isa

[MackenzieTree]

I've actually been giving some thought to dropping my CTPA membership and perhaps also my CT arborist license. After speaking with the DEEP a few weeks ago about various people that were "anonymously" turned in it would appear as though no action has been taken to enforce the laws. I'm kind of thinking that my membership dues may be a waste of money if they aren't doing anything to help solve the biggest problem that we are facing. As far as my license goes, I still have time to think about that. Just feel that if the unlicensed guys are not being prosecuted, then why the heck should I work to keep mine?

Ive been hearing more talk about the ctpa membership being a waste of money as i just became a member idk but hang in there with the arb licence im workin on mine and its a shame to let it go after working hard to get it

 

[cjtreeclimber]

WOW...........! No wonder many are thinking bout chucking their Arb certs out the window, perfect post right here as to why we the many are paying dues, re-cert fees, test fees, ceu fees, seminar fees & so on....... FOR NOTHING!

when a "AA", "FTA" type self admits that he does that which ruins this trade along with working beside mexicans for nothing & will still do it when the bottom falls out, well that speaks volumes right there, kinda glad I took a different path, however its sad cause I still read the books & part time do the work when I can....Legally too!!!! It`s a shame that those who love this field are watching it be destroyed by non-professional types & to boot they brag about it

If all you have to sell yourself on is not leaving stubs, topping & bark peeling trees.............you are truly in a sad pathetic situation!




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

Sad and pathetic is that in your dreams no one would be allowed to touch a tree unless it were about your dollar probably. You presume my level of knowledge and intertane the misconception that I work for cheap. Thanks for adding some fuel in my fire sir. I'm going to love under bidding you anytime I have the chance. I won't be on the ground paying a climber a hundred bucks, I'll be climbing my own jobs taking my own risks while answering my cell phone for my other clients. Maybe You need to come to my jobs and collect the money and then pay me a bit out of it. Lots of tree work here in NC. Maybe I should give you my jobs and work for you instead right . . . but there is not to many middle men with hands in their pockets around me.

 

[cjtreeclimber]

Ive been hearing more talk about the ctpa membership being a waste of money as i just became a member idk but hang in there with the arb licence im workin on mine and its a shame to let it go after working hard to get it

I think its just a cop-out because some of them are making less of the 'old money'. So in their frustration they want to talk about throwing the baby out with the bath water.

 

[MackenzieTree]

I think its just a cop-out because some of them are making less of the 'old money'. So in their frustration they want to talk about throwing the baby out with the bath water.

agreed on the old money part cant count how many times i here about it, but i plan on stayin a climber with a truck and chipper for a while, scheduling estimates up in a tree during a removal:msp_biggrin:

 

[mckeetree]

Sad and pathetic is that in your dreams no one would be allowed to touch a tree unless it were about your dollar probably. You presume my level of knowledge and intertane the misconception that I work for cheap. Thanks for adding some fuel in my fire sir. I'm going to love under bidding you anytime I have the chance. I won't be on the ground paying a climber a hundred bucks, I'll be climbing my own jobs taking my own risks while answering my cell phone for my other clients. Maybe You need to come to my jobs and collect the money and then pay me a bit out of it. Lots of tree work here in NC. Maybe I should give you my jobs and work for you instead right . . . but there is not to many middle men with hands in their pockets around me.

That didn't make much sense.

 

[cjtreeclimber]

That didn't make much sense.

what part? I'm being senekal is probably the reason.

 

[mckeetree]

what part? I'm being senekal is probably the reason.

intertane...senekal...I'm not real sure what you are being.

 

[cjtreeclimber]

Oh man you caught me on a couple misspells. "entertain' and 'Cynical / sarcastic.' I road the short school bus when I was a kid. I'm sorry.

 

[mikewhite85]

ISA cert is a huge help for me. Worth every penny.

In an area where there are so many hacks a CA can really stand out. Price is a big factor and for some customers the only factor- but many people are willing to pay a higher dollar for someone who has the right credentials. You just need to market yourself right.

It costs a couple hundred bucks a year but helps get me thousands in work. I have even gotten jobs from people finding my link on the directory of the ISA website.

 

[mckeetree]

ISA cert is a huge help for me. Worth every penny.

In an area where there are so many hacks a CA can really stand out. Price is a big factor and for some customers the only factor- but many people are willing to pay a higher dollar for someone who has the right credentials. You just need to market yourself right.

It costs a couple hundred bucks a year but helps get me thousands in work. I have even gotten jobs from people finding my link on the directory of the ISA website.

What you just posted describes my location to a tee six years ago. Not today. Not here. Like I posted before, price has become the old mack daddy chingon around here, buddy.

 

[mckeetree]

I just took a call 10 minutes ago that goes right along with what I'm saying. The guys exact words... "Look, I don't care about your tree license or certified tree trimmer or whatever you call it." Later in the conversation..."I could care less about all your insurance, look, no look, I'm looking for the cheapest price to get this done and I'm getting about five bids." I'll go look at it but you know if we get cheap enough to get we would lose money. Plus, the neighborhood it's in is always worked hard by an outfit that is OWNED and operated by illegal aliens and I would bet you $1,000 that is one of his five bids and the bid will about a third of what we need to do the job. Gee, thanks Mr. President.

 

[MackenzieTree]

That sucks man but you gotta keep on keep onin joe dirt, could some one point me in the right direction of doing the isa cert, I already took CTPA arborist course towards the ct arborist license which I gotta take again cause I miss a few classes due to hurricane sandy but I feel the more knowledge and lic, cert you have the better.thanks

 

[Raintree]

I just took a call 10 minutes ago that goes right along with what I'm saying. The guys exact words... "Look, I don't care about your tree license or certified tree trimmer or whatever you call it." Later in the conversation..."I could care less about all your insurance, look, no look, I'm looking for the cheapest price to get this done and I'm getting about five bids." I'll go look at it but you know if we get cheap enough to get we would lose money. Plus, the neighborhood it's in is always worked hard by an outfit that is OWNED and operated by illegal aliens and I would bet you $1,000 that is one of his five bids and the bid will about a third of what we need to do the job. Gee, thanks Mr. President.

Been there too many times, feels like you're just spinning your wheels wasting time & money.
Cut throat outfits that once you get wind they are bidding you want to just walk away.
Selling your professionalism these days is a joke, 99% it's the bottom line. End of story!

 

[mckeetree]

Been there too many times, feels like you're just spinning your wheels wasting time & money.
Cut throat outfits that once you get wind they are bidding you want to just walk away.
Selling your professionalism these days is a joke, 99% it's the bottom line. End of story!

Yep. Selling your professionalism is a joke anymore. It hasn't always been that way though. I was talking to a friend of mine in Houston the other day and we were talking about the way the business has changed just in the last six years or so. He said there were still a few guys around the Houston area selling their professionalism that didn't have any equipment as far as bucket truck, chipper, stump grinder and so on as that goes. Basically a pickup, them and their climbing gear and maybe a pole pruner or something. Their "sell' has always been their "knowledge" and "credentials." He said they may be trying to fake everybody out but those cats are really on hind tit nowadays. Since they don't have equipment their "smarts" is all they have to separate them from the brown crowd and right now that's not working.

 

[jefflovstrom]

Yep. Selling your professionalism is a joke anymore. It hasn't always been that way though. I was talking to a friend of mine in Houston the other day and we were talking about the way the business has changed just in the last six years or so. He said there were still a few guys around the Houston area selling their professionalism that didn't have any equipment as far as bucket truck, chipper, stump grinder and so on as that goes. Basically a pickup, them and their climbing gear and maybe a pole pruner or something. Their "sell' has always been their "knowledge" and "credentials." He said they may be trying to fake everybody out but those cats are really on hind tit nowadays. Since they don't have equipment their "smarts" is all they have to separate them from the brown crowd and right now that's not working.

Don't get mad at me,, I am not a bully.,,But,
Why don't you get out of that market? We sell our professionalism everyday!
Jeff

 

[cjtreeclimber]

I’ve grown up with the brown crowd doing exterior stucco work as a labor and became a plaster. Started doing my own Jobs. Right about when the bottom fell out of the housing market is where things got extremely cut throat. Small groups started doing their own side jobs instead of working for the business owners. A job here, a job there. Sometimes we would travel 350 miles for a job. I waisted my time running around busting my ass off for a dollar drinking like a fish. I’m not a fan of the brown boys. I’ve never let any of them think they could out work me because I’m not a Mexican. My best friend is Hispanic and though those guys are willing to work hard like I do, He’d tell you the cutting edge is on my end in this line of work. It takes a lot of intelligence to properly handle a three dimensional world that abounds in physics and interaction. There is much about maintaining saws, and so much to understand about types of ropes, work load, knots, ect ect ect. Stop crying about the brown crowd because if you are on these forums you’re knowledge level should lead your ability to do a job way more proficiently; thus, competing easily with these people. We live in a third world country now but people still prosper where-ever they are if they are smart.

 

[mckeetree]

Don't get mad at me,, I am not a bully.,,But,
Why don't you get out of that market? We sell our professionalism everyday!
Jeff

Well, I'd just have to move to get out of this market and after 27 years in business for myself and 52 years old I'm not moving to start somewhere else. I can only see myself in this deal five maybe six years tops.

 

[jefflovstrom]

Well, I'd just have to move to get out of this market and after 27 years in business for myself and 52 years old I'm not moving to start somewhere else. I can only see myself in this deal five maybe six years tops.

Can it last 5 or 6 years? We are the same age,, I ain't gonna quit until I am past 70!
Jeff :msp_tongue:

 

[mckeetree]

I’ve grown up with the brown crowd doing exterior stucco work as a labor and became a plaster. Started doing my own Jobs. Right about when the bottom fell out of the housing market is where things got extremely cut throat. Small groups started doing their own side jobs instead of working for the business owners. A job here, a job there. Sometimes we would travel 350 miles for a job. I waisted my time running around busting my ass off for a dollar drinking like a fish. I’m not a fan of the brown boys. I’ve never let any of them think they could out work me because I’m not a Mexican. My best friend is Hispanic and though those guys are willing to work hard like I do, He’d tell you the cutting edge is on my end in this line of work. It takes a lot of intelligence to properly handle a three dimensional world that abounds in physics and interaction. There is much about maintaining saws, and so much to understand about types of ropes, work load, knots, ect ect ect. Stop crying about the brown crowd because if you are on these forums you’re knowledge level should lead your ability to do a job way more proficiently; thus, competing easily with these people. We live in a third world country now but people still prosper where-ever they are if they are smart.

Well as far as I can see smart you're not. I don't know you but I don't much like you based on the stupid crap you post.

 

[mckeetree]

Can it last 5 or 6 years? We are the same age,, I ain't gonna quit until I am past 70!
Jeff :msp_tongue:

Who knows. There is no way I'll be in the tree business past 58 years of age or so. The good old days of the tree deal at least around here are gone. I sorta got into the rent house deal about 17 years ago and I'm concentrating more on that. I've put a many a day in the tree business though.