A Canopy of Competence

Last Monday, Mr. 114 went over to look at the sad 200 year old tree that was precariously leaning towards my rental home. Branches had fallen off into oncoming traffic days before. Sadly, branches had fallen off on to cars at some point in the past too. Nobody had been hurt in either case. But, it put me on alert.

When I had gotten quotes about this tree in the past, they ranged from $1,500 to $5,000 to take care of it. And though $1,500 to $5,000 to trim a tree sounds absolutely outrageous, most of the quotes were closer to the high end of that range. They are called tree surgeons for a reason.

Mr. 114 was my first choice for my tree problem, as I have worked with him in the past. On Monday, Mr. 114 carefully assessed the situation. He called the electric company (the tree hangs over the power lines). He called the police department to see if they would block off the street for a while so he could work. He checked into permits. He checked into renting a bucket truck for cutting way up high. Then, he sent me an e-mail saying he was working on getting everything together and would be in touch. But, he didn't give me a price.

Meanwhile, Carolsue the paragon of efficiency and an all-around wonderful human being, called up a tree guy who had done some work for some work for her son-in-law. Bob came over, looked up, said, "Yep. That needs to come down. When can I start?"

In Bob's world, there are no permits. There is no permission from the power company. There are no calls to the city to block the road. Bob has a guy who will wear an orange vest and hold up a flag. Bob's price: $1,800 only because it was a referral. If Carolsue had just called him out of the blue it would have been $2,500. You gotta love how work is done in the South.

Feeling rather loyal to Mr. 114, I called him and said, "Hey! I wanted to see about where you are in starting this process. And, I have another quote. Can you match this?"

Mr. 114 told me he was only planning on trimming the dying tree--not cutting it down. That would be too "expensive." Currently, he was still gathering what he needed for his quote. He said the bucket truck alone that he was planning on renting for the tree trim will cost him $1,200. Carting off the dead wood to the dump he said would be around $1,000 for all the dump runs he would need to make (ok, I am all for not littering, but couldn't oak wood just be put back in the forest?). As he estimated at that time, to trim the dying tree back so it doesn't fall on to the house, it will set me back around $4,500. When I gave him the other guy's quote he flat-out told me he couldn't match it.

Keeping Mr. 114 around is also important to me. He does a lot of handyman work in a pinch. He and I have similar values about business. But, I am not shelling out an additional $2,700 for good will.

I am pleased to say Mr. 114 and I parted friends, with the promise of more work for him in the future. I personally think he was relieved. If he needs to hire equipment Bob the Tree Guy already has, then Mr 114 was not a good fit. Mr. 114 and I will do more work in the future. But Bob is now my tree guy.