Lady asked me to trim a tree she already cut halfway through herself

Got a call from a woman in Phoenix last month wanting her backyard oak trimmed. Showed up and saw she had already hacked about a third of the way through the main trunk with a hand saw. She said she got tired and wanted me to finish the cut. Told her that tree was coming down on her house if I did that and she got mad. She actually argued with me for ten minutes that I was just trying to upsell her. Had to walk away from the job. Has anyone else had a customer ask you to finish something dangerous they started?

3 comments

3 Comments

jackson.matthew24d ago

@blair597 nailed it, it's wild how people think professionals can just magically undo bad DIY decisions without risk. Always feels like there's a bigger pattern at play where folks mistake our safety calls for a sales pitch.

grace60724d ago

Used to think the same way honestly. Before I started learning more about tree work I figured arborists were just trying to pad their bill. But after seeing a few close calls in my own neighborhood I get why they flag things that look wrong. @blair597's story about the power lines is a perfect example - that's not upselling, that's covering their own butt and yours. A lot of homeowners just don't grasp how fast a bad cut can turn into a lawsuit or worse.

blair59724d ago

Man, I feel you on this. It's one thing when someone tries to DIY and makes a mess, but it's another level when they want you to finish a job that's gonna land a tree on their roof (and probably their neighbor's car too). I had a lady last year who wanted me to just "cut a dead limb" in her backyard, turned out she'd already sawed halfway through a branch that was hung up on power lines. I told her straight up I wasn't touching it unless she called the power company first, and she gave me the same spiel about me trying to upsell her. Sometimes you just gotta walk away and let them figure out their own mess, even if it feels bad leaving a job.