Snow Shoveling & Plowing

[CaptainsLS]

I was curious how you pay your employees during winter activities. Do any of you pay per event, or just per hour? I want to make things as lucrative for them as possible, but still make my profit. I was thinking about paying a "per event" set amount to each guy, but I'm having trouble seeing how I would handle 6" of snow vs. 18". How do you handle it? :noidea:

[cgland]

We just pay a flat hourly rate. Our rates for snow are higher than the rates we pay throughout the year. We pay shovelers/blowers $15-$20 and plowers $20-$25

Chris

[CaptainsLS]

Chris, how many guys do you keep on board for the winter, or do you need to add guys for the shoveling?

[cgland]

Any given storm we will have 10 guys out. We lost a bid this year on 4 large properties that I would have had to have about 10 subs w/ trucks, 3 equipment subs (large) and 20-30 sidewalk guys. I wish I would've gotten that one! Maybe next year.

Chris

[Colonial]

We pay our guys 25 per hr for shoverlers & truck drivers and $30 for equipment operators. We tried the per event thing but it did not work out. I try and scrape work together for them in between snow events, that way if we have a week like last week were they wroked for snow they can get a full 40 in. We just picked up a little bs job for 2 weeks 3 guys. Gave them a rate that would make me about a $1 per hr but it will keep them busy.

[Mbella]

I pay by the hour. I can't imagine how the per event pay would work for a laborer.

[Colonial]

Mike, I was a horrendous mess. We had so many problems with it, it lasted 2 storms. thats it!

[Mbella]

Mike, I was a horrendous mess. We had so many problems with it, it lasted 2 storms. thats it!


I bet. My sites are 0 tolerance, you know the ones where you are sitting waiting for a snow flake. You could have an inch of snow that falls in an hour, or you could be sitting there for 10 hours (like last week) waiting for that one inch.

[custom patios]

i would like to know what you guys charge per plow truck per hour for commercial accounts. also loader rates per hour.hope you dont mind me asking.
steveo

[Colonial]

Yea Mike those are fun....not. That has to be great when they screw up a forecast and we get nothing, lol.

[HRLand]

Mike do you have minimum charge on those 0 tolerance jobs?

[Grn Mtn]

I pay by the hour. I can't imagine how the per event pay would work for a laborer. the problem I see with paying per hour is no incentive for working hard and getting the job done sooner.

I bet. My sites are 0 tolerance, you know the ones where you are sitting waiting for a snow flake. You could have an inch of snow that falls in an hour, or you could be sitting there for 10 hours (like last week) waiting for that one inch.

try using liquids (like CaCl or MagCl) as a pretreat. this way you can wait at home and the liquids will eat up to an inch giving you time to get to the site. also it will prevent snow and ice crystals from forming into the pavement.