# Question on clean ups and pricing



## rockcrusher4x4 (Dec 23, 2002)

The question I have is on clean ups? I price per push which includes clean up on places that have cars in the lot (apt complexes ect.) I have another full time job that I start at 7am when it snows so all my commercial accounts are done by that time. I have my brother go after I go to work to catch the residentials and do the clean ups. Sometimes when we plow that early it is still snowing so when we go to do clean ups sometimes there is another 1 - 1 1/2" of new snow sometimes. The question is do most just do the clean ups from the first or replow (all commercial accounts set to go at 2") if you replow do you charge for the second or include it in the clean up? (These accounts take 3 hours with 2 trucks.) I do salt the lots when I am done plowing, when it is snowing still, am I not using enough salt (rock) to keep the new snow melting? Any opinions or answers would really be apprieciated!
Thanks
Joe


----------



## Mick (May 19, 2001)

I don't know if this will help you, but here goes. It depends...

If the "cleanup" is part of the "push", no I would charge additional. What I mean is something like this - Today I "plowed with the storm". Part of that was that I didn't clean the whole drive/parking lot etc. So I'll go back and complete the job. Technically, they've already paid for the whole job so no additional charge is justified.

Another scenerio - Customer calls me to "cleanup". When I get there, I find that what he wants done is something that should have been done, anyway. No additional charge is justified.

Last scenerio - Customer calls and wants me to "cleanup" . What he wants is some snow plowed that had fallen from the trees onto the driveway and to make the end of the driveway wider. Here I charge something.

I've actually had all of these happen. The last one was the same guy twice in a row.


----------



## rockcrusher4x4 (Dec 23, 2002)

Mick 
Thanks 
I do the same also but, like in this last storm that you did when you went back to do clean up was there new snow on the lot? if so did you redo the entire lot as a clean up or just where the cars had been parked?
Joe


----------



## Mick (May 19, 2001)

Well, I charge by the total amount of snowfall in a given storm. A new billing cycle would start 24 hours after the start of snowfall. I explain to people that this method allows me to use my own judgement as to when to plow. The only concern for them is the amount of snow that fell.

Today was a good example. I plowed some of the places with only about 4-5" of snow. Then I plowed two times and will go back tomorrow morning to "cleanup". One place I plowed three times. It's snowing now, so technically, this would start a new billing cycle. However, this is only a couple of places I didn't want to go to tonight and since it's for my convenience, I'll just add what falls tonight to today's total.

This method lets me push smaller loads without "gouging" the customer. Otherwise, they'd want you to be like the guy I talked to the other day who charges the same amount regardless of how deep the snow.

Does this help? I don't have any parking lots where I have to contend with cars, but do have a couple of residentials where I have to wait for them to move the cars/if and when they're home. If I have to come back specifically to plow where the cars were (at the customer's request), I charge. That's for their convenience.


----------



## BRL (Dec 21, 1999)

I agree with Mick's comments.

If your contracts are "per push" this means everytime you go there & push the lot, you charge for that. If your contracts are "by the inch" or increments" then that "cleanup" you describe, which is really part of the total accumulation, is charged as a part of that total accumulation. For my "per push" contracts I generally offer a partial plowing price during the storms & during the hours they are open, then a complete plowing price after hours & or after snow has stopped.


----------

