What do you do when you damage homeowner property?

[NebClimber]

Gentlemen:

I removed a tree today and damaged a "paver." Basically this is just a large stone set amongst other large stones to make a walking path. No big deal. If it was your own home you wouldn't have thought twice about it.

I told the homeowner about the damage. She wanted some money for the damage. What a joke . . . but I gave her a discount.

So, do you guys reveal all of your goof ups? Or are you selective? How do you handle this stuff?

 

[topnotchtree]

I dont damage anything......lol

 

[MasterBlaster]

If ya bust it up, ya pays the piper.

One way or the other.

Trying to hide it usually results in more headache than its worth.

 

[topnotchtree]

I shouldnt say anything, (murphys law) but in over ten yrs I can honestly say I only damaged one thing. A fence. Not a rail. Not a post. A whole darn fence. It was kinda funny actually. The homeowner was watching us rope out a section brush heavy. We knew the brush tips were gonna brush the top of the fence. We didnt know the fence posts were all rotten at the ground. It laid about 40 feet of fencing to the ground. The homeowner actually laughed at our astonished looks, and said he knew the posts were rotten, and was next on his project list.He was very cool about the whole thing.

 

[kurtztree]

I cracked a sidewalk once two sections. I told the lady about it she said oh thanks telling me about it before I saw it. Some concrete contractor fixed it for me for two loads of oak firewood. I was happy she was happy and I got about 3000 dollars worth of work from her referrals. So it paid to be honest that time.

 

[BigJohn]

The best fix is not to break in the first place. For instance this how I think. I see a gas grill under where I am working and I am about drop a limb or rope one off. I say to myself is it easier for me figure out how to say move the F. INg grill in Spanish or have to come down and tape it back together with black tape.

I worked for a guy one time who ripped the TV antena down. The pipe snapped. So the guy now takes their snow shovel that I am sure they use cut it to insert it in the pipe and put the two together then paint the wooden handle black with tree paint to cover this up. So now the atenna that I don't think they use because I notice the cable hookup is fixed with the hard to find snow shovel. HMMMM. It easier not to break something than to cover it up. But when you do its best to be honest.

 

[MasterBlaster]

Thats the ticket...

Just don't break it in the first place.

 

[Guy Meilleur]

YO Neb

It's on you to purchase and re-set the paver. If you do less you'll be remembered as the #$^%$%^& who broke the paver, not as an expert arborist. they may keep your discount and cuss you forever every time they look at the broken paver.

If you replace it you'll be referred to as the ethical and responsible tree fella. You'll also have good opportunity to meditate on the cause of the damage--carelessness? haste? An error in planning?

Do you hear the pride these guys take in a no-damage job?
It's the only way to go. Sleazing away into the sunset without fessing up--that sounds like something a shyster would do.

Just Kidding.

 

[wiley_p]

If the job is sold as no/low impact then its our responsibility to fix it whatever it is. If its discussed with the client about potential damage to pavers, (my favorite, bulbs that havn't come up yet) lawn etc, and they say dont worry about that, then they sign the contract acknowlodging that then not my problem.

 

[Lumberjack]

Anytime that I break something, I fix it to the customers satisfaction, and give them a discount.


I have been lucky so far, i have broke a total of 5 boards in fences and 2 boards that run horizonaly that support the board. 3 of the 5 were rotten.

I have also pulled down cable and telephone lines (one of each).

I have never had to pay to fix anything, I either did it myself, of the homeowner fixed it.

It is always best to point out anything that happens to the homeowner, and then fix it. Do whatever it takes to make the customer as happy as possible.

A happy customer might tell someone about you, an unhappy one will tell everyone.

I hit a cable line this week (with a tiny limb that wouldnt have killed a fly), and it pulled off the house on the other block. I came down and we went over to talk to the homeowner. He said that he didnt even know that I did it. I quickly fixed it (didnt break the cable, just pulled its anchor out of its rotten wood), and he said that Asplund had knocked it down the week before, and didnt do a good job of fixing it. While i was fixing it we were chating, and he wanted a price on a tree removal job.

 

[ORclimber]

If I break something and the customer is home, they get notified asap. They get a phone call when the job is done if they weren't home.

When I worked for Asplundh one of my appretices tripped over a pvc water spigot and broke it. We notified the property manager, and had it fixed over lunch. We notified the manager that it was fixed. The lady came home and her neighbor told her we broke her spigot. She called the power company and complained about her broken spigot without even checking it.

 

[M.D. Vaden]

In 16 years, I have had 3 damaged things:

1. A piece of PVC irrigation pipe exposed above ground was cracked by a 2" limb. I fixed it, since I told the lady I'd repair it if I hit it - especially since the parts are so cheap.

2. I dented an $8 mailbox. Since the other 3 of the 4 mailboxes were all rusty looking, I just bought 4 new shiny ones and replaced the whole row. Nobody asked. It would have looked odd to have a shiny box in the group of crusty ones.

3. Last fall, there was a heavy chunk of sweet gum tree hanging by a "thread" up about 20' high near a shed. Instead of having a climber risk getting "creamed" by climbing up to it, I pole pruned the last few fibers. It came down and bumped a shed, cracking a $40 pane of glass. I fixed that one, only because I didn't tell the homeowner the plan. If I had to do that one again, I'd tell them the plan, then have them cover the cost.

 

[TREETX]

I have done the paver thing and the flower pot thing.

Replacing is a must. If it stings to replace the paver, then that is good, that little sting will remind you to look harder for potential targets next time.

stay safe

 

[Eagle1]

Replacing is a must. If it stings to replace the paver, then that is good, that little sting will remind you to look harder for potential targets next time.

Well put and very true.

 

[John Paul Sanborn]

I broke a window for the first time two years ago. A little branch, coght by an errant breeze. cracked a storm window.

When i came down I knocked on the door and asked how she would like to handle it. Have the boss replace it, discount in price, or me do more work on other trees?

I did some raise and thin structural training on 3-4 smaller trees, then told the guy I was working with when he got back. He was happy, the customer was happy and I was happier then having to pay for the window

 

[Kneejerk Bombas]

I don't do nothin'.
I figure if they wanted a good job, they wouldn't have hired me.

One time, a guy had a row of those cheap low voltage lights along his drive and I broke one. So instead of hearing a bunch of complaining about it, like other customers have done, "Why did you crack my drive?" or "How did you tear off my gutter?" or "What's that big hole in my roof?", I just pulled them all out, got rid of the bad one, respaced them, and nobody was the wiser.

 

[John Paul Sanborn]

Did that run through you mind before you went and did the right thing?

 

[Ax-man]

We always try our best not to damage property in any way. Avoiding damage and dings to structures is easy.

What is really tough nowadays is trying to avoid damaging all the outdoor decorating ammenities that people clutter their yards with. Seems to get worse every year as properties get more and more " urbanized "..

Used to be all you had to worry about damaging if you did a back yard job was the electric, phone service. The house and garage itself, maybe a shed with the occasional fence and sidewalk.

Now we have more decks and fences than ever, coupled with perrennial and flower beds at the base of trees, along with the latest craze these mini water ponds with fish in them. In the middle of all this is a big old tree that has seen better days and just loaded with deadwood that is shedding dead twigs all over the place. Seems it is easier to add all these targets, than to have the tree worked on and then wonder why it cost so darn much to have the tree worked on.

Larry

 

[OutOnaLimb]

About a month ago I was working with a new groundie for the first time and was roping out a decent sized leader over a screened in patio. I had it rigged so that the leader would swing away from the house and all the groundie had to do was let go of the rope and it would fall harmlessly into the ground. What did the Groundie do? He held onto the rope and let it swing back into one of the screen pannels. I replaced the screen later that night at about 9:00 pm with a little help from my head lamp. The home owner was actually pretty cool and said, "People that dont make mistakes are the people that arnt doing anything." Hindsight being what it is I should have explained to the new groundie, using small words so he would be sure to understand, exactly what I was getting ready to do, and what his duty in all of that was.

 

[Sylvatica]

Over the years, we've spent a small fortune on 3/4" plywood. And we've spent a good bit of time carrying the stuff around, setting it up to protect things we could potentially damage. It has been cheap insurance, and has saved us more than a few times. Fancy, expensive driveways & patios especially concern me. Leaky equipment concerns me. Your crew needs to know that you are really picky about damage prevention. But, stuff still happens....