We’re very fortunate to be joined today by Cynthia “Cindy” McCord, who is the owner of Bloomfloralscapes, a full-service landscape, construction, maintenance, and snow removal company. Today we’re going to review a snow removal company and learn, from an owner’s perspective, what does an owner need to do to evaluate a snow removal company? This is a significant expense in an operating budget, and there’s a lot of exposure to liability. Cindy is going to walk us through the evaluation of a company.
When to Start Looking for a Snow Removal Company
First and foremost, it is very important for a management company or a building owner to start the vetting process early in the season. The earlier in the summer, the better. Companies have more time to dedicate to having a conversation about snow removal, and they also have more time to structure around the potential job. So first of all, like I said, it’s most important to start early within the season so you’re not rushed.
What to Ask a Snow Removal Company
Secondly, when evaluating a snow removal company, you need to look at the complexity of the job site as well as the tenant requirements and needs, and requirements and needs might be two different things. The management company and building owner really need to have a discussion about what they’re looking for from the snow removal company. In doing that, you need to evaluate the size of the company. Bigger is not always better. There are instances where a bigger company just crowds in more jobs on trucks, and sometimes smaller companies don’t have the equipment to take care of the job appropriately. So you really have to ask questions about the density of their jobs, how they match equipment and personnel to the job, and what their game plan is.
Information about Subcontractors and Liability
You should also ask if they’ve had any of these types of jobs before, so you really are matching the property needs to how that company operates. In doing so, you need to know who that company contact will be, and what their communication style and reporting style is regarding the snow removal. It’s also important to ask about their use of subcontractors, which is not necessarily a bad thing to do. However, you need to make sure the reporting and communication are consistent through all layers. You need to know how the primary snow removal company manages their subcontractor for quality control, liability, and risk assessment to ensure that the insurance meets the building owner’s and the management company’s. So those are the few items that I would consider most important to begin the process of evaluating a snow removal company.
