Snow Removal Contractors
At this time of year there are many snow removal contractors trying to sign up home owners to snow removal contracts for the winter. Let’s face it who wants to go out and blow snow from their driveway in the middle of a blizzard. Most of us would rather hire Snow Removal Contractors to clear our driveways. There are a number of criteria that we all should consider when hiring a contractor. We will cover these in the following paragraphs.
Snow Removal Contractors – Contracts
Some items may be more important to you than others, so pay attention to these for your particular situation.
Price – is obviously the main criterion for most consumers, however, the services that come with the price can vary a great deal. Compare to neighbors and friends who have similar driveways and walkways along with how often they will clear the driveway
Snow Fall – when will they come to clear your driveway? After one inch, after 2 inches of snowfall or after the snowplow has cleared your street. Will they clear your driveway before you go to work?
Timing – some people must have the driveway cleared every morning before they go to work regardless of whether the snow plow has cleared your street or not.
Markers – will they place markers at the sides of your driveway to indicate where the grass starts to avoid damaging your grass.
Contract – does your contract cover all of these details so that it is well understood by both parties.
Payment – do you need to pay everything upfront or can you pay in installments? Paying in installments decreases the risk associated with giving a contract to someone who shows up at your door offering snow clearing services
Start & End
Dates should be outlined showing the date they will begin to clear your driveway. Also the date they will no longer clear the driveway in the spring.
Talk to neighbors and friends – references are one of the best ways to find a snow removal contractor that you can count on. Are your friends and neighbors are satisfied with the service. Do they have the same or similar requirements that you have? If so there is a pretty good chance that you will also be satisfied.
Call Backs – not all snow removal contractors will offer this service. Some will take calls from their customers for requests to return after they have cleared your driveway. If lots of snow has fallen, if you have a special need such as a party going on, or the snowplow has been a long after they have already cleared the driveway. They may charge extra for this service.
Will they do Walkways – not all contractors will clear walkways as part of their standard contract. They may offer this service. However, it may cost extra for this service. If you have a small or short walkway, you may be able to handle this small bit of snow clearing yourself.
Snow Removal Contractors – Complicated?
It is amazing that such a simple thing as snow clearing can have so many different factors to keep in mind. Paying attention to all of these issues will not guarantee that you will not have problems. However, it will increase the odds a great deal of your contract being successful. For consumers that have not dealt with snow removal contractors previously, most of the agreement details can be handled over the phone, and then a copied dropped off to you, or mailed to you for signature. Once you make the payment, the contract is considered binding between both parties.
If you can do the snow clearing yourself, with a shovel or with a snowblower, you will be better off financially. Anytime you do your own work, you can save money. However, as we get older, we are more prone to heart attacks and other ailments. Shoveling snow is hard work and we want to warn readers that they should take their time shoveling snow and to not overdo it. A heart attack is not worth the few dollars you are going to save.
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May 7th, 2013 at 5:13 pm
[…] If they also provide snow clearing service in the winter time, you might ask them for a discount based on using them in the winter as well as in the summer for your lawn care service. We have written many posts about snow clearing and reviews of snow blowers as well on a companion web site. A link to selection a snow clearing service can be found by clicking here. […]