# Call back clause



## MidcoastMainiac (Aug 27, 2009)

OK, who uses a call back clause in seasonal contracts to bill out additional money for your time and materials? IE snowdrifts beyond 24 or 48 hours beyond a storm or cars not moved within your 24-48 hours after a storm or sand/salting for thaw/freeze situations.

Mainiac


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## Mick76 (Aug 2, 2009)

I'm out of the office until tues...shoot me a pm (to remind me) and I'll share what I have


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## Neige (Jan 29, 2008)

MidcoastMainiac;1303642 said:


> OK, who uses a call back clause in seasonal contracts to bill out additional money for your time and materials? IE snowdrifts beyond 24 or 48 hours beyond a storm or cars not moved within your 24-48 hours after a storm or sand/salting for thaw/freeze situations.
> 
> Mainiac


We have a service charge of $20 if you move your cars to late. If your car is in the drive after 10am and we have made our final pass it will cost them the extra. If we have high winds days after a storm we will still take care of drifting for no extra charge.


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## grandview (Oct 9, 2005)

No call back charge for me either.


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## ponyboy (Dec 19, 2006)

I'm responsible foe place for 8 hours after storm them it is billed at hourly rate on comm sites
Residential flat rate to come back for car not being moved or town makind pile at end of drive way usually $40


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## 2COR517 (Oct 23, 2008)

I continue to fail to understand this concept of charging extra on a seasonal job. 

The price is the price. It could snow three times or thirty times. Two inches or ten inches per storm. The wind usually blows during the winter, causing drifts. Thaw/refreeze is part of this business, especially on coastal Maine.


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## ponyboy (Dec 19, 2006)

I also have a high snow clause if it goes over 10 inches I get a extra $50 for a driveway and more on comm lots as well.
You can not price out unlimited service, my guys get paid per hour fuel is extra salt and calcium is extra. So if I call you back every storm you wrecking twice the work then if my neighbor does not call you back so why would the price be the same?
You also need to define what a storm is how long after it stops snowing, before it starts again it it then considered a new storm. Melting and refreezin should not be included for free you can only maintain or be responsible for a X number of hours after the storm is over, if not you need to drive all your sites every night looking for cars to me moves,refreeze anything. That is why they have a building mgnr to call you and say hey we need you to do X and then you can charge them

So in Maine how do you charge, what do you get for a driveway? How do you bill comm work?
I get around $500-$600 per residential driveway up to 12 storms all under 10 inches and over 10 inchesi get extra $50 also $50 for call backs from cars not being moved or from town plowing end of driveway back in so basically anything that is not my fault or out of my control
No one can provide unlimited services or they would be out of business


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## grandview (Oct 9, 2005)

As stated above ,seasonal is one price.Yes salting is an extra charge with me. With your 10 incher you have are you saying you charge extra if you get 11 inches of snow at one time? If so,where where you for the first 10 inches and why where you not out plowing when it started snowing.


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## alsam116 (Jan 10, 2009)

grandview do you do commercial properties on seasonal? if so do you also charge extra on salt for them? or are your commercial seasonals all included ,salt, walks, plowing? thank you


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## grandview (Oct 9, 2005)

alsam116;1303964 said:


> grandview do you do commercial properties on seasonal? if so do you also charge extra on salt for them? or are your commercial seasonals all included ,salt, walks, plowing? thank you


All seasonal,salt is extra and they have to call me.


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## cet (Oct 2, 2004)

Most of the stuff we plow is all in. Everything except loader work. If they have to call for something besides loader work your not doing your job.


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## MidcoastMainiac (Aug 27, 2009)

So, CET, if you are plowing for a law office that goes on a trip and leaves 10 cars in their parking lot for an undetermined length of time and it snows an 8"-10" storm on the second day they are gone. When they get back a week or maybe even two weeks later and finally move their cars with no storms in the near future and they call you to come plow and sand that area even though this is not a zero tolerance contract, you would consider this as within your contract?

This is what happened to me last year.


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## grandview (Oct 9, 2005)

MidcoastMainiac;1304055 said:


> So, CET, if you are plowing for a law office that goes on a trip and leaves 10 cars in their parking lot for an undetermined length of time and it snows an 8"-10" storm on the second day they are gone. When they get back a week or maybe even two weeks later and finally move their cars with no storms in the near future and they call you to come plow and sand that area even though this is not a zero tolerance contract, you would consider this as within your contract?
> 
> This is what happened to me last year.


That's right and that's what I would do.Remember it costs less to do something like this then spend time and money trying to get new customers.All my customers I've had are over 10 years ,if you nickel and dime people they might look for someone new.


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## MidcoastMainiac (Aug 27, 2009)

Grandview you would at least be able to bill out the salt/sand, so in a way you would get comped for your time.


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## grandview (Oct 9, 2005)

If they ask for salt, if not I go over and plow out that area at no charge..


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## MidcoastMainiac (Aug 27, 2009)

Grandview, Are your contracts so expensive that you can support providing an unlimited service? Or do you make up for it in other aspects of business?


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## MidcoastMainiac (Aug 27, 2009)

I mean no disrespect to anyone, with the number of people getting into this business and the profit margins are getting smaller and smaller, I am trying tio find out how to reduce this kind of call back situations. Has happened several times to me.


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## grandview (Oct 9, 2005)

Using your example of the law office. How long would that take to cleanup? 10 minutes? Grab a coffee and go.


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## MidcoastMainiac (Aug 27, 2009)

That example pulled me off a job site that was 45 minutes from my plow rig 20 minute drive to the law office 10 minutes to complete 20 minutes back to tool truck 45 minutes back to job site and very understanding customers.

Asked if it could wait until end of work day and they said no(not so understanding customers). This is only circumstance where a conflict happens between the two incomes. And I could not get ahold of anyone that plows and sands tp cover it(no storms in sight, so people were either off playing or doing their own jobs)


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## 2COR517 (Oct 23, 2008)

MidcoastMainiac;1304055 said:


> So, CET, if you are plowing for a law office that goes on a trip and leaves 10 cars in their parking lot for an undetermined length of time and it snows an 8"-10" storm on the second day they are gone. When they get back a week or maybe even two weeks later and finally move their cars with no storms in the near future and they call you to come plow and sand that area even though this is not a zero tolerance contract, you would consider this as within your contract?
> 
> This is what happened to me last year.


That's a situation that might warrant an additional bill. Maybe. I would consider how well the job pays, how long they've been with you, etc. before sending a bill. And I would think it over carefully. Last thing you want to do is give them a reason to call someone else for pricing. If one extra trip out to do some cleanup is the difference between making money and losing money, you're not charging enough to begin with.

Three year contracts will really even out your seasonal accounts.


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## NickT (Feb 1, 2011)

Lots of good points here


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## cet (Oct 2, 2004)

In that case I would go myself and it would cost me gas. Ya it's a PITA but I bet if I said no or sent a bill they would have a new guy next year.

Not sure what 10 cars would be doing at a closed office but that doesn't matter in this case.

Last year I had 1 broker that used to leave huge piles of snow behind parked cars. He basically was trying to be a jerk and making it hard for them to leave. The problem is once they get out and the school opens there is this large pile of snow, no where close to the curb and I look like the jerk. After he had to go and move it twice for free he got the idea. I know it's not what your talking about but most times you can work around the stuff.

Very very seldom would we get that much snow at once.

I have enough money in my contracts that I can do a few odd jobs for free or goodwill.

Now if I'm not responsible for sidewalks and the owner clears the sidewalk into the cleaned lot the first time would be free with a warning and the next time the bill is in the mail.


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## MidcoastMainiac (Aug 27, 2009)

I have tried for multiple years with this property manager for this law office for 4 years now)all of which I have plowed). They just won't bite. I do not think it would have been such a big deal to me if 1)This was an isolated instance with them and 2) I could have done it at the end of the day when the parking lot was empty.


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## cet (Oct 2, 2004)

Some jobs just aren't worth having. When you don't have enough work you have to take what you can get and when you do you can pick and choose.

I had a place call me to start plowing hours before a storm in Feb. I told them I would be there and I would send a contract. It was $2700 for the rest of the year. When the year was over he had the balls to tell me we didn't actually have a contract and head office wouldn't pay. I politely told him I would take monthly payments from him. In the end I settled for $2000. 2 days after they paid me they phoned and asked me to give them a price for grass cutting. They phoned 6 times and I never answered the phone. I made money at $2000 but that's not the point. In my case I started plowing first of Feb, billed first of Mar and expected to get paid early April. By the time this all came to light winter was over. We will see what happens this year as they put in a heated driveway but we might have to see if it will melt an entire streets worth of snow if you know what I mean. :yow!:


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## MidcoastMainiac (Aug 27, 2009)

cet;1304087 said:


> Not sure what 10 cars would be doing at a closed office but that doesn't matter in this case.


I found out that they left their cars there and took a limo to the airport 2 hours away. Has become standard practice for them in this economy.


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## cet (Oct 2, 2004)

Look at the bright side. If it snow 5 times when their away you only have to do that area once.


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## swtiih (Nov 30, 2008)

MidcoastMainiac;1304055 said:


> So, CET, if you are plowing for a law office that goes on a trip and leaves 10 cars in their parking lot for an undetermined length of time and it snows an 8"-10" storm on the second day they are gone. When they get back a week or maybe even two weeks later and finally move their cars with no storms in the near future and they call you to come plow and sand that area even though this is not a zero tolerance contract, you would consider this as within your contract?
> 
> This is what happened to me last year.


These are things that need to be communicated in the contract. Just when you think you seen it all something new comes up.


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## grandview (Oct 9, 2005)

MidcoastMainiac;1304082 said:


> That example pulled me off a job site that was 45 minutes from my plow rig 20 minute drive to the law office 10 minutes to complete 20 minutes back to tool truck 45 minutes back to job site and very understanding customers.
> 
> Asked if it could wait until end of work day and they said no(not so understanding customers). This is only circumstance where a conflict happens between the two incomes. And I could not get ahold of anyone that plows and sands tp cover it(no storms in sight, so people were either off playing or doing their own jobs)


Sounds like you wanted to charge them for your inconvenience. This is the beauty of having your accounts close to home ,I can be at anyone of them within 15 minutes of them calling me.


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## ponyboy (Dec 19, 2006)

So if I go dump a load of snow in your lot you will plow it for free? 
Like I said if it not my fault and I meaning either me or one of my workers have to go back you would be stupid to not charge. Only exception I might see is that they are paying sooo much than sure but those contract are far and few in between 
Yes I charge more for storms over 10 inches because the amour of time it takes to plow, we start with 1 inch and keep it open till the storm is over and that is a lot of labor


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## cet (Oct 2, 2004)

ponyboy;1304222 said:


> So if I go dump a load of snow in your lot you will plow it for free?
> Like I said if it not my fault and I meaning either me or one of my workers have to go back you would be stupid to not charge. Only exception I might see is that they are paying sooo much than sure but those contract are far and few in between
> Yes I charge more for storms over 10 inches because the amour of time it takes to plow, we start with 1 inch and keep it open till the storm is over and that is a lot of labor


Are your contracts per plow or seasonal. We are talking seasonal here.


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## CS-LAWNSERVICE (Sep 3, 2011)

grandview;1304057 said:


> That's right and that's what I would do.Remember it costs less to do something like this then spend time and money trying to get new customers.All my customers I've had are over 10 years ,if you nickel and dime people they might look for someone new.


I whole heartily agree with you on this Grandview retention of your good customers is a must.
I am new to plowing but in my lawn care business I have a 90 percent retention rate,it sure is easier to keep them pleased then to find new customers


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## 2COR517 (Oct 23, 2008)

ponyboy;1304222 said:


> ... if I go dump a load of snow in your lot ...


I will call the police


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## ponyboy (Dec 19, 2006)

I have both but either way 
Ok last year a company shovled off their roof the company left all snow on walk way and front of spot along building I charged to clean up you guys would not


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## 2COR517 (Oct 23, 2008)

I'm in the wrong Rockland...


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## ponyboy (Dec 19, 2006)

I'm not saying you are wrong if I did I'm sorry I can't afford unlimited serviced my prices are based upon time at a proprety


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## grandview (Oct 9, 2005)

ponyboy;1304240 said:


> I have both but either way
> Ok last year a company shovled off their roof the company left all snow on walk way and front of spot along building I charged to clean up you guys would not


That has nothing to do with a snowfall or plowing. If i was called then they get billed.Funny how you said that. One of my banks had the roof shoveled off and they tossed the snow in the drive thu and by the building i was called in to clean it up and they were billed for the work.


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