President’s Message

President’s Message

by Steve Houser

At Arborilogical Services, we take client comments seriously.  They have the potential to influence our company policies and our philosophies.  With each comment, we learn how our actions affect our clients and their individual needs.  In some cases, the client comments noted below provide us with an opportunity to explain the reasoning behind how we choose to provide service.  Frequently, our policies are also expressed to our clients by our actions.  However, this newsletter forum provides a great opportunity to provide you with an explanation of our operating policies and philosophies.

For example:

Q  : “We only have a few small

trees. As a small fish, are we

as important a client to your company as the big fish?”

A  : The intent of this question is for the client to determine if their “small fish” tree care needs are as important to us as the clients with greater tree care needs.  Briefly stated, we do not recognize the size of the fish.  Our philosophy is to show the same level of respect and to provide quality services for all “fish”.  We value all of our clients equally, regardless of the size of the fish (unless we are fishing together).

Q  : “You must love wind storms and

ice storms because you rake in

a ton of money…right?”

A  : This is simply not the case.  When

we receive emergency calls following a storm, existing clients are placed on a priority-based list, and any new client calls are placed on a waiting list.  We express our loyalty by serving existing clients first, and our current hourly rate for emergency calls increases a modest 16%.  We do not gouge our clients by charging excessive rates.  In fact, our emergency rate does not begin to offset the time, effort, and overtime required to meet the needs of our clients. In many cases we are devastated to learn of significant damage or loss of trees we may have maintained for over 25 years.  The trees are as much our friends as our clients; and, the loss of a tree amounts to the loss of a friend.  As a result, we do not “love” storms.  We may rake a ton of leaves…but not cash.  However, when the damage is cleaned up, we are always proud that we served our clients and our trees well.

Q  : “Why does it take so long to get

an arborist or a crew out?”

A  : Elements of the tree care business are

seasonal.  In February, March and sometimes April, our arborist and production crew backlog can be fewer than 1-2 weeks.  As summer approaches, our backlog can grow to 1-2 months or more.  To maintain consistency in the quality of care we provide, we do not layoff employees during slow periods and hire untrained employees during busier times.  We do add new arborists and production personnel each year, but new staff requires extensive training before becoming actively involved in providing tree care.  This policy serves to ensure quality work for our clients.  There may be a delay in providing you with a service, but we are comfortable that the level of service we do provide is not compromised because of demand.

Q  : “The client is always right

…right?”

A  : This is a toughie.  Our philosophy on

this subject is based on sound, ethical, and industry standards that do not always lead to the conclusion that the client is always right.  Should a client request services contrary to industry standards, illegal according to federal, state, or local regulation, not in the best interest of a tree’s health or our company’s reputation, we work diligently to inform the client about the reasoning behind our policy.  If the client (or potential client) is insistent, we will decline to offer a proposal.  We do not provide estimates for tree care unless we will be proud of the results.  We do agree that the client is always right … when the requests are reasonable and responsible in nature.

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