Need yall's tips and information on bidding a neighboorhood. In and out 3 1/2 miles of plowing. One main long drive with 5 small roads branching out into culdesacs with islands in the middle of each. The road is in good condition, a few up slightly incline roads. I will be offering application of salt as well. I also will be doing tiers of snowfall. EX: 2-4, 5-7, 8-11... Interested in what yall think, thanks for the help in advance!
Help Bidding on Neighboorhood.
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Location?
Martinsburg WV
They are complaining about their current contractor plowing too wide and tearing up yards. Plow guys are always the bad guys. Anyhow, asked for a quote. Who knows how serious they are about changing but I’ll shoot a number and if it works it works.
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If this is the current case, I would ask for the guy that they will be letting go's quote straight up. It will save you much time and figuring if it is a low ball contractor. If it is in your ball park figures on what you can do it for, then crunch numbers after you see it. If it is stupid low, respond to them that you are going to be minimum double or triple his number and ask if they still want you to proceed. Not worth wasting your time on work that is unobtainable.
Culdesacs are a pain, but with a properly set up pickup, you can fly threw them. When I did culdesacs, we had rally routes of 20-30 culdesacs per route. They were 4-5 hour routes for one truck. 10-15 minutes in a little culdesac feels like and eternity when you are in the truck.
Roads go quick. Typical rally roads with pickups were 4 passes w/ curbs. 4 passes was only due to the fact that if they were on a rally route, they were a dead end (or the city trucks would have done it) so you had to make one more pass back out or it was 3 if not a dead end. Non curbed were 3 pass unless deep enough snow that you had to "wing" in case it froze.
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Oh... and be ready for people cursing you out, throwing shovels, blowing snow at your truck as you go by, all types of stupid stuff. (your supposed to make the snow "disappear" when you roll past the end of their driveway) 
Plowing for the public body is a treat as you have 100 different people with 101 different options of how you do your job wrong.
Plowing for the public body is a treat as you have 100 different people with 101 different options of how you do your job wrong.
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If it snows 5" which 5" increment are you going to charge for ? The 2-5" or the 5-8"?
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Both...
I think I have my base pay for plowing, what percentage should I increase per tier of snowfall?
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Use 5-8". I suppose you could put down 2-4.99999" but I dont think your customer will be that particular.
Your increments did not include accumulations between 4-5" and 7-8" which may have created confusion.
Also the measuring stick I use tends to "malfunction" and round up. For example if there is 4.75" it reads 5"......
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Snow reports? Sounds like a real hassle.
It's a give and take here. If there is 1.75" on our seasonal invoiced 2" trigger accounts we plow them. Not worth arguing with a customer when all the neighbors have been plowed.
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Yes...
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Doesn't work downwind of a big lake. You can go from nothing to 3" to 8" in a few miles. Unless Weather Works is going to "certify" each location.
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For 100 or more driveways?
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