The Right Questions to Ask When Hiring a Commercial Snow Removal Company in Idaho Falls

If the snow is piling up and the first question that comes to mind is, “Wait — did I hire a snow removal company?” that’s a bad situation.

But at whatever point you’re hiring commercial snow removal, there are some key questions to ask to make sure you’ll get the safety and service you need.

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• Do You Have the Equipment and Capacity to Service My Site?
• Do You Have Enough Skilled Crew Members to Handle My Property?
• What Kind of Contracts Do You Offer?
• Do Your Vehicles and Equipment Have GPS?
• Does Your Insurance Cover You for Snow Removal Damage?
• Where Will You Pile the Snow?
• What Kind of Communication Can I Expect?
• What De-Icing Products Do You Use?
• How Long Will It Take You to Get to Us?
• Ask Questions About Your Snow Removal Contract
• Why Should I Hire You?
• How to Choose the Best Snow Removal Company? Trust Outback

What are the best questions to ask a commercial snow removal company? Do you have the equipment and capacity to service my site? What kind of contracts do you offer? Are you explicitly insured for snow removal? Where will you pile the snow?

And the list goes on.

Let’s learn more about the questions you should ask when hiring a commercial snow removal company.

Do You Have the Equipment and Capacity to Service My Site?

You don’t need to be a snow removal equipment expert to ask if the snow removal company can handle your property.

If they have just a plow or two, that won’t cut it — even if the plows are big.

Your commercial property probably has a combination of parking lots, sidewalks and walkways. That means your commercial snow removal company will need a comprehensive fleet of plows and smaller sidewalk blowers to do the job right.

That equipment needs to be well maintained, too. The biggest fleet of snow removal machines won’t do you much good if it’s unreliable and breaks down.

Do You Have Enough Skilled Crew Members to Handle My Property?

How to choose the best snow removal company?

The right equipment is essential, but so are the people operating it.

Will your contractor have enough staff to tackle your property’s needs?

Snow piles up fast here in Idaho Falls. Make sure you’re hiring commercial snow removal services with enough employees to get to your commercial property quickly. You don’t want a company that’s constantly scrambling to round up enough quality team members.

And what kind of training will they get? Ask whether their employees are trained to spread and manage ice melt. It’s essential to do this properly to avoid killing your lawn and landscaping plants and harming the environment.  

Ask if they use subcontractors. You don’t want to partner with a company that subcontracts their snow removal to less-qualified crews who don’t have the right equipment.

Here at Outback, we don’t use subcontractors for our snow removal services. We know you want to be sure exactly who is on your property doing this vital work.

What Kind of Contracts Do You Offer?

You want options when it comes to paying for your Idaho Falls snow removal.

You might be used to paying per push — paying each time your snow removal company shows up to clear snow.

That’s still an option at Outback Landscape. But most of our customers have a locked-in rate with a three or five-year seasonal snow removal contract.

A seasonal snow removal contract can provide you with anxiety-reducing peace of mind.

What’s the difference between per-visit and seasonal snow removal?

• A per-visit contract, often called “per push,” charges you each time your snow removal company clears the snow from your property. It’s great for areas with mild winters with little snow.
• A seasonal contract has you pay one fixed price to have your property plowed for the entire season, no matter how many — or how few — times it snows.

You lock in the price for three or five years. Then, rest easy. You can be sure that Outback snow removal crews will show up whenever it snows at least 1 inch from November 1 through March 15.

A seasonal snow removal contract is easier for budget planning, because your snow removal costs won't vary wildly month to month through the snow season.

You pay the same fixed amount, no matter how many times your snow removal contractor ends up plowing your property.

Instead of biting your nails and trying to guess how much you’ll end up spending on snow removal every month, you’ll know exactly how much, up front.

Maybe it’s a really mild winter, and you’re kind of ticked you paid for snow removal you didn’t need.

Don’t worry — it all evens out. Chances are, the following winter will be plenty blustery. Or the one after that.

We use historical snowfall data gathered over years to determine the price, based on how much snow we’re likely to get over three or five years.

Love the idea of hiring a commercial snow removal service, then forgetting about it? No worries about draining your budget a little at a time every time the snow piles up. And no pesky invoices to deal with every time it snows.

Do Your Vehicles and Equipment Have GPS?

In addition to having the correct type of working equipment, you should also see if the contractor has installed GPS on their trucks and machines.

GPS allows them to track their machines' locations at all times and how long they were there. It’s something we have on all of our trucks and equipment.

This comes in handy if you ever have questions about when and where the equipment was on any given day.

So, if you want to verify your bill or know when the trucks were on your site, you can do that if the contractor has GPS installed.

Does Your Insurance Cover You for Snow Removal Damage?

Is it safe to assume your Idaho Falls snow removal company has comprehensive insurance that covers its employees and the work they do?

It isn’t. You should ask them. Insurance coverage is essential.

Outback Landscape carries insurance that covers all aspects of our work, including snow removal.

But not every snow removal company does. They might have an umbrella policy that doesn’t include snow removal services.

Let’s say a worker is up on a flat roof shoveling snow, and the shovel damages your roof, causing a leak. You want to be sure that their insurance covers damage.

Make sure your commercial snow removal company is covered for the specific tasks they'll be doing on your property. If they aren’t, you’re likely responsible for any injury or damage on your property.

Where Will You Pile the Snow?

This is important, and you’ll need to figure this out together with your Idaho Falls snow removal contractor.

You might need more space than you think.

If we get eight inches of snow and you’ve only set aside a small corner of a parking lot, that’s a problem. Many property managers are surprised by how many parking spaces are taken up by piled snow from a significant snowfall.

Location matters, too. If you ask your Jackson Hole snow removal service to pile the snow at the highest point on your property, it will form a steady stream downhill as it melts and runs toward the nearest drain.

That expanse of water can freeze overnight into a treacherous sheet of black ice.

Work with your snow removal company to develop a plan for where to pile the snow.

What Kind of Communication Can I Expect?

How to choose the best snow removal company? Communication is crucial.

Make sure you partner with a snow removal company in Idaho Falls that provides a dedicated account manager who will stay in touch with you.

You want to know exactly what’s going on out there, right? Ask how they’ll keep you informed — before, during and after a storm.

You’ll have an email address and cell phone number for your Outback Landscape account manager. And our office line is monitored 24/7. If you leave a message there, we’ll get it quickly.  

We know communication is essential to you.

What De-Icing Products Do You Use?

Their answer shouldn’t be straight rock salt. That’s a snow removal red flag.

Rock salt has been the standard for decades, but there are now better, safer options.

Untreated rock salt is terrible for the environment, seeping into area waterways and killing wildlife. It’s also damaging to the surrounding landscaping, and you’ll see the ugly result of that in the spring.

Besides being harmful to the environment, straight rock salt doesn’t even work when the temperature is below 15 degrees. January lows in Idaho Falls average about 12-14 degrees. It gets even colder in Jackson Hole, with January lows a frigid 5-6 degrees.

Another disadvantage of straight rock salt: crews have to use a lot of it to melt ice, and the excess sticks to the bottom of boots and gets tracked into your buildings, damaging your flooring.

At Outback Landscape, we use only environmentally friendly ice melt products, including a menu of options tailored to specific conditions.

How to choose the best snow removal company? Partner with a company that uses other key players for de-icing, including liquid magnesium chloride, treated rock salt, and brine — all less corrosive than rock salt and significantly better for the environment.

How Long Will It Take You to Get to Us?

You don’t want to wait 9-12 hours for your Idaho Falls snow removal service to show up. It happens.

By then, all that snow has likely turned into hazardous ice.

Outback’s guarantee:  under normal snow conditions, we’ll have your property cleared by the time you open for business.

Ask Questions About Your Snow Removal Contract

What should be included in a snow removal contract? Lots of details.

If something isn’t clear, ask for clarification.

A solid snow removal contract should clearly outline all the services offered, including snow plowing, hauling, and de-icing, as well as how often crews will be on your property. It should specify the types of equipment used and include details on insurance coverage and snow-removal liability.

Your contract should also specify who to contact during winter weather emergencies and outline procedures for repairing any damage to your property after the winter season.

If your snow removal contract is just a page or so long, that’s not good enough. The more details, the better.

Why Should I Hire You?

If they can’t tell you, who can? Your Jackson Hole snow removal service should have a whole impressive list of reasons why they’re the best.

When possible, it's best to partner with a landscaping team who also provides commercial snow removal. After all, no one knows your property better than the crews who service it 12 months a year.

Why should you partner with them instead of the competition? They should give you a bunch of reassuring reasons, from their frequent communication to their comprehensive insurance coverage to their impressive fleet of equipment.

If they struggle to tell you why you should hire them, that’s a big snow removal red flag.

How to Choose the Best Snow Removal Company? Trust Outback

The commercial snow removal company you hire should help you sleep at night.

How? By ensuring they have an experienced team, substantial equipment, reassuring insurance coverage, and a communication strategy that keeps you in the know.

Trust Outback Landscape to understand how important it is for your property to be safe and clear this winter — and provide the skilled, reliable services to make that happen.

You’ll have access to a comprehensive array of snow removal services, including snow plowing, hauling and innovative ice melt applications that won’t harm your property’s turf or plant materials.

Our staff includes certified snow professionals, and all of our snow removal equipment is well-maintained and equipped with GPS systems.

Located in Idaho Falls, Idaho, we serve residential and commercial properties in Idaho Falls, Rexburg and Pocatello, Idaho, and Bonneville, Madison and Bannock counties as well as Jackson Hole, Wyoming. Contact Outback Landscape for a free snow removal estimate at 208-656-3220, or complete the contact form to schedule an on-site consultation. We’d love to hear from you.