# Sports authority fires USM!



## lawn king (Nov 21, 2004)

Word came down today, sports authority nation wide, fired usm for poor snow service performance.


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## forestfireguy (Oct 7, 2006)

Are they going to another "Big Boy" are letting store managent manage their own requirements??


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## Buck Bros. (Jan 12, 2010)

We still get calls from USM daily looking for suckers . I always end the call with," cut me a seasonal check for $......... and when it clears , we will be happy to service the lot ".For some reason thats unacceptable to them . Hold your ground .


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## ACA L&L (Jan 5, 2007)

Before USM was awarded the contract there were a few companies requesting bids for the upcoming snow removal season. I cant for the life of me remember who the companies were, but Im sure Sports authority will be signing up with another company to manage it nation wide. Seems to be the rule these days. Good luck


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## stroker79 (Dec 2, 2006)

Plus u doubt they would be dumb enough to fire them without having another contract signed or a plan in place. If not then the people that fired usm need to be fired too.


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## lawn king (Nov 21, 2004)

They pay contractors dirt cheap rates, then take an additional 7% from you for their so called rebate program, then top it off by taking an additional 20% from you if your area does not meet or exceed the annual average snowfall! I cant even believe anyone in their right mind would sign that contract?


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## hoskm01 (Oct 17, 2008)

Just for kicks, I went and read USM's site about Snow Removal. In business, nothing annoys me more than misspelled brochures, websites, or people who can't manage to have a decent grasp of the English language. Even plowsite and lawnsite, I hate trying to read people's posts with poor spelling, word choice, or grammar. 

At any rate, USM's site has 3 blatant misspellings in the first paragraph. Pretty embarrassing. See for yourself.


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## lawn king (Nov 21, 2004)

I read their contract, insane to do business with them unless you like aggrivation and getting screwed.


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## Mick (May 19, 2001)

Does anyone know if there is more than one "USM" in facilities maintenance? The only one I found with a Google search was a subsidiary of TRANSFIELD SERVICES GROUP which is international. It never spells out what "USM" stands for.

http://www.usmservices.com/


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## cretebaby (Aug 23, 2008)

Mick;962613 said:


> Does anyone know if there is more than one "USM" in facilities maintenance? The only one I found with a Google search was a subsidiary of TRANSFIELD SERVICES GROUP which is international. It never spells out what "USM" stands for.
> 
> http://www.usmservices.com/


That's the one.


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## forestfireguy (Oct 7, 2006)

USM = US Maintenance

And Hosk, I agree, the poor spelling and poor grammar on a regular basis here is annoying, everyone has a bad a bad key from time to time, but some of the posts look like a runaway 3 year old got going on a keyboard. And a in printed/published business document or website it does make you wonder.


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## silvetouch (Jul 29, 2004)

anyone know what the S.A sites were going for in your areas?


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## Mick (May 19, 2001)

forestfireguy;962626 said:


> USM = US Maintenance
> 
> And Hosk, I agree, the poor spelling and poor grammar on a regular basis here is annoying, everyone has a bad a bad key from time to time, but some of the posts look like a runaway 3 year old got going on a keyboard. And a in printed/published business document or website it does make you wonder.


Be careful that you don't get critiqued.


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## jomama45 (Dec 25, 2008)

Mick;962776 said:


> Be careful that you don't get critiqued.


 :laughing:


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## ColumbiaLand (Sep 1, 2008)

not surprised. Hopefully they will soon be out of business


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## lilpusher (Nov 16, 2009)

The free market weeds out poor service. It may seem easier to sign with a national company but corps are learning the hard way


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## dieseld (Dec 30, 2005)

Buck Bros.;962316 said:


> We still get calls from USM daily looking for suckers . I always end the call with," cut me a seasonal check for $......... and when it clears , we will be happy to service the lot ".For some reason thats unacceptable to them . Hold your ground .


USM calls you daily to hire you? OK.


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## forestfireguy (Oct 7, 2006)

Likes I says, somestimesss verybody has dab kystrokes.............


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## snowcookie (Feb 13, 2010)

hoskm01;962570 said:


> Just for kicks, I went and read USM's site about Snow Removal. In business, nothing annoys me more than misspelled brochures, websites, or people who can't manage to have a decent grasp of the English language. Even plowsite and lawnsite, I hate trying to read people's posts with poor spelling, word choice, or grammar.
> 
> At any rate, USM's site has 3 blatant misspellings in the first paragraph. Pretty embarrassing. See for yourself.


They have put just about all of us out of business in my area. I couldn't find the USM site referring to their snow plowing business. My husband is an English teacher. He would love to "mark it up" and send it to them. Only the large landscaping and construction companies can provide them with the insurance and equipment they insist you have.


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## kipcom (Feb 3, 2001)

Its easy to beat USM in your area....if your an independant contractor just simply do not sign with them and go get your own accounts...if they have nobody to sub the work to,,,,do you really think they are going to do it themselves ? on USM terms ? they will have only -1- choice....do it on your terms or GO OUT OF BUSINESS.

However...if the 1 truck operation keeps giving in to them and getting screwed then they will hang around until the companies they contract with get tired of lousy service and fire them. Its a vicious cycle and it takes time to work thru.

USM is not even thought of here in our area wesport


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## lawn king (Nov 21, 2004)

When they loose an acct. like S A, they not only do they loose the snow, they loose the sweeping,landscaping,interior cleaning & painting,etc. The writing is on the wall, they will fail sooner than later, rumors are bank of america is about to fire them? Can you imagine the kayos @ their sites in D C?


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## Kramer (Nov 13, 2004)

kipcom;998571 said:


> Its easy to beat USM in your area....if your an independant contractor just simply do not sign with them and go get your own accounts...if they have nobody to sub the work to,,,,do you really think they are going to do it themselves ? on USM terms ? they will have only -1- choice....do it on your terms or GO OUT OF BUSINESS.
> 
> However...if the 1 truck operation keeps giving in to them and getting screwed then they will hang around until the companies they contract with get tired of lousy service and fire them. Its a vicious cycle and it takes time to work thru.
> 
> USM is not even thought of here in our area wesport


This post outlines it very well. In short, you have nobody to blame but yourself for companies like USM and so forth if you sign up with them. They arent hiding anything and if you're so desperate to get work then you have no right to complain if you sign on the dotted line.

Heres an example... I got a call from another cheater company called Level 1 maintenance. Go ahead and look up their website.

They say things like---"why go looking for service from a company that can only do one thing when Level 1 can do it all"?

Heres a hint---they hire oput a bunch of subs so people are still gertting the same thing--they just dont have to go looking for a plow guy and a lawn guy. Their website makes it look like they have a million employees.

So, do what I did---dont even respond to their call--let them find another chump and keep running your own business. If you just want to plow snow for a company and destroy your truck , use up your time and make chump change, then answer the phone. If you want your own business that you have some control over then hang up. Its as simple as that.


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## allcraftsmen (Dec 31, 2009)

hoskm01;962570 said:


> Just for kicks, I went and read USM's site about Snow Removal. In business, nothing annoys me more than misspelled brochures, websites, or people who can't manage to have a decent grasp of the English language. Even plowsite and lawnsite, I hate trying to read people's posts with poor spelling, word choice, or grammar.
> 
> At any rate, USM's site has 3 blatant misspellings in the first paragraph. Pretty embarrassing. See for yourself.


I saw that too. Can't they afford to hire a website company that uses spellcheck? Pretty sad.


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## Laszlo Almasi (Feb 11, 2006)

hoskm01;962570 said:


> Just for kicks, I went and read USM's site about Snow Removal. In business, nothing annoys me more than misspelled brochures, websites, or people who can't manage to have a decent grasp of the English language. Even plowsite and lawnsite, I hate trying to read people's posts with poor spelling, word choice, or grammar.
> 
> At any rate, USM's site has 3 blatant misspellings in the first paragraph. Pretty embarrassing. See for yourself.


I agree 100%. And for me...if it almost hurts my brain to read someone's post, or site, I stop and refuse to continue as it is a waste of my time.


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## ontario026 (Dec 22, 2008)

allcraftsmen;998623 said:


> I saw that too. Can't they afford to hire a website company that uses spellcheck? Pretty sad.


That's what they get for contracting the website design to the lowest bidder...

Matthew


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## nixray (Jan 31, 2008)

Here in SW Mi, USM is almost unheard of, However Brickman is................. well a POS


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## tigertownman (Dec 1, 2009)

*brickman*

do you mean brickman is a POS , because they bid jobs so low that no one can come close to under bidding them , then yes i agree . They are a very powerful company and well not a hole lot of companies can compete with companies hiring laborers to work for pennies which is basically the only reason brickman gets everything . Every large property I bid on brickman under bid me and 10 other companies by $1000's or more it's unreal. but that is the business... CUT THROAT


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## msu1510 (Jan 25, 2010)

two years ago usm would not hire us for plowing b/c of price. but they were willing to have us as an on-call emergency contractor. so we only got called when the cheap guy did not show up. but by the time they called us our routes were done so we were happy to stay out a bit longer for the $150/hr per truck we charged them. but they did take forever to pay.


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## smokin4by (Dec 21, 2009)

kipcom;998571 said:


> USM is not even thought of here in our area wesport


really?? for not being in Indiana they sure have a lot of lowe's, targets,kroger and wal-marts

but i will agree with you on the quality of their subs. we did watch a guy at our local wal-mart drive around the entire lot 2 times up and down all the isles. Then he realized we wasn't even spreading any salt. So he drove around...again.


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## maxximus98 (Nov 30, 2009)

I have a friend that is doing a lot of USM work why is this a bad company to contract with?


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## mullis56 (Jul 12, 2005)

UMMMM....they don't pay much !


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## GL&M (Sep 26, 2005)

maxximus98;1007922 said:


> I have a friend that is doing a lot of USM work why is this a bad company to contract with?


If this is his first year he will find out the hard way why no one on here has anything good to say about them. I just got a call this week from USM looking for someone to service the local Walmart. This is in the middle of the season.

I told them I wasn't equipped to do it so they asked me if i knew anyone that could. I knew who was doing it, but I asked them who was doing it and they wouldn't tell me. They said it didn't matter who was doing it. So being tha azz that I am at times, I recommended the guy that was doing it. I told them he was one of the few that had the equipment to do it. They told me he didin't have enough equipment to do it.

Now I've been to that Walmart on a regular basis. The lot always looked pretty good to me after a snow storm. I suspect there is a payment issue there somewhere. I was at the store yesterday and made a special effort to drive around the lot. Guess what, all the equipment is off the lot. I think he got tired of getting screwed over, pulled his **** and quit. I'll find out what the deal was at some point in time.


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## buckwheat_la (Oct 11, 2009)

ive said it many times now, but well say it again. a company like USM doesn't put the kind of clauses in their contracts that they do, unless they are intending to screw their contractors. really, if they decide not to pay you for any reason, you have no legs (legally) to stand on.


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## smokin4by (Dec 21, 2009)

i would love to not see any equipment at our wal-mart !! right now it looks like a scrap yard because the trucks and equipment are left on the job (probably because they are not safe to drive) and they all share a common color of brown. not only to mention the trucks look like sponges.  

not what i want to look at when i shop

if you can't take pride in your equipment whats keeping you taking pride in your work ???


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## osbo68 (Dec 1, 2004)

*USM response*

I really don't want to add fuel to the fire here but we have been dealing with USM for many years.. They are a great company to deal with.. After the contract goes thru in the fall we start recieving checks around Jan. and they continue monthly thru May.. We get paid regardless of snow or no snow.. This ends up working great for us 9 times out of 10.. Over the years we have been thru several types of contracts with them from per push to monthly. It is always a challenge when changes occur but knowing who to deal with makes the experience much easier.. Now mind you we only deal with them for 2 of our sites and have dealt with them now for 10+ yrs.. But for us it has been a good business relationship.. Now with that being said good luck on all your accounts and happy plowing boys..


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## hlntoiz (Jan 13, 2009)

ontario026;998648 said:


> That's what they get for contracting the website design to the lowest bidder...
> 
> Matthew


Seems like someone got a taste of their own medicine! :laughing:


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## hotshot4819 (Oct 17, 2006)

well, i have been fallowing this thread..
I have been plowing 3 banks of americas for this company, for several years...
They actually pay ALRIGHT... and i am able to make up the money i normally would get, in hauling, they actually pay pretty well for that....

However, this year they have been trying to find every reason under the sun the delay payment, you can only get ahold of them when they want you to, but if they call, they expect a return phone call within minutes..

What made me snap this year, was some lady calling to "check" in to make sure the location was going to be opened up by MONDAY.. she was calling me on Sunday morning at 1am.... after just plowing 24 hours straight.. i told her she was outta her mind, and hung up....


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## kingriver (Oct 25, 2005)

*alaska USM ?*

ok way new to this, usm , if only one contractor in the area signs with them and works for beans---like monkeys the others will follow due to the smell....and from what I am reading the smell is trouble........


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## shooterm (Feb 23, 2010)

Doesnt make sense to me how USM or even Brickmans can stay in business nowadays. With the advent of larger local companies having divisions of service companies the do it all approach means very little for a national company(tell me they cant find a way to sub out painting). They cant get a better price either since they have to make a profit on it somehow. Funny watching the new Snow companies these past few years start Walmart or a Lowes with a Skidloader and Plow Truck. They last about two snowfalls before they either quit or rent loaders. Its a fad that will get replaced by local service companies.


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## snocrete (Feb 28, 2009)

Just wanted to bring this back to the top. Back in the fall, my good friend that had been plowing a local Walmart for the last few yrs lost it due to USM, and the fact that he would not sign the contract. He and I sat down and went over the contract and looked at each other with amazement & disgust. One of the interesting things I remember about the contract is that it stated they would adjust the seasonal price up to 20% +/- the average snow fall for the area...they stated our average was 24in, which I have never confirmed, but seems a little low to me. Also that they would not adjust if it is was 10%+/- the average. Anyway we are at about 70% over the average (according to the 24in claim) at this point. 


Just thought some might find that interesting.


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