Snow Removal...How do you provide it and keep tenants happy?

[Michael Ablan]

Hey guys,

So mother winter has been a royal ....... witch this year.  If we aren't getting feet of snow, then we're getting -20 weather and/or freezing rain.    We provide snow removal for a majority of our properties.  We try to set the expectations on move in.  Our plow guy will be there very early, around 3-6 a.m and will move all of the heavy snow out of the way, as well as snow blowing sidewalks.  After the 1st plow, they will only be back if we get another 6" of accumulation.  The tenant is responsible for keeping their porches/stairs clean, and any misc snow that gets shuffled around as people start moving their cars in the morning.

In previous years, this worked just fine, but I also had significantly less properties.  However, this year has been hell.   I think most of the blame is on the insane amounts of snowfall, but I also think I hired a plow guy who couldn't handle the amount of properties I put on his table. I made it a point to find someone who had multiple trucks, tractors, employees, but it didn't seem to matter.  I'd always get calls from people who'd get stuck at the mouth of their driveway, because the street plows would push giant pounds there from the road.  The plow guy wouldn't come back unless there was a new snowfall or unless I called and passed on the complaints.  

This is just one of many different complains tenants had this year.  So now I'm trying to devise a new game plan for next year. 

How does everyone else handle snow removal for their portfolios?  How often do you plow?  What do you plow?  What do you expect your tenants to do themselves?  How do you keep people happy when they work at different times?  How do you tell a disabled tenant that they're responsible for doing minor shoveling?

I'm considering buying a couple trucks and having our guys handle it, with a focus on only our properties.  This method will probably cost us more money in the long run, but we will have direct control over the quality of work.  My #1 priority is to provide A+ customer service.  I wasn't able to achieve these with the plow guy we had this year, and I fear I'll never be able to do it unless I staff the men myself and oversee it.  

Any tips/tricks would be greatly appreciated.   Thank you!