Brent Ayles, vice president of Ayles Natural Landscaping Ltd., Riverview, New Brunswick (http://aylesnaturallandscaping.com), notes that while 60% of his company’s snow removal division is residential, it’s only about 40% of the revenue. Still, he views it as a loss leader that makes the company invaluable to its customers.
“The business definitely carries over into our green season—the added service lets us keep in touch with clients all year,” he says. One of the biggest differences he points to between commercial and residential service is the labor intensity. “Residential takes more time. There’s lots of shoveling, lots of walkway control.”
The equipment Ayles keeps on hand for this business segment includes a small tractor, loader with blower and skid steers with blowers, as well as walk-behind blowers and hand shovels. “It can be difficult at times to find people who want to do the work,” he admits. “It’s more physical and requires more patience. Only about 50% of a property can be cleared in-vehicle.”
Ayles resists subcontracting, with a few exceptions (hauling away snow, for example). With an average annual snowfall of about 10 to 15 ft., residents hardly fear the white stuff, he says, and the market is only about 120,000 strong, with lots of competition. Still, last year was a particularly busy one for his company: there were 39 events, double the 19-event average.
“Rising fuel costs have hit us hard,” he points out. “This year, we developed limits on contracts—we clear up to 250 cm., then charge per push or per event. In the past, we had tried by centimeter only, but my 5 cm. might be different than your 5 cm.—this way should be easier.”
Dedicated Crews
Ayles commits certain crews specifically to residential. He splits them up further into two-person crews of drivers and hand tool workers. “The main focus is to clear to the street, then do the finishing work,” he says. “We used to make it so that you worked your way up to driver. Not anymore: We wanted the crews to take responsibility for the project as a whole. We needed to get out of the mindset of ‘shoveling crew vs. plow crew.’”
To that end, drivers exit the truck and pick up a shovel, and shovelers slide in behind the steering wheel. “They’re now more efficient as a team, because they know what it takes to get the entire job done,” he says.
Ice Control
Ayles notes that it’s nearly impossible to use salt in residential accounts, because of the landscaping concerns. Rather, the company recently reduced its salt consumption by 35% by using liquefied brine. “Snow and ice service is something people need,” he says. “Everything else we sell (on the green side) is nice to have, but not needed. Snow service is necessary, and they look to us as professionals to do it efficiently and effectively.”
Accomplishing those two goals is a continuous improvement process, he concludes. “We take photos every storm, and hold a team meeting the week after to look at the pros and cons,” he says. “We are always looking at how we can do things even better.”
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Pictures above: Ayles Natural Landscaping Ltd. residential teams at work. Read more about residential work in "What if you could add residential to your profile?" from the September/October issue of Snow Business.
