhile it's a 3+ day job for 3 people, all the junk wood and chips have to go. Or... you want $12,000 for these trees that you need to bring in a crane for, and have to pay to get rid of the wood? Well this other guy said he'd do it for $8,500, and we have another price for $4,500... that's who got the job BTW.
I'm sorry... but prices should be going UP, not DOWN.
I realize that complaining about this isn't doing any good, but what else can be done really? I mean I'd love to go to ALL of the insurance co's and say "You're busting my chops about the work I do... when I do my best to comply, and am flat out telling you that I do dangerous work... I pay for that too. Why don't you go and bust all your landscaper clients' chops too the way you bust mine?" Level the playing field sort of. Like the saying goes "If you don't want to run with the big dogs, then stay on the porch." You want to compete with me for work, then do it the right way. As for prices... well there's not much I can do there. Companies want to keep their guys busy... I can't ask a customer to spend more money with me just because I want to make money off of them.