# Price on Plowing Fast food Joints



## Gusco (Jan 24, 2005)

I have never been asked to do Fast food lots and since they are layed out a little different than a normal lot. (Drive thru, much tighter space to work, Etc) I am wondering how you all charge for these. I mostly do residential and some warehouse lots. This will be my first at small business located in dowtown area that it quite congested.


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## NJ Plowman (Dec 10, 2003)

We plow them for "All the free food we can carry" !!!  

 We also plow a gas station free for a tank of gas, and the dry cleaners for free laundry...


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## Gusco (Jan 24, 2005)

NJ Plowman said:


> We plow them for "All the free food we can carry" !!!
> 
> We also plow a gas station free for a tank of gas, and the dry cleaners for free laundry...


Hardy Har har har!
No seriously!


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## ynvvbr (Aug 13, 2005)

hey gus,

where in Cent. Pa??

As for your fast food question. I'll make a call one of my drivers used to do a few so he knows the horros, etc. and what they pay


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## Grn Mtn (Sep 21, 2004)

When pricing out a business with long hours and a drive-thru and lots of foot traffic, make salt your best friend. Hopefully you don't have an 8' blade, mine won't make the turns at most of these places. I would have to drive up to the corner than back-drag from both sides. You almost have to price double because inevitably there are cars in some of the spaces, requiring a second trip. I have to admit though, everyone I've bid on I was too high.


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## NJ Plowman (Dec 10, 2003)

Gus,

OK, seriously...use the smallest blade you have (we use 8.0 and 7.5 Westerns and even the 7.5 is too wide for some drive thru's...a jeep with a 6.5 is ideal) and like Green Mountain said use lots of salt. Most of these places are open at least until Midnight, some until 3:00AM and at night ice and the foot traffic (especially the drunks that just left the bar and want to grab a bite before they DUI on home) don't mix...lots of liability issues there. You also have to put up with vehicles pulling into and out of the lot (and they NEVER pay attention to you plowing). 

We used to do them both individually and thru their corporate offices but to do them properly you have to make several trips during each storm, and they just don't want to pay for more than one trip per storm up here in Jersey. We thought the liability issue and time needed to do the job properly was too much trouble for the small amount of profit we ended up with. We just faded them out as we got more (more profitable and less time consuming) business.


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## BreyerConstruct (Aug 17, 2004)

This starts to go a diferent direction, but what areas have you found to be more profit/ less liability?

~Matt


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## ynvvbr (Aug 13, 2005)

Matt,

It sure is not fast food places, at leasta round here. They want them doneevery 3-4" and just imagine all the pedestrian traffic in and out, stepping on curbs, stepping of curbs, cars in lots etc etc. IMO that just exposes you to tons of liability, UNLESS they are willing to pay for it.

Mike


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## Gusco (Jan 24, 2005)

ynvvbr said:


> hey gus,
> 
> where in Cent. Pa??
> 
> As for your fast food question. I'll make a call one of my drivers used to do a few so he knows the horros, etc. and what they pay


Im located in Port Matilda. I plow from State college to Altoona.


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## NoFearDeere (Nov 7, 2005)

I was asked to place a bid for our 2 McDonalds in town. I was kinda happy because the guys that do the lots always do a crap job. (I don't know why this really irritates me but it does.:angry: ) I put in the bid. I was outbid by those other guys. It just never fails that the crap plow guy gets it. Whenever I go through the drive-thru at 4am, the manager always asks me to plow the drive thru and around the employees cars (3 swipes)for free food.


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## LwnmwrMan22 (Jan 20, 2005)

POPO4995 said:


> I was asked to place a bid for our 2 McDonalds in town. I was kinda happy because the guys that do the lots always do a crap job. (I don't know why this really irritates me but it does.:angry: ) I put in the bid. I was outbid by those other guys. It just never fails that the crap plow guy gets it. Whenever I go through the drive-thru at 4am, the manager always asks me to plow the drive thru and around the employees cars (3 swipes)for free food.


Soooo.... assuming you don't eat $45 - 50 worth of food out of the drive-thru, probably more like $10-15, if you have someone with you, aren't you in a sense lowballing?

Probably why the guy does a crap job, because he knows someone else does the work, and no one cares, because they hire him the next year. Why would they call him in to plow the drive thru, if they can get someone to come through with a plow and plow it for a free meal / snack?? As far as you know, that may be the deal they have set up with the guy.

Why would they hire you at a higher price, when they get you to plow out the messy stuff for food that costs them about $1.50?? If they want to pay you your fair price to plow the drive thru, fine.... but not for free food, at least not less than $50 in gift cerfiticates.


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## Gusco (Jan 24, 2005)

Thanks for the input. Im bidding on it tomorrow. I dont think the drive thru is to tight. I belive it is open on the one entire side. Should be ok. Salt was defintly in the plan.


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## DodgeBlizzard (Nov 7, 2003)

Gusco said:


> Im located in Port Matilda. I plow from State college to Altoona.


Wow, that's not a very tight route. Just messin. I'm from the Lock Haven area. Just wanted to say hi.


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## SnowGuy73 (Apr 7, 2003)

Time + Product + Labor = The amount you charge.


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## mrplowdude (Apr 16, 2005)

I plow some fast food places and banks. My 8'6" fisher does fine through these places. They aren't the most money you will make but steady money, and salt is a must, or there will be a lot of packed snow. Make sure they are aware of this in your bid.


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## SNOWMAN0420 (Nov 18, 2005)

NJ Plowman said:


> We plow them for "All the free food we can carry" !!!
> 
> We also plow a gas station free for a tank of gas, and the dry cleaners for free laundry...


thats how u do it in jersey!


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## Runner (Jul 21, 2000)

I have a friend that does some Taco Bells. Oddly enough though, they don't do any salt. You would think that places like this would espECially want salt. I think he told me they get about $50 per shot (without walks). I'll ask him, though. I told him the other night that we need need to get him (and his partners) going on salt. The same thing with doing the walks. He's walking away and leaving most of the money sitting on the table.


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## NJ Plowman (Dec 10, 2003)

SNOWBOY0420...

Child, go back to school and learn how to form a proper sentence. Study capitalization and the like, and then come back and play with the Big Boys! You are quick to go to guns aren't you? Play nice and you won't make as many enemies...:realmad:


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## NoFearDeere (Nov 7, 2005)

LwnmwrMan22 said:


> Soooo.... assuming you don't eat $45 - 50 worth of food out of the drive-thru, probably more like $10-15, if you have someone with you, aren't you in a sense lowballing?
> 
> Probably why the guy does a crap job, because he knows someone else does the work, and no one cares, because they hire him the next year. Why would they call him in to plow the drive thru, if they can get someone to come through with a plow and plow it for a free meal / snack?? As far as you know, that may be the deal they have set up with the guy.
> 
> Why would they hire you at a higher price, when they get you to plow out the messy stuff for food that costs them about $1.50?? If they want to pay you your fair price to plow the drive thru, fine.... but not for free food, at least not less than $50 in gift cerfiticates.


 We are talking about 3 swipes not the whole lot, which would take me about 45 minutes.....


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## kyle volz (Oct 13, 2005)

"RUNNER" said it on the mark.

Why take the plowing without the salt. Too much money left on the table regardless of your market. 

I am dating myself here but here goes. In 1987, we took care on many of the Taco Bells, Arby's and Burger Kings in our market. Came to the conclusion very fast that they all wanted you there NOW!!!! AND DID NOT WANT TO PAY ANYTHING FOR THE SERVICE AND THE PRICE THEY WANTED TO PAY WAS GIFT CARD, FOOD NOW OR SOME OTHER BS. IO say thank God to them early in my snow & ice removal business. They helped me to set a more professional and less time consuming method of the snow business. Because of them, we started using retainers, took only full service accounts, (no plow only) and we started making a lot more money. So fast food, I think you owe it to yourself to do a few so you can fully appreciate all the comments from your peers on this site. Realistically, save your self the learning curve and stay far far away! That's my .02 worth.


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## ghosttridder (Dec 8, 2005)

Plowing through cracks nooks and corners, hmm i reckon that it would be a little difficult for 8 footers and up to do so. That's why they have the Ghost signal out there :redbounce when in need they use the Ghost signal shine it up in the sky and whoosh, there i am in a flash LoL. 
-seriously though, this is where a good truck like mine would come in, i have a 7'4" suburbanite, and i plowed a resisential area of 220 townhome units with ease. And get this, there is this place that sells cigarettes right.. it's a small convenience shop, 

i was driving by there once on a day that it snowed, and i wanted to stop in to buy cigarettes, but i was like wtf?? it's piled with stacks of snow! and i mean really packed with snow so where people couldn't park! So i whipped up the remote control to my blade and i set it on float, and I plowed my way through just so i could park lol. Then the lady came out offered me to plow the small lot. Made my day woo hoo! :redbounce


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## JMR (Feb 24, 2003)

I used to plow 2 fast food restaurants (Long John Silvers). We dropped them 2 years ago. They took about 20-30 mins each on an average push with a 7.5' blade. I got $75 a push. They wouldn't allow us to do any ice management, they applied their own salt by hand. We were careful to put a liability exclusion in our contract since we didn't provide the ice control.


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