It is gonna snow. A bunch.

[Mike Cruz]

Phil, maybe now that this has passed, you can reflect and come up with the Thien snow remover...

[John Coloccia]

So now tell me why it is that with a phone book full of people that claim to do snow plowing and removal, I have an old guy called "Red" in a beat up truck doing my snow plowing. Here's why:

Me: I need to have my driveway plo...
Them: HAS IT BEEN DONE BEFORE?? (screaming because he can't take a second to turn off his snow blower)
Me: Of course...I just need it cleared fr....
Them: IS IT JUST THE LAST STORM??? IS IT ICY??
Me: Yeah, it's icy.
Them: I MAY NEED TO PUT DOWN SAND AND SALT
Me: Yeah, okay fine.
Them: I MAY NEED TO GO BACK AND GET MORE SAND AND SALT...I DON"T KNOW IF I CAN DO THAT....
Me: Well, maybe you can call me back.
Them: YEAH, LET ME SEE...I'M A LITTLE BUSY....CAN I CALL YOU BACK?
Me: Uhm, sure. That's a good idea.

After 3 or 4 of these, and no callbacks, I finally get to this point:

Me: Well just exactly what CAN you do, when can you do it, and what will it cost???

So I call Red:

Me: Hi, Red. It's John Coloccia in Bolton. Could you come do some plowing today.
Red: Sure. I'm at work. I'll be there around 4:30 or 5:00.
Me: Thanks, Red.

He charges me $50 or $60 and just gets it done. He won't be able to do much because of the ice, but I know that and he knows that, and it won't even come up. He'll do his best and charge me a fair price without giving me a hastle. Just why oh why is this sooooo difficult to find??

Thanks, Red.

[Charlie Reals]

So now tell me why it is that with a phone book full of people that claim to do snow plowing and removal, I have an old guy called "Red" in a beat up truck doing my snow plowing. Here's why:

Me: I need to have my driveway plo...
Them: HAS IT BEEN DONE BEFORE?? (screaming because he can't take a second to turn off his snow blower)
Me: Of course...I just need it cleared fr....
Them: IS IT JUST THE LAST STORM??? IS IT ICY??
Me: Yeah, it's icy.
Them: I MAY NEED TO PUT DOWN SAND AND SALT
Me: Yeah, okay fine.
Them: I MAY NEED TO GO BACK AND GET MORE SAND AND SALT...I DON"T KNOW IF I CAN DO THAT....
Me: Well, maybe you can call me back.
Them: YEAH, LET ME SEE...I'M A LITTLE BUSY....CAN I CALL YOU BACK?
Me: Uhm, sure. That's a good idea.

After 3 or 4 of these, and no callbacks, I finally get to this point:

Me: Well just exactly what CAN you do, when can you do it, and what will it cost???

So I call Red:

Me: Hi, Red. It's John Coloccia in Bolton. Could you come do some plowing today.
Red: Sure. I'm at work. I'll be there around 4:30 or 5:00.
Me: Thanks, Red.

He charges me $50 or $60 and just gets it done. He won't be able to do much because of the ice, but I know that and he knows that, and it won't even come up. He'll do his best and charge me a fair price without giving me a hastle.

Just why oh why is this sooooo difficult to find??

Thanks, Red.

Cuzz there taint too many of us old guys left, youngins don't do that .

[Belinda Barfield]

Me: Why didn't you just call Red in the first place?

[John Coloccia]

Me: Why didn't you just call Red in the first place?

I will next time. I feel bad putting him out because he works a day job, and I'm just some pain in the butt that needs his driveway cleared. I hate to bother him during the week as I'm sure he wants to go home after a long day's work.

[Ken Fitzgerald]

Gee Belinda...you seem to have some salt with you......

[Jason Roehl]

Well, John, sorry you had trouble finding someone to plow for you, but after this winter, I understand. It's been crazy. I just did another driveway 30 miles away today (with a tracked skidsteer)--leftover from the storms last Tuesday-Saturday. I had to bust through 4' of snow from when the county plow went by, then there were 4-5' drifts in the driveway up by the house--looped driveway to boot. Anyway, my boss (friend--I do this for "fun", and a little money) said that everyone should carry the "snow phone" once while they're plowing. The minute he tries to schlep that %$@#$#@ thing off on me, I'll quit. Most people who plow for money get all their contracts set up in the fall, and base them all on the typical snowfall. Around here, that means 2-4" at a time, rarely more than that. Even with 5 plow trucks (two are medium-duty--bigger than one-ton trucks), two skidsteers and, this year, a backhoe, we'll still often be out for over 12 hours with a typical event. Throw in over an inch of sleet and over 8" of snow, and at one point last week I did almost 32 hours straight--65 hours total from Tues 3:30AM to Sun 4AM. I started using earbuds with my iPhone just so I could hear my boss (or others) when they called while I was in the diesel truck. Otherwise, I'd have to stop and get out every time they called, and wouldn't get anything done.

Anyway, if you're not a regular customer, doing your driveway for one snow/ice event almost isn't worth it for most plowing outfits. It kind of boils down to the old saying, "Your lack of planning does not constitute an emergency on my part." We do driveways, but they tend to be for HOAs that have us do ALL the driveways in the neighborhood, and sometimes the roads, too.

[Charlie Reals]

Most here do a yearly contract. normal snow you make money, lotta snow you lose. Driver gets paid, owner sweats.
Anyone with equipment dedicated to "one shots" can make a mint.
Plowing is a young mans game. done my turn in the barrel with that one.

[Belinda Barfield]

Gee Belinda...you seem to have some salt with you......

Always, Ken, always.

[Jason Roehl]

Most here do a yearly contract. normal snow you make money, lotta snow you lose. Driver gets paid, owner sweats.
Anyone with equipment dedicated to "one shots" can make a mint.
Plowing is a young mans game. done my turn in the barrel with that one.

Wow, that's craziness. Our contracts are all on a per-push basis, and the rates go up with the depth of snow. Unfortunately, there are too many small-timers in the area, so the hourly rate on the miscellaneous stuff is pretty low--around $65/hr., which doesn't leave a lot of room when you're running heavy equipment.

[Phil Thien]

Wow, that's craziness. Our contracts are all on a per-push basis, and the rates go up with the depth of snow. Unfortunately, there are too many small-timers in the area, so the hourly rate on the miscellaneous stuff is pretty low--around $65/hr., which doesn't leave a lot of room when you're running heavy equipment.

Around here the larger landscapers (those with lotsa trucks) write half their contracts as seasonal (lump-sum for the snow season), the other half as per-visit. That way they make some money even if it barely snows. And while they still do alright if it snows a ton, the sweet spot is in the middle.

[Charlie Reals]

Around here the larger landscapers (those with lotsa trucks) write half their contracts as seasonal (lump-sum for the snow season), the other half as per-visit. That way they make some money even if it barely snows. And while they still do alright if it snows a ton, the sweet spot is in the middle.

Some of us here do that also and it works most years. We have a lot of rental places so the contracts work great. One guy does have a bobcat blower and a push truck and does strictly one shots at $75 and up up up.
The guys with contracts this year might do good as it very well could be rain here the rest of the year. 5 miles up the road is a different story.