By Paul Vanderzon
I have had multiple discussions with snow contractors about staking driveways for residential clients. The first question is always whether or not to charge. I have found that all the advantages for staking driveways are on the contractor side, so I have a hard time with the idea of charging my clients for something that is totally beneficial to me. Here are my three reasons why we stake and do not charge our clients for this service:
Minimize damage. The No. 1 reason is to minimize property damage and damage to your equipment. If all the hazards and property limits are staked, it makes it much quicker to plow and the chance of causing property damage is greatly reduced. This becomes a huge plus for the contractor, saving costly lawn and landscape repairs in the spring. It also greatly reduces the risk of equipment breakdown during the height of the storm. No one likes damage done to their property, even if it’s repaired in a timely manner. The most satisfied clients usually are the ones who have never had damage done to their properties.
Identification. The second reason is to help the drivers identify which properties are theirs to plow. It can be argued that the driver should know his route inside out and not miss a single client. This is true, but chances are that a well-marked property will be easier to find in the dark when it’s snowing and thus less likely to be overlooked. This will increase the driver’s productivity and decrease the chance of you getting a call from an unhappy client who was missed. A staked property can be especially helpful if you have a replacement driver who is less familiar with the route he has been assigned. The most satisfied clients usually are the ones who have never been missed.
Advertising. The third reason has no benefit at all for the client, but pays huge dividends for our company. We use the stakes to advertise our company name and phone number. Years ago, we stencilled our company info on wooden stakes, which was a very time-consuming job but increased our visibility in our market. We have since gone to fiberglass poles and printed sleeves that we slide over the poles. Every year we still advertise in the local papers and send out marketing flyers. We get minimal response from these forms of advertising, but once we start installing our property stakes, the phone really starts ringing. It’s like a wakeup call that winter is coming. It shows that we are now prepared and reminds those clients who have not yet renewed that they better hurry up. In the first weeks as we go out and stake new and renewal clients, we can expect hundreds of calls. When we start staking, you may see 15 clients on a street done, and as the week progresses that can go up to 20. By the end of the month it can be as many as 30 drives. The effect on potential clients is that they quickly decide we are the ones to hire for their snow clearing. This has been our most successful form of advertising ever, since for close to six months our company name and info is visible 24/7. It has been so successful that we even use these signs at all of our commercial sites.
When you add all of these things up, the cost and time it takes to stake your clients' drives is offset by the benefits you receive—most importantly a satisfied client.
Paul Vanderzon co-owns and operates Amenagements Paysagers Vanderzon Inc., a large snow and ice management firm in Quebec, Canada, which manages more than 2,700 residential accounts. Photo courtesy of Paul Vanderzon.
