This is VERY common question. The short answer is that it costs a tree service a lot of money to operate. The equipment and tools that will be on site at your removal project cost about $250,000. Arborists and their crews are paid much more than workers in the other green industry specialties. The training required to perform tree removals is far greater than that of other trades, so the pay is higher. These are the things that all tree service companies must pay if they are actually performing the work to industry standards.

There are things that not all companies pay, though. Surprisingly, there are many companies that do not pay for workers’ compensation, the most expensive of the insurance policies that we have. They get around this requirement by keeping their workers off of payroll and paying them as contractors. This does nothing to protect the client from being sued if an injury occurs. There are many cases where homeowners have been held liable for injuries to workers because of this absence of coverage.

Other things that not all companies pay is continuing training and education for workers. Related to this is the cost of membership and participation in professional organizations – ISA and TCIA.

In order to stay competitive in pricing, Pro Arbor operates on a 10-15% profit margin. So, as expensive as it may seem, the prices could not really be any lower.