how do big companies like bartlett and davey make it?

[kf_tree]

i know they get a good income from the contract work, but why do they bother with the residential stuff. when i see bartlett working by me its only a 2 man crew doing light pruning stuff. the 2 men couldn't even do enough in production to make the payments for the new equipment they run around in. why do people work for these big companies since the pay scale is so low compared to small private companies? do they run the residential end at a loss for the write off? it just doesn't make sense to me.

 

[Stumper]

I don't know about Bartlett and Davey (not in my area) but Apslundh crews have done some jobs around me and I think that their arrangement is that the Franchisee can use the equip after hours for residential work. They have charged little for some jobs but shot BIG prices on large removals.

 

[kf_tree]

that was just the workers using the equipment for a back hander. i once ratted out a nelson crew doing back yard work in my area. there were no power lines in the back yard and my yellow page ad was 1900.00 a month. i stay away from power lines and should stay out of the back yards.

 

[DDM]

asplundh is franchised?

 

[John Paul Sanborn]

Part of it is the economy of scale they have in rolling stock purchace. they cna get a huge discount when they buy several items, then they self finance/lease. All the interest payment go back to the company, not a third party.

When I was looking at getting a stumper and chipper Vermeer, for the country club, Vermeer was willing to deeply discount them as a combined purchace.

insurance is cheaper, fuel can be (a discount of .05/gal can add up when you do 1000 gal a day), Stihl's national account prices were cheaper then my favorite shop when i worked for ChemLawn.

They can shift personel around when big projects happen, or there are slowdowns in certain regions. If a storm happens in another state they will offfer bonuses to people that want to travel and bust a$$.

Oh and thene there is good buisness management. Bean counting

 

[greenguy]

If half of you knew what you were talking about you would be dangerous. I can't get to specific but those guys in the big green trucks have several divisions that operate independant of each other. R/C crews make more per hour per man than about 95% of the tree companies in the country. Company's do not run divisions for tax breaks they do it to make money. Any company that makes almost a million dollars a day has to be doing something right Davey was the first company in the country and pioneered the green industry. They wrote the standard for tee work and continue to play a big part in how all of us do tree work. Take a look at the history of tree work in this country and how it started and has progressed. The guys that spike trees that work for us have never done that in front of any corporate officers ( VP's of Pres, CEO etc) or they wouldn't have a job for long.

 

[treeclimber165]

When I ran a crew for the local Davey R/C office, I had a 'target' figure of $60 per man hour. I was encouraged to meet this number, no matter what. If I made less than $50 per man hour, the salesman lost his commission. Jobs were sold well for the most part, and I averaged $72 per man hour for my crew over 2 years.
Every dollar was accounted for, every man hour was accounted for. They knew exactly how much money they needed per month, per day, and per hour to cover ALL expenses. I serviced saws on days when I could bill the extra 15 minutes to a job. Just like a lawyer's office, unbillable time was not allowed.

 

[kf_tree]

green guy.
i thought i asked you not to respond to my posts and i won't reply to yours. if you feel compelled to respond please check your grammar so your posts make sense.

 

[kf_tree]

bartlett works in my area a bit. i see there trucks once in a blue moon. davey works south of me. the only time i see them is mowing the grass along I 95 when i head south.

 

[treeclimber165]

Oh, I was not allowed to spike trims when I worked at Davey. I ended up getting quite good at climbing without gaffs during my tenure there.

Also, the R/C offices tend to think of the line clearance guys about the same way EarthDan does. I usually got quite defensive when someone assumed I worked for line clearance.

 

[Stumper]

Greenguy, Thank you for displaying such a gentle spirit while setting us straight.:alien:

DDM, I've been told that Apslundh is francised. I don't KNOW if I was accurately imformed.

 

[xander9727]

Davey, Nelson and Asplundh are not what I consider "Tree Care Professionals". Yes they work on trees, and for the most part they are professionals, however, very few seem to "care" for trees. The large coorporations seem to concentrate on the bottom line and not what is best for the customer, the tree or the employee. This may be due to the fact the majority of the decisions are made by people to far removed from the tree care aspect to be effective. It is the CEO's and regional supervisors that often dictate policy that hurts everyone but the accountants. Additionally how can you look at these companies and not see the Line Clearance aspect. That is like looking at Afghanistan and ignoring the Taliban. A company is made up of employees and if a percentage of the employees are hacks than you have to expect some hack work. For those of us who strive to perform quality work it is frustrating to have to try and undo the work of people who are either ignorant or complacent. The bow saw and ladder guys I understand but the large companies with the resources for training and education are without excuse. Well, I guess that's my two cents....Fire away.

 

[Stumper]

It would appear to NOT be a franchise op but the site indicates that work for individuals is a regional manager decision-don't know anything about their pay structure but I would guess that managers recieve a percentage. Thanks for correcting me.

 

[TREETX]

There is no one type of company out there that is perfect. Customers, residential and commercial, all like different set ups. Many like the big companies where they can talk to a guy in a suit who has never done the work and don't know the supervisor of the job at all.

I find my costomers go with my company because there is accountability. They know I will be there on site and off plus there is a 60%-80% chance that I will actually be making the cuts. If they need something or if something is not to their desired liking, or if they just want to ask about a tree in their mom's yard, they can just call Nathan. There is no telling the foreman that the salesman promised something a bit different and then foreman contacting salesman, etc... All they have to do is say "We talked about this too" and it is taken care of.

There are different companies for different customers. None is right or wrong. Some people want a guy with a ladder, chainsaw, and a groovy beer buzz from the breakfast he drank. Some want the biggest, newest chip truck infront of their house. Others simply want to know that they are in good hands and that all is taken care of.

 

[TREETX]

The only people here owing their job to Davey is Greenguy and Daveyclimber. I paid for my university education, put in my time working for other companies mentoring, and now I am self employed. I have me to thank for this career path and job.

Unless he was referring to the fact that the only reason I have a large client base of high end customers is because they just aren't pleased with Davey, then he is right.

These large companies have their place and provide a needed service but they are the creation of a need for urban tree care, not the creators of urban tree care.

 

[greenguy]

Hey spike sorry to be chapping your A $$ again. I'm sure your a nice guy. I have not met very many tree guys that I don't get along with it's this long distance relationship that we seem to be having. I started tree work when I was in college. I had a small tree company in south georgia that me and my best friend owned. After a couple years I was to the point that I wanted to have a stable job, get married and buy a house. When I started at Davey I allready knew alot about removals and pruning. The main problem with utility accounts is that it is impossiable to staff all the crews with good tree guys. The power companies dictate how you climb the tree and how much clearance to cut they don't care how you cut them that is were the problem lies. If I started ragging on other companies I could understand the generalized statement directed towards me and the company I work for. By the way If any of you are going to TCI I will be their and wouold like to meet some of you even spike if he is not still pissed at me.

 

[daveyclimber]

Volume Volume Volume

 

[John Paul Sanborn]

Ken'll probably be ain Patagonia doing some iice climbeing in the South American spring.

I like Asplundh, they always have a hospitality suite at the conventions with free flowing booze

I'll have to be hospitalized to miss TCI, since I live about 30 min away from Downtown MKE.

 

[rahtreelimbs]

Lewis is one of the local line clearence companies here in Pittsburgh. As I understand it, hooks are only allowed on right-of-ways. There is a person on the Lewis staff that checks work, proper cuts, etc. I work with several of these guys on side jobs, while none of them are certified they demonstrate good tree climbing habits.












Rich.