July 1st, 2016
Stump Removal - Buying Time
When you hire someone to remove a stump for you, what are you really paying for? When one stops to think about it, the customer is buying time.
Stump removal can be done by anyone with a shovel and an axe. It does not require skill. And for stumps that are about 10 inches or less, we sometimes encourage homeowners to save money and simply cut out that little stump, and save $100.
But for stumps that are greater than 10-12 inches, stump removal begins to be incredibly time consuming and laborious. We have personally seen four guys spend over two days attempting to dig out a 24-inch wide tree stump. They had dug two feet down and a three-foot circle around the stump, in order to get underneath it. Yet when Got Stump Inc. showed up, the entire process took a mere 20 minutes from arrival to cleanup and invoicing. Our cost? $120.
Now let's do the math. The number of hours spent between the four men would easily be 40 hours. At minimum wage ($10.20 as of Oct. 1, 2015) this is an expense of $408! In other words, the homeowner and his friends lost time that could have been better spent elsewhere and if they had taken time off work to do the work, they would have lost $288 of potential income. And that's at minimum wage…Ouch!
Tree Pruning - Buying Beauty
One of the challenges in tree services is helping customers understand the difference between a skilled pruner and someone with no experience. It is very easy for our arborists to tell which trees have been pruned by inexperience persons: branches are cut off that should have remained, limbs removed too close to the trunk, cuts made the wrong angle, too much taken off the tree, tears in the bark from improper cutting technique, etc.
But not to worry if you've already hacked away at your trees. Just stop. Breathe. Put down the cutting device. Pick up you phone. We can perform what is called a "corrective prune." We will set your tree on the right path as best as possible.
When our customers allow us to prune their trees and put our years of experience into their property, the customer is buying tree health and beauty, improving the appearance of the yard which in turn shows others you care. And if you show you care about your trees and yard, people automatically assume you care about the rest of your house. Pruning is a great way to improve your property value and even expedite the sale of a home should you decide to be moving on.
Tree Removal - Buying Safety and Assurance
Years back I had the opportunity to meet a customer who requested tree stump removal services. He greeted me when I arrived on the property and we made small talk. I asked him what he did for work, and his reply? "I'm on employment insurance…likely permanently. I tried to climb the tree you are removing the stump for and I fell. I broke my back."
I was stunned.
When Got Stump Inc. is hired to remove trees we use skilled arborist - skilled not only in tree theory but in experience, tapping into a high degree of skilled climbing and rigging techniques.
Rigging? The arborist on-site uses climbing spurs, saddle harnesses, ropes, and pulleys to assure they don't fall out of the tree and that no branch or limb makes contact with any part of your valued property.
So you can see, in hiring a professional tree service to perform your tree removal you are not only buying assurances that your property isn't damaged, you may be purchasing your continued livelihood and even your life.
