Brisbane customers, insist on pro's not weekend warriors

Eric Frei · 8th May 2007, 09:56 AM

Monday 7th May was a public holiday, Labor Day. I drove past an ironbark being removed ... so I pulled over. Kept relatively low key and didn't let the cat out of the bag about my occupation ... neither did my 7yo daughter.

Two guys were doing a removal, debri to be left on site customer to clean up.

I could tell by the no PPE these were weekenders ... people who have a job during the week then go out on weekends doing tree jobs.

As I stood in the middle of the street the climber asked if "like to ave a go mate?" I responded, "oh no, looks hard." This broke the ice and allowed non threatening conversation.

The ground guy started to tell me how during the week they're Energex contractors doing all the power wire trimming and know all the rules.

I commented how handy it would have been for a bucket etc and started to home in on the service wire marked in pic 4.

The guy told me that they can work close to the wire as they were ticketed but to anyone else it was 2m (wrong, it's 3m). I mentioned that as it was so close to the tree perhaps the energy company could have taken down the tree for free for the customer ... after some debate he agreed that would be the case as the owner could just say he was doing the removal and is not force by law to use a company certified.

Knowing that then, I asked why then didn't they just tell the customer to ring Energex and try and get the tree removed for free or at least the wires cleared or dropped. The guy went quiet and just said they're certified so it doesn't matter. More like they wont make a cent if the Energy company got the job.

So the customer ended paying and cleaning up a job that would have been done for free. The customer chose to get in and deal with these people, sucked in, cost you money and they buggered up ya yard good.

The climber's saw ran out of fuel so he tied it to his lowering rope to get it refueled ... it fell out of the knot and struck the ground bending the bar.

With the service wires coming in he just bombed out pieces around it occasionally clipping and near ripping the wire out.

The hedge copped it good to. The lowering pull rope was an old 11mm rock rope full of decent puffs and nicks. I never hung around till they pulled the trunk over but it would have been good coz they had a back leaner, head on wind and were going to use their vehicle.

All pics and video was out of my mobile phone so but you get the gist of what's going down.

They have jobs, but they come and stuff up our industry, rip customers off and disregard rules. This is common, and who gives a shit? The customer ignorantly listens to these guys and tries to save a buck. What a great circus the tree industry is.

www.treeworld.info/video/hack1.wmv 1.3mb WMV

www.treeworld.info/video/hack2.wmv 4mb WMV

TREE-SURFER · 8th May 2007, 10:45 AM

We have guy's like that too. Having a weekday job in the office and then at weekends, go tree lopping. They then say, "We have ten years experience".
What a joke. There should be more regulations on joe blogs going out and buying a saw. If they are caught using it for more than cross cutting the fire wood, then charge them under safety regulations or something.

jim1nz · 8th May 2007, 12:11 PM

Ha unfortunately the home owner got what they deserved this time, paying cost cut weekenders to do a job they probably could have got done for free anyway.

The think is, its not until something goes wrong on a job like this that people really start to get stung. You think weekenders are going to have insurance??? Not likely. You think the power co is going to come out and reconnect the lines in the weekend because the home owner got a weekender in to save a quick buck.... Probably not, if they do it will be double time rates.

Is it worth the extra odd 10% saved?

JohN Dee · 8th May 2007, 07:45 PM

Dang the hacks are getting better, they're using climbing systems and better saws now :\. Next they'll start wearing PPE and use proper techniques and they'll be somewhat harder to spot besides seeing the ute with high sides

You'd be suprised how many hacks down here don't even climb with a system on tree like those in your pics. It's all ladders, no ppe and if you're lucky you'll get the occassional hacks that go up with their harness, spikes and one tie in - that's it!

It sucks, most times when I do see any tree work going on, i'm on my way to either a quote or a job

.

mdvaden · 9th May 2007, 01:47 PM

The video didn't quite seem to make a point, until I saw your first images. Together, they explain a lot, once the spaces, angles and wires are all seen.

Eric Frei · 9th May 2007, 04:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mdvaden

Together, they explain a lot, once the spaces, angles and wires are all seen.

And the PPE including those straw helmets.

Jeff Darby · 11th May 2007, 02:46 PM

Ekka,
This type of thing going on pissess me off!..imagine you or me running overhead power cables for our drinking money,I mean it litreally running cables from the pole to folks house???I mean I've seen them do it, "I know what I'm doing...errr...cough..fart..did you believe that..good let JayD do it wright for YOU..I'm fully ins..full of shyte.They take the food off our tables and NOTHING IS DONE ABOUT IT..sorry for shouting I got a bit excited.
If we were to poach jobs like this,electrical jobs I'm talking about..how long before the authorities started jumping out of choppers and arresting us but these damm cowboys are hurting us all.AND GETTING AWAY WITH IT!..not to mention the consumer who could have had this done for nothing.WRONG!

KiwiBro · 5th May 2010, 07:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TREE-SURFER

We have guy's like that too. Having a weekday job in the office and then at weekends, go tree lopping. They then say, "We have ten years experience".
What a joke. There should be more regulations on joe blogs going out and buying a saw. If they are caught using it for more than cross cutting the fire wood, then charge them under safety regulations or something.

I steadfastly refuse to relinquish my unalienable right to screw it up big time! If I want to have a crack at it, then I'll bloody well do so and accept responsibility for any carnage I cause, the costs of which is usually cheap in comparison to any other forms of weekend therapy available for us desk jockeys.

Sure, I'm never trying to make a buck out of it and only do work for myself, friends and family (b/c they take pity on me, i think), and I never charge a cent. I'm having way too much fun learning by the seat of my pants.

Long live the weekend warrior. How on Earth are you guys going to justify charging twice as much to clean up after us if we weren't around to screw it up in the first place? Cor, talk about ungrateful!

If you want to point the finger you need look no further than that traitor, Windthrown. That dirty capitalist pig (or was it a sheep?) sold you pros out when he sold me a chainsaw! How does it feel having a turncoat in your ranks?

Eric Frei · 5th May 2010, 07:36 PM

What's your day job then?

KiwiBro · 5th May 2010, 07:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ekka

What's your day job then?

OSH inspector.

Application programmer, but don't hold that against me.

Garry Brockley · 5th May 2010, 08:02 PM

At some point this industry needs to be correctly regulated, we just need a trust worthy regulator thats not in it to further themselves and thier mates

Eric Frei · 5th May 2010, 08:10 PM

Hmmm, I dont know what an application programmer does.

KiwiBro · 5th May 2010, 08:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ekka

Hmmm, I dont know what an application programmer does.

Well then, we are even, b/c most often I haven't a clue what I'm doing with a chainsaw in my hand, but I wasn't going to sit back without at least attempting to draw a distinction between the not-for-profit weekend warrior home owner who just wants to have a crack (and knows/accept responsibility for his inexperience) and those who charge for misrepresenting their competency, lest you tar all us weekend warriors with the same brush, and I don't think that's fair in my case and probably (hopefully) a few other users.

Besides, I have far more respect for what you guys do, and probably have a far greater appreciation of my own limits, now that I've pointed a saw at a few hundred trees over the last few Summers.

Check the weekend cutting for fun thread, if you needed any further proof of my incompetence. The most dangerous thing about that situation, in my idjit opinion, is that I couldn't stop laughing about how bloody sketcy it was and it took a while to concentrate. Go on Pro's, rip me to bits. Choke me, spank me, pull my evil, cheap-arsed HO hair. Get it off your chests, just let me know where I send the bill, OK?

Done it · 7th May 2010, 07:57 PM

These guys got the wrong house and took down ten palms, then bolted.

Oops, wrong house: Workmen dig up trees, then flee - Yahoo! News

NeTree · 14th May 2010, 02:24 PM

Lots of weekend warriers around here. I just watch and

when one of them effs up.

arborjockey · 18th May 2010, 07:29 PM

yeah dont get mad at the weekend warlords stop and take pic. so we all can enjoy a good

. Its a good thing Jay D isn't a mechanic he'd stop by every shady tree mechanic and tell him he has to take the car into a shop . I'd tell the homeowner to sue the little buggers for misrepresentation. theirs also a law against using your work you do by day (with a lagit company) as a ploy to do side jobs. I cant remember the normaclature but i sued a guy and one over that. IN AMERICA. He gave me a buisness card from his work then sold me a piece of crap that wouldnt sell on the lot but he sold from his yard. 32' 5th wheel trailer. I got to keep the trailer and got fully refunded

Moral of the story dont get mad get even

8th May 2007, 09:56 AM	#1
Eric Frei Admin - Razor sharp and independent 2 X Diploma Level 5 qualified arborist Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Brisbane Posts: 12,820	Brisbane customers, insist on pro's not weekend warriors Monday 7th May was a public holiday, Labor Day. I drove past an ironbark being removed ... so I pulled over. Kept relatively low key and didn't let the cat out of the bag about my occupation ... neither did my 7yo daughter. Two guys were doing a removal, debri to be left on site customer to clean up. I could tell by the no PPE these were weekenders ... people who have a job during the week then go out on weekends doing tree jobs. As I stood in the middle of the street the climber asked if "like to ave a go mate?" I responded, "oh no, looks hard." This broke the ice and allowed non threatening conversation. The ground guy started to tell me how during the week they're Energex contractors doing all the power wire trimming and know all the rules. I commented how handy it would have been for a bucket etc and started to home in on the service wire marked in pic 4. The guy told me that they can work close to the wire as they were ticketed but to anyone else it was 2m (wrong, it's 3m). I mentioned that as it was so close to the tree perhaps the energy company could have taken down the tree for free for the customer ... after some debate he agreed that would be the case as the owner could just say he was doing the removal and is not force by law to use a company certified. Knowing that then, I asked why then didn't they just tell the customer to ring Energex and try and get the tree removed for free or at least the wires cleared or dropped. The guy went quiet and just said they're certified so it doesn't matter. More like they wont make a cent if the Energy company got the job. So the customer ended paying and cleaning up a job that would have been done for free. The customer chose to get in and deal with these people, sucked in, cost you money and they buggered up ya yard good. The climber's saw ran out of fuel so he tied it to his lowering rope to get it refueled ... it fell out of the knot and struck the ground bending the bar. With the service wires coming in he just bombed out pieces around it occasionally clipping and near ripping the wire out. The hedge copped it good to. The lowering pull rope was an old 11mm rock rope full of decent puffs and nicks. I never hung around till they pulled the trunk over but it would have been good coz they had a back leaner, head on wind and were going to use their vehicle. All pics and video was out of my mobile phone so but you get the gist of what's going down. They have jobs, but they come and stuff up our industry, rip customers off and disregard rules. This is common, and who gives a shit? The customer ignorantly listens to these guys and tries to save a buck. What a great circus the tree industry is. www.treeworld.info/video/hack1.wmv 1.3mb WMV www.treeworld.info/video/hack2.wmv 4mb WMV Attached Thumbnails __________________ Protect your rights to work - Join Australian Tree Association My businesses:- Qualified Brisbane Tree Lopping \| Stump Grinding Brisbane \| Brisbane - Gold Coast Consulting Arborist

8th May 2007, 10:45 AM	#2
TREE-SURFER Mature tree Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: Isle of Man,UK. Posts: 337	We have guy's like that too. Having a weekday job in the office and then at weekends, go tree lopping. They then say, "We have ten years experience". What a joke. There should be more regulations on joe blogs going out and buying a saw. If they are caught using it for more than cross cutting the fire wood, then charge them under safety regulations or something. __________________ The Aerial Arborist Isle of Man Tree Surgeon\| All Aspects of Tree Work What experts say about TOPPING

8th May 2007, 12:11 PM	#3
jim1nz Mature tree Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: International, Germany Posts: 476	Ha unfortunately the home owner got what they deserved this time, paying cost cut weekenders to do a job they probably could have got done for free anyway. The think is, its not until something goes wrong on a job like this that people really start to get stung. You think weekenders are going to have insurance??? Not likely. You think the power co is going to come out and reconnect the lines in the weekend because the home owner got a weekender in to save a quick buck.... Probably not, if they do it will be double time rates. Is it worth the extra odd 10% saved? __________________ SPEED ALWAYS FOLLOWS TECHNIQUE

8th May 2007, 07:45 PM	#4
JohN Dee Moderator Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: Climbing around the world Posts: 855	Dang the hacks are getting better, they're using climbing systems and better saws now :\. Next they'll start wearing PPE and use proper techniques and they'll be somewhat harder to spot besides seeing the ute with high sides You'd be suprised how many hacks down here don't even climb with a system on tree like those in your pics. It's all ladders, no ppe and if you're lucky you'll get the occassional hacks that go up with their harness, spikes and one tie in - that's it! It sucks, most times when I do see any tree work going on, i'm on my way to either a quote or a job . __________________ We are what we repeatedly do... Excellence then, is not an act, but HABIT... Red : Green : Blue

11th May 2007, 02:46 PM	#7
Jeff Darby Moderator - Previously known as JayD Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: TreeWorld, Sydney Australia Posts: 2,031	Ekka, This type of thing going on pissess me off!..imagine you or me running overhead power cables for our drinking money,I mean it litreally running cables from the pole to folks house???I mean I've seen them do it, "I know what I'm doing...errr...cough..fart..did you believe that..good let JayD do it wright for YOU..I'm fully ins..full of shyte.They take the food off our tables and NOTHING IS DONE ABOUT IT..sorry for shouting I got a bit excited. If we were to poach jobs like this,electrical jobs I'm talking about..how long before the authorities started jumping out of choppers and arresting us but these damm cowboys are hurting us all.AND GETTING AWAY WITH IT!..not to mention the consumer who could have had this done for nothing.WRONG! __________________ Member: Australian Tree Association Join the Australian Tree Association...Have your voice heard ! Arboriculture, A life long study for some, a passing phase for others © Jeffrey J Darby 2011

9th May 2007, 01:47 PM	#5
mdvaden Former Member Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: Oregon Posts: 397	The video didn't quite seem to make a point, until I saw your first images. Together, they explain a lot, once the spaces, angles and wires are all seen.

5th May 2010, 07:36 PM	#9
Eric Frei Admin - Razor sharp and independent 2 X Diploma Level 5 qualified arborist Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Brisbane Posts: 12,820	Re: Brisbane customers, insist on pro's not weekend warriors What's your day job then? __________________ Protect your rights to work - Join Australian Tree Association My businesses:- Qualified Brisbane Tree Lopping \| Stump Grinding Brisbane \| Brisbane - Gold Coast Consulting Arborist

5th May 2010, 08:02 PM	#11
Garry Brockley Bayside Tree Care Brisbane Join Date: Jun 2008 Location: Brisbane Aus Posts: 1,649	Re: Brisbane customers, insist on pro's not weekend warriors At some point this industry needs to be correctly regulated, we just need a trust worthy regulator thats not in it to further themselves and thier mates __________________ My business:- Brisbane Bayside Tree Care

5th May 2010, 08:10 PM	#12
Eric Frei Admin - Razor sharp and independent 2 X Diploma Level 5 qualified arborist Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Brisbane Posts: 12,820	Re: Brisbane customers, insist on pro's not weekend warriors Hmmm, I dont know what an application programmer does. __________________ Protect your rights to work - Join Australian Tree Association My businesses:- Qualified Brisbane Tree Lopping \| Stump Grinding Brisbane \| Brisbane - Gold Coast Consulting Arborist

7th May 2010, 07:57 PM	#14
Done it Over mature heritage tree Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: Australia. Posts: 784	Re: Brisbane customers, insist on pro's not weekend warriors These guys got the wrong house and took down ten palms, then bolted. Oops, wrong house: Workmen dig up trees, then flee - Yahoo! News

14th May 2010, 02:24 PM	#15
NeTree Semi-mature vigorous tree Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: USA Posts: 69	Re: Brisbane customers, insist on pro's not weekend warriors Lots of weekend warriers around here. I just watch and when one of them effs up. __________________ Yours, Erik www.netree.org

18th May 2010, 07:29 PM	#16
arborjockey Mature tree Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: hawaii. ohio. oregon. california Posts: 260	Re: Brisbane customers, insist on pro's not weekend warriors yeah dont get mad at the weekend warlords stop and take pic. so we all can enjoy a good. Its a good thing Jay D isn't a mechanic he'd stop by every shady tree mechanic and tell him he has to take the car into a shop . I'd tell the homeowner to sue the little buggers for misrepresentation. theirs also a law against using your work you do by day (with a lagit company) as a ploy to do side jobs. I cant remember the normaclature but i sued a guy and one over that. IN AMERICA. He gave me a buisness card from his work then sold me a piece of crap that wouldnt sell on the lot but he sold from his yard. 32' 5th wheel trailer. I got to keep the trailer and got fully refunded Moral of the story dont get mad get even

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