Response to tree huggers?

[Jumper]

Anyone got a smart yet polite answer to throw back at people who object to removals? Or generally stick their nose in your matters when they have no right to?

I dislike removing healthy trees (unless they are pines-hate em) and fortunately most of the jobs we have done are dead, dying or damaged from the ice storm. But if the customer wants an oak instead of a maple for eg that is his business, and good for ours!

At least four times now people in the street or client's neighbours have come up to me and objected to the tree being removed if it was still alive. I am tempted at times to say none of your affairs as it is not your tree, and you are not paying for the service!

One witch thought I was from the Hydro Company and started to give me hell about a large Manitoba Maple that was filled with concrete on our customers property, why was she not consulted blah, blah, blah. Her tone changed pretty quick when I asked her if she would like the tree to drop on her garage in the next high wind, given the condition of the lower trunk. Note this was in the granola muncher section of town, "The Glebe"

Another example was on the home page of my ISP last week-someone was whining about their newer neighbour having removed 7 trees going nuts like Freddie Kruger-the featured post/comment of the day no less. No mention of the condition of the trees, type, size of the lot. I did tell her to MYOB unless she wants to purchase the whole property. The someone else piped in she could complain about the noise, or go after them with a bylaw protecting trees over 12 " dia. I mentioned that while it might be difficult to get removal permission in some nazi towns it generally is not that difficult to kill or damage a tree if you really want to, then it has to be removed. (I have seen that done that to a neighbour's willow that the goofs planted right on the lot line-funny it died one winter)

 

[Kevin]

Tell them you only charge a hundred bucks for consultation and you`d be more than happy to discuss it with them when you`re done.

 

[Jumper]

Good one. Touché!

 

[SpikedSupra]

Same problem here

I am with Jumper. I havent even started my business in Orlando yet but I have been telling friends about it and friends of friends and I have gotten a few overwhelming responses to my choice of business. I have been called a "treekiller" and I have been told "Your depriving people of oxygen by killing trees." I try to explain to them that a vast majority of removals are dead or dying trees and trees that are living are removed for safety purposes such as removing a tree that has a high potential of being blown over in a hurricane and seriously damaging people's property. I also explain that a tree fall could be harmful or even fatal to persons within the home on the property that the tree stands.
When I was 11 years old we had a huge oak tree(approx. 70-90 feet) that stood within 12 feet of our house. The tree appeared to be perfectly fine until we had a bad storm one night and a 300 pound branch snapped off and came crashing down to the house right on top of my room. I was playing Super Nintendo when I heard a loud thump and look up only to receive a shower of insulation float on me while a large portion of the branch had punctured the roof all the way through the ceiling in two places. Then the rain started coming through seconds later because it was a huge gash. I feel fortunate that we had strong trusses in our roof or I could have been fataly injured. We later found out the tree was starting to die. My mom didnt have the money to have it removed or even properly pruned. We ended up selling the house a few years later.

 

[kf_tree]

we were taking down some dead tree's across the street from the hell's angels head quarters on 2nd st. so when some lady started screaming about taking the tree's down. the climber asked the lady to write her complaint down and put it on the moter cycle across the street.
what i hate the most is being in a dead tree with no bark on it. the thing is so dead my legs are shaking even being in it, and some one starts yelling about taking tree's down.
i've used every line you could think of and there is no polite way to do it.
in NY we have the problem with the aisan long horned beatle. so now i just say the tree is infested and has to be removed to stop the spread of the beatle. that seams to work the best so far.

 

[monkeypuzzle]

I have found that it is best to say NOTHING at all.I like to give a little laugh at them just to make them a bit hotter,that pisses them off.Most of theses types justwant to be important and make you feel stupid.I will sometimes sling a snake at'em,

 

[kf_tree]

sling a snake? do you shake your pecker at them? sorry i'm not familiar with that term. we dont get snakes in tree's by me.

 

[John Paul Sanborn]

I usualy say I would prefer not removing a live tree, but this one is structuraly unsound, the customer wants to do some landscaping and this does not fit in the plan, new construction would cause a high risk of future failure and it is cheaper for the client to remove it now, then when it becomes weak. New palntings will be put in and they actualy have a net posotive output of O2 where older trees are net users.

I try to get them to support their argumnets with fact, not dogmatic retoric. I like to use big words.

 

[SpikedSupra]

Big Words Good

I like to bust out with my repetoir of vocabulary mainly at times when I am testing one's intelligence. Based on the responses I get I will know if they have a clue on what I am talking about or not. You wouldnt believe some of the responses I get. Sometimes they try to use big words themselves and they use them soooo out of context they make themselves sound so incredibly stupid. I bet JP has experienced this while explaining reasons for tree removal to a perturbed citizen.

 

[John Paul Sanborn]

When i was in the Corps, I got a kick out of calling some of the slower idiots Homo sapiens. They would adamantly deny being one and instruct me to never call them that agasin.

 

[treeman82]

I remember back when I was 18. That fall I removed like 3 hazard trees from RIGHT next to a building. One was only a stick 3' diameter maybe 25 feet tall (ash which had the crown removed already) Another was a DEAD ash that was maybe 16" in diameter and about 6 feet from the building. I remember when I took the top out of it the tips brushed up against the roof. The last one was a 24" diameter norway maple which was literally 1 - 2 inches from the roof! The other side was a fence, and the 3rd side was a shed. I was up in the tree removing the brush and one of the tenants from the apartment building next door starts yelling at me through his window "why are you taking that tree down? you are blocking my view, who gave you permission, what right do you have? blah blah blah." FYI- building is an orthodox synagogue and the apartment building owners are anti-semitic.

Last weekend I was working with a friend at his big place. This is the guy who first put me up in a tree. The homeowner goes and talks with him about this maple tree near the house. He tells me to go check it out. This thing is a HAZZARD! I took a big screwdriver and without much force inserted it most of the way through the trunk. The root flare is covered up apparently for some time now, lots of rot, some form of insect eatin it up, all the weight goin out to the house, half the tree got removed during a wind storm a few years back. I tell the woman that the tree should go, she didn't want to listen even when I told her I am in school for this. My buddy does the tree work there, and he backed me up. She said she was having "the tree guys" come by and take a look cause she wants to save it. LOL! Told my buddy to have her sign off on the thing.

 

[SpikedSupra]

Another Vidiot

Whats up with these people that dont want ot listen to a professional. That lady is a fargin idiot. I wonder if that same lady goes to the doctor and this happens:

Doctor: "Mam, you have a cancerous growth on your back and it needs to be removed."

Woman: "Well I want to have another doctor look at it to see if I can save it."

Doctor: "Mam I went to school for 8 years to become a dermatologist. I can tell you now that if you dont get rid of this it could be hazardous to your health."

Woman: "I dont care. I wanna save it."

 

[Treeman14]

What's wrong with wanting a second opinion? I often encourage clients to seek another opinion or another estimate. I would absolutely recommend a second opinion for a serious medical diagnosis.

BTW Bubba, is "fargin idiot" part of your impressive "repetoir of vocabulary?"


(FYI-Its repertoire)

 

[treeman82]

The thing is though Brett, this is going to be a third opinion and they are surely going to say the same thing. Also the guy I was workin for has been dug in at this place for the past 15 - 20 years.
As far as this woman not being educated goes... She is a retired teacher (not long retired) and her husband works for an advertising firm down in the city.

 

[DDM]

You Want the tree??? Here Catch! take this piece home with you!

 

[dan kraus]

The one I get a kick out of is when I'm half way done with a nice hand saw only, class A pruning, and a bystander yells with concern " You'r not cutting down that tree are you?"
Yea, right, first I get all the dead wood out, then I start cutting the branches.
Dan

 

[Stumper]

My response depends upon the situation. Usually I try to give an explanation for the work. Sometimes it is simply the owners choice in which case I support private property rights. Some objecters are simply too obnoxious to be taken seriously so I just look at them as if they were the most repulsive and ridiculous insect I have ever seen and then continue working.

 

[TREETX]

I focus on the removal and try not to pay any attention to objectors. I also use the phrase "Not a removal, a redistribution of the growth potential." Even if it is redistributed over a lawn, roof, or pavement. It tends to give people a feeling that something else living is going there.

 

[TheTreeSpyder]

Make decisions you can stand by and go on.

 

[SpikedSupra]

Treeman14

To answer your question about "fargin idiot".....YES! You didnt know that fargin was a word originally founded by the ancient Greeks. The word "fargin" came from their word "fargoun" which by definition means "in excess or copiate amounts" Therefore a fargin idiot would be a a person who contains idiocy in excess or copious amounts.