ever feel guilty

[treeman82]

Do you guys ever feel guilty about a job after you have completed it?

I have one job that has kind of been haunting my conscience for the past few years. The job was very simple. Just get this one red oak down on the ground safely. The tree was about 36" DBH with a nice full crown. I went one morning and did the job. Tree was down on the ground in under half an hour. I had told the guy prior to doing the job it would be $250. He paid, no problems. He was going to cut it up himself with his Poulan 16" saw. He had just gone in for an operation on his knee. I offered to cut the log up a bit for him, but he declined saying that he was very happy with the job. Didn't even want me to ALAP the stump. I knew fully well that he was in no position to go and dice that tree up, yet he declined my offer for help. After leaving his home, I started to feel very guilty about leaving him like that, but again... he was happy with the way it came out.

The biggest part though about my feeling of guilt here is that the guy was FDNY and I cut the tree down for him in March of `01. I've worked for other people who work in the city before, EMS, PD, FD, etc. Except for this one guy, I know that they were all Ok on 9/12/01. I drove by the house a couple of months ago, the house is for sale, and the stump was never ALAP'ed.

Sorry if this might sound kind of foolish, but its just something that has been bugging me for a while that I needed to get off my chest.

 

[MasterBlaster]

Don't sweat it, bro. Sometimes things just work out like that.

Life goes on...

 

[Stumper]

Funny thing about some of us-or at least me- If the job takes three times as long as I planned and I break tools, bark my shins , turn my ankle and mash my finger I blame myself but don't change my price. If the job goes smooth as silk and I do $100 job in fifteen minutes I'm liable to reduce the price a little. On one hand that is stupid, but on the other it makes for good customer relations. If people turn down a discount or an extra service I manage to avoid feeling guilty. You need feel no guilt 82. :angel:

 

[geofore]

feelings?

I'm not sure why you would feel guilty. If you were to have sliced and diced it up you would take away his chance to test out his abilities. If he ran into trouble he has your number and could/would call you back. When you drop a tree it only takes a few minutes to strip the log of any limbs that might give him trouble and stick a few pieces under the log to keep him out of the dirt with his saw. Otherwise let him have his fun, though you know as well as I do the stump would be there for a long time. When you go out to "Get it on the groud and I can handle it from there" strip the limbs that might give the owner trouble and let them have at it. After you put the tree down, offer to take the stump down for the price of a new loop of chain and explain stumps are not that easy to do with a small saw. Don't feel guilty, you probably saved him an injury if he had to climb the tree himself. He'd have gone for a ladder.

 

[murphy4trees]

The real issue here as I see it is self image... What is my time worth... How much Am I worth.... I wonder if those fat cat corporate execs feel guilty sucking up their multi million dollar bonuses?

 

[Dadatwins]

Can't feel guilty about giving a fair price and doing the job you agreed to do. If the job takes 15 minutes or 15 hours price the job for what its worth for you to do it.
As far as guilt about 9/11 your cutting that tree and leaving a high stump had nothing to do with events of that day. There are 3000 families walking around saying the 'What ifs'
They are all in a better place now, :angel:
except for a few individuals that are feeling the heat.

 

[Tree Machine]

I used to feel guilty, hunking a perfectly beautiful saw log into firewood chunks. I bought a couple sizes of log arches. Problem solved, except for what to do now with all the planks and boards.

 

[glens]

Originally posted by Dadatwins
Can't feel guilty about giving a fair price and doing the job you agreed to do.

Reminds me of a story an old timer told me once.  It was about his daddy and his aunt, when they were kids.  They worked all day cutting somebody's lawn and when done, he asked them what they wanted for the job.  The guy's dad said "nothing" and his aunt said 25¢.  The "customer" gave the girl a quarter and thanked the boy.  The story was later told by the "boy" who expressed displeasure at being treated unfairly, but in truth he got more than he asked for.

If you got what you asked for and the customer didn't give it grudgingly, you're right as rain.

Glen

 

[treeman82]

I wasn't going to reduce the price. I simply felt bad that I left the guy with a lot of wood to cut up and move around. When I say he had just had surgery on his knee, I mean he was wearing a big brace on his leg when I did the work, and he was off the job for a while for PT. It wouldn't have taken me very long to have cut up a few pieces of wood just to where his saw would actually do the job.

 

[Tree Machine]

Being a steward to both trees and tree owners

In a chop, drop and leave it scenario, I always try to negotiate at least to chunk the big wood into firewood lengths. Face it, that's fun when you've got a big, powerful, sharp saw.

The guilt is justified, in my mind, as you can almost always assume Joe Homeowner likely does not really know what he's asking for. For you to take 15 minutes with the big saw can save him hours or his entire weekend, and will leave him with a reasonable cleanup task. The last thing you want is for him to call you back later to come and hunk up the big wood. This'll suck the life out of your efficiency.

A practice I employ when asked to drop it and leave it is to say, "Go get your saw, I want to check it out." If they've got a Remington electric with a dull chain, no files and no spare chain, you can paint them a verbal picture of what they're getting into, negotiate the degree of work and price, and you'll both feel good about it from the onset.

This is just plain 'ol good, professional customer service. If you're feeling really kind, let them watch you sharpen your saw, and leave them with a file. You're still not hauling anything away, which is the treeguy's big benefit in a drop 'n go. Remember the 'service' in tree service, it will serve you multifold, both personally and professionally.

82, don't kick yourself too hard. After all, it IS what he requested, and in life, sometimes you get what you ask for.

 

[OutOnaLimb]

Some home owners prefer the drop and go option simply because they want to do the work themselves, but realize that the risk of felling a tree the wrong way onto the house of fence is a very big reality because of thier limited experience in cutting trees. If you had done a little extra cutting on the tree the guy could have taken it as an insult. People can be wierd like that.

Kenn

 

[Rob Murphy]

Little guilty

I did one last week .$800(aus) for two hours fall and leave . I had to set a winch line and jack as well...it was a bit technical so I justified it that way.Still took 4 hours as I had to wait for the Power boys to drop a service line.

 

[wiley_p]

When a customer asks for a "no haul" I make sure they understand that there is a big mess to clean up. If they still want the tree dropped, then fine it makes me smile when I see the look on their face as they realize the enormity of the work they now face. As far as cutting firewood for free, no way. I have skills my Grandmother passed away a while ago, so I don't deo work for no compensation. Now, see someone in a jam that's different, but call me up to do work it ain't free.