5 Things St. Louis Snow Companies Often Miss

When it comes to commercial snow removal, you want to find a company that not only gets the work done in a timely manner—but gets it done well. After all, slip and fall accidents are a huge liability and one that you want to avoid at all costs. But beyond that critical point, without your property thoroughly cleared, you can’t even get your business day started. That’s why it’s so important that you find a commercial snow and ice management company that is reliable.

While no company is perfect, you want to find one that does not frequently make mistakes that could be costly to you. Unfortunately, there are some common mistakes that snow removal companies do make.

Here are five things that some snow companies tend to miss and that you should look to avoid.

  1. Providing Ample Communication

Communication is absolutely vital when it comes to commercial snow removal. That might sound pretty obvious, but lack of communication is a major concern in the snow and ice management industry. Too often, snow and ice management companies fail to regularly communicate with their clients and may even leave them in the lurch in the midst of a big snow event. The last thing you want is to be unable to reach your snow removal company during a storm. Make sure that you find a company that provides contact information, including ways to reach them around the clock. Bluegrass offers a snow hotline for tis customers that is available 24 hours a day. If an issue suddenly arises or a site is experiencing refreezing, we want to know!

  1. Clearing Walkways, Docks, and Ramps

These vital elements to your commercial business may be overlooked by a snow removal company that is rushed or under-staffed. But walkways, docks, and ramps can pose a major liability and should be given thoughtful attention.

Even if these elements are being cleared, you need to ensure that they are being cleared well. These types of structures take time to clear of ice and snow. Because your snow company may be rushed to move on to the next job, they might fail to put in the time that’s really needed to effectively and thoroughly clear them, leaving them a lingering liability!

How is your snow removal company working with your facility manager to ensure that high-liability areas are cared for properly? Bluegrass creates detailed site maps which get passed on to operators so that they know and understand all of the details involved with every site.

  1. The “Small” Details

How thorough is your snow and ice removal company when it comes to the “small stuff?” Are they asking you a lot of questions about your facility and its operations in order to ensure the snow removal process is customized to your needs? Or are they doing it their way?

When it comes to commercial snow and ice removal, the small details really do matter. Everything from what time your employees start arriving to what time you open your doors to customers or patients are details that really matter. You want to find a company that is going to take all of those details into account and that will be customizing their services to your exact needs. After all, there really are no “small” details when it comes to something as serious as commercial snow and ice removal. With the liability that is associated with these services, it’s the small details that sometimes count the most.

One way that you can feel confident that your snow removal company is committed to details is in their contract. A skimpy contract that is lacking in detail is likely indicative of a company that will fail to be thorough or detail-oriented in their work.

  1. The Opportunity to De-Ice

Snow isn’t the only danger in winter. Ice can actually be worse. But not all snow companies out there are going to offer de-icing services—and that’s a missed opportunity to ensure your property is as safe as it can be. Each year, more than 1 million people seek hospital treatments for slip-and-fall accidents. Oftentimes these are due to ice, not snow. Be sure that you choose a commercial snow service that is not overlooking the dangers of ice and that can offer you viable solutions. In order to make your property as safe as possible you must find a company that you can trust to make calls on deicing when they are necessary. These are often last-minute decisions. At Bluegrass, we are risk-management-focused and use weather reporting services in order to assist with treatment decisions. We will always take the safe route to ensure that your property is safe—and ready.

  1. Keeping Important Signage Clear

When snow companies move snow around on your property, are they being careful to keep important signage clear in your parking lot or are they moving snow in such a way that it completely blocks your signs? Are they keeping handicapped spots well cleared or are they blocking them with snow? What about fire hydrants or postal boxes? Or even line of sight? When snow is piled too high in a blind spot, it can cause accidents.

It’s important that the snow removal company you work with keeps important signs, spots, and structures clear. They should take the time to discuss this with you upfront. These seem like common sense items but as you drive through commercial lots in your area, you’ll see how often these important details are overlooked in haste.

Choosing a Snow Removal Company that Minimizes Errors

At Bluegrass Landscaping & Maintenance we are by no means saying we are perfect. Any company that tries to tell you they’ve never made a mistake isn’t being honest. But we can tell you that we have steps in place to ensure that we are minimizing errors. And, more importantly, if we do make a mistake, then we take the necessary steps to fix it—quickly.

Most companies have not taken the time—or put in the effort—to create a quality assurance program to ensure that the quality of the snow removal was done in a way that meets the expectations of their clients. At Bluegrass, we have a quality assurance program to ensure that properties are being taken care of properly.

When it comes to something as important as clearing your property of snow and ice, you should not take any chances. Seek out a company that is going to avoid these common errors and prevent you from having even more headaches. The last thing you want during a snow and ice event is to make the situation even worse with an unreliable service. Choosing a company that you can trust will help ensure that your winter season goes smoothly regardless of what Mother Nature throws at us.