# Help Bidding on Neighboorhood.



## Thorne12 (Jan 16, 2019)

Need yall's tips and information on bidding a neighboorhood. In and out 3 1/2 miles of plowing. One main long drive with 5 small roads branching out into culdesacs with islands in the middle of each. The road is in good condition, a few up slightly incline roads. I will be offering application of salt as well. I also will be doing tiers of snowfall. EX: 2-4, 5-7, 8-11... Interested in what yall think, thanks for the help in advance!


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## Philbilly2 (Aug 25, 2007)

Location?


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## Landgreen (Sep 8, 2007)

. EX: 2-4, 5-7, 8-11...

I would change your increments to 2-5, 5-8, 8-11...


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## Thorne12 (Jan 16, 2019)

Philbilly2 said:


> Location?


Martinsburg WV


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## Thorne12 (Jan 16, 2019)

They are complaining about their current contractor plowing too wide and tearing up yards. Plow guys are always the bad guys. Anyhow, asked for a quote. Who knows how serious they are about changing but I’ll shoot a number and if it works it works.


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## Thorne12 (Jan 16, 2019)

Thorne12 said:


> Need yall's tips and information on bidding a neighboorhood. In and out 3 1/2 miles of plowing. One main long drive with 5 small roads branching out into culdesacs with islands in the middle of each. The road is in good condition, a few up slightly incline roads. I will be offering application of salt as well. I also will be doing tiers of snowfall. EX: 2-4, 5-7, 8-11... Interested in what yall think, thanks for the help in advance!


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## Philbilly2 (Aug 25, 2007)

Thorne12 said:


> They are complaining about their current contractor plowing too wide and tearing up yards. Plow guys are always the bad guys. Anyhow, asked for a quote. Who knows how serious they are about changing but I'll shoot a number and if it works it works.


If this is the current case, I would ask for the guy that they will be letting go's quote straight up. It will save you much time and figuring if it is a low ball contractor. If it is in your ball park figures on what you can do it for, then crunch numbers after you see it. If it is stupid low, respond to them that you are going to be minimum double or triple his number and ask if they still want you to proceed. Not worth wasting your time on work that is unobtainable.

Culdesacs are a pain, but with a properly set up pickup, you can fly threw them. When I did culdesacs, we had rally routes of 20-30 culdesacs per route. They were 4-5 hour routes for one truck. 10-15 minutes in a little culdesac feels like and eternity when you are in the truck.

Roads go quick. Typical rally roads with pickups were 4 passes w/ curbs. 4 passes was only due to the fact that if they were on a rally route, they were a dead end (or the city trucks would have done it) so you had to make one more pass back out or it was 3 if not a dead end. Non curbed were 3 pass unless deep enough snow that you had to "wing" in case it froze.


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## Philbilly2 (Aug 25, 2007)

Oh... and be ready for people cursing you out, throwing shovels, blowing snow at your truck as you go by, all types of stupid stuff. (your supposed to make the snow "disappear" when you roll past the end of their driveway) 

Plowing for the public body is a treat as you have 100 different people with 101 different options of how you do your job wrong.


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## Hydromaster (Jun 11, 2018)

Landgreen said:


> . EX: 2-4, 5-7, 8-11...
> 
> I would change your increments to 2-5, 5-8, 8-11...


If it snows 5" which 5" increment are you going to charge for ? The 2-5" or the 5-8"?


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## Philbilly2 (Aug 25, 2007)

Hydromaster said:


> If it snows 5" which 5" increment are you going to charge for ? The 2-5" or the 5-8"?


Both...


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## Thorne12 (Jan 16, 2019)

Philbilly2 said:


> If this is the current case, I would ask for the guy that they will be letting go's quote straight up. It will save you much time and figuring if it is a low ball contractor. If it is in your ball park figures on what you can do it for, then crunch numbers after you see it. If it is stupid low, respond to them that you are going to be minimum double or triple his number and ask if they still want you to proceed. Not worth wasting your time on work that is unobtainable.
> 
> Culdesacs are a pain, but with a properly set up pickup, you can fly threw them. When I did culdesacs, we had rally routes of 20-30 culdesacs per route. They were 4-5 hour routes for one truck. 10-15 minutes in a little culdesac feels like and eternity when you are in the truck.
> 
> Roads go quick. Typical rally roads with pickups were 4 passes w/ curbs. 4 passes was only due to the fact that if they were on a rally route, they were a dead end (or the city trucks would have done it) so you had to make one more pass back out or it was 3 if not a dead end. Non curbed were 3 pass unless deep enough snow that you had to "wing" in case it froze.


I think I have my base pay for plowing, what percentage should I increase per tier of snowfall?


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## Landgreen (Sep 8, 2007)

Hydromaster said:


> If it snows 5" which 5" increment are you going to charge for ? The 2-5" or the 5-8"?


Use 5-8". I suppose you could put down 2-4.99999" but I dont think your customer will be that particular.

Your increments did not include accumulations between 4-5" and 7-8" which may have created confusion.

Also the measuring stick I use tends to "malfunction" and round up. For example if there is 4.75" it reads 5"......


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## ponyboy (Dec 19, 2006)

Measuring stick that’s funny 
U should be sending certified snow reports 
We use weather works so no one can say we lied


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## FredG (Oct 15, 2012)

Philbilly2 said:


> If this is the current case, I would ask for the guy that they will be letting go's quote straight up.
> 
> This is correct, I did that on a good account. Management called me and said the contractor in place gave her notice that he would handle them till another contractor was found.
> 
> ...


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## Landgreen (Sep 8, 2007)

ponyboy said:


> Measuring stick that's funny
> U should be sending certified snow reports
> We use weather works so no one can say we lied


Snow reports? Sounds like a real hassle.

It's a give and take here. If there is 1.75" on our seasonal invoiced 2" trigger accounts we plow them. Not worth arguing with a customer when all the neighbors have been plowed.


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## ponyboy (Dec 19, 2006)

I need to move 
My customer called weather works and argued. With them over 3 inchs can’t make this up 
He owns 3 properties in 3 miles and all got billed differently he didn’t like that


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## Mark Oomkes (Dec 10, 2000)

Hydromaster said:


> If it snows 5" which 5" increment are you going to charge for ? The 2-5" or the 5-8"?


Yes...


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## Mark Oomkes (Dec 10, 2000)

ponyboy said:


> Measuring stick that's funny
> U should be sending certified snow reports
> We use weather works so no one can say we lied


Doesn't work downwind of a big lake. You can go from nothing to 3" to 8" in a few miles. Unless Weather Works is going to "certify" each location.


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## ponyboy (Dec 19, 2006)

That’s what u pay for certified totals


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## Mark Oomkes (Dec 10, 2000)

ponyboy said:


> That's what u pay for certified totals


For 100 or more driveways?


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## ponyboy (Dec 19, 2006)

U pay by zip


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## John_DeereGreen (Jan 2, 2011)

ponyboy said:


> U pay by zip


Clearly you don't deal with lake effect.


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## Mark Oomkes (Dec 10, 2000)

ponyboy said:


> U pay by zip





Mark Oomkes said:


> Doesn't work downwind of a big lake. You can go from nothing to 3" to 8" in a few miles. Unless Weather Works is going to "certify" each location.


I repeat myself...


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## jonniesmooth (Dec 5, 2008)

ponyboy said:


> U pay by zip


How do they know which of your accounts the 30 mph winds drifted to the top of the garage door?
The NWS put us at 5.8" this day








6.2" this day


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## Landgreen (Sep 8, 2007)

ponyboy said:


> U pay by zip


Yeah doesnt work in lake effect areas. Snow amount will vary within quarter mile.

If each of my customers wanted certified totals for every snowfall I would be documenting around 5,000 of them.


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## Philbilly2 (Aug 25, 2007)

It does not work in rural areas either...

The corn field next to your house you will still see stalks, but if you have any way to stop the wind, you will have a nice 2-3 foot deep deposit leading up to that. Thumbs Up


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## ponyboy (Dec 19, 2006)

Guess u r correct doesn’t work everywhere


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## Philbilly2 (Aug 25, 2007)

Wonder what they would certify this one as?

I have 8" by the garage door, about 2 feet between my deck and my shed, but bare pavement over about 1/2 my driveway...


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## Mark Oomkes (Dec 10, 2000)

Philbilly2 said:


> Wonder what they would certify this one as?
> 
> I have 8" by the garage door, about 2 feet between my deck and my shed, but bare pavement over about 1/2 my driveway...
> 
> View attachment 188907


Definitely wouldn't have to pay for that push...bare pavement.


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