What's the worst you've done to an idiot customer?

[Husky77]

Remember, the customer is always right and manners cost nothing. Recommendation is the best sort of advertising. If you have to go knocking doors you give the wrong impression and they expect cheap. To the extent the job is not worth doing, if you have to haggle a price just walk away. It's just not professional

 

[Stihlproincky]

Remember, the customer is always right and manners cost nothing. Recommendation is the best sort of advertising. If you have to go knocking doors you give the wrong impression and they expect cheap. To the extent the job is not worth doing, if you have to haggle a price just walk away. It's just not professional

I 2nd that.

 

[TheJollyLogger]

I've always felt like being a good arborist is almost like taking the hippocratic oath..."above all, do no harm"... blocking a customer's car in the driveway just doesn't sit well with me...

 

[Chucksta]

I 2nd that.

Umm.. it wasn't about knocking on doors to get business.. We were in the middle of the "Asian ash beetle" infestation, which killed virtually every Ash tree in the area, and there were tons of them. There were more trees that needed to come down, than there were people to deal with them. We didn't even have to try to get rid of the wood, we'd just pile up the 16 inch rounds at the curb, and they'd be gone in a heartbeat. We'd get people walk up, and ask for quotes when they saw us work at a neighbour's property. Ash is also the only hardwood that will actually burn the day it's cut down. Sure .. It'll burn better in a year, but it's a hardwood that will burn fine today. The number of dead Ash trees completely screwed the firewood industry, at that time.
The scary thing about the Asian Ash beetle was that a tree could look fine, but it was the walking dead. The first clue was the suckers coming out of the trunk, as the body of the tree was stressed. Asian Ash beetles kill the tree by burrowing under the bark, which cuts the nutrients to the rest of the tree. The number of fine looking trees that were nothing but punk inside was incredible.

 

[chainbrake]

After all is said and done, we go back to Chucksta's title for this thread:
"What's the worst thing you have ever done to an idiot customer?"
If that is the worst thing in a life of work, I'll give you a pass on this one. Hopefully, there was no emergency need to go for medication or drive a stranded love one in need of a lift. I get it, you'd had your fill of the guy. Perhaps he was on a fixed income and the bills were piling up faster than the money would last. Is there such a thing as homeowner's insurance covering this sort of thing?

 

[TheJollyLogger]

Umm.. it wasn't about knocking on doors to get business.. We were in the middle of the "Asian ash beetle" infestation, which killed virtually every Ash tree in the area, and there were tons of them. There were more trees that needed to come down, than there were people to deal with them. We didn't even have to try to get rid of the wood, we'd just pile up the 16 inch rounds at the curb, and they'd be gone in a heartbeat. We'd get people walk up, and ask for quotes when they saw us work at a neighbour's property. Ash is also the only hardwood that will actually burn the day it's cut down. Sure .. It'll burn better in a year, but it's a hardwood that will burn fine today. The number of dead Ash trees completely screwed the firewood industry, at that time.
The scary thing about the Asian Ash beetle was that a tree could look fine, but it was the walking dead. The first clue was the suckers coming out of the trunk, as the body of the tree was stressed. Asian Ash beetles kill the tree by burrowing under the bark, which cuts the nutrients to the rest of the tree. The number of fine looking trees that were nothing but punk inside was incredible.

And so you purposely dropped one tree out of twenty to purposely block his car in... sorry bud, total **** move, not professional at all...

 

[pdqdl]

I don't know about that. It could be the potential customer saved a bunch of coin with the Chinese family doing cleanup, who probably would not have dropped it clean between the obstructions.

 

[capetrees]

I've seen plenty of guys go back to a customers site and get payback. Guy refused to pay a local landscaper for tree removal. Landscaper went back and dumpoed the entire load of brush and logs right in the driveway. Another guy runs a dumpster trash hauling company. Customer refused to pay so he went back and dumped the entire 20 yard can right in the driveway.

Go ahead, klet people trash you and abuse you thinking 'the customers always right" but don't be surprised when the other customers abuse you too.

 

[Groundman One]

Back in '98 after The Great Ice Storm, we spent several months in Montreal cleaning up the damage. And those were long ass weeks. One Friday we were finishing up a tree and this wispy wimpy decaf of a man comes up and kind of sneers, "Do you plant a tree for every one you cut down?"

"No. But I don't go out and f*** some broad and make a baby every time I kill someone either, so..."

He turned white and left without a sound.

The boss, who heard every word, thought it was a great way to end the week. Seriously, leave people alone when they're working.

 

[Chucksta]

After all is said and done, we go back to Chucksta's title for this thread:
"What's the worst thing you have ever done to an idiot customer?"
If that is the worst thing in a life of work, I'll give you a pass on this one. Hopefully, there was no emergency need to go for medication or drive a stranded love one in need of a lift. I get it, you'd had your fill of the guy. Perhaps he was on a fixed income and the bills were piling up faster than the money would last. Is there such a thing as homeowner's insurance covering this sort of thing?

Unfortunately, homeowner insurance doesn't cover trees dying on your property, even if there's more than 20 of them, dead because of an infestation.. Nor does it cover damage from a tree coming down, that you had not dealt with. A homeowner has a fiducial duty to properly maintain their property. Kinda hard to say that you didn't know it was dead, when it's June... and there isn't a single leaf on it.
The Asian Ash Beetle caused literally Billions of dollars in economic impact in the areas that Ash trees grew.. They all died within a short time of the start of the infestation. But, seriously, the top end of his driveway, would have only needed about a half an hours work ( even with his corded electric), to be able to get out of the driveway.
I'm still not sure... years later, if it was the worst thing, or the best thing. He got what he asked for.. A tree dropped for free. There was no possible way that, when I started cutting, that he wouldn't have known where the tree was coming down. He never said stop.. He never said how about you cut down that one instead.
I figured that it was the worst thing, because I knew it would force him to make a decision. Undoubtedly, he'd probably had other quotes, as evidenced by the crew we later saw, attending to the job.

 

[lone wolf]

Back in '98 after The Great Ice Storm, we spent several months in Montreal cleaning up the damage. And those were long ass weeks. One Friday we were finishing up a tree and this wispy wimpy decaf of a man comes up and kind of sneers, "Do you plant a tree for every one you cut down?"

"No. But I don't go out and f*** some broad and make a baby every time I kill someone either, so..."

He turned white and left without a sound.

The boss, who heard every word, thought it was a great way to end the week. Seriously, leave people alone when they're working.

Yes, they should leave people working alone ! I get it all the time in Condo developments! You would be surprised at some of the stupid stuff they say. One told me if she hit my truck because in her opinion it was parked wrong, so if she hit it was my fault.

 

[lone wolf]

O yeah, then there was the dope that said he would shoot my climber right out of the tree, I can't tell you my response! Then he said he would call the cops and I said good idea after saying in front of 3 witnesses about shooting the climber! Then he gave up! Then his wife came out and said he just had a heart surgery! I said, so why is he starting fights?

 

[TNTreeHugger]

O yeah, then there was the dope that said he would shoot my climber right out of the tree, I can't tell you my response! Then he said he would call the cops and I said good idea after saying in front of 3 witnesses about shooting the climber! Then he gave up! Then his wife came out and said he just had a heart surgery! I said, so why is he starting fights?

Gotta watch out for them treehuggers!

 

[pdqdl]

Nor does it cover damage from a tree coming down, that you had not dealt with.

Maybe not for some policies. Most insurance pays for damage done, but not any maintenance or removal, except for technical removal off the structure.

After it's off the house, they don't even pay for disposal.

 

[Stihlproincky]

Gotta watch out for them treehuggers!

Looks like you would know

 

[TNTreeHugger]

Looks like you would know

You bet your butt I do!
Mess with my trees and gawd help you!

 

[Stihlproincky]

You bet your butt I do!
Mess with my trees and gawd help you!

You remind me of my neighbors, good ol' hippie, treehugging, liberals.
If they're girls weren't so cute, I prolly wouldn't keep the peace

Hard to run a tree service and firewood business with neighbors like that.

No offense my friend

 

[Stihlproincky]

Not trying to say your liberal.

 

[TNTreeHugger]

Not trying to say your liberal.

That's okay - you got the "good ol' hippie, treehugging" part right... and maybe the cute girl part too, for an ol' hippie that is.

 

[Stihlproincky]

Well we must be treating our customers right seems like ever time we go do a job they'll ask if l or my brother have a girlfriend, hell one of em even cut to the quick and proposed marriage.

Anyone else have this problem??