My wife told me!

[beastmaster]

I am always getting in these situations. I went to the mountains today and worked for a Company I left because they did things half ass. I was shown the tree several weeks ago, but had to wait on edison to do a power drop on the primarys that ran right up next to this 120 ft. 42 in DBH pondarosa pine.
When we looked at it I told him I had to have at lest a 066 with a good chain that cut. That is all I asked for. He said no problem.
My Wife told me, if that SOB don't have what you need, just come on home. She worries about me when I work for them.
There was a very limited drop zone. less then 10 X10 feet, traffic had to be held up on every cut. Plus its hot and and a lot of people are with out power.
Did I mention the chain and bar was so messed up on the 066 it wouldn't cut through a 12 inch. round? I should of just went home. But what could I do really? they've been waiting over a month for the power drop, notices have been sent out,
Tree would of been perfect for a vertical skid line. But try explaining that that concepts to these guys, so I am chunking 2 ft 100+pound pieces off into the nest they built with my 038 with a 28 inch bar. That was ok tell the pieces were over 28 inches. I would cut a piece, then they would pick it up with the cat using a grapple. This took 20 min. or more each cut. I spent 9 1/2 hours on that spar on gaffs.
So now I am home, my Wife's mad at me, I can hardly walk, I'm frustrated again. I don't know who to be mad at, them idiots, or the biggest idiot, my self for putting my self through this sh _ t again.
I think I suffer from an employee's complex, I want to do a good job, and I want to get the job done at just about any cost. But it's a wasted effort and often times gets me taken advantage of
I am just venting. And I work for some great people and Company's. I guess I just need to do some house cleaning and get rid of the dregs. But then I may need them somewhere down the line, so I don't want to burn no bridges.
Tomorrow I have a sweet job, but that's a story for another day.

 

[chief116]

Damn beast, you get yourself in some situations! You did your job the best you could with the tools you had, you made a days pay. Yes, its probably way less than your time was worth, but that happens all the time. I've been rooked on days like that, on everything from climbing trees to driving a bus! You can put meals on the table for another day, shake it off and call it a day.

Side note, if you are using another guy's/company's saws, why not keep a stockpile of your own bars and chains? You'll know they are sharp and the bar hasn't been used as a prybar, just give them the powerhead back at the end of the day!

 

[mikewhite85]

Gotta love those messed up bars. New 3' bar and chain doesn't cost too much more than 100 bucks. The owner would have saved himself a lot of time had he given you the right equipment.

You can use any of my saws whenever you need them, Wade.

 

[beastmaster]

Gotta love those messed up bars. New 3' bar and chain doesn't cost too much more than 100 bucks. The owner would have saved himself a lot of time had he given you the right equipment.

You can use any of my saws whenever you need them, Wade.

Thanks Mike, but what upsetted me about the whole thing, is the lack of reasoning and thought. Like you said for a 100.00 he could of bought a new bar and chain, That one thing would of shaved maybe 6 hours off the job. I was only able to get it(the pine) down below the primarys. So they had to go back and finish it with the bucket truck today.
I worked twice as hard as I had to, plus 4 guys, and the gas to move all the equipment, etc. it would of saved a thousand dollars. I am a little cheap my self some times(i mean frugal) , but to be so cheap as to loose money is just idiotic to me.
Well I had a great day today, and I'll see you tomorrow Mike.

 

[imagineero]

I'd say be mad at yourself. You knew it was going to happen but did it anyway.

I don't do a lot of contract climbing mainly because it pays low compared to running my own jobs which I have enough of already. I do semi regular work for a few companies just because they are easy to deal with and make it worth my while. I don't do day rates any more because it always ends up in un lubricated rape scenarios for me. I do a basic day rate of $550/day for 8 hours which includes getting it on the ground only. There is lunch in that 8 hours. If the job needs more time then it gets billed at $75/hr and I use my own insurance. I come to the job with my own climbing and rigging gear with a friction drum, and a dozen saws. The saws are all for my own use and only for in tree use. If they want any cutting on the ground, or to use my saws then it's $100/saw/day. I charge extra for use of my truck also.

I still prefer guys who have all their own gear though. If you're a full time contract climber without any of your own jobs then you need to set your rates in a way that is profitable to you, and just suck it up when you have to deal with hacks. If you run your own full time tree business then you have to just suck it and see with each new client.... and build up over time a bank of reputable clients who you are happy to work with. I've got a half dozen guys I work for on the regular who are good to work with, but it's taken some time and suffering to get there. There's been quite a few guys I did a day for and never went back to.

Shaun

 

[tree MDS]

A dozen saws for "in tree use"? Huh, seems a bit excessive, but okay. Maybe this is where all that porridge comes into play!

Beast, it really is hard to imagine someone calling for a scheduled outage, and not even having the common courtesy to provide you with a decent cutting saw. I'd be pissed too. I know I wouldn't be going back there, F that!