The thing is, it’s hard to discern where to stop… Could it be done safely with 1 guy and a truck? 2? Cherry picker? Did they need 6 guys, 3 trucks, and $300,000 worth of machinery to make it safe and easy? One costs 5x the other method, but it’s just easier on them and not necessary at all in some cases.
For the big company you pay a big chunk of money and they show up on time and are done in an hour or three. The tree(s) comes down fast, everything’s hauled off, chipped up, or ground down. They likely do several jobs in a day, so that’s where the money comes from. You know it’s 99% chance they are actually insured.
The small business consisting of a guy or two might get to you in a few weeks. He might or might not show up for the originally discussed time and day. They’ll be there for several hours, probably take a few breaks, and then they’ll need to drive off and retrieve their chipper truck. Maybe he’s insured. Maybe not. You’ve just got to go by his word. Grinding the stump might happen same day, or maybe a couple days later when they drag the stump grinder around to the last 5 jobs they did to finish them.
The big company will cost more. But not a whole lot more.
That depends entirely on the customer and how long they want to be hearing chainsaws, chippers and having trucks and equipment on their property. Can it be done with just one guy? Probably not reasonably, especially if you live somewhere like I do, the Pacific Northwest and the trees are big. But a few guys and a small operation with small trucks and minimal equipment? Sure, but they still need to be licensed and insured, they are doing a hazardous job, and with the time not being saved by machines you’re paying for significantly more labor hours. The reason tree trimming businesses do it that way is it’s generally more efficient and more efficient typically costs you about the same but puts a little money in their pocket. Things have a built in cost that you can’t undercut with out straight up losing money, you pay what you pay or you do it yourself (and you still have to pay some of that for the equipment or gear needed). Business works best at scale, that’s just how it works in most industries.
The thing is, it’s hard to discern where to stop… Could it be done safely with 1 guy and a truck? 2? Cherry picker? Did they need 6 guys, 3 trucks, and $300,000 worth of machinery to make it safe and easy? One costs 5x the other method, but it’s just easier on them and not necessary at all in some cases.
My experience so far:
For the big company you pay a big chunk of money and they show up on time and are done in an hour or three. The tree(s) comes down fast, everything’s hauled off, chipped up, or ground down. They likely do several jobs in a day, so that’s where the money comes from. You know it’s 99% chance they are actually insured.
The small business consisting of a guy or two might get to you in a few weeks. He might or might not show up for the originally discussed time and day. They’ll be there for several hours, probably take a few breaks, and then they’ll need to drive off and retrieve their chipper truck. Maybe he’s insured. Maybe not. You’ve just got to go by his word. Grinding the stump might happen same day, or maybe a couple days later when they drag the stump grinder around to the last 5 jobs they did to finish them.
The big company will cost more. But not a whole lot more.
That depends entirely on the customer and how long they want to be hearing chainsaws, chippers and having trucks and equipment on their property. Can it be done with just one guy? Probably not reasonably, especially if you live somewhere like I do, the Pacific Northwest and the trees are big. But a few guys and a small operation with small trucks and minimal equipment? Sure, but they still need to be licensed and insured, they are doing a hazardous job, and with the time not being saved by machines you’re paying for significantly more labor hours. The reason tree trimming businesses do it that way is it’s generally more efficient and more efficient typically costs you about the same but puts a little money in their pocket. Things have a built in cost that you can’t undercut with out straight up losing money, you pay what you pay or you do it yourself (and you still have to pay some of that for the equipment or gear needed). Business works best at scale, that’s just how it works in most industries.