Week 2: Highlights, scores and stats of Tri-parish prep games
September 12, 2012
Osyter outlook under review
September 12, 2012
It will be a few weeks before the final billions of dollars in damage caused by Hurricane Isaac are totaled. For now, tree trimmers and lawn care specialists are raking in the debris and dollars with a boost to their business.
Within hours after the slow-moving storm plodded its way out of the Tri-parish region, home and business owners were assessing the damage and calling lawn care professionals for help.
“It has been a nightmare, but there is a lot of extra work,” Romaine Thibodeaux said as she and her husband, Dale, took on another day of clearing, trimming and mowing real estate as owners of Thibodeaux’s Lawn Service.
Tree Specialist owner Mike Sheppard said his business increased by more than 50 percent within five days following the storm.
“We have been cutting trees off houses,” Sheppard said of his five employees and himself working an area between Houma and New Orleans. “I hate to see the storms come really, but it does mean more work.”
“This storm is cleaning up fast,” Allstate Tree owner Gerald Olier said. “It wasn’t as bad as people put it out to be. I had about 57 calls the first day, then 16, then eight and I’m down to a couple now, but I’ve had 12 men wide-open from 6 a.m. until 8 p.m.”
Sheppard and Olier said before hiring a company, home and business owners need to make sure it is insured, licensed, bonded and carries workman’s compensation coverage.
“You should even call their insurance companies to make sure they are insured,” Sheppard said. “A lot of times they have the paper, but are not really insured. And don’t pay anything in advance. Only pay when the job is done and you are satisfied.”
These professionals said the average price for a tree trimming job after a hurricane can run between $2,000 and $3,000 a day. Most local companies adjust their prices depending on the size of individual jobs, making the statement drop on occasion to a few hundred dollars.
Generally insurance companies will pay up to $6,000 for tree removal, but most homeowner’s policies also carry a significant deductable for that work, Olier said. He also advised that people not ask him to inflate a price to benefit policy holders. “I’m not going to commit fraud, because I can’t work from inside jail,” he said.
Experience makes a difference said these tree and lawn specialists. For them, it is not simply a matter of seeing an increase in business. Each contends they want to protect their customers and help them return to life as normal.
“I hate to see people come in and price gouge these folks,” Olier said.
“We are not taking on any more work right now,” Grass Gator owner Anthony Touchard said. He has 627 regular clients and said he has been able to work all his areas without problems.
Touchard confirmed consumers may have to call around and be patient to get qualified crews to their property. It is all part of returning to calm after the storm.
Barbara Lirette of Chauvin puts the finishing touches on her yard after clearing all the tree branches scattered by Hurricane Isaac. Lirette, who has lived in her home for more than 40 years, had no damage to her home from the storm.
