Tree work runs on two clocks. Most of the year it is planned pruning, removals and health assessments booked weeks ahead. Then a storm comes through and the phone does not stop, everybody wants you today, and how you handle that week determines your reputation for the year.
The photo quote
Driving to every enquiry to give an estimate is the biggest hidden cost in this trade. Photos plus a couple of questions get you close enough to quote a range on most jobs, and let you prioritise which sites genuinely need a visit.
Ironwood Tree Care
iMessage
Hi Marcus — send me three photos: the whole tree from a distance, the base and trunk, and the space around it. Also, is there access for a chipper down the side, and how close is the nearest power line?
photos attached. side gate is about 4 feet wide, no lines nearby
That's roughly a $1,400–$1,700 removal including stump and haul-away, and the 4-foot gate means we'll hand-carry rather than chip on site, which is why it's at the upper end. Want me to come out and confirm?
Storm week: triage in public
After a storm you cannot serve everyone. Message everyone anyway. Tree on a house or blocking a driveway is today. Tree down in a yard is this week. Damaged limbs still standing are next week. Telling somebody they are in the third group with a real date keeps them; silence sends them to whoever picked up the phone.
Do not chase storm damage cold
Purchased address lists from a storm track, blasted out, is the fastest way to get your number flagged and to acquire the reputation the storm-chaser crews have. It is exactly the same trap as post-storm roofing lists, and the consequences are identical: complaints, blocks, a dead line, and a business associated with the out-of-town crews nobody trusts.
Message people who called you, and everyone you have worked for before. Your existing customer list after a storm is the most valuable asset you own, and it is fully consented. What counts as consent.
The risk conversation
Tree work damages property more often than most trades, and the customer's real question is whether you are insured and competent. Answer it before they have to ask.
- Insurance certificate by email, offered without being asked. This alone separates you from half your competition.
- What you will protect — beds, fencing, the neighbour's greenhouse — and how.
- What you cannot guarantee, honestly. Some lawn damage from a crane or chipper is unavoidable and saying so up front prevents a dispute.
- Photos of the site before you start. Your evidence, and it takes ninety seconds.
Permits and protected trees
Many municipalities protect trees by species, size or location, and the homeowner usually has no idea. Finding out after the tree is down is a fine that may land on you, on them, or on both.
Check, tell them in writing what applies, and treat the permit wait exactly like an electrical permit gap — a weekly note, even when nothing has changed.
The seasonal work that fills the quiet weeks
| Season | Message | Why now |
|---|---|---|
| Late winter | Dormant pruning | Genuinely the right time, and your quietest weeks |
| Before storm season | Deadwood and hazard limb removal | Framed as prevention, priced as planned work |
| Autumn | Health assessment for stressed trees | Visible decline makes it easy to explain |
| Any time | The customer's own tree, photographed last visit | Specific beats seasonal every time |
What to measure
- Site visits avoided by quoting from photos.
- Quote accuracy — how often the photo estimate held after the access question.
- Storm-week retention: people told a realistic date who still booked.
- Property damage claims, and how many were pre-empted by before photos.
- Off-season pruning booked from the dormant-season message.