arbor pro
Addicted to ArboristSite
It's time to sell out and pursue other interests. After 27 years of tree work, I just don't have the enthusiasm I used to for this kind of work and, on top of that, don't have the patience for customers who don't appreciate the effort involved with what tree guys (and gals) do. Case in hand - I just climbed and pieced down 3 large spruce trees in a back yard next to a county club golf course. Hauled out all the debris with a mini skid and wheelbarrow using plywood in turn areas and overtop of irrigation valve boxes where they couldn't be avoided with the mini. We then ground out the stumps using a rayco 1631 sj, hauled out all the grindings plus all the needles and dirty landscape rock - total of about 8 tons worth - all this for what I consider a very mere $1200 and, today, the HO comes into my office and complains that we did a messy job because we 'almost' ran over 3 marked sprinkler heads and broke one of 6" round valve boxes. Tomorrow, he's having his irrigation guy come out to 'test and repair' the system and I'm pretty sure he'll expect me to pay the bill. And, I'll do it because, in elite communities you can't afford to get bad word of mouth. Of course, I've put myself in this position by working to attain the accounts of the wealthy. As a reward, I get to deal with people who have no sense of what means to come home every night to compressed disks, bleeding hands and arms, dehydration headaches and, to top it off, carpel tunnel and leg cramps so bad they keep you up half the night.
As icing on the cake, as we leave the jobsite of the aforementioned customer, we run both trucks and trailers over some road debris and wind up with flat tires on everything including the dump trailer and dump truck both loaded to the brim. Maybe I should send the HO the bill for all the tire repairs as well as for the replacement stump grinder teeth that we broke on the steel post embedded into one of the tree stumps.
Of course, I won't because that's not how I do business. Besides, i doubt that he'll care. That's my problem, not his.
As I said, I've been doing this for 27 years now and I've found that for every one sourpuss there are at least 20 good customers that are a pleasure to work for. The problem is that I'm burnt out on dealing with the sourpusses and just burnt out in general. Knowing that I'm ready to throw in the towel, my foreman has offered to buy me out. He's young and ready to take on the world - a real good guy too. I just hope his good nature sees future as a glass half full. My glass has been half empty for about the last year and a half. Time to let it go and find something else to do. If there's no passion in the work you do, there will never be enough money to make you happy. Content for awhile, perhaps - but not happy. Life's too short to just settle for content.
Thanks for letting me vent today. Time to go home and hug the kids and wife. Life is certainly a blessing in many other areas of my life so no need to despair. Just need to work on other work interests that are more fulfilling at this point in my life.
AP
As icing on the cake, as we leave the jobsite of the aforementioned customer, we run both trucks and trailers over some road debris and wind up with flat tires on everything including the dump trailer and dump truck both loaded to the brim. Maybe I should send the HO the bill for all the tire repairs as well as for the replacement stump grinder teeth that we broke on the steel post embedded into one of the tree stumps.
Of course, I won't because that's not how I do business. Besides, i doubt that he'll care. That's my problem, not his.
As I said, I've been doing this for 27 years now and I've found that for every one sourpuss there are at least 20 good customers that are a pleasure to work for. The problem is that I'm burnt out on dealing with the sourpusses and just burnt out in general. Knowing that I'm ready to throw in the towel, my foreman has offered to buy me out. He's young and ready to take on the world - a real good guy too. I just hope his good nature sees future as a glass half full. My glass has been half empty for about the last year and a half. Time to let it go and find something else to do. If there's no passion in the work you do, there will never be enough money to make you happy. Content for awhile, perhaps - but not happy. Life's too short to just settle for content.
Thanks for letting me vent today. Time to go home and hug the kids and wife. Life is certainly a blessing in many other areas of my life so no need to despair. Just need to work on other work interests that are more fulfilling at this point in my life.
AP