CaseyForrest said:
Are you seriously considering a natural disaster area a "Market?" I say kudos to anyone that went out and got a chainsaw to help, wether it be to get paid or not.
On another note...do you really need a "tree guy" to cut up downed material laying in the street?
Amen! Several of the "Tree Guys" that came down for Katrina just grabbed all the insurance money they could get and then disappeared leaving the job half done. In Tchefuncta Estates (Covington) residents were being charged $15,000 to clean up a 3/4 acre lot and none of the trees were on the house. That was work that was taking me about 2 days with a volunteer crew of 3 and a 3130 Kubota. Thank God for the volunteers. We had people come from as far away as California, New York, and New Jersey, at their own expense, to help.
For instance, an elderly retired couple on fixed income just North of Covington paid out their $15,000 insurance settlement to a storm chasing "Certified Arborist". He removed 1 tree from a corner of the house and another from the shop and took down a couple of leaners in a couple of days, leaving most of the wood on the ground. And then he had their $15,000, and he left. I came in a couple of weeks later with a tractor and a volunteer and spent 2 days cleaning up his mess and removing the other dangerous hangers and debris. The residents had spent all their money. They couldn't hire another "Arborist".
A "Stump Grinder" from up North wanted to charge a 101 year old widow lady who's total yearly gross income is $12,000 --- $475 for ONE 36 inch uprooted pine stump (I had already removed the fallen tree from across her driveway, with the help of 2 volunteers, for free). I told her to be patient and wait until the storm chasers were gone and the locals had time to catch up. We had the stump ground last week for $150 (which was still too much). I had a similar stump ground this week for $60.
I don't want to generalize. Many of the people who came down to help for pay were concientious and did good work. I understand that a person who leaves his home, family, and business to come down, and has to pay for motels or camping, meals, scarce fuel, and put up with all the nuisance and hazards of a storm ravaged area, is entitled to make a reasonable profit. But it wasn't the volunteers and enterprising homeowners and locals who spoiled the pie. It wasn't the legitimate businessmen, whether from North or South. It was the carpetbaggers, skalawags, and maybe a few trolls.
