Zombie = Me

[Steve]

I believe that it's because I really want to avoid being bombarded with complaints, How have the amount of complaints or the way the complaints are dealt with differed at all with the snow shoveling service you are being hired as a sub contractor to perform?

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[CHEESE2009]

Lawn care business tips

Originally Posted by Steve How have the amount of complaints or the way the complaints are dealt with differed at all with the snow shoveling service you are being hired as a sub contractor to perform? They are very understanding. We both know 99% of phone calls are b.s, and we both have a similar standard for the work we do. I got a call the other day saying, "xx says their walkway wasn't done?" I said, "It's done". they said, "ok". Regardless, I don't want to take any chances. I know how frustrating phone calls can be, so even if I'm not the one who answers directly to the customer I have to keep the person who does in mind. It's refreshing not having to deal with the phone calls, it's truly AMAZING. I get a lot of respect from the other company, over any client. Odd, eh?

[Steve]

Very interesting. So ultimately, do they handle the calls differently than you would? If someone calls to complain, does anyone have to pay a service visit or do they feel out the call to see if it is b.s. or not?

[willshome]

why dont you use a snowblower I can use one all day and not get tired. I know not good on steps... but to do some of the work it may help

[CHEESE2009]

Originally Posted by Steve

Very interesting. So ultimately, do they handle the calls differently than you would? If someone calls to complain, does anyone have to pay a service visit or do they feel out the call to see if it is b.s. or not?

Well they have been in business for a very long time. They are fully aware that clients are almost always dishonest. When you have a lot of customers, and only a very small percentage of them complain, it's kind of obvious to say that they're just being silly.

I offered to take photographs of the properties that we've received complaints from. The work is always done, but the client(s) I suppose get bored, and that's something we cannot control.

When the company I'm assisting gets a complaint, they email me asking if I had done the work. Most times I say, "It's done", and I also warn them about what the client is like if I have ever met them, just so the receptionists gets an idea of who she's speaking too over the phone.

Other than that, I will volunteer to go and check out a property I may have missed. Doing hundreds of walkways, it's hard to remember each one. If the the work has been done, I snap a picture and the company I'm assisting can use it to defend themselves.

In a way, I suppose we look out for each other.


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@willshome

We don't use snow blowers because they are inefficient. We are two guys who jump out of a truck and tackle the work in no time at all. The only way we can have shorter days, is if we remove all the stop signs in town. LOL.

But honesty, a snow blower would take us a lot more time to use. We mostly do stairs anyway, so it would just be a burden. For the ones we could use a snow blower on, we'd still end up having to grab our shovels for the most part.

These are what most of them look like;

[willshome]

Now i see why you can't find anyone to work for you, they take one look at the job and run for the hills

[Steve]

Scott,

When you show up to the jobs with such walkways and stairs, how long does it take you to clear them on average?

Do you ever play around with using a leaf blower on them to remove the snow or does it get too thick and heavy?

[psparaco]

I feel your pain Scott. So far this winter we have received 1 inch of snow total , 1/8" of ice total and thats it. average day time temps since december 1st has been 40-60. night time temps 20-40. any storms came in the form of rain. the ground hasnt even frozen solid yet and probably won't. a typical winter is usually 20 inches on average for the year. but I am soo hoping for an early lawn season. Scheduled start date is april 1st but hoping for as early as March 18th. got my fingers crossed.

[CHEESE2009]

Originally Posted by Steve

Scott,

When you show up to the jobs with such walkways and stairs, how long does it take you to clear them on average?

Do you ever play around with using a leaf blower on them to remove the snow or does it get too thick and heavy?

Nah, I leaf blower wouldn't be able to move anything unfortunately, would be cool. By the time were 1/3 in the route, the snow becomes solid.

As for how long it takes, we've kind of built a system so we're pretty fast.

Basically, we shovel our way up the stairs, and then back down again. Shoveling up the stairs means we shovel the snow to one side of a staircase, then on the way down we bring all of the snow down onto a path, then throw it onto the lawn or driveway depending on if the tractors have arrived yet.

If you don't have the right mind set, it'll be a long job. You really need to 'attack' the snow and know how to shovel different types of snow.

So our system is basically;

Person 1 goes ahead, and works their way up the stairs, pushing the snow to the right/left, and then works their way down the stairs dragging the snow with them.

Person 2 clears the main path, and helps to clear the snow that Person 1 has pushed down the staircases.

... I really wish I could make a video to demonstrate some shoveling tips/handling, I've got loads of them.

... Person 1 will actually do a fast job to clear the edges of the path, on the way up.. To avoid wasting time, having snow fall onto other steps... bla bla bla, this makes no sense unless I show you LMAO.. dammit.