What About This . . .? 5.18.2017
By Wayne William Cipriano
There was a time, not too long ago (I still remember it) when people gave an honest day’s work for an honest day’s pay. There was an honor about it. As time went by, starting with the more populous areas but slowly spreading to rural locales, workers became business people, abdicating the old honor of fairness and embracing the business maxim of screwing every last dollar out of a job while giving the minimum, sometimes even less, of what was barely acceptable. If you are over 70 years old, you know what I am talking about.
It’s gotten to the point that whenever anyone does a really good job for a reasonably good price, you get suspicious – or you want to adopt them.
When I went for the mail on Thursday I was surprised and disheartened to see a large tree had fallen directly across the very end of our driveway and completely dashed any chance we had to leave by car. The tree was 24-inches in diameter. We were trapped.
The weather gal, lying wench that she usually is, predicted thunder-storms all Friday, rain all Saturday and Sunday as well. No doubt this would be the one time she was accurate. We had to go somewhere important on Monday, so I figured I had from 2 p.m. to sunset to do something about this tree.
I’ve got a nice little Stihl chainsaw that has served me very well, but it has a short bar and this was clearly too much tree for it, even if I could avoid pinching the saw. It was time to call Jacob.
We have used him twice before, about five years ago and then again three years ago when trees close to the house needed to go and I didn’t trust myself to do the job. I called several guys for estimates, but the ones who would come out here were way too expensive. I had almost decided to try my hand but luckily I saw Jacob’s ad in the Douglas County Herald and decided to give him a call.
He came out the next day. He told me how he would use his boom truck to carefully remove the trees, cut them up so I could split them for firewood, and gave us a very reason-able estimate. So reasonable in fact that I asked him to add another tree to this estimate. Jacob said that since he would already be here, if I would help him a little he would fell the extra tree for the same bid.
He showed up on time, did every-thing he said he would do, quickly and safely, paying close attention to our house and our animals. My “helping” amounted to tying a saw or two to a rope and pulling a limb or two out of the way. After I paid him, we sat around for an hour or so and shot the breeze. A really nice guy.
A couple of years later, when another tree started to lean in the direction of the house, I was all ready to fire up the Mighty Stihl and fell it but Rosalie said, “Why not give Jacob a call?” I did, he came over, and again did excellent and economical work.
So, there is no mystery as to who I called on Thursday. Jacob was in the middle of a job in Nixa, but when he heard how much we needed to get out on Monday and how the weather might limit work time, he said he would stop by on his way home.
The whole job took about 20 minutes once he and his helpers arrived. It was a huge relief for me and even larger for Rosalie that our Monday appointment would be kept.
It is more than just a pleasure to find someone who still does a good job for a fair wage. It is a blessing because it reins in the cynicism that I find more and more poisons my interactions with business people these days.
I have found Jacob to be safe, competent, reliable, quick, reasonably priced, and as personable guy as you would ever hope to meet. He owns a huge orange bucket truck, about ten chainsaws, and all the other equipment one would expect. His assistants are hard-working, attentive, safety-conscious and good guys as well.
If it sounds like I may be related to Jacob or have a financial interest in his business, that’s the suspicious-ness I was talking about earlier. I’m not and I don’t.
If you need some tree work done, give Jacob a call and get an estimate from him. His business is Tidwell Tree Service and he runs an adver-tisement in the Herald just about every week. After he does what he says he will do, as well as he said he would do it, for the price that he quoted you, and you find yourself too embarrassed to tell him you’d like to adopt him, you can send me a thank-you cigar or two since I turned you on to him.
I’ll pass on your gratitude.