This past winter tested many contractors with exceptional storms. Early pre-season storms tested readiness, and ice storms, blizzards and heavy snowfalls tested capacity, capability and wherewithal.
Winter storm extremes test and stress your business. Your staff's endurance is stretched; their readiness and training are tested. The success of your equipment selection and preventive maintenance program is measured by how many pieces of equipment survive the event. Supplier relationships will be tested because their capacity to deal with the extremes will be challenged. Financial resources are stretched as employees, subcontractors and vendors expect payment before customers begin paying. Pre-season planning and preparedness is either sufficient or some degree of failure occurs.
Service failures—for whatever reason—put your customer relationships at risk. You were hired to manage snow and ice; and in the final analysis, it's not how you think you did, it's how your customer believes you performed.
Do your customers know what to expect when extreme storms occur? Are you prepared for an extreme weather event? Can your company survive the impact operationally and financially?
It's your responsibility
Even if you perform as you believe you should have, customers may still perceive there was a service failure if their expectations were not met. Their expectations are shaped from conversations prior to the season, and certainly before an extreme event occurs. The conversations you have with your customers during the sales process and customer service experience contribute to their expectations.
Unspoken expectations can be difficult to satisfy. Customers are not always able to envision the impact of an extreme storm and tell you exactly what they need. It is up to you to make sure your customers know what they are buying. You need to have realistic—and sometimes difficult—conversations with your customers about expectations.
Moments of truth
Because the customer is buying a service that cannot be seen or touched, how will he or she determine value? There are moments of truth during the season that will be "tangible" experiences for the customer. Most often, those moments will come from a time or situation when the customer really needs you—and extreme storms will be one of those times.
Customers did not decide to buy services from you because of your contract. The decision was a personal one, based on the experience working with the sales-person and the staff during the sales process. Their understanding of the service they can expect is not likely derived from the small print of the contract, but rather, from what they learned from you personally. When it comes time to renew the contract, their determination of whether they received value will be based on their feelings and impressions.
Conversations and contracts
The contract lays out the operating agreements and expectations for both parties. But many times, there is a disconnect among what is written, what the contractor promised, and what the customer expects. When there is a disagreement resulting in a lawsuit, the written contract will significantly influence the decision of an arbitrator or judge.
Regardless of whether the legal system finds in your favor, the decision from the "court of customer opinion" may hold just as much weight.
"It's in the contract" is not the response customers want to hear when they receive an invoice for services not anticipated or expected. Do your customers know what will happen under different weather scenarios?
Upfront conversations are better than after-the-fact explanations. The customer may want to rush through your "needs analysis" phase of the sales process, but you must confirm that your understanding of how the service is to be performed aligns with their expectations. This is a critical opportunity to educate your customer. Your contract should be specific enough that it outlines what is and is not included in the service program.
Define the scope of service
Written specifications may be of little value, depending on who wrote them and whether they truly represent the needs and desires of the business. Written specifications need to be reviewed, discussed and tested to determine whether the written scope is actually the specification for which the proposal and contract should be constructed.
Let's assume that your client has a 2½-acre retail parking lot and asks for snow clearing when there is 1 in. of snow. Ice control applications should be applied when there are generally slippery conditions. The site is open from 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. daily, closed Sundays. In-house staff will clear sidewalks when the store is open. Stacking, relocating and hauling work will be performed via written request only.
These specifications outline what services are to be performed and when, correct? Before signing this contract, I would ask additional questions (see sidebar) to more thoroughly gauge their true expectations.
By asking scenario-based questions, you can begin to determine how much service the customer really expects and whether the written specification accurately reflect their needs and desires. You can discuss whether their budget will cover the level of service they desire.
Seasonal contracts
If your customers have a seasonal agreement, how much service will you include in the seasonal contract price vs. what will be extra? When you provide pricing for seasonal contracts, does your pricing assume that the service you perform will be based on a decade's average? Do you account for the greater risk you assume in a one-year agreement vs. offering a pricing incentive for a three- or five-year contract that more closely resembles the averages for the area?
What services are considered "normal," and what is "extreme" service that would require an additional charge? How is extreme defined? Does this vary by the type of contract? How will the additional service costs be invoiced? Does this work need to be authorized in advance of the storm, or did you receive approval at the beginning of the season for these scenarios?
Your contract should answer these questions clearly, and explain how and when the customer can expect to be invoiced. Your customers will appreciate your having upfront, clear and concise conversations with them.
SAMPLE CLARIFYING QUESTIONS
Frequency of Service:
- Is the 1-in. trigger a guideline or absolute measure of snowfall for service to commence?
- Should ice control applications be made prior to the trigger depth being reached?
- Should ice control applications be made throughout a daytime storm event to keep the pavement clear and wet during the day?
- What is the expectation when there is a continuous snowfall?
- If our truck finishes plowing the property and another inch of snow has fallen, should the truck plow the lot again, or should we leave and return later?
- Do you expect a minimum interval of time between visits?
- How much snow accumulation are you willing to tolerate between service visits?
- How frequently do you want your property to be serviced in any given day?
- What is the maximum number of visits you would want us to service the property during the day?
- What is the longest period of time you will wait for service if you have the trigger depth of snow on the ground?
- After completing service, if we return two hours later and there is 2 to 3 in of new snowfall, is that acceptable?
- For continuous heavy snow storms, do you authorize use of loaders and special equipment as required to maintain access to your property?
- If there is an ice storm that requires multiple/heavy applications of deicing chemical, are there any limits that you want to impose?
- Are we authorized to anti-ice in advance of a forecasted freezing rain/ice storm scenario?
- What is the longest period of time that you are willing to wait for service in an extreme scenario?
- Does action for this type of event require special authorization at the time of the event?
- Do you authorize us in advance of the winter season to do what is necessary to keep your property open and accessible?
- Who is the emergency contact? Who is the backup contact if we cannot reach the primary?
- Do you have an established snow services budget? Does this budget include contingencies for extreme weather?
Douglas Freer, CSP, owns Blue Moose Co., Inc. in Cleveland. Contact him at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .
