treevet
Addicted to ArboristSite
eeeeek a woman on a tree crew and a boss's wife to boot......and ordering the men around.....there'd be some big time trouble on any crew I worked on back in the day.:hmm3grin2orange:
Polishing the Pile
- Thread starter sgreanbeans
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eeeeek a woman on a tree crew and a boss's wife to boot......and ordering the men around.....there'd be some big time trouble on any crew I worked on back in the day.:hmm3grin2orange:
tree md
Addicted to ArboristSite
That's why I pay my guys a full day for anything over 4 hours (which we do most days unless it rains). So they have the same incentive as me to finish. Time is money. They know that they can either be polishing the pile or sitting home drinking a beer in the same amount of time for the same amount of money.
We never really had a problem with guys who wouldn't work, we had problems with guys who woudln't do the right work.
Say you have a crew of at least three or four, a climber or two and a few groundmen, well, inglorious as it is, the groundmen have to carry the stuff and clean up. Climbers get first shot at the cutting work. But we've had guys (groundmen) who would bring their saws and when it's clean up time, they would be cutting this and that and sometimes you'd see the climber hauling branches. That ain't the way the job works.
I find this happens most when you hire a groundman and then he starts doing a little climbing on the jobs just to learn, and then he thinks he's too good to haul branches so he avoids it and does other things that the climber or senior groundman is supposed to do.
One guy worked with us for over a year, he was a good guy, a lot of fun, but he kept doing that more and more and then all of a sudden he didn't work for us any more.
Say you have a crew of at least three or four, a climber or two and a few groundmen, well, inglorious as it is, the groundmen have to carry the stuff and clean up. Climbers get first shot at the cutting work. But we've had guys (groundmen) who would bring their saws and when it's clean up time, they would be cutting this and that and sometimes you'd see the climber hauling branches. That ain't the way the job works.
I find this happens most when you hire a groundman and then he starts doing a little climbing on the jobs just to learn, and then he thinks he's too good to haul branches so he avoids it and does other things that the climber or senior groundman is supposed to do.
One guy worked with us for over a year, he was a good guy, a lot of fun, but he kept doing that more and more and then all of a sudden he didn't work for us any more.
sgreanbeans
Treeaculterologist
Jeff, she is not necessarily on the crew, she comes out and helps when she wants too, I have no problem with her out there, either do the guys, if they do, they go away. I work for us, not my crew. She will however out work most men, can rebuild a saw carb ( Fallbrook Tractor, remember the hot little chick that worked the counter, ol' Fid taught her well) Run a Skid loader with the best of them, and she knows a helluva alot about plants,She learned that when we bothed worked for Gothic as the Senior Account Manager for SD, that Mike Gillette and Reggie Rhea I told you about put her there to see if she would sink or swim. She had record profit margins (goal of 11% averaged 30%) with the highest Customer Survey Reports that Gothic ever had, to that point anyways, from Pardee, Western Pacific Housing, Lennar, etc.
When we first started at Gothic, one of my Hispanic crews called me and was SCREAMING about this young little girl stealing the backhoe! It was her, loading a tandem dump full of DG at East Lake over by the Olympic Training area. So, I guess what I'm saying is, shes not the average wife! Only time she gets after the guys is when they don't drink water, show up late or they are Polishing a pile. When it comes to the tree work, she'll jump in and pull brush all day, but never says anything about what is going on in the air. The guys love her out there, she keeps me in check, I can get a little demanding and push the guys real hard, she makes sure that they get a lunch! Iowa girls are a different breed, there is a Smoking Hot Redhead that climbs here for Asplundh, she's won several competitions, so I heard and runs a crew! And shes hot, and a redhead........and hot..............and a redhead.............hot...........redhead..........hot redhead, if ya get the point! just think of "THE MIDWEST FARMERS DAUGHTER" from the "California Girls" video that David Lee Roth did! We have it good here when it comes to women!
When we first started at Gothic, one of my Hispanic crews called me and was SCREAMING about this young little girl stealing the backhoe! It was her, loading a tandem dump full of DG at East Lake over by the Olympic Training area. So, I guess what I'm saying is, shes not the average wife! Only time she gets after the guys is when they don't drink water, show up late or they are Polishing a pile. When it comes to the tree work, she'll jump in and pull brush all day, but never says anything about what is going on in the air. The guys love her out there, she keeps me in check, I can get a little demanding and push the guys real hard, she makes sure that they get a lunch! Iowa girls are a different breed, there is a Smoking Hot Redhead that climbs here for Asplundh, she's won several competitions, so I heard and runs a crew! And shes hot, and a redhead........and hot..............and a redhead.............hot...........redhead..........hot redhead, if ya get the point! just think of "THE MIDWEST FARMERS DAUGHTER" from the "California Girls" video that David Lee Roth did! We have it good here when it comes to women!
treeclimber101
UNCLE BUCK
Wow a thread that really makes me laugh , here we go , There are some individuals who I have held on to solely for there personality and they often can lighten the mood of even the suckiest of days , mainly my brother he has helped me out off and on for almost 8yrs .... Frankly he is completely worthless and we have adjusted to having him as our comic relief and know that unless there something laying across your body that he will not run to help... He is in a band and plans to be a full time "musician" when he hits it big .. I have hit him with brush he has hit me and everyone with brush as he carelessly passes by between cigarettes and his "tweets" cause he thinks everyone gives a #### what he eats for lunch ... It is a labor of love to keep him and if he wasn't blood than he'd be gone ...
sgreanbeans
Treeaculterologist
Thats cool, I would do that for my brother as well, I had my cousin out, sounds like yur bro, He had to quit, he blew himself up in his garage, he was gonna try out his new camper kitchen, INSIDE! Turned on the propane, left and came back 20 min later, walked in, lite a smoke, BOOM!!!
Literally burnt the skin off both hands, they did a skin graph off his butt, lol, now, If you shake his hand he says " you just grabbed my butt" he thinks its so funny (the comic relief you were talking about!) Ya never know what is gonna come out of his mouth, some stuff he tells us he has done just puts us in awe, no saws for him!
Literally burnt the skin off both hands, they did a skin graph off his butt, lol, now, If you shake his hand he says " you just grabbed my butt" he thinks its so funny (the comic relief you were talking about!) Ya never know what is gonna come out of his mouth, some stuff he tells us he has done just puts us in awe, no saws for him!
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Bermie
Addicted to ArboristSite
I like raking, I am good at raking, in fact I am the BEST!!!
Comes from being a lowly apprentice...all they let you do is chop with a machete and rake.
I get annoyed when people rake, especially on soil, and end up with a 6" pile of soil topped with a few leaves and sticks...what, you can't FLICK it, lemme learn you how to rake, get outta the WAY!
Comes from being a lowly apprentice...all they let you do is chop with a machete and rake.
I get annoyed when people rake, especially on soil, and end up with a 6" pile of soil topped with a few leaves and sticks...what, you can't FLICK it, lemme learn you how to rake, get outta the WAY!
tree md
Addicted to ArboristSite
I like raking, I am good at raking, in fact I am the BEST!!!
Comes from being a lowly apprentice...all they let you do is chop with a machete and rake.
I get annoyed when people rake, especially on soil, and end up with a 6" pile of soil topped with a few leaves and sticks...what, you can't FLICK it, lemme learn you how to rake, get outta the WAY!
LOL, I am the same way Bermie! I get so frustrated watching someone else rake! Everyone is too slow! Gimme the rake and get out the way! There is an art to raking!
"Polishing the pile"...I plan on using that!
No one seems to have mentioned the other variety of slacking on the job: has anybody ever noticed that one guy is always the first one to pick up the blower?
Everybody else is raking or feeding brush, and this fool picks up the blower and starts cleaning up the street while the chipper is still making chips...
No one seems to have mentioned the other variety of slacking on the job: has anybody ever noticed that one guy is always the first one to pick up the blower?
Everybody else is raking or feeding brush, and this fool picks up the blower and starts cleaning up the street while the chipper is still making chips...
I like raking, I am good at raking, in fact I am the BEST!!!
Comes from being a lowly apprentice...all they let you do is chop with a machete and rake.
I get annoyed when people rake, especially on soil, and end up with a 6" pile of soil topped with a few leaves and sticks...what, you can't FLICK it, lemme learn you how to rake, get outta the WAY!
This is a good post! If you are good at what you do, you will be in demand!
Jeff
treevet
Addicted to ArboristSite
I like raking, I am good at raking, in fact I am the BEST!!!
Comes from being a lowly apprentice...all they let you do is chop with a machete and rake.
I get annoyed when people rake, especially on soil, and end up with a 6" pile of soil topped with a few leaves and sticks...what, you can't FLICK it, lemme learn you how to rake, get outta the WAY!
I take pride in raking sometimes too. Comes from being a 2 man crew. They got a nice new rake out for twigs now.
The Lawn Shark
ArboristSite Operative
I hate raking, BUT I also hate watching somebody else do it.....like when they rake so hard half the grass from the yard is in the pile. I had this one kid (19/20yrs old) Rake some sticks/twigs across a stone drivway and picked the pile up (stones and all) and threw them in my chipper..I heard this god awful noise and my groundie and myself came around the corner of the house....
Looked at him as he was picking up another pile, stones and all, falling out of the pile getting ready to throw em in the chipper. My groudie all but tackled him to keep him from throwing it in....I thought my groundie was going to punch him when the kid responded with there just stones.
Looked at him as he was picking up another pile, stones and all, falling out of the pile getting ready to throw em in the chipper. My groudie all but tackled him to keep him from throwing it in....I thought my groundie was going to punch him when the kid responded with there just stones.
Tree Machine
Addicted to ArboristSite
Oh, man. You just touched a hot nerve with me on that one.
Tree Machine
Addicted to ArboristSite
I have no choice but to take pride raking. It comes from being a one man crew.
Is that the rake with the curved metal spring-wire tines?
treevet
Addicted to ArboristSite
Yeah, it is gonna tear up some lawn if you don't know how to use it but it is way better than a garden rake for twigs and elm bark and such.
tree md
Addicted to ArboristSite
My rakings usually get raked onto a tarp and thrown in the truck. I'm telling you, I am literally the fastest rake in the West!!! Wanna race???
Tree Machine
Addicted to ArboristSite
I have one. I got it last Winter as my heavy-handed ground man kept breaking with wide, plastic rakes.treevet said:
I had to lessen the curve of each of the tines, they had too much 'hook', it got really grabby with the lawn. One tine at a time, mini vise-grips, gentle partial un-bending.
Now I absolutely love it, much improved, and that's great because I sorta hate raking, but as you say, TreeVet, ya still gotta take pride in it, and as Lawn Shark says, ya gotta keep the gravel out of the mix, and as
Bermie says, flick it ya freakin moron or I'm comin after your sorry a$z with this MACHETE!
