During the next snowstorm, pay attention to all of the driveways sitting full of snow as you pass by to your contract jobs. Those driveways will need attention at some point. Either Joe Homeowner has his own equipment, he’ll be out there doing it himself for 3 hours with a snow shovel, or he’ll be on the phone trying to find someone to blade out the drive.
When you’re passing by all of these driveways, your truck is still eating fuel, which means lost profit. Snow plow operators know that route density is an important part of profitability. While signing up clients for next season, you’re constantly looking at where each new customer is in relation to other customers. If clients are spread out all over creation, you won’t be nearly as productive. Time spent driving to the next job is time you’re not earning money, you’re bleeding money.
Finding Solutions For Route Density Issues
The founders of Plowz & Mowz have come up with a relatively simple solution to the efficiency issue. They developed a smartphone app that puts customers in touch with providers. During snow days, Plowz is actively taking orders for one-off snow plowing jobs. Those orders are then passed along to a commercial snow plow operator via smartphone. The Plowz app provides the snow plow operator with a network of potential customers.
For The Homeowner, End-User, It’s A Simple Process
- Contact Plowz by smartphone or home computer
- Describe the size of driveway
- Pay for the service
- Driveway is plowed and homeowner receives a photo confirmation
When Plowz receives the order, they scan the closest available commercial snow plows on the network and make the job available via smartphone.
Snow Plow Operators Can Get On The Plowz Network Easily
- Sign up with Plowz & Mowz – operators must send in proof of liability insurance, and
must be using commercial grade equipment - Download the Plowz app to your phone
- A provider link is sent from Plowz via text message and shortly after you’ll receive job opportunities
When you’ve signed up, you’ll see what jobs are available and be able to look over the details. It’s the operators choice to take or decline jobs. Claiming a job is as easy as clicking on the ‘Request Job’ button. If the job is assigned to you, it will appear on your ‘Claimed’ tab.
Plowz & Mowz scans through the available operators in an area using GPS Fleet Management. This is provided free upon sign up.
How Will You Be Paid For Your Snow Plowing Efforts?
Before you claim a job, you’ll be able to see the amount you’ll earn, location, and description of drive. Once you claim and finish the job, you’ll take a picture of the finished driveway. Plowz will either direct deposit into your account or you can choose to receive a mailed check every two weeks. If the operator chooses direct deposit, funds will be deposited within 24 hours of the job being completed. Each job is split 70/30 with 70% going to the provider and 30% going to Plowz for administrative services.
When Does The Job Need To Be Finished?
Each job provided by Plowz needs to be finished by the end of that day. If breakdowns or weather get in the way of providing service, Plowz will reassign the job to another provider. When a snow plow operator receives job opportunities on his/her phone, they are only opportunities. There’s no obligation to take the jobs. However, someone will take the job, why not fill in the holes in your route and pocket more money.
How Does Plowz Determine What To Charge?
Plowz has a program that determines charges per job. They take into account the size of the driveway. Is the drive less than 3 car lengths, 3-6 car lengths, or more? How deep is the snow on the drive? More snow means more money. Is it a high volume, high demand time frame? During a high volume period, rates are adjusted upwards to account for demand. According to Plowz, the average snow plow operator makes over $1200 additional during a storm.
Plowz takes a lot of variables into account when setting rates. Providers don’t know how much snow a snow storm will dump on an area until it’s done. Because of this, contract customers may pay the same for big snows as they do for lighter snowfalls. Plowz adjusts the rate according to how much snow is being moved and when. These real-time adjustments mean that while smaller jobs may not pay quite as well on average, the bigger jobs usually pay more.
Questions And Concerns Regarding Plowz & Mowz
Let’s face it, anytime a new competitor comes into a market, there’s a chance you’re going to lose some customers. This depends on whether you look at Plowz as a competitor or an opportunity to use technology to increase your business. Some snow plow companies will argue that Plowz is another big company coming in and taking business away from local operators. Consider the opportunity to increase your profitability, efficiency and productivity. Plowz handles all of the office work for you. They take care of the administrative aspects of the business. Plowz communicates with the homeowners, sets a fair rate, collects, and then distributes the operators 70% share. It’s possible that a contract customer might opt out and use Plowz next year. But, it’s more likely you’ll be able to pick up more than enough additional jobs to boost your bottom line significantly.
Remember, it’s your name on the side of the truck, not Plowz. The customer used the app to find you, much like they would any other marketing or advertising. If you pick up a contract customer next season because you did good work through Plowz, that’s more money in your pocket. It’s win, win. The homeowner gets their driveway plowed at a fair rate, the snow plow operator gets to fill in their route, and Plowz makes some money providing customer support and handling accounting and administrative issues. It’s as American as apple pie. Good ‘ol American ingenuity at it’s best.
Some will compare Plowz & Mowz to the Uber car service. The two are similar in that they provide on-demand service, but Plowz & Mowz providers are professionals with an average 7 years of experience, commercial grade equipment, and at least 1 million dollars in liability coverage. These requirements discourage fly-by-night businesses and low-ballers.
Plowz And Mowz Is A Year Round Service
Of course, if you’re doing landscaping and mowing in the summer months, you’ll be glad to know that Mowz is the other side of the Plowz & Mowz business. According to Mowz, the average provider makes an additional $600 per week on one-off jobs. They have developed a recurring service arrangement primarily for Mowz customers.
If Plowz & Mowz hasn’t made it into your market yet, just wait, it’s coming. They’re expanding into metropolitan markets throughout the country. They are currently serving over 30 municipal markets nationwide and adding more every year.
If you’re curious, it doesn’t cost anything to sign up with Plowz & Mowz. You might be surprised how much more profitable your business can be.
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Brent Jarvis for SnowPlowNews