10 Mar Our scale matters

The tree industry in England is a vital sector that plays a significant role in maintaining the country’s natural environment. Tree services are required in various situations, such as land management, land development, storm damage, and diseased or dying trees. In this context, the scale of a company matters significantly, especially for professional tree service companies like Out There Trees Ltd.

When obtaining a quotation the focus is normally on price to carry out tree maintenance services. Price is important but equally important is the method which will be employed to carry out the tree surgery. How many tree surgeons or arborists will be on site? Will the work be completed in a single stint – even if it requires multiple days – or will work have to stop to attend other jobs once it has commenced due to a shortage of staff or machinery? What will happen if a single person is unwell or on holiday? Does the arboriculture service provider have enough people with the appropriate skill to carry on or will the project have to be delayed through no fault of the customer?

Out There Trees Ltd regularly runs 3 teams of qualified tree surgeons. Over our 20 years in business the teams have been able to specialise in tree maintenance, tree removal by climbing, tree removal by MEWP or cherry picker, tree maintenance by climbing, tree maintenance by MEWP or cherry picker, hedge maintenance, hedge planting, hedge removal, and stump grinding while simultaneously keeping up with quotations, tree surveys and TPO applications.

Having sufficient tree surgeons and ground staff means we can be flexible and add extra staff to a job where necessary as jobs unfold or change. This impacts the time we spend on site. Less time on site to complete the required tree shaping work, for example, means less nuisance for our customers. It also means less delay if other work is dependent on the tree service being completed and out of the way, for example if further building works are waiting to commence. In the example of a school a larger, better equipped team can mean the difference between safely completing working during half term or not. Routinely working with schools who look to leverage our scale also means our staff are already DBS checked.

It’s not just about time but quality of the tree care service delivered as well. From maintenance hedge trimming to a crown reduction on a beech tree having individuals and teams that specialise in these specific tasks results in a higher quality finish as increased experience leads to greater skill.

There are occasions where the job dictates an unplanned delay. For example site access through a neighbouring property may be unavailable for a limited time, there may be unexpected road works or a car abandoned in the way, the weather may necessitate a delay, or some portion of the work may be contingent on council approval which has yet to be received. Having more skilled staff means we are able to fit the remaining expert tree services in at a sooner date when the cause of the delay has been resolved.

Also relevant is in-house equipment. Out There Trees Ltd own and maintain multiple MEWPS (cherry pickers), stump grinders, trucks, mini loaders, and ground protection mats reducing our dependence on 3rd party providers while at the same time ensuring we are assigning the appropriate equipment to each job.

Our scale means we not only can offer a service on a one off basis but we are instead routinely offering all variety of services from site clearance to crown lifting and tree planting and hedge planting. It’s not that we could do it but that we are routinely doing it that makes all the difference to the resulting quality and efficiency.

We regularly work on farms or do site clearance but alongside this type of tree maintenance work we carry out a high volume of domestic arb work. This is interesting as not only the tree work and hedge maintenance work must be considered but equally as important is carrying out the work in a sympathetic manor in much loved gardens near to beautiful patios, garden sheds, garages, and greenhouses. Much of our approach to tree work has been developed with this this in mind. You are going to deadwood the oak but must do so in a way that access doesn’t tear up a manicured lawn and precarious bits of deadwood don’t cause damage on their way out of the tree.

To support the scale of our field operations Out There Trees Ltd also maintains a permanent office staff. As staff training must be tracked and booked, quotes occasionally need amending, and invoices sometimes need adjusting this also impacts the level of service our customers receive. Office tasks are not sorted when someone makes the time, often after hours is a smaller operation, but rather by a dedicated staff of professionals keeping to our customer care policy.

Company scale matters a lot in the tree industry in Surrey and tree industry in Berkshire, particularly for companies such as Out There Trees Ltd. A larger scale allows us to handle every aspect of large-scale projects, offer a comprehensive range of services, maintain high quality and efficiency, and offer competitive pricing.