Consulting arborists: Anyone here?

[TreeGuyHR]

I am a consulting arborist.

Just wondering who else is out there. Bought a bottle of Wild Turkey on the way home from a 3 1/2 deposition on an appraisal I wrote. i did OK, but the other sides lawyers were, hmm how shall I say, ####s. To be expected, all part of the game. We all shook hands and went home (well, I drove the lawyer who hired me to the airport on the way). I figure I'll bill about $800 for the afternoon (plus some prep time and travel) -- not too shabby, and very little OH.

 

[PassionForTrees]

I have been charging for my Arborist skills and experience now for about 8 years, people would tell me, I can call anyone else and they wont charge me. so I would kindly explain to them that it is your choice if you want someones advise that knows his worth! and you are knowing the answers to your questions and the condition of your Trees by a professional or the company who doesnt think their worth charging for their time and experience should tell you something. Most of the time they hire me regardless and it's a win win. But it sure is not happening enough. we have gotten educated right just like anyone else. we risk our lives many times and not many do that right? so why shouldnt we be able to stand firm and Charge for our education and experience, we have to pay to keep our license right! Good for you! Im glad that someone else is doing this too. Rich

 

[Ryankeats]

I am starting to get into this field with two consulting jobs for trees above a membrane and trees which have had major roots on one side ripped off with an excavator. I am fairly new so the last one is quite daunting as there are 17 trees all within striking distance of buildings. It's hard to not say take them all out.

 

[lxt]

just went to court over a tree root problem plaintiff wants $11,510.00 for driveway damages I was on the side of the defendant as the issue was in regards to silver maple tree roots..........what a joke! I felt so bad for the lady who I was there for as her Atty was eaten alive & half the time looked like a deer in the headlights.

when I took the stand the plaintiffs Atty was a real chunk of work, but I fired back pretty good & when I made the statement that " counselor you are suing the defendant based on assumption & speculation, you have no proof & due to the fact your client wont allow her property to be examined & no one can state for certain that roots are the cause of the problem..... I think this case should be dismissed due to lack of evidence"

felt good when the judge told me I should consider pursuing a career as an Atty.... dont know the outcome just yet, but I was on the stand for an hour, I made out pretty good & can say that I see more need down the road for those of us in the enviromental field pertaining to tree case laws & such

Im actually thinking about the BCMA certification now!

LXT.........

 

[TreeGuyHR]

just went to court over a tree root problem plaintiff wants $11,510.00 for driveway damages I was on the side of the defendant as the issue was in regards to silver maple tree roots..........what a joke! I felt so bad for the lady who I was there for as her Atty was eaten alive & half the time looked like a deer in the headlights.

when I took the stand the plaintiffs Atty was a real chunk of work, but I fired back pretty good & when I made the statement that " counselor you are suing the defendant based on assumption & speculation, you have no proof & due to the fact your client wont allow her property to be examined & no one can state for certain that roots are the cause of the problem..... I think this case should be dismissed due to lack of evidence"

felt good when the judge told me I should consider pursuing a career as an Atty.... dont know the outcome just yet, but I was on the stand for an hour, I made out pretty good & can say that I see more need down the road for those of us in the enviromental field pertaining to tree case laws & such

Im actually thinking about the BCMA certification now!

LXT.........

Surprised you got away with that -- when i strayed from simple answers by opposing counsel in the depo my atty (who I was working for) kicked me under he table :msp_biggrin:

 

[lxt]

I was on the stand when I made that statement, Plaintiffs counsel & I went back & forth..........its funny when an Atty thinks he knows about trees & really has no clue, I actually cited supreme court rulings of "bill in equity" cases which really put a look of oh #### on his face!

If the judge rules for the Plaintiff in this case it would open up a domino effect & every neighbor who`s neighbors tree is causing a problem will be sued..........it was a ridiculous complaint which started out Pro se & then got Atty involvment, this was nothing more than a self help issue & thats even if the roots are the cause from 40ft silver maple trees 40-50ft away from the driveways damage area?


LXT...........

 

[TreeGuyHR]

I was on the stand when I made that statement, Plaintiffs counsel & I went back & forth..........its funny when an Atty thinks he knows about trees & really has no clue, I actually cited supreme court rulings of "bill in equity" cases which really put a look of oh #### on his face!

If the judge rules for the Plaintiff in this case it would open up a domino effect & every neighbor who`s neighbors tree is causing a problem will be sued..........it was a ridiculous complaint which started out Pro se & then got Atty involvment, this was nothing more than a self help issue & thats even if the roots are the cause from 40ft silver maple trees 40-50ft away from the driveways damage area?


LXT...........

I think my favorite back and forth in a depo was a question by opposing counsel about an approach in an appraisal I had done to reduce variability in assigning depreciations to multiple trees: I made up a table based on reasonable numbers dependent on a few tree characteristics, for which I had data for all trees, that I then deviated from given special conditions of some of the trees. He wanted to know what page in the Guide (as in the Guide for Plant Appraisal 9th Ed.) this table could be found on. He figured he had a gotcha :msp_scared:. I simply responded that I had constructed it myself, because I was an expert and that the Guide was exactly that -- a guide.:msp_smile:

 

[justa buzzid]

I think my favorite back and forth in a depo was a question by opposing counsel about an approach in an appraisal I had done to reduce variability in assigning depreciations to multiple trees: I made up a table based on reasonable numbers dependent on a few tree characteristics, for which I had data for all trees, that I then deviated from given special conditions of some of the trees. He wanted to know what page in the Guide (as in the Guide for Plant Appraisal 9th Ed.) this table could be found on. He figured he had a gotcha :msp_scared:. I simply responded that I had constructed it myself, because I was an expert and that the Guide was exactly that -- a guide.:msp_smile:

dude. really?

after seeing your work and set up, how can you consciously take another persons hard earned money and offer supposed expert analysis?

i'm being serious and not just a heel.

how?

where did you get this education and how long you been doing tree work?

these certifications are so seriously f'd up. makes my stomach turn.

 

[TreeGuyHR]

dude. really?

after seeing your work and set up, how can you consciously take another persons hard earned money and offer supposed expert analysis?

i'm being serious and not just a heel.

how?

where did you get this education and how long you been doing tree work?

these certifications are so seriously f'd up. makes my stomach turn.

Ok, fine, buzzid, we got off on the wrong foot maybe. Had some fun poking each other in the eye on the other thread. Like I said, I don't depend on the certs, but clients expect you to have them and I have learned a lot going to conferences and talking to people, not so much from the study guides (but something). I am a life long learner, pruned my first tree at 7 years old. Had a lot of school. I really don't want to blow my horn, but I have a Ph.D. (UW Seattle). You don't have to believe me; you probably know how to use Google enough to check; whatever. I just like working with trees and bugs. Started my own consulting / tree service company 5 years ago; first worked for a trees service as a grunt many, many moons ago.

Climbed on rope for the first time in 1987. The boss was pissed -- I was slow and pissing my drawers -- no training, he just sends me up a 120 ft. fir the second time I was on rope, but I got 'er done --- by first limbing it all the way up and taking out a Xmas tree sized top and then chunking it all the way down. Weaver leather saddle, manilla flip line with that little overhand knot and no snap, lost the skin on my shins from worthless padding on the Buckingham hooks. I've come a long way since then. You would actually get along with me and my climber if you kept a tad bit of your pride and bluster in check.

 

[justa buzzid]

you right, i don't believe ya.

 

[Gologit]

opcorn:

 

[justa buzzid]

BOB!!!!

long time no see!!! hope all is well, man.

 

[TreeGuyHR]

you right, i don't believe ya.

You know how to use Google? I'm not doing it for you. I'd really rather talk about something else. From the picks you post, you obviously are talented doing crane take-downs. I'll grant you that. I climb because I like it, it makes money, and it gets me up close and personal with trees and learn things inside and out that I can use for consulting about tree risk, health, insects, and so on. I consider myself an expert pruner for safety and aesthetics, if not the fastest or most talented rigger (far from it). I have a home office made out of a two car garage: one half with tree gear, one half with books, microscopes, jars of bugs, file cabinets, computers, a scanner, printers. Guess I spilled the beans. I'm there right now.

Here is an example of recent work: surveyed a couple properties for bark beetle infested pine, including estimating log volume and grade; once I get enough interested POs I'll take a logger by to see if a neighborhood salvage sale is feasible and I'll write some contracts and get the trees down, infested tops and brush dealt with, and logs out. I have a risk assessment report that i really have to get out the door on a big catalpa tree. I'm preparing a mailing to past clients to drum up business in regard to the bark beetle outbreak. Trying to get all this done in the next day or two so i can block out some tree work and re-hire my part time crew I laid off 'cause tree work has been slow. It's kind of stressful to run the show yourself, but i have been managing somehow Play me the really small violin between thumb and fore-finger if you give a ####.

 

[jefflovstrom]

you right, i don't believe ya.

That's because you have a need to argue and name call and boost your ego every time you reply to a post. You are probably good at what you do for the company, but when you ain't working, you come here to vent. Maybe you are not as happy at your job as you would like us to think you are.
You change your name,, why?,, not needed when you come off the same.
I wonder what you are like in a good mood,,whatever.
Jeff

 

[justa buzzid]

since you directing this to me, jeffers.... ummm, you did see my company truck, right? what does that mean? apparently it means that they have the utmost faith in what i can do. what does that mean, jeff? would they offer that to a disgruntled employee? someone who pisses and moans and mopes around the yard? someone who can't do the job or be trusted with a million in equipment at the site?

would you give the new echo top handle to your worst climber first as a reward? (echo in a production based company. who the hell is dumb enough to do that?!?!)

anyway

regarding the name change, oldirty is alive and well in spirit but the account sadly is not.

in a great mood i am even more fun, right now i'm just feeling good about things in general. and thanks to you, ya got me chuckling again...

 

[jefflovstrom]

since you directing this to me, jeffers.... ummm, you did see my company truck, right? what does that mean? apparently it means that they have the utmost faith in what i can do. what does that mean, jeff? would they offer that to a disgruntled employee? someone who pisses and moans and mopes around the yard? someone who can't do the job or be trusted with a million in equipment at the site?

would you give the new echo top handle to your worst climber first as a reward? (echo in a production based company. who the hell is dumb enough to do that?!?!)

anyway

regarding the name change, oldirty is alive and well in spirit but the account sadly is not.

in a great mood i am even more fun, right now i'm just feeling good about things in general. and thanks to you, ya got me chuckling again...[/QUOTE)

This post justifies my last post,,you are in denial.
Jeff

 

[mckeetree]

Most consulting arborist aren't worth half of what they charge. In fact most of them aren't worth a tenth of what they charge. There is a guy in Dallas I have a lot of respect for. He is a BCMA that does strictly consulting and knows his business. Another guy I'm familiar with in Austin really knows his stuff. I'm a CA with a degree in forestry management and a licensed applicator with 35 years in the green industry...so I suppose I could call myself a "consultant" but I don't throw that word around much. Folks generally hire my company for action not consultation but of course we explain their problem and make recommendations so...consulting? I had a lady last Sept. that wanted a second opinion on what I recommended and ask me would I be comfortable with her bringing out a guy she had found in the yellow pages who offered, yep, you guessed it, consultation. She wanted me to be there when she met with him and admitted the fact he was charging $350.00 to come out. Now this was Tyler TX about 50 miles from the shop and I made the trip gratis as simply a bid. This deal was supposed to be a "hot" lead for a lot of work. I told her as far as a free trip went it was a one shot deal for me but I would be glad to do it if she paid me mileage plus $75.00 an hour. She agreed. Well the day comes and to say this cat feels threatened by me would be the understatement of the year. He was freaking jigging out. He was trying to read my proposal and couldn't pronounce imidacloprid or even explain what it is and that was about as far as it got. She got suspicious he didn't know much and dismissed him.

 

[TreeGuyHR]

Most consulting arborist aren't worth half of what they charge. In fact most of them aren't worth a tenth of what they charge. There is a guy in Dallas I have a lot of respect for. He is a BCMA that does strictly consulting and knows his business. Another guy I'm familiar with in Austin really knows his stuff. I'm a CA with a degree in forestry management and a licensed applicator with 35 years in the green industry...so I suppose I could call myself a "consultant" but I don't throw that word around much. Folks generally hire my company for action not consultation but of course we explain their problem and make recommendations so...consulting? I had a lady last Sept. that wanted a second opinion on what I recommended and ask me would I be comfortable with her bringing out a guy she had found in the yellow pages who offered, yep, you guessed it, consultation. She wanted me to be there when she met with him and admitted the fact he was charging $350.00 to come out. Now this was Tyler TX about 50 miles from the shop and I made the trip gratis as simply a bid. This deal was supposed to be a "hot" lead for a lot of work. I told her as far as a free trip went it was a one shot deal for me but I would be glad to do it if she paid me mileage plus $75.00 an hour. She agreed. Well the day comes and to say this cat feels threatened by me would be the understatement of the year. He was freaking jigging out. He was trying to read my proposal and couldn't pronounce imidacloprid or even explain what it is and that was about as far as it got. She got suspicious he didn't know much and dismissed him.

Newsflash: there is a crappy consultant in Texas. And?

I keep the halves of my business separate -- have to, ethically. If I do an appraisal, I never offer a bid on any part of it (some are estimated by work needed to fix the casualty). My bids are free, if the scoping mostly comes from the prospective client. If they want a consultation, I discuss my rates and do it under written contract and provide a brief written summary report. I have gotten burned providing bids that stretched for 3/4 of an hr on site, so be it. I talk too much and get played at times.

Risk assessment, if the client asks for a bid based on a recommendation I make, I provide one. Says on my "Limitations" page of my written RA reports that my business offers both, but that "the result of my RA is not reached in order to have a desired result " -- language right out of USPAP and ASCA. You, or anyone else, doesn't have to believe that. Part of being an ethical scientist/consultant is working at the same standard, all the time, whether or not anyone is looking. I suck at lying, and couldn't deal with the anxiety of worrying about getting caught. ASCA is split on recommending having separate business entities or the same business if you work includes both consulting and tree work. I don't bother splitting because I know I do an ethical job. Works for me so far.

I don't mean to be defensive to you, but my credentials, knowledge, and ethics have been cast in doubt lately around here. Maybe I'll just stay away and get some work done.:msp_smile:

 

[justa buzzid]

This post justifies my last post,,you are in denial.
Jeff

you can't be this stupid, jeff. you can't! i refuse to believe the levels of stupidity you are reaching. actually i can, you've been posting for a while now.... years of stupidity worth, i guess.

 

[mckeetree]

Newsflash: there is a crappy consultant in Texas. And?

I keep the halves of my business separate -- have to, ethically. If I do an appraisal, I never offer a bid on any part of it (some are estimated by work needed to fix the casualty). My bids are free, if the scoping mostly comes from the prospective client. If they want a consultation, I discuss my rates and do it under written contract and provide a brief written summary report. I have gotten burned providing bids that stretched for 3/4 of an hr on site, so be it. I talk too much and get played at times.

Risk assessment, if the client asks for a bid based on a recommendation I make, I provide one. Says on my "Limitations" page of my written RA reports that my business offers both, but that "the result of my RA is not reached in order to have a desired result " -- language right out of USPAP and ASCA. You, or anyone else, doesn't have to believe that. Part of being an ethical scientist/consultant is working at the same standard, all the time, whether or not anyone is looking. I suck at lying, and couldn't deal with the anxiety of worrying about getting caught. ASCA is split on recommending having separate business entities or the same business if you work includes both consulting and tree work. I don't bother splitting because I know I do an ethical job. Works for me so far.

I don't mean to be defensive to you, but my credentials, knowledge, and ethics have been cast in doubt lately around here. Maybe I'll just stay away and get some work done.:msp_smile:

I wasn't trying nor did I intend to step on your toes with my post. You do, however, come across as a little "new" or "green" with your response. Like I said, I have been around this business 35 years. You learn to take a lot of folks with a grain of salt.