# Help with a parking lot bid



## mike9497 (Oct 30, 2002)

okay guys a friend of the family owns a good size parking lot with lots of walkways and sanding.the lot is shaped like an L with 75 parking spaces.the public walk in front of the building is 300 yards and can be plowed with a smaller truck.then theres a total of 20 walkways that are all 6 ft long. now the guy who owns the property showed me a signed bid which i think is crazy.i don't see how this last contractor made any money.

Snowplowing 2 to 6 $150

Snowplowing 6 to 12 $30 per inch or any part thereof

Snowplowing Over 12 $45 per inch or any part thereof

Sanding $100 parking lot and walkways

sidewalk clearing up to 12 $125.00

sidewalk clearing over 12 $350.00

im going to post some pics up here soon but i wanna know what you guys think.i mean is it just me or is this guy pulling my chain


i can see charging $780.00 to plow and clear the walkways.i would charge $160.00 to sand

the last contractor used subs at $65.00 per hour.it took him 3 hours with 2 trucks and 4 guys


----------



## snowjoker (Feb 6, 2003)

I would think between 75 and 100 an hour would be a good start for the truck and the shovelers and blowers would be extra.


----------



## JD PLOWER (May 18, 2001)

The sanding prices tell me that he's planning on using strait sand.  If you think those prices are too low I would tell them that, even though he's a friend your in business to make money.


----------



## Mick (May 19, 2001)

The first thing I'd want to know is: Why is he showing you the bid? If it's to get you to submit a competing bid, I'd pass and tell him to go with the last guy. If he was unhappy with the last guy then I'd tell him "You get what you pay for" and submit a realistic bid. If he's just wanting your opinion, tell him he's getting a really good deal.


----------



## BRL (Dec 21, 1999)

Without seeing it & having actual measurement numbers, it's hard to judge. However some quick rough estimates of 75 spaces at 250 square feet each, plus 2 lanes of width running along with them comes to a hair under an acre. Without knowing if there are other areas of pavement (loading dock areas, truck turn arounds, a wider laneway, etc.), figuring the industry average of 1 acre per truck hour, the plowing price might seem OK if it were per push. At about 7,200 sq. ft. of walks, my price would be higher for the sidewalk portion than the plowing part of the contract actually. Average 500 pounds of salt per app, with 10 minutes of time, and the sanding price would work for me for the parking lot, but I'd need more for the walks. If those numbers are close to the real measurements, it sounds like the subs the guy is using are milking the clock if they really spent that much time. Of course there may have been loads of cars to work around etc., etc.


----------



## mike9497 (Oct 30, 2002)

well hes a friend of the family and i said i would match what the other contractor charged if it was within my price range.i plowed that lot once last year as a sub and it took us 3 hours to clean the place up


----------



## beherit316 (Aug 28, 2003)

Mike is right,
These guy is wanting you to match or give a better price to do his lot.
One of my commercial accounts is a small parking lot with 20-22 parking spaces and has double sidewalks which also is on a corner lot.I break down the price to this.

Snow plowing lot $350.00 up to 4inches then $10.00 additional inch
Sidewalks $200.00 up to 4 inches then $10.00 an additional inch

Ice control for sidewalks is $150.00
Ice control for parking lot is $150.00

The total comes out to $821.50 after taxes.When we get a dusting or up to 2 inches i'm in and out of there in 30 minutes.Some of my other friends who have their own plowing business are like Damn!, how the hell did you get an account like that.I tell them I bid on it and they accepted it.

Another good thing to do is tell the company that you are going to not be responsible for any slips and/or falls and have it written out in a contract, this way you are covered in the event someone wants to sue you.I also heard that getting It notarized is even better thing to do.

I tell all potential customers first that I do not cover slips and/or falls, but I do cover if I cause any damage.I can weed out the bad customers this way.Last year I had a couple of people call up for residential plowing and the first thing they ask me is if I cover slips and falls.That just went to tell me that they wanted to try and pull some ******** lawsuit with any contractor that took on their account.

You have to be very careful in this business and protect yourself, their is way too many opportunist's out there , especially in my state.


----------



## Chuck Smith (Dec 30, 1999)

I'll be the first to tell you that it is best if you do not give specific prices on here. You never know who is reading. 

Since you did give specific prices....

$350 up to 4" + $10 for each additional inch?

That seems low. So in a 26" blizzard, to plow that lot, the bill was:

$350 + $220 = $570?

That seems low IMO. With a 26" blizzard that lasted 24 hours+ I would be expecting about double your price, but, that is me.

~Chuck


----------



## beherit316 (Aug 28, 2003)

During the Presidents storm I billed the plowing alot different and broke it down, the total for that place was well over $2400.00 for that storm.
I was given advice from a friend of mine to bid $100.00 an additional inch, I said that is crazy, no one will pay that much.

I try to do my best at keeping my bids competitive because there is always someone else out there that will do it for less.


----------



## Chief Plow (Dec 12, 2001)

It was very unprofessional to have them give you his prices. That means exactly what was mentioned earlier, he wants you to beat those prices. Those seem a little low in my book. But that is my opinion. 

Rick


----------



## easthavenplower (Aug 21, 2003)

mike i was brousing and saw you on here before i forget it didnt take that long for you and i to plow those lots in new haven were they bigger than what your bidding on???? if not then you know the subs were milking it those lots were huge we did base the time on that


jeff


----------



## Santo (Sep 3, 2003)

Thats why he's looking for another quote.The previous pusher realized he was taking a bath.Wonder what happened when 6'' dropped.You are in Conn.correct? *(6'')I'd figure 1 truck could wipe that area in less than 1 hr..And 1 blower @ 2hrs. plus your material*.Now the big question is ,what is YOUR time worth?


----------



## SnoJob67 (Sep 3, 2001)

I have to respectfully disagree with Chief plow. I find nothing unprofessional or unsavory about finding out about the competitor's pricing. However, if you adjust your price due to someone else's price on one particular location, you will be approaching moron status quickly! If we underbid each other as a prevailing technique to acquire new accounts, we will all be broke one day.  

Figure your time. Assign that time a value; submit a bid and move on to the next bid! If your bid is considerably higher, explain that this may be why the last company did not work out. If they do not understand, they were not a good customer for you in the first place.

If you are professional and follow through with your promises, there should be no need to work for less than what it takes to earn a reasonable living over the winter months.


----------



## mike9497 (Oct 30, 2002)

well i met with the owner of the property today.i told him in a nice way to go pound sand. told him right out to do a 2-6 storm for $439 and some change was crazy.i knew he was trying to scam me from the get go.he said nothing just okay with a blank look on his face.to me it looked like he was saying in his head oh @#$* he figured it out.he does have a brain.


stavenplower 26 posts? slow down now son.junior member whats up with that son??


----------

