New Update! Just got a call from my friend that I referred to this job because he is closer. His dad went and shoveled the driveway free of charge. And that's awesome! I also told him. Next time if we're on our route Ill swing bye and take care of it for cheap.
@@vernsoutdooradventures7197 it's always three times the amount per bag after your purchase price example bag of salt is 8.00 x 3 to the customer = $24.00 for bagged salt only..
Bish Bash I just get a little over double. But I have one bulk spreader that I charge the same for which comes out really good per ton. And I pay less. But have to pay for that big spreader somehow
When I first started watching your channel I thought TQ was a joke a novelty item. Over the months watching I now realize she is an intricate part of the business and is quite versatile, BTW Spencer congratulations on your weight loss, it's good for you, your business and most importantly your family. All the best!
I ran a cleaning service for many so I do have experience of this ...... 100% take the job. You are basically doing it for nothing but it's good P.R. and could lead to better-paid work in the future. You may be the only guy willing to work that area and you'll probably find the locals will see your van and call you for quotes.
Id go out and plow anything out of rout. Cash is cash money 💸. Just charge more...everything has a price. if its a 60$ driveway normally just tell them last minute...not in rout...$100
How do know when it hits exactly 2"? Is there a weather app or are you measuring it? Or just guessing? I'm having a hard time knowing when it's time to plow. Especially here in wyoming where the wind is always blowing. We might get a half an inch of snow with 2 foot drifts
Hey great video. I’m curious why do you use bagged salt? I buy salt in bulk. In my area it cost about 120 per yard. I shovel the salt into 5 gallon buckets. 1 yard of salt usually fills up about 45 5 gallon buckets. The buckets and lids cost me more money than the salt lol but i just reuse the buckets for next time
What’s up man. Just wondering about the gloves your wearing. Are they cold and water proof? If so what brand? I work with a bunch of valves and drains that have water in them and it’s cold but I need to be able to feel parts as well thanks. I’ve got other ?’s but not for comments
Being from the south, we are not familiar with rock salt for melting ice. But thought I saw you spraying rock salt on shrubby. Down here we spray a salt mix on weeds to kill them. How does the rock salt not have detrimental effect on shrubby?
we have a local guy who does just this for small jobs... he has a tiny car he put a hitch on for a small wagon big enough for a wide width blower and a salt spreader, he said the wide width blowers really help cut down the passes, so he can send solo crews for smaller jobs with a larger travel radius and still make good returns compared to small radius plowing, but its a lot colder outside the cab than inside it heh...
So after 17 years of plowing, I have narrowed my route to about a 4 mile radius. Bloomington, a suburb of Minneapolis is about 11 miles long. I live on the west side and will not take anything on the east side. My commercial lots are more spread out but they are worth a longer drive. The thing with plowing is you are under a time constraint, so even if you are compensated more, time can be an issue. You guys are still getting our winter!
Hey there, re: commercial accounts...per push is one thing, but if they are on a flat monthly rate with a 2" trigger, plow them at 1.5" unless they're real sticklers for that measurement. I talked with the President of a big landscape company in Syracuse as I was going to sub myself out for plowing years ago and he was so willing to take the time to talk with and teach me some things, even gave a tour of the entire facility, but all they do is commercial work and they go out for 1" on 2" trigger accounts, 2" for 3" triggers and so on. They have never once had a complaint for plowing too often and have had lots of thank you's from their clients. So I adopted that and it's worked well for me too. I also learned to have a a flat rate for a certain number of "snow events" or storms, and anything over that number gets charged at my hourly rate. I also have a "blizzard Rate" for large storms such as dump a foot or more in less than 24 hrs, all in the contract. Just to add to the thoughts.
Do you ever worry about salt killing the grass on your residentials and have you ever thought or tried fertilizer. Just wondering what your thoughts are.
I have seen a step that bolts to the bottom corner of your truck bumper and it folds up and down quick. Might come in handy for you after watching you climb up into your truck with the spreader on. Nice job out there.
I’ve learned from that mistake in getting houses that are not in the region of the rest of my clients. The first thing I would do is call landscape friends who can plow in that area, either give them completely the clients info or make money on top of the of whoever will be plowing because of referral. Some landscapers I know here near Boston have so many houses and they can’t handle plowing all of them. So what they’ll do is give a snow plowing route of let’s say 12-20 houses all nearby eachother. Then he’ll give you the price per house and address and make a deal in getting his share of 10$ per house per plow run. So many options out-there but I hear ya sometimes you just have to pass on certain jobs because of location.
In a case where it seems like its not worth the drive keep two things in mind. One he's elderly and if no one else sees your kindness God does. Secondly, ask them do they mind paying a little more to make it worth your time. I would explain that I have a family which I need to support as well. Most people that really need it will pay. I do many things in business where I say, "Hey could you pay 60 and a cup of coffee?" You would be surprised how appreciative people are for your small favors. But I do get your business, I just bought a plow and salter and all I got this winter was a workout moving it around. lol Nice to see a couple work together and try to make a living but don't throw buckets at her like that, not nice :) Honestly you seem to treat each other well. Also, that salts going to eat her hands up, get her a seed spreader, it works just like your spreader, it holds twice what that bucket does, it has wheels to roll it and her hands won't have to dig in it. Plus teach her how to use the salter and plow so she can stay warm and you guys can switch off.
Jonathan Bashir Jonathan, that is some very good advice sir. But better than that, it shows you are a real gentleman and lord knows we are in short supply of those these days. Keep doing what you do and it doesn’t hurt to teach that philosophy to the younger guys coming up in the business just like you did here with these two hard working folks. Good on you sir, thank you and god thanks you as well.
I thank you, I was raised by two hard working parents. They made sure I grew up with good manners or else! lol Funny thing was they seperated when I was 8 but I never knew that till I grew up because they slept in the same bed and I never seen my mother with another man. They did it out of love for us children. I thank them everyday for the man they raised me to be.
We had snow for the first time in many years as a matter of fact it was a record snowfall of 5". No one moved for about 3 days...it got colder after the snow. Our County borrowed some equipment from our Atanta people so the County could get the roads passable.It was fun but it was a mess.We are equipped for Hurricanes but not snow. lol
In the spring come up with a single run charge, tell them a cost for only one run, however if they can add some people to that run you can offer a lower price but not lower than your regular price for a route run if they are on a route or schedule type thing. Let them call around to friends and neighbors to see if you can stack service on top of them. Let them know of an up charge in the spring or summer so if they want to drop service you and them will have enough time to line up new service.
I started out with a tail bed sander doing the same thing and after 2 years I switched to a 1.7 cu western tornado sander and it is so much easier and you can get it in and out of the truck bed with just two people. No more climbing in the back of the truck to load up the sander at 2am in the morning with a wind chill below 0.
We spray with garden sprayers of pb blaster. Keeps snow from sticking and rust. Have been using diesel mixed with transfluid lately. Works good. Spray on everything. Don’t leave a 5 mile radius. Keep the plow down or you ain’t making money. That’s a fact.
Shawn the way I would handle it is to make it worth your time. Go high on the rate and it just depends on how much they are willing to pay. I don't do it professionally but I do cover 3 commercial properties and 4 or 5 farmsteads. I cover about 30 square miles so anything I do is quoted high because I can always come down but you cant go higher! 7.7 mpg is great.My 2011 GMC 2500 HD only gets anywhere from 5 to 6 on a good day! Keep up the good work on the videos
when i do snow removal i bill an hourly rate that includes travel time with a minimum charge. so for example if i charge 85 an hour with a $60min and a residential takes me 15 mins to drive there from the last job and 15 mins to clear the driveway it would be 60 bucks, if it take 30 mins to drive there and 30 mins to clear the driveway it would be $85. on a big snowfall like 8+ inches a lot of times i can give a break on the travel time because you can grab a bunch of driveways close by real quick just by doing some door knocking assuming your not already booked solid. under most circumstances its pretty easy to come out ahead on just the minimum charge on residential.
You made the right choice. Been plowing for 18 years. Take care of your automatic customers. Only take on extra when you are out plowing. Can't loose money this time of year. Every penny counts.
I'd do like others have said and I offer to my customers, sort of a call out fee, I've had customers ask if I could plow off their laws cause they're having a party or its going to snow /ice and they need to have an airport ride arrive at an unusual hour so the'll need to be sanded well. Usually an extra 25-50 bucks and then a regular plow charge.
Spray the underside of ur truck with like 5 cans of fluidfilm and just rinse it off once in a while (without soap). Will keep the frame and such from rusting while out salting. Wash it really good in spring then.
Hey Shawn, I work in maintenance at a camp so we deal with snow remove and ice control and this is just a idea you can buy water softener salt cheaper than ice melt or rock salt some times and I'm pretty sure it wont kill grass.
We ask where they are located , and if outside our route , I just tell them that's the case. If I have time, and road conditions are decent sometimes will go out of the route for salting. Though I dont like to drive far with the plow on, since it's a workout for the truck. Sometimes those can lead to other work.. but most often can be a pain. Like you, we refer out of the way calls to other local contractors. That tends to work out well , as they should return the favor, and call you with stuff in your area. Keep up the good work !
(Regarding the customers across town) I would considering calling a few companies that are closer to his residence (if my time is not crunched). Perhaps would have my girlfriend call some companies when she’s in the truck with me plowing. Telling those customers you could do that for them (especially older people who really are in need) would go a long way. That could result in a great online review, builds your reputation and allows them to keep your company in mind when spring comes around with bigger jobs that would be worth the drive.
We get calls all the time after big storms but now days we're just too busy to take anything on plus we just want to get through a route and go home, our last two storms we made several rounds and about 20hrs of seat time back to back storms. I put a stop to these call in plows several years ago though, several years ago had a guy who was buried in about 3 feet and you couldn't tell what was what other than his half assed explanation and apparently he forgot where his retaining wall was and one of my trucks took it out along with landscape lighting and he tried to sue us lol
You can please some of the people all of the time, you can please all of the people some of the time, but you can’t …” … please all the people all of the time.
Shawn/TQ... One of the landscape/plow guys up north lays the salt on top of the spreader, grabs a corner with one hand and uses a knife/box cutter to cut the entire side of the bag top to bottom. He then tilts the bag and the salt empties right out. Seems MUCH faster and a lot less wasted motion on your part... Just a thought?? My 2016 work truck has the same V-10 that you have and I get a whopping 5.2 mpg avg. from day 1 brand new... We do have some idle time but we spend about 3k a month in fuel... 😬 Thanks always to both of you for the great videos... We truly appreciate it!!!
Tough call. I agree with an earlier comment that many of these customers and their pricing should be set up prior to winter. But, I know it sure is hard telling a decent customer no. What do I really know, I’m in Miami. But when hurricane season comes, we have a pretty good idea who we would service first and who would get pushed to the end of the line. Sad thing is, someone new will come along and do the job for double what you might feel comfortable charging. Be careful because I’m sure the driving conditions are a challenge. Peace!
I’ve been in the snow removal business up here in Canada for over 30 years and I would tell my customers like that the minimum fee is $100. Sorry if that’s too much for you. I understand. Most of the time they say you are in business to make money it’s all good we will pay that:👍
Been there done that with work. Its a supply and demand thing. When your in demand dont undervalue yourself. I never started making real money until I put value on me and my business. I did it a couple times with a couple businesses. Always give a price and never turn work down. I mean there are the rare instances where you know its not a good idea to take the work. Deciding for the customer if they should pay a price or not is not your business and they dont need an explanation unless they really want one and ask. Always always always give a price. Theres someone out there they were able to get a hold of and was wiling to pay a jacked up price. They were sitting there after the fact going I cant believe the guy wouldn't even give me a price. They can shop around. Thats why competition is good and needed. The other plow guys rely on business owners like you that just added value to the customers phone call when they called them and asked them if they would do it. Now the customer has an idea that its going to cost and they really have to pay. Sometimes I bust out the "call around and get back to me". Worst very very very worst case. You tell them Im super busy I might be able to squeeze you in. Call around then give me a call back in a half hour or an hour. If you cant find anyone I can do it but need that fuel surcharge of $50 bucks on top. Yo I plowed snow for years and years my guy You have to take the work when you can get it. Ive giving the high price and hated it. Till I was like oh wow I made some money there. Oh wow it happened again. Oh wow they pay up when they have to. Your not jacking pricing because, your jacking prices because you have to. If you have to the next guy has to as well so get the work because someone got it.
Add a fuel and travel charge to the flat rate for the driveway. Whenever I get something shipped to me, there is an additional "fuel charge" added to the shipping cost to account for changes in diesel fuel prices. Some people will gladly pay an additional charge for the service - give them the chance to do that. Simply explain they're a single job in that area and you're willing to provide the service, but you need to add fuel + travel time to the base charge. Let them turn you down rather than you turning them down - at least give them the choice of paying the money or not.
I use to do the same thing, I used bad choices in wording. I wouldn't turn away work unless it was over 45 minutes away. You would just have to make a price adjustments so its "worth your while."
I have done the same thing for a friend. Some people do not relies how much money you have invested in the truck and plow, along with your insurance. Time and money .
Also either charge for your drive time or don’t do it. I stay within about 10 miles if that. I try to keep a tight route and I don’t do a lot of call ins. I stick to my normal route and go home . Unless I feel really ambitious afterwards lol
I do not take new customers after Nov 31........ my phone can ring all day long when we 4 + inches, not worth the headache of 1 call no contract customers.
You probably need to accept the work, and price the work accordingly. It's up to you whether you want to explain your costs, sometimes it is a bad idea to begin explaining your costs. You can try to see if the customer is struggling financially, or if they are well off, this always made a difference to me about what I was charging, I didn't want to take advantage of poor or elderly people.
I charge enough that I can afford to drive out to do one driveway , the initial higher cost might be a little sticker shock to customer but when they call for a plow out/ clean up, I'm not concerned about losing money because I figured that in the cost already and so in turn the customer feels like they are getting taken care of happy customer return customer . That also applys for per trip cost that makes yearly contract look better so either way I'm covering my self
Great vid👍 a bit of sat n pepper “ push it real good” TQ. I totally understand with cost, just like contracting farming some farm lands might be to small or distance is just to far way shift machinery. But if they willing pay transportation cost I guess I would do it, but wear n tear is still issue. Maybe there another way taking business on but more efficient way smaller truck or leasing truck or getting snow ploughing business in area to do job?
I would get them to sign up for the rest of the season and then take care of it for a bit more than normal. Say its normally $40 I'd tell them $60 (something reasonable).
@@andrewstratton7095 Had this exact call today. The driveway was small, but a rutted frozen mess. It was probably $30 drive regularly, though being an emergency call, I said $50. The lady was a bit bummed, which I felt bad about, and i just explained the conditions , and made clear that was not a price for regular service. Had a great conversation with her husband , who was very supportive of the quoted price and said go ahead and clear the drive. Things were sheer ice , and they declined the offer and additional expense for salt/sand. I started the sander and did it regardless, with out asking for more $, basically because the gentleman was appreciative of the work done.
I try to get them all on contracts. I agree its not worth the drive. My first year was madness. Everyone was call as needed which had me back tracking all over town. Now I have my route and stick to it. Still have some that are call as needed but I know them and they know enough to contact early so I can fit them in the route.
SMART! People Don't Understand That Sometimes Tough Decisions Have To Be Made In Interest Of The Business. You Can't Afford To Chase Every Dollar. The Bigger The Client, The Less They Want To Pay!! (I See This First Hand) Best Of Luck With The Business! Often "Competitors" Will Come In Lo Balling The Numbers With Poor Quality and Ruin The Industry. Stay Strong & You Will Survive!
If the roads are safe, it's not a hard place to get to, they are willing to pay the price you feel comfortable charging, then why not. Also, there might be other people snowed in and may see you there. Good way to get a few additional clients IF you want some of the residential. Single residential is not very profitable but 4 or 5 houses in the same area can be.
I wouldn't turn down work. Just price it so you make money. They will take it leave it. If they called you they must want YOU to do the work. If you get a bad rep of turning down work that can hurt you. I would rather pay more knowing I got someone I wanted to get, not just someone who is close. Keep up the good work!
Id say just be upfront and charge what it would cost for you to go out there and let them know why, that allows the ball to be in there court and choose if they need it at that price. Hell even do it till they can find someone more local that can do it at a cheaper rate then it helps both parties out.. This is only if you still want or need more work. Sometimes people just need it done though. I can say from who ive talked to out here most people keep the distance 10-15 miles, but if times are slow farther out can help bring in a little extra cash flow. Still would say 10 is my magic number here to keep any route density as your 1st and foremost goal. Curious to what your gas prices are out there now?
Localize your route and as you expand your business then start servicing out further IE more trucks more serviced area and if you stay solo then stay in a concentrated area you need to be profitable I don't know about you but I like meat and potatoes not cheese and crackers for dinner
Well if you’ve ever watched the show Letterkenny on Hulu (great show by the way). I’d use Wayne’s catch phrase for this instance “That’s a hard NO”. Today’s society wants instant gratification or to be babied and get what they want. Time is money and time ain’t cheap. Kudos to you for sticking to your guns.
Get a smaller truck for small jobs. Convert an old lawn mower into a snowplow / salt spreader and use that for small to medium drive ways. I see you use your truck for spreading salt. No wonder you use a lot of fuel. Get a trailer and load you smaller, more agile, better fuel consumption lawn mower / tractor converted salt spreader / snowplow to go to jobs like that. Charge traveling per mile if you move outside a preset radius from your home. If you go more than 20 or 30 miles, charge a small fee per mile extra for getting there and going back to home.
To answer your question about how to handle business you don't want or can't handle: being a contractor for a number of years in a seasonal business (HVAC), I found the sane and rational way to deal with such customers is to elevate the price and curb their hunger for you. And if they still persist by agreeing to the higher price, then go ahead and schedule them and count your cash. It's that simple. And don't get stuck by accepting work too far in advance so you don't get swamped. Always let people know your rough time frame even if it's into the weeks rather than days. Most customers understand you cannot be in 2 places at the same time. And those that don't....well, you don't want their business anyhow.
Never second guess what people are prepared or able to pay, some people get offended by it. Determine how much it cost in fuel and time to drive and set a fix per mile rate to quote. You quote them a price, you tell them it's X amount per half hour on the job plus Y amount travel per mile from your home base. If they agree to the price then that is their choice, you still make your money either way. Likewise if you have too many customers never tell people that, just raise your prices and leave it to people to make the choice to use you or not. Telling anyone you are too busy to do their job or any other excuse is something you should never do because it will not just get complaints from some people, some of them can bad mouth you to people they know who may live near you and they may tell their friends, "Oh last time I called that business owner he told me he was too busy" or "made excuses why he couldn't do the job"
I would price it according to what you need to make it worth your while if that’s not acceptable for them then I’m sure someone will do it cheaper eventually as far as I can tell your not a nonprofit organization 😁
Yep. Give them a price that you're happy with and let them make the decision. If they complain then explain why things as they are. I wouldn't be too apologetic about it or say you can't do the job.
You must know some guy with a truck and plow that has no accounts, put that guy on speed dial. He will likely be happy to get the work and you keep people happy. That's what I used to do.
When I was in the Rv and mobile home repair business, I would get customers like that. Told them I would do it but have to charge a service fee to get there and back since it was so far out and I had no other business out that way. Never had a customer turn me down.
1st off I love your videos and I am from Denmark regarding the trip across town I get you I also had that problem i got a small car ( smart car) and made it run the smaller jobs only need a shovel broom and a bucket of salt for the job you described and I would put a kid on it .only for the smaller jobs and you would still earn money and make good connections cos its the elderly that can bring you better jobs from family members sry for my bad grammar good luck in the future and may Odin stand by your side at all times
Shawn switch to diesel.. I was in the same boat as you. Same truck except it was a 2012 the gas mileage was horrible. We traded in and sold some trucks to friends all diesels now specially after the egr and def delete I get 16+ miles per gallon fully loaded with v plow and salter of course it depends on the tuner.
@@SpencerLawnCare That's why you need to have that kind of stuff in contracts and also just be upfront with the customer about different operational procedures during different times of the season. If that was 1.5" in mid march or later then yes salt away because the sun/time of year is your friend. But in January and 0 degree temps, different plan of action needed, plow then salt. Hope this helps! Keep up the hustle!
I never take on clients who have a 2" minimum. if its covered and COLD I will push it and salt it if its going to warm up I will salt. Great videos, also as far as the client out of area, don't feel bad for dropping clients, look out for YOU and if you are not making money then pass on it.
Create contracts, let them set their trigger of how much snow is needed before u come plow, you will be able to eventually group them together and make it worth ur time
You've got two choices. 1. Tell your customers that they're outside your service area. 2. Quote a price accordingly to cover the cost of gas and your time. The customer can say yes or no but be polite and be professional. You'll be surprised how often they say yes.
New Update! Just got a call from my friend that I referred to this job because he is closer. His dad went and shoveled the driveway free of charge. And that's awesome! I also told him. Next time if we're on our route Ill swing bye and take care of it for cheap.
Thank you for restoring my faith in you ..👍
If you have room, put a pallet down in the bed of your truck. It’ll keep the snow and ice off of the bags if you store them over night.
What you guys get per bag in your area? If you don’t mind me asking?
@@vernsoutdooradventures7197 it's always three times the amount per bag after your purchase price example bag of salt is 8.00 x 3 to the customer = $24.00 for bagged salt only..
Bish Bash I just get a little over double. But I have one bulk spreader that I charge the same for which comes out really good per ton. And I pay less. But have to pay for that big spreader somehow
When I first started watching your channel I thought TQ was a joke a novelty item. Over the months watching I now realize she is an intricate part of the business and is quite versatile, BTW Spencer congratulations on your weight loss, it's good for you, your business and most importantly your family. All the best!
I ran a cleaning service for many so I do have experience of this ...... 100% take the job. You are basically doing it for nothing but it's good P.R. and could lead to better-paid work in the future. You may be the only guy willing to work that area and you'll probably find the locals will see your van and call you for quotes.
Id go out and plow anything out of rout. Cash is cash money 💸. Just charge more...everything has a price. if its a 60$ driveway normally just tell them last minute...not in rout...$100
Good to know
Star View Landscaping People that turn down work are later crying when the customer finds a new company to service their property.
@@justinjohnson6251 you need to add so many more expenses than just gas.
@@justinjohnson6251 As he said, when you factor in servicing of the vehicle maintanence etc etc. Its just not worth it.
Great job, Shawn! You've been killing it this winter. Making good decisions for you and your business.
How do know when it hits exactly 2"? Is there a weather app or are you measuring it? Or just guessing? I'm having a hard time knowing when it's time to plow. Especially here in wyoming where the wind is always blowing. We might get a half an inch of snow with 2 foot drifts
Just curious, what’s your markup on per bag of salt, x2 or x3 of your cost? Trying to figure this out for my bids. Thanks
Hey great video. I’m curious why do you use bagged salt? I buy salt in bulk. In my area it cost about 120 per yard. I shovel the salt into 5 gallon buckets. 1 yard of salt usually fills up about 45 5 gallon buckets. The buckets and lids cost me more money than the salt lol but i just reuse the buckets for next time
Buckets would be nice but Im gonna try sandbags because they are cheap...hopefully i won't regret it.
Have you tried the rear operated plows?
Question, what do you do when it is to cold for salt?
Do you add Calcium Chloride?
You have showed us how the salt spreader clicks on, but how does it come off? Is there like a pin or something u have to pull?
What’s up man. Just wondering about the gloves your wearing. Are they cold and water proof? If so what brand? I work with a bunch of valves and drains that have water in them and it’s cold but I need to be able to feel parts as well thanks. I’ve got other ?’s but not for comments
Not water proof, they have a rubber coating on them. But still get wet.
How much do you guys charge for a regular driveway the one I’m seeing in your house steps walk way??????
Being from the south, we are not familiar with rock salt for melting ice. But thought I saw you spraying rock salt on shrubby. Down here we spray a salt mix on weeds to kill them. How does the rock salt not have detrimental effect on shrubby?
Take your wife’s car with the snowblower and charge 75
Didn't think about it
dong2773 That actually doesn’t sound like a terrible idea
@@SpencerLawnCare harbor freight cargo carrier and some tie-downs. lol yeah tq might kill us if he does that, lol
we have a local guy who does just this for small jobs... he has a tiny car he put a hitch on for a small wagon big enough for a wide width blower and a salt spreader, he said the wide width blowers really help cut down the passes, so he can send solo crews for smaller jobs with a larger travel radius and still make good returns compared to small radius plowing, but its a lot colder outside the cab than inside it heh...
I have done that myself when had couple picky people wanted done .
So after 17 years of plowing, I have narrowed my route to about a 4 mile radius. Bloomington, a suburb of Minneapolis is about 11 miles long. I live on the west side and will not take anything on the east side. My commercial lots are more spread out but they are worth a longer drive. The thing with plowing is you are under a time constraint, so even if you are compensated more, time can be an issue. You guys are still getting our winter!
I wonder if dodge ram 1500 ecodiesel 4x4 with air suspension would be a good plow truck
No clue man
Hey there, re: commercial accounts...per push is one thing, but if they are on a flat monthly rate with a 2" trigger, plow them at 1.5" unless they're real sticklers for that measurement. I talked with the President of a big landscape company in Syracuse as I was going to sub myself out for plowing years ago and he was so willing to take the time to talk with and teach me some things, even gave a tour of the entire facility, but all they do is commercial work and they go out for 1" on 2" trigger accounts, 2" for 3" triggers and so on. They have never once had a complaint for plowing too often and have had lots of thank you's from their clients. So I adopted that and it's worked well for me too.
I also learned to have a a flat rate for a certain number of "snow events" or storms, and anything over that number gets charged at my hourly rate. I also have a "blizzard Rate" for large storms such as dump a foot or more in less than 24 hrs, all in the contract. Just to add to the thoughts.
Do you ever worry about salt killing the grass on your residentials and have you ever thought or tried fertilizer. Just wondering what your thoughts are.
I have seen a step that bolts to the bottom corner of your truck bumper and it folds up and down quick. Might come in handy for you after watching you climb up into your truck with the spreader on. Nice job out there.
I’ve learned from that mistake in getting houses that are not in the region of the rest of my clients. The first thing I would do is call landscape friends who can plow in that area, either give them completely the clients info or make money on top of the of whoever will be plowing because of referral. Some landscapers I know here near Boston have so many houses and they can’t handle plowing all of them. So what they’ll do is give a snow plowing route of let’s say 12-20 houses all nearby eachother. Then he’ll give you the price per house and address and make a deal in getting his share of 10$ per house per plow run. So many options out-there but I hear ya sometimes you just have to pass on certain jobs because of location.
Your videos make my day better especially when I have bad days like today, I enjoy watching them. Really entertaining.
@Daniel Hertzler thanks man
In a case where it seems like its not worth the drive keep two things in mind. One he's elderly and if no one else sees your kindness God does. Secondly, ask them do they mind paying a little more to make it worth your time. I would explain that I have a family which I need to support as well. Most people that really need it will pay. I do many things in business where I say, "Hey could you pay 60 and a cup of coffee?" You would be surprised how appreciative people are for your small favors. But I do get your business, I just bought a plow and salter and all I got this winter was a workout moving it around. lol
Nice to see a couple work together and try to make a living but don't throw buckets at her like that, not nice :) Honestly you seem to treat each other well. Also, that salts going to eat her hands up, get her a seed spreader, it works just like your spreader, it holds twice what that bucket does, it has wheels to roll it and her hands won't have to dig in it. Plus teach her how to use the salter and plow so she can stay warm and you guys can switch off.
Jonathan Bashir Jonathan, that is some very good advice sir. But better than that, it shows you are a real gentleman and lord knows we are in short supply of those these days. Keep doing what you do and it doesn’t hurt to teach that philosophy to the younger guys coming up in the business just like you did here with these two hard working folks. Good on you sir, thank you and god thanks you as well.
I thank you, I was raised by two hard working parents. They made sure I grew up with good manners or else! lol
Funny thing was they seperated when I was 8 but I never knew that till I grew up because they slept in the same bed and I never seen my mother with another man. They did it out of love for us children. I thank them everyday for the man they raised me to be.
We had snow for the first time in many years as a matter of fact it was a record snowfall of 5". No one moved for about 3 days...it got colder after the snow. Our County borrowed some equipment from our Atanta people so the County could get the roads passable.It was fun but it was a mess.We are equipped for Hurricanes but not snow. lol
In the spring come up with a single run charge, tell them a cost for only one run, however if they can add some people to that run you can offer a lower price but not lower than your regular price for a route run if they are on a route or schedule type thing. Let them call around to friends and neighbors to see if you can stack service on top of them. Let them know of an up charge in the spring or summer so if they want to drop service you and them will have enough time to line up new service.
I started out with a tail bed sander doing the same thing and after 2 years I switched to a 1.7 cu western tornado sander and it is so much easier and you can get it in and out of the truck bed with just two people.
No more climbing in the back of the truck to load up the sander at 2am in the morning with a wind chill below 0.
What store was those die cast buildings at?
Menards
We spray with garden sprayers of pb blaster. Keeps snow from sticking and rust.
Have been using diesel mixed with transfluid lately. Works good. Spray on everything.
Don’t leave a 5 mile radius.
Keep the plow down or you ain’t making money. That’s a fact.
Shawn the way I would handle it is to make it worth your time. Go high on the rate and it just depends on how much they are willing to pay. I don't do it professionally but I do cover 3 commercial properties and 4 or 5 farmsteads. I cover about 30 square miles so anything I do is quoted high because I can always come down but you cant go higher! 7.7 mpg is great.My 2011 GMC 2500 HD only gets anywhere from 5 to 6 on a good day! Keep up the good work on the videos
when i do snow removal i bill an hourly rate that includes travel time with a minimum charge. so for example if i charge 85 an hour with a $60min and a residential takes me 15 mins to drive there from the last job and 15 mins to clear the driveway it would be 60 bucks, if it take 30 mins to drive there and 30 mins to clear the driveway it would be $85. on a big snowfall like 8+ inches a lot of times i can give a break on the travel time because you can grab a bunch of driveways close by real quick just by doing some door knocking assuming your not already booked solid. under most circumstances its pretty easy to come out ahead on just the minimum charge on residential.
You made the right choice. Been plowing for 18 years. Take care of your automatic customers. Only take on extra when you are out plowing. Can't loose money this time of year. Every penny counts.
Exactly man
I'd do like others have said and I offer to my customers, sort of a call out fee, I've had customers ask if I could plow off their laws cause they're having a party or its going to snow /ice and they need to have an airport ride arrive at an unusual hour so the'll need to be sanded well. Usually an extra 25-50 bucks and then a regular plow charge.
Where are those diecasts located?
Depends on the customer?
Spray the underside of ur truck with like 5 cans of fluidfilm and just rinse it off once in a while (without soap). Will keep the frame and such from rusting while out salting. Wash it really good in spring then.
We had it oiled sprayed
That or buy a beater truck for that type of work. What good is having a truck if you dont want to use it for work?
Hey Shawn, I work in maintenance at a camp so we deal with snow remove and ice control and this is just a idea you can buy water softener salt cheaper than ice melt or rock salt some times and I'm pretty sure it wont kill grass.
We ask where they are located , and if outside our route , I just tell them that's the case.
If I have time, and road conditions are decent sometimes will go out of the route for salting.
Though I dont like to drive far with the plow on, since it's a workout for the truck.
Sometimes those can lead to other work.. but most often can be a pain.
Like you, we refer out of the way calls to other local contractors.
That tends to work out well , as they should return the favor, and call you with stuff in your area.
Keep up the good work !
(Regarding the customers across town)
I would considering calling a few companies that are closer to his residence (if my time is not crunched).
Perhaps would have my girlfriend call some companies when she’s in the truck with me plowing.
Telling those customers you could do that for them (especially older people who really are in need) would go a long way. That could result in a great online review, builds your reputation and allows them to keep your company in mind when spring comes around with bigger jobs that would be worth the drive.
I gave him a referral. It didn't workout either
Sounds like your being fair and honest. It's not cost effective to drive across town to do one driveway
Nothing wrong with being up front and honest. I wouldn't even explain the mpgs. Here is my rate for that side of town for my set up.
True
Apparently people don't understand that good work doesn't come cheap! Cheap isn't good!
We get calls all the time after big storms but now days we're just too busy to take anything on plus we just want to get through a route and go home, our last two storms we made several rounds and about 20hrs of seat time back to back storms. I put a stop to these call in plows several years ago though, several years ago had a guy who was buried in about 3 feet and you couldn't tell what was what other than his half assed explanation and apparently he forgot where his retaining wall was and one of my trucks took it out along with landscape lighting and he tried to sue us lol
You can please some of the people all of the time, you can please all of the people some of the time, but you can’t …”
… please all the people all of the time.
Exactly man
Shawn/TQ... One of the landscape/plow guys up north lays the salt on top of the spreader, grabs a corner with one hand and uses a knife/box cutter to cut the entire side of the bag top to bottom. He then tilts the bag and the salt empties right out. Seems MUCH faster and a lot less wasted motion on your part... Just a thought?? My 2016 work truck has the same V-10 that you have and I get a whopping 5.2 mpg avg. from day 1 brand new... We do have some idle time but we spend about 3k a month in fuel... 😬 Thanks always to both of you for the great videos... We truly appreciate it!!!
Cool
Diesel
Tough call. I agree with an earlier comment that many of these customers and their pricing should be set up prior to winter. But, I know it sure is hard telling a decent customer no. What do I really know, I’m in Miami. But when hurricane season comes, we have a pretty good idea who we would service first and who would get pushed to the end of the line. Sad thing is, someone new will come along and do the job for double what you might feel comfortable charging. Be careful because I’m sure the driving conditions are a challenge. Peace!
New customer just called
I’ve been in the snow removal business up here in Canada for over 30 years and I would tell my customers like that the minimum fee is $100. Sorry if that’s too much for you. I understand. Most of the time they say you are in business to make money it’s all good we will pay that:👍
Been there done that with work. Its a supply and demand thing. When your in demand dont undervalue yourself. I never started making real money until I put value on me and my business. I did it a couple times with a couple businesses. Always give a price and never turn work down. I mean there are the rare instances where you know its not a good idea to take the work. Deciding for the customer if they should pay a price or not is not your business and they dont need an explanation unless they really want one and ask. Always always always give a price. Theres someone out there they were able to get a hold of and was wiling to pay a jacked up price. They were sitting there after the fact going I cant believe the guy wouldn't even give me a price. They can shop around. Thats why competition is good and needed. The other plow guys rely on business owners like you that just added value to the customers phone call when they called them and asked them if they would do it. Now the customer has an idea that its going to cost and they really have to pay. Sometimes I bust out the "call around and get back to me". Worst very very very worst case. You tell them Im super busy I might be able to squeeze you in. Call around then give me a call back in a half hour or an hour. If you cant find anyone I can do it but need that fuel surcharge of $50 bucks on top. Yo I plowed snow for years and years my guy You have to take the work when you can get it. Ive giving the high price and hated it. Till I was like oh wow I made some money there. Oh wow it happened again. Oh wow they pay up when they have to. Your not jacking pricing because, your jacking prices because you have to. If you have to the next guy has to as well so get the work because someone got it.
Add a fuel and travel charge to the flat rate for the driveway. Whenever I get something shipped to me, there is an additional "fuel charge" added to the shipping cost to account for changes in diesel fuel prices. Some people will gladly pay an additional charge for the service - give them the chance to do that. Simply explain they're a single job in that area and you're willing to provide the service, but you need to add fuel + travel time to the base charge. Let them turn you down rather than you turning them down - at least give them the choice of paying the money or not.
I use to do the same thing, I used bad choices in wording. I wouldn't turn away work unless it was over 45 minutes away. You would just have to make a price adjustments so its "worth your while."
Small job, long drive time, load the snowblower up in a better mpg vehicle leave the big dog home... Big truck, big plow, for big jobs only
Hmmm
I have done the same thing for a friend. Some people do not relies how much money you have invested in the truck and plow, along with your insurance. Time and money .
Is your truck gas or diesel
Also either charge for your drive time or don’t do it. I stay within about 10 miles if that. I try to keep a tight route and I don’t do a lot of call ins. I stick to my normal route and go home . Unless I feel really ambitious afterwards lol
I do not take new customers after Nov 31........ my phone can ring all day long when we 4 + inches, not worth the headache of 1 call no contract customers.
Smart
Did snow work for years. Mostly Trust Corp. Bank. who we did Outside Maintenance for in season. Great $.
You probably need to accept the work, and price the work accordingly. It's up to you whether you want to explain your costs, sometimes it is a bad idea to begin explaining your costs. You can try to see if the customer is struggling financially, or if they are well off, this always made a difference to me about what I was charging, I didn't want to take advantage of poor or elderly people.
Hey Shawn what happened to your amazon led plow light did I miss something??
I charge enough that I can afford to drive out to do one driveway , the initial higher cost might be a little sticker shock to customer but when they call for a plow out/ clean up, I'm not concerned about losing money because I figured that in the cost already and so in turn the customer feels like they are getting taken care of happy customer return customer . That also applys for per trip cost that makes yearly contract look better so either way I'm covering my self
Why not plow if you are in the area? Seems rather strange to salt on top of snow that washes away the salt doesn’t it?
Great vid👍 a bit of sat n pepper “ push it real good” TQ. I totally understand with cost, just like contracting farming some farm lands might be to small or distance is just to far way shift machinery. But if they willing pay transportation cost I guess I would do it, but wear n tear is still issue. Maybe there another way taking business on but more efficient way smaller truck or leasing truck or getting snow ploughing business in area to do job?
I would get them to sign up for the rest of the season and then take care of it for a bit more than normal. Say its normally $40 I'd tell them $60 (something reasonable).
I think all this has to be discussed with everyone ahead of winter.
Yesh these are new customers wanting one time service.
Just say one time service is considered an emergency service and charge more
@@andrewstratton7095
Had this exact call today.
The driveway was small, but a rutted frozen mess.
It was probably $30 drive regularly, though being an emergency call, I said $50.
The lady was a bit bummed, which I felt bad about, and i just explained the conditions , and made clear that was not a price for regular service.
Had a great conversation with her husband , who was very supportive of the quoted price and said go ahead and clear the drive.
Things were sheer ice , and they declined the offer and additional expense for salt/sand.
I started the sander and did it regardless, with out asking for more $, basically because the gentleman was appreciative of the work done.
Granted I only plow a few drives for family and friends, but it might make sense to buy a light duty plow for your car or upgrade it to a small suv.
We usually plow near midnight for small snows like that. Most cars are gone.
I try to get them all on contracts. I agree its not worth the drive. My first year was madness. Everyone was call as needed which had me back tracking all over town. Now I have my route and stick to it. Still have some that are call as needed but I know them and they know enough to contact early so I can fit them in the route.
Nice Bobby
SMART! People Don't Understand That Sometimes Tough Decisions Have To Be Made In Interest Of The Business. You Can't Afford To Chase Every Dollar. The Bigger The Client, The Less They Want To Pay!! (I See This First Hand) Best Of Luck With The Business! Often "Competitors" Will Come In Lo Balling The Numbers With Poor Quality and Ruin The Industry. Stay Strong & You Will Survive!
If the roads are safe, it's not a hard place to get to, they are willing to pay the price you feel comfortable charging, then why not. Also, there might be other people snowed in and may see you there. Good way to get a few additional clients IF you want some of the residential. Single residential is not very profitable but 4 or 5 houses in the same area can be.
BTW soooo glad I live in Florida.
I wouldn't turn down work. Just price it so you make money. They will take it leave it. If they called you they must want YOU to do the work. If you get a bad rep of turning down work that can hurt you. I would rather pay more knowing I got someone I wanted to get, not just someone who is close. Keep up the good work!
Id say just be upfront and charge what it would cost for you to go out there and let them know why, that allows the ball to be in there court and choose if they need it at that price. Hell even do it till they can find someone more local that can do it at a cheaper rate then it helps both parties out.. This is only if you still want or need more work. Sometimes people just need it done though. I can say from who ive talked to out here most people keep the distance 10-15 miles, but if times are slow farther out can help bring in a little extra cash flow. Still would say 10 is my magic number here to keep any route density as your 1st and foremost goal.
Curious to what your gas prices are out there now?
220 a gallon
Great job!!! Stay warm guys!
Thanks Pete
Localize your route and as you expand your business then start servicing out further IE more trucks more serviced area and if you stay solo then stay in a concentrated area you need to be profitable I don't know about you but I like meat and potatoes not cheese and crackers for dinner
For sure
Well if you’ve ever watched the show Letterkenny on Hulu (great show by the way). I’d use Wayne’s catch phrase for this instance “That’s a hard NO”. Today’s society wants instant gratification or to be babied and get what they want.
Time is money and time ain’t cheap. Kudos to you for sticking to your guns.
This is the reason we concentrate on Commercial Only. A couple decent contracts and you're set for the season. Best of luck guys, stay warm!
Idea! modify a hand spreader so it broadcasts a narrow field for sidewalks.
I cant wait for spring,the pacific northwest has had the mildest winter i have ever seen.Its gonna be a big spring and summer im sure.
In business to make money, it’s not a charity. Set the price at what you need to make it worth while, if they don’t like it to bad, don’t do the job..
Thanks
Get a smaller truck for small jobs. Convert an old lawn mower into a snowplow / salt spreader and use that for small to medium drive ways. I see you use your truck for spreading salt. No wonder you use a lot of fuel. Get a trailer and load you smaller, more agile, better fuel consumption lawn mower / tractor converted salt spreader / snowplow to go to jobs like that. Charge traveling per mile if you move outside a preset radius from your home. If you go more than 20 or 30 miles, charge a small fee per mile extra for getting there and going back to home.
If you do their lawn care, then you should take care of your customer. Sometimes it sucks, but how much do you make off of them in the warm months?
what happened with the green light? Since when did you have the orange one?
harrison withee it died a few days after he got it
It broke
@@SpencerLawnCare that stinks, people could see you a mile away.
To answer your question about how to handle business you don't want or can't handle: being a contractor for a number of years in a seasonal business (HVAC), I found the sane and rational way to deal with such customers is to elevate the price and curb their hunger for you. And if they still persist by agreeing to the higher price, then go ahead and schedule them and count your cash. It's that simple. And don't get stuck by accepting work too far in advance so you don't get swamped. Always let people know your rough time frame even if it's into the weeks rather than days. Most customers understand you cannot be in 2 places at the same time. And those that don't....well, you don't want their business anyhow.
Get one if them racks for the back of T. Q's new truck and strap the new snow blower to it.
Lol, I don't think she will allow that
Understand the business side, now you may need to learn the humanitarian side! Take it to God! Thank You
Mike
I agree with your decision. But I would have charged him extra if he said it was an emergency. If he's willing to pay, im willing to play.
Never second guess what people are prepared or able to pay, some people get offended by it.
Determine how much it cost in fuel and time to drive and set a fix per mile rate to quote.
You quote them a price, you tell them it's X amount per half hour on the job plus Y amount travel per mile from your home base.
If they agree to the price then that is their choice, you still make your money either way.
Likewise if you have too many customers never tell people that, just raise your prices and leave it to people to make the choice to use you or not.
Telling anyone you are too busy to do their job or any other excuse is something you should never do because it will not just get complaints from some people, some of them can bad mouth you to people they know who may live near you and they may tell their friends, "Oh last time I called that business owner he told me he was too busy" or "made excuses why he couldn't do the job"
I would price it according to what you need to make it worth your while if that’s not acceptable for them then I’m sure someone will do it cheaper eventually as far as I can tell your not a nonprofit organization 😁
Yep. Give them a price that you're happy with and let them make the decision. If they complain then explain why things as they are. I wouldn't be too apologetic about it or say you can't do the job.
we usually do odd driveway at last after we get the important ones done first
Exactly man
Can’t help but to ask where that truck is from I noticed the sticker
You must know some guy with a truck and plow that has no accounts, put that guy on speed dial. He will likely be happy to get the work and you keep people happy. That's what I used to do.
Your wife and my wife are definitely SISTERS! Great to see how you two work together!!
When I was in the Rv and mobile home repair business, I would get customers like that. Told them I would do it but have to charge a service fee to get there and back since it was so far out and I had no other business out that way. Never had a customer turn me down.
1st off I love your videos and I am from Denmark regarding the trip across town I get you I also had that problem i got a small car ( smart car) and made it run the smaller jobs only need a shovel broom and a bucket of salt for the job you described and I would put a kid on it .only for the smaller jobs and you would still earn money and make good connections cos its the elderly that can bring you better jobs from family members sry for my bad grammar good luck in the future and may Odin stand by your side at all times
Shawn switch to diesel.. I was in the same boat as you. Same truck except it was a 2012 the gas mileage was horrible. We traded in and sold some trucks to friends all diesels now specially after the egr and def delete I get 16+ miles per gallon fully loaded with v plow and salter of course it depends on the tuner.
Honestly Sean I definitely agree with you on that
Get you a chevy with the rear bumper corner steps built in. Save you climbing that ford bumper!
Lol, those are nice
You two are a trip lol love the videos!!!
Glad you enjoy the channel bud
With the temps going so low, we would have definitely plowed that off first then salted.
Same
Yeah I thought about it. But don't want to make the customer mad.
@@SpencerLawnCare That's why you need to have that kind of stuff in contracts and also just be upfront with the customer about different operational procedures during different times of the season. If that was 1.5" in mid march or later then yes salt away because the sun/time of year is your friend. But in January and 0 degree temps, different plan of action needed, plow then salt. Hope this helps! Keep up the hustle!
I never take on clients who have a 2" minimum. if its covered and COLD I will push it and salt it if its going to warm up I will salt. Great videos, also as far as the client out of area, don't feel bad for dropping clients, look out for YOU and if you are not making money then pass on it.
You don’t use ice melt on sidewalks? And rock salt on parking lots
Create contracts, let them set their trigger of how much snow is needed before u come plow, you will be able to eventually group them together and make it worth ur time
You've got two choices.
1. Tell your customers that they're outside your service area.
2. Quote a price accordingly to cover the cost of gas and your time. The customer can say yes or no but be polite and be professional. You'll be surprised how often they say yes.
Hay when you going to replace your safety light on the truck
Not sure