Article contributed by ArborWear
When was the last time you bought a piece of equipment just because you liked the color?
My guess is NEVER. In fact, most tree care operators I know spend a good chunk of time researching equipment before they make a purchase. They read the specs, look at the options and they see what is available. A great deal of thought goes into matching the piece of equipment to the specific need. What kind of horsepower is required? How about safety? What is the feed-table length? What type of stop bar is on the machine? Let’s not forget service … when something goes wrong, how accessible is help and how willing and friendly is the service team? It’s not just about the equipment, but the whole experience.
Some folks even take it a step further and learn about the company itself. Are they active in the industry? Do they have strong values? Do they treat their people well? Answers to all of these questions are what help make buying decisions.
Why not apply the same practice to buying clothing?
Your answer might be because there is a bit of a cost differential between a Vermeer® BC1800XL and a pair of Arborwear pants, but the practice of researching your buying decision actually makes good sense when you buy clothes for yourself or your crews. Just because the item may cost less than $100 doesn’t mean that it can’t cause you just as much stress if it fails. You would know what I mean if you ever had a pair of pants tear in the crotch while you are pruning trees 20 feet above the homeowner.
Like equipment, there are decisions you can make that will impact how you do your job. Nowadays there is so much more to learn about clothing. There are performance fabrics that last six times longer than cotton, stretch four ways, wick moisture, block UV rays, etc. There are features on clothes that are specifically designed to help you get the job done, like gusseted crotches in pants, that aid in mobility when climbing trees or climbing on and off equipment. Pockets that are designed to keep sawdust out, hoods that fit over hard hats, Kevlar knee panels for protection and more.
There are service programs that offer unique ways to order, clever distribution methods to make it easy for crews to get their clothes and even clothing companies that offer nonbinding contracts.
No matter if you are buying one pair of pants for yourself or 500 T-shirts for your crews, take the five minutes and do a little research. Chances are you will make a much better buying decision that will most likely affect how well you do your job.
Arborwear is a leader in clothing for any demanding work environment or lifestyle. Each of our innovative, free-moving designs are made using heavy-duty fabrics. The result is something you can trust day in and day out.
Contact us at Arborwear.com for more information.