Bad day at the office

[reachtreeservi]

I stopped on the way home Saturday to look at a job .
Customer left a voice mail, called him back on the way home.

He said " What do you charge to cut a small tree? "

I explained that every tree is different.
But that I'd be glad to look at it and give him a price.

Went over, he has a small ( 20" DBH) white oak that's dead as a doorknob.

It's about 40 ft tall and 3 ft. from a barb wire fence and the tops 15 feet from a large power line.

Clear drop zone.

Tell him 400 bucks to put it on the ground. Lay and leave.

He agrees.

Put a swing line on it to keep it out of the power line.
A little too much pre tension.



Notch it , start the back cut....


And watch the tree roll right onto the fence, breaking 2 posts.

I tell him " You don't owe me nothing, I'll cut it up and I'll fix the fence."

He agrees.

Go get the materials to fix the fence and the customer insists on measuring the fence post diameter and
circumference to make sure it's exactly the same as the one that I broke.

Naturally it isn't.

I suggest that he go with me and pick out which ones he wants.

We go to the farm supply, they're open 1/2 day Saturday.

Get there right before they close, find the one perfect post.

Go back to the job , measure the closest post .... 56 inches



Cut the new post 56 in.





And forget to add 24 in. for the hole depth I just dug.



So 1st thing Monday mourning, It's back to the search for the perfect post.



So how was your weekend ?

 

[Nailsbeats]

That sucks Reach. Double sucks when you screw up trying to fix it too!

My weekend was great, thanks for asking.

 

[deeker]

My weekend was better than that, unloaded a 30' log trailer. And it is my 29th anniversery. Poor wife.

My labs did roll in some dead rotting nasty fish, and got baths after their long training swims. And they still stink. Now my wife says I stink.

Good luck monday!

 

[pdqdl]

Just call me a pirate

I would have fixed the fence, even put up with the whiny "match the old post" complaint, but I would NEVER have offered to drop my fee for doing the work.

You agreed to accept risk, incur expenses, and loose time in exchange for getting paid. You presented yourself as capable to do the job, and when it did not turn out as well as you had hoped, you have tried to repair the damage.

What part of your deal did you not keep? You accepted the risk, you agreed to fix the problems, and you deserve to get paid. If you believe that the customer does not owe you just because something went wrong, you have a mistaken notion of fair play. It is right to fix the fence, perhaps even to discount your pay for the inconvenience to the customer of having to deal with the fence repair. But work for free...I don't think that is fair to yourself.

Quit feeling guilty for an honest mistake. It very likely would have turned out just as badly for another company, and they might have charged more and done less to fix the fence.

 

[turnkey4099]

I would have fixed the fence, even put up with the whiny "match the old post" complaint, but I would NEVER have offered to drop my fee for doing the work.

You agreed to accept risk, incur expenses, and loose time in exchange for getting paid. You presented yourself as capable to do the job, and when it did not turn out as well as you had hoped, you have tried to repair the damage.

What part of your deal did you not keep? You accepted the risk, you agreed to fix the problems, and you deserve to get paid. If you believe that the customer does not owe you just because something went wrong, you have a mistaken notion of fair play. It is right to fix the fence, perhaps even to discount your pay for the inconvenience to the customer of having to deal with the fence repair. But work for free...I don't think that is fair to yourself.

Quit feeling guilty for an honest mistake. It very likely would have turned out just as badly for another company, and they might have charged more and done less to fix the fence.

What he said. The cost of fixing the fence comes out of the price of the job but he should get paid the agreed fee.

Harry K

 

[reachtreeservi]

I'm not sure how I'd handle the situation you are in as I've never busted a fence.

Last week I could say that also.


I hear you guys about the cost.

And If it was a big job, that's how I'd play it too.



But no more than this one cost, I'll eat it and call it education money.

With what I learned from this one, it's money well spent.

 

[M.D. Vaden]

Last week I could say that also.


I hear you guys about the cost.

And If it was a big job, that's how I'd play it too.



But no more than this one cost, I'll eat it and call it education money.

With what I learned from this one, it's money well spent.

The mistake of forgetting to add length for something, I've done several times myself.

About the only time it's a super-quick fix is with PVC underground.

That's why I never install my own carpet at home

 

[reachtreeservi]

The rest of the story.....

Just got in from work.

Finished the fence. Job looked perfect.
The customer insisted on paying the original price and threw a little extra in also.

And he has several more trees to look at later this week.

Life is good !

 

[Bigus Termitius]

Just got in from work.

Finished the fence. Job looked perfect.
The customer insisted on paying the original price and threw a little extra in also.

And he has several more trees to look at later this week.

Life is good !

Man I am glad to hear that. Honest work pays.

 

[Sunrise Guy]

Way to go! Great clients are good to have.

 

[John Paul Sanborn]

Man I am glad to hear that. Honest work pays.

Guess Momma was right, it is the best policy

My weekend;

Went to Spring Green for a play

Dogs went in a Kennel so there was no 4 month old puppy crying all night

Play was very good

Prime rib buffet across from the hotel was pretty good for $20

the $9 breakfast buffet was filling

Strolled through an art festival with Diane, bought Li'l Sis a Birthday present, a print of a black lab with her recently passed Mindy's name added to the collar

Storms passing through all weekend did not mess anything up, in fact it was tolerably cool both days

got home and a few of my clients had storm work lined up.

Diane's mortification when the toilet at the vet/kennel backed up added a bit of humor to it all.

All and all an enjoyable weekend.

 

[TheKid]

hey reach, i'm glad to hear everything worked out in the end (it usually does). and since you asked, my weekend was fantastic. chillin at my friend's hazlenut farm and swimming in mill creek and surfing sunday. take care, do good work.

 

[Treetom]

Excellent business move, Reach. You're one of the good guys.

 

[MARCELL8733]

Thats Great,i Offer 100% Money Back If Not Happy

You Did The Right Thing And Came Out Winner,dont Any Of Us Good Guys Get A Day Off,i Dont See One Until Dec.24 Garry Marcell-arborist

 

[ropensaddle]

I would have fixed the fence, even put up with the whiny "match the old post" complaint, but I would NEVER have offered to drop my fee for doing the work.

You agreed to accept risk, incur expenses, and loose time in exchange for getting paid. You presented yourself as capable to do the job, and when it did not turn out as well as you had hoped, you have tried to repair the damage.

What part of your deal did you not keep? You accepted the risk, you agreed to fix the problems, and you deserve to get paid. If you believe that the customer does not owe you just because something went wrong, you have a mistaken notion of fair play. It is right to fix the fence, perhaps even to discount your pay for the inconvenience to the customer of having to deal with the fence repair. But work for free...I don't think that is fair to yourself.

Quit feeling guilty for an honest mistake. It very likely would have turned out just as badly for another company, and they might have charged more and done less to fix the fence.

+1 I have got a fence or two in my career I will replace anything
I tear up but will get my price for service rendered. It is not an issue
as mistakes happen and how we take care of them determines our
reputation. I would have fixed the fence as good or better than it
was and invoiced him per agreement.

 

[ropensaddle]

I'm not sure how I'd handle the situation you are in as I've never busted a fence.

And I thought you were a tree man I will admit the fences I nailed were when I was working hazard tree removals for power lines and there is no fence worth risking my health over. It should be against the law for fences to be under power lines. If you do enough work you will get a fence at some point, tree co were ya joking?

 

[treesurgeon]

it was good that you fixed the fence. but you should get paid also. if you were left it, the home owner might have just left it also. then when everyone asks what happend, they will say it was you, and if you hire him he will do the same to you.