# Pricing Question



## 32vld (Feb 4, 2011)

This is my 6th season doing snow. All but one of my accounts are residential. So I have always waited for the snowfall to be over before I started so I never did anyone more then once per storm.

However the one commercial job I have may have to be done twice.

Tonight we may get enough snow for them to want me to clean up their drive way and parking lot Thursday morning.

Thursday evening another storm is coming and it may dump up to 8" when it is done on Friday.

I have always charged them per event and as the snow fall increases so does the price.

My Question

Is it ethical to charge them for two separate services?

I do not want to be greedy. Though if these two events came a week apart I would have no problem charging for 2 separate services.

I guess I just answered my own question.

Feedback will be appreciated. Thanks.


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## Wilnip (Oct 4, 2011)

Yes. If you plow twice, you bill for 2 plowings


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## grandview (Oct 9, 2005)

And next yr take you total times out and how much they paid and covert it to a seasonal contract.


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## jbsplow (Sep 16, 2013)

I had the same thing happen to me I just plowed them after we got 4 inches. then it stopped and started up like 12 hours later. F#ck it bill them, other wise they will drive on it and pack it in if its real cold like it is here.


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## jbsplow (Sep 16, 2013)

so If u do a driveway when the storm is done and there's only 4 inches one storm and the next storm a few days later there's 12 inches how much more do you charge or are you a flat rate?. This is my first year doing driveways


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## Wayne Volz (Mar 1, 2002)

*get commercial work*

Nothing wrong with doing driveways but there is lot more money to be made doing commercial work than driveways. not to mention a lot less stops.

You don't have to take on malls. Look for small commercial facilities, do less of them and make more PROFIT!

BUT IF I WERE GOING TO DO DRIVEWAYS LIKE WE DID 25 YEARS AGO, I WOULD CERTAINLY CHARGE PER VISIT AND PLOW WITH THE STORM. DO NOT WAIT FOR IT TO STOP SNOWING.


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## jbsplow (Sep 16, 2013)

Wayne Volz;1704715 said:


> Nothing wrong with doing driveways but there is lot more money to be made doing commercial work than driveways. not to mention a lot less stops.
> 
> You don't have to take on malls. Look for small commercial facilities, do less of them and make more PROFIT!
> 
> BUT IF I WERE GOING TO DO DRIVEWAYS LIKE WE DID 25 YEARS AGO, I WOULD CERTAINLY CHARGE PER VISIT AND PLOW WITH THE STORM. DO NOT WAIT FOR IT TO STOP SNOWING.


 Ya i tried getting small bar parking lots, and small restraunts but everyone has someone already doing it and most of the places i asked had the same person doing it for 10+ years and im not going to come in and lowball them just to get the lot and work for nothing. Maybe down the road i will get some


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## BossPlowMaster (Aug 10, 2013)

jbsplow;1704706 said:


> so If u do a driveway when the storm is done and there's only 4 inches one storm and the next storm a few days later there's 12 inches how much more do you charge or are you a flat rate?. This is my first year doing driveways


charge minimum 1/4 hr for everything. for example if you plow at every 2" set as a trigger and it takes you 3min per driveway you can theoretically do 5 more driveways in that 15min. say you charge $80/hr. and you do 5 drives in 15min but charge them all for a 1/4hr. you have just made on average $100 in 15min even though everyone was billed for 1/4 hr. it didnt take you 75 min to do all of those 5. Get what i am saying? You can make a killing by billing hourly and setting a minimum charge.


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## 32vld (Feb 4, 2011)

jbsplow;1704706 said:


> so If u do a driveway when the storm is done and there's only 4 inches one storm and the next storm a few days later there's 12 inches how much more do you charge or are you a flat rate?. This is my first year doing driveways


I have a base price up to two inches. Then for this customer the price goes up for every inch past that.


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## grandview (Oct 9, 2005)

So how much you going to charge for that 2ft your going to get?


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## ryde307 (Dec 3, 2009)

A few different pricing structures being talked about. It sounds like your set up per event VS per push or per time like others are talking about.
We do alot of Per event stuff. For us an event is a 24 hour period typically Monday is one Tuesday would be another. In your case it sounds like you easily have 2 events based on that although I am not sure what your contract describe as an event. In that structure your pricing should reflect what it takes to plow set depths of snow. So 4" is once price you will probably only plow 1 time but it takes a bit longer than 1" so the price goes up. For 12" you may plow it 3 times and again the price would reflect this.
It sounds like you will be them for X amount on day one and your 8" price for day 2.


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## 32vld (Feb 4, 2011)

grandview;1705281 said:


> So how much you going to charge for that 2ft your going to get?


We got 9" and I got $269.


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## 04hd (Jan 3, 2013)

I plow a dentist office and tanning salon. I go hourly minimum of half hour charge salt is x amount per bag applied. If we have snow during the day I come through and do a quick clean it may only be 10min but I bill half hour. My thinking is that more snow more time to plow. They both want the lots really clean and that's what I give them. I never had a complaint on a bill and have no worries of some one else taking it away from me. Was told I was simplest and cheapest!


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