Certainly no utility wants to read in the headlines of the local paper or see on the television news that “XYZ utility is flexing its muscle, and refuses to halt plans to cut down Mrs. Jones prized silver maple.” Now I know you might be saying that you haven’t run into a Mrs. Jones like that so there is no way your company would ever trim or cut down trees of someone like that. You’re right, I haven’t met your particular customer, but chances are every utility has a Mrs. Jones, or in some case several Mrs. Joneses all across the system, but there is a way to reduce the number of refusals and/or complaints you receive.

In many cases, refusals can be avoided simply with the proper communication strategy in place. If you are relying on bill stuffers or small ads in newspapers as your primary communication strategy for property owners, then chances are you’re not utilizing your communications sources wisely. While bill stuffers are effective reminders if used regularly over a period of time, if you are serious about reducing complaints and communicating better with your customers, you’re going to have to utilize the most effective means of communication devised: face-to-face conversation. Yes, you need to put feet on the ground ahead of the tree crews and talk with your customer before the first chainsaw is ever fired up in front of their house.

Many utilities are finding a lot of success using third party pre-inspection personnel that identify the work needed, document the work through some sort of electronic means, and then communicate the necessary work with the property owner. This provides the property owner the opportunity to ask questions and have them answered by a professional utility arborist. I know many of you will say that your contractor’s foreman or general foreman already does this. While the foreman and general foreman may be great at managing tree crews safely and efficiently, they often don’t have the time, training or experience to implement an effective communication plan with your customers. A pre-inspection company that is independent of the tree contractor is the best choice because they bring utility arborists with the experience and training in utility vegetation management, and lend a tremendous amount of credibility to your program. Often, simply having this person communicate with your property owners about impending tree work will significantly reduce the number of refusals and complaints.

Finally, you should be consistent with the application of your specifications. Cutting special deals with a select few customers only creates more hostility for those individuals that didn’t receive that special treatment.