"Can I have a ball park figure please"

We are asked for a ball park figure over the phone for tree surgery services, hedge cutting and stump removal throughout Southampton, Hampshire, Wiltshire and Dorset on a daily basis! With the exception of stump grinding it's very difficult to give an accurate cost over the phone and the following should help explain why and what is possible with the use of modern technology such as Google Maps for example:

Stump Grinding

Stump grinding or more commonly known "Stump Removal" involves using a machine to remove a stump (visit our stump grinding page) provided access is a minimum 28 inches we are able to provide a cost over the phone to remove the stump based on the size. The cost is calculated on the size of the stump and the location of the site in the Hampshire area.

We calculate our price based on a feet and inches measurement across the stump to compile a quotation. Measuring your stump/s with a tape measure across the top and recording the widest measurement enables us to calculate a free no obligation quotation over the phone.

Visit our stump grinding page (stump grinding page) to view more useful information and a video for visitors showing how to measure your stumps and the process involved in removing stumps. 

Tree Surgery & Hedge Cutting

Both of these services usually require a site visit its very difficult to provide a cost over the phone most of the time!

Exceptions to the rule!! On occasion your tree or hedge may be located in the front garden, Google maps are so good these days that its possible we may be able to provide a free no obligation quotation over the phone using Google maps to view the tree or hedge.  Why not open the link to Google maps above, type in your post code and see if the image is a true replication of the tree or hedge you want pruned or removed.

This image below was taken from google maps, you can clearly see the tree (circled red) and surrounding features add scale to the photo. In this type of scenario we can provide a quotation over the phone to undertake work.

 

Provided the image is a good likeness in size, we can, in this case, provide a cost over the phone! and send a quotation by post or email.   

More often though, the trees are located in an area not visible on Google maps or the tree or hedge is just too large to provide a cost using this great mapping tool. In these instances, we will need to visit the site address to view the work and importantly the access.

Its all about time! Our prices to undertake work are based on time, "we don't sell products, were selling time" 

Site visits enable us to view the work required, the viability of the proposals and make informed management recommendations that achieve the clients desired end result. 

Access is always important to consider, if we are selling time and the tree is located right at the back of a 100ft garden, you can clearly see it will take time to remove all of the waste following completion of works. reducing the size of a tree for example whether located in the front or back garden is the same job for the same sized like for like tree, but removing the waste is totally a different job!!

 

 

Obstacles and obstructions also have an impact on time. For example, working on a large tree in a field where the Arborist / Tree Surgeon can free drop branches to the ground without worrying about what he or she might hit, is a totally different job to reducing the same sized tree in a garden growing over a house, shed, garden boundary fence, greenhouse and shed for example. With so many obstacles to damage, all branches now have to be lowered to ground level and the time to do this increases and unfortunately so does the cost reflecting the increase in time involved.

Hopefully, the reader is starting to build a picture of why its so difficult to provide a price for work over the phone, with the few exceptions we have highlighted already.   

£ Costs are based on the difficulty of the work and the time involved to achieve the agreed works. Tree work in an urban environment is more often than not comp[licated by surrounding objects, fences, buildings, cars etc. Often it's not the complexity of the tree work that increases the cost, its the complexity of the working location and surrounding features.  

 

Mark Hines ND Arb

Director DGS Trees