# Freaking out AGAIN and it's snowing....help



## MichelleinMich (Dec 9, 2009)

Hi guys,

I hope some of you same great people who helped me when I was freaking out about the 62 customers are here to help again! (By the way we now have 66 and have plowed 3 times successfully.)

It's snowing now, estimated about 4-5 inches between now (2:00 pm Thursday) and tomorrow around 9:00 a.m. Friday. My husband thinks he should wait until it's done snowing and then go out. I think he should go out tonight after the first 2 inches and then go back around tomorrow after it's stopped. He's worried customers will be upset at paying twice in one storm (although I put that in our contracts that we'll plow at 2" and again every 3" thereafter which may require multiple visits in one storm.)

What do you all typically do? I also see this as an opportunity to make double the money even though it would mean he'd be plowing for like a day straight but whatever it is what it is.

Advice?????????? And while I'm at it, we also have 3 commercial properties that we plow and salt. We're also debating when to salt. I thought he should go out before the offices close at 5:00 today and salt so that it's not slippery. He says his "contact" who works for another company says you don't salt til it's done snowing. 

Ugh....can't wait for next year when we don't have to try and figure out all the basics this is tiring.

Thanks guys.


----------



## iceyman (Mar 1, 2007)

if someone wakes up with 3- 4 inches on there drive they may be pissed u havent shown up yet


----------



## Mark Oomkes (Dec 10, 2000)

Well, since it is taking so long to get through the route, plow now and again tonight. 

At the commercials, plow the main drives and salt them. 

Not sure how to say it without being derogatory, so I'll leave it at don't listen to his contact. 

Good luck.


----------



## buckwheat_la (Oct 11, 2009)

iceyman;948450 said:


> if someone wakes up with 3- 4 inches on there drive they may be pissed u havent shown up yet


agreed, should be done right now, again when done snowing, we have always went by the policy of removal once a day MINNIMUM!!!, most municipalities have a bylaw stating that snow must be done every 24 hours, and not allowed to build up to certain levels. with 62 customers, i would phone them and ask what they would like too, there is another thread in commercial that is addressing this right now, check it out.


----------



## JD Dave (Mar 20, 2007)

Mark Oomkes;948455 said:


> Well, since it is taking so long to get through the route, plow now and again tonight.
> 
> At the commercials, plow the main drives and salt them.
> 
> ...


I agree.............


----------



## skidooer (Feb 22, 2008)

do as you are contracted too do and you will be fine you can sleep when it is done snowing


----------



## MichelleinMich (Dec 9, 2009)

buckwheat_la;948460 said:


> agreed, should be done right now, again when done snowing, we have always went by the policy of removal once a day MINNIMUM!!!, most municipalities have a bylaw stating that snow must be done every 24 hours, and not allowed to build up to certain levels. with 62 customers, i would phone them and ask what they would like too, there is another thread in commercial that is addressing this right now, check it out.


Thanks for the advice you guys rock


----------



## DJ Contracting (Dec 16, 2003)

Get out there and push some snow, I know I will be leaving when it gets to two inches and there are some big snowflakes falling.


----------



## MichelleinMich (Dec 9, 2009)

buckwheat_la;948460 said:


> agreed, should be done right now, again when done snowing, we have always went by the policy of removal once a day MINNIMUM!!!, most municipalities have a bylaw stating that snow must be done every 24 hours, and not allowed to build up to certain levels. with 62 customers, i would phone them and ask what they would like too, there is another thread in commercial that is addressing this right now, check it out.


My husband respects the advice you all give even though he's never been to this site. I just told him that you all agree with me and he said OK and headed out to salt the offices. I love this site. I especially enjoyed telling him the "You can sleep when it's done snowing" comment.


----------



## jomofo (Apr 26, 2008)

MichelleinMich;948528 said:


> My husband respects the advice you all give even though he's never been to this site. I just told him that you all agree with me and he said OK and headed out to salt the offices. I love this site. I especially enjoyed telling him the "You can sleep when it's done snowing" comment.


Boy am I glad my wife is not a member of this forum. :laughing:


----------



## MichelleinMich (Dec 9, 2009)

jomofo;948592 said:


> Boy am I glad my wife is not a member of this forum. :laughing:


yea I bet!


----------



## AbsoluteH&L (Jan 5, 2006)

You'll hear it a lot, Plow with the storm not after. If he plows twice at 3 inches it WON'T take twice as long as if he was pushing 6 inches at once. But you will make twice the money!
Plus if your contracts state you plow at 2 inches you really should do it.


----------



## AbsoluteH&L (Jan 5, 2006)

jomofo;948592 said:


> Boy am I glad my wife is not a member of this forum. :laughing:


Hey! She's supportive, actually it sounds like your part of the business. My wife has been after me the last few years to get a "real job". I did this when we met deal with it.


----------



## cmo18 (Mar 10, 2008)

jomofo;948592 said:


> Boy am I glad my wife is not a member of this forum. :laughing:


hahah

I'd salt now, but only start plowing at 3 or 4 in the morning. If I was the paying customer I'd be pissed that I was charged twice in 12 hours for a half a foot storm.

For residential, a good rule of thumb to keep everyone happy, is start plowing so when your done your route theres less snow then when you started not vice versa.

i.e if you plow bob @ 2" and your getting 6" in total, by the next morning you will have 4" on the drive and bob wont be happy


----------



## MichelleinMich (Dec 9, 2009)

AbsoluteH&L;948608 said:


> Hey! She's supportive, actually it sounds like your part of the business. My wife has been after me the last few years to get a "real job". I did this when we met deal with it.


Right on "absolute"


----------



## MichelleinMich (Dec 9, 2009)

chris_morrison;948610 said:


> hahah
> 
> I'd salt now, but only start plowing at 3 or 4 in the morning. If I was the paying customer I'd be pissed that I was charged twice in 12 hours for a half a foot storm.
> 
> ...


That's good advice. For the first go-around do you just plow and then worry about the sidewalk/walkways on the second trip after the snow has stopped?


----------



## buckwheat_la (Oct 11, 2009)

looking for a update!!!, hope everything is working out well, glad to see a husband and wife team working out well, cheers, and happy plowing!!!


----------



## MileHigh (Nov 6, 2007)

I hope you guys went with your idea which is stated in your contracts to start plowing at 2"...and not wait untill it's over. 

When there's snow...it's time to go.


----------



## Big Daddy (Dec 4, 2009)

Glad to hear you are all making it work. If you need to network with a fellow wife, I am usually the one on here.. my hubby only gets on occasionally. I am like you, the one who generally posts and networks etc. Great to have you... I love your comments! Hilarious! Glad to hear you guys are making it work.... if you get a chance have your hubby show you how to plow. I learned and if it were not for having 3 little kids, I would probably be out there in a 2nd truck with him. I love it!! I think it is a control thing. See ya.
Mrs. Big Daddy


----------



## MichelleinMich (Dec 9, 2009)

Big Daddy;949915 said:


> Glad to hear you are all making it work. If you need to network with a fellow wife, I am usually the one on here.. my hubby only gets on occasionally. I am like you, the one who generally posts and networks etc. Great to have you... I love your comments! Hilarious! Glad to hear you guys are making it work.... if you get a chance have your hubby show you how to plow. I learned and if it were not for having 3 little kids, I would probably be out there in a 2nd truck with him. I love it!! I think it is a control thing. See ya.
> Mrs. Big Daddy


I love your Mrs. Big Daddy call name. Do you handle the phones as well? I'm in hell at the moment. He did the drives last night and decided to do the sidewalks and walkways on his 2nd round (against my advice) and customers are blowing up my phone all morning. ugh.


----------



## cmo18 (Mar 10, 2008)

BladeScape;949875 said:


> I hope you guys went with your idea which is stated in your contracts to start plowing at 2"...and not wait untill it's over.
> 
> When there's snow...it's time to go.


For commercial yes, because you can easily fall behind. But for residential, if theres 6" there or 2" there its going to take me the same amount of time. I always wait till mid storm to go out for resi, customers don't want to pay for minimal snow, they want to pay the bucks to have a clean driveway.
Although 62 driveways is a lot on one truck, it also depends on how long it takes to do the route. After your first plow you should know when to start. I state in my contracts that sidewalks will be done withing 24hrs of snowfall, but generally I do them when I'm there


----------



## THEGOLDPRO (Jun 18, 2006)

i never plow at 2 inches, if its gonna be a small little 5-6 inch storm i wait till the end to plow, they all understand, and dont want to be charged twice because your having a hard time keeping up.

if i was paying for snow removal i would never pay you twice for a 5 inch storm.

i tell them anything upto 8 inches i will wait till the end usually only plow once, if were gonna get more i will plow once at 5 inches, and again when its over.

commercials i plow on and off all day if its snowing.


----------



## sno commander (Oct 16, 2007)

i agree with chris and ben on this one, i usually wait till the snow is over on resi's. if theres alot of snow or steep drives i will hit them early so they can get out. i have it in my contract anything over a foot may require multiple visits.


----------



## Lugnut (Feb 25, 2006)

I base it on both accumulation and when the customer needs to get out. My customers know I'll have their driveway done in time for them to get out to work in the am, and if it continues to snow I'll be back when its done. Same goes for a storm that starts mid day, they'll be done in time for them to come home from work, and if it continues, I'll be back again later that night.


----------



## REAPER (Nov 23, 2004)

Almost every driveway in my neighborhood that is plowed by whoever, is done after it is all over with. Even this past couple of days. We got about 13 inch's. No one was plowed until it was over. 

Heck I don't do mine till I got home almost 12 hours after it had ended. 

If I was not plowing and had someone do it my specific instructions would be to wait until all is said and done. 

Commercials I would have done exactly as Mark instructed in his post above.


----------



## nhpatriot (Dec 9, 2007)

I always stay on the side of caution, and plow every few inches, though my business is commercial only. I would rather be accused of keeping the snow too well cleared, than of not keeping properties accessible.

You will certainly get calls for people saying "why the hell did you plow twice?" Then you tell them that you are plowing as per their contract with you, and that you will be happy to do it less if they require it that way. This way you are seen as a responsible contractor who seeks to keep things safe by doing your job well (and you make more $), and they then take responsibility for having a less than optimum driveway if they opt out of the 2-3" trigger. You could even amend your contracts with them to cover your butt if an emergency vehicle cannot get into the driveway, etc.


----------



## the new boss 92 (Nov 29, 2008)

if you have a contract that says 2inches then go do them, if you have complaining custermers then i would revise your contract to what the costermer wants. but if the contract says 2 inches and you are getting 4 i would wait till the storm was over and then go do them. but if it was 4 inches and the trigger was 2, i would do the b i t c h y comstermers twice or make a couple phone calls and find out who would need theres done and who doesnt want it done!


----------



## THEGOLDPRO (Jun 18, 2006)

i also dont do contracts for resi accounts, i plow over 50 driveways and dont have any contracts, i have a 2 inch trigger but that doesnt mean i plow when 2 inches is on the ground, then again later when its over. 

i dont know anybody that wants their driveways plowed every 2 inches, thats just ********, stop waisting peoples money because you cant keep up with the plowing, if you cant keep up with the plowing, and cant provide you're service in a reasonable time frame, then you need to drop a few driveways, and or tighten you're route up so it doesn't take you 15 hours to plow everyone.

all you are doing is waisting peoples money, and sooner or later they will notice this and find someone who can service their property they way they want it done. in a timely fashion.


----------



## dchr (May 9, 2009)

95% of our residential customers are a 2" trigger. 2" or more it gets plowed. As far as how many times it depends on if it's a weekday or weekend and the timing of the storm. Our residential contracts are priced per event-not how many times we visit. As the amount of accumulation goes up so does the price. So if I have to go there twice for a long duration 5 inch snowfall so the drive is clear in the morning and the evening they see nothing but a clear drive-they get billed according to the amount of snow we received. As far as the walks-if they have to use the walks to get to there vehicles I will do them each time I visit-at least a clear path to walk through and at the end of the storm tidy everything up. What good is a clear drive if they have to slog through snow to get to there car? Commercial's are a different story-all of our's are zero tolerance.


----------



## the new boss 92 (Nov 29, 2008)

I know she takes a lot of information in from here and appreshiates it, but did she find any subs yet?


----------



## KCsnowman (Jan 8, 2010)

My trigger depths are 2", It doesn't matter how much is supposed to come. Nobody is ever happy to pay their snow bill, but their always glad it got done.


----------

