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S2-96: Lessons Learned for your New/Young Snow Company Part 3
832 Plays20 days ago
The guys welcome back Mike and Scott to do a third installment of "Lessons Learned" by popular demand, and this episode is all fielding listener questions from Part 1 and Part 2!
Recommended
Transcript
Introduction and Episode Overview
00:00:39
The SnowJobs Podcast
Here we go. Snow jobs nation episode 95 of the snow jobs podcast powered by top gun backblades is off and running as always. I'm Steve. You know, who's with me? Maine man, snow dude extraordinaire, Rick James.
00:01:03
The SnowJobs Podcast
Jeremy Lindstrom is in the house. What's up Jay?
00:01:07
RICK JAMES
Hey, not a lot not a lot going on just ah Yeah, yeah sure hey, what do you expect from me?
00:01:09
The SnowJobs Podcast
Bringing the energy right out of the gate. ah Hey, ah ah i hear you your Vikings lose today or when?
00:01:17
RICK JAMES
Oh They won today with this thing gonna air too.
00:01:20
The SnowJobs Podcast
What are we doing? They won.
00:01:24
RICK JAMES
Oh, yeah, but but we'll see
00:01:25
The SnowJobs Podcast
All right. All right. Yeah. We're, we're doing this a week in advance of when
Guest Introductions and Teasers
00:01:29
The SnowJobs Podcast
it's going to drop, but the the Vikings won today.
00:01:29
RICK JAMES
yeah well
00:01:31
The SnowJobs Podcast
So Jeremy should be in a good mood had Darnold do.
00:01:35
RICK JAMES
I fell asleep.
00:01:36
The SnowJobs Podcast
Okay. Oh, all right. Well, that was a good day. Did you fall asleep or did you pass out?
00:01:39
RICK JAMES
Yeah.
00:01:43
RICK JAMES
Fuck.
00:01:44
The SnowJobs Podcast
ah There you go.
00:01:45
RICK JAMES
I fell asleep. passo Really good.
00:01:47
The SnowJobs Podcast
Oh man. Everything good.
00:01:50
RICK JAMES
Yeah. I don't know. Hopefully by this time next week, we'll have had one push under our belt.
00:01:54
The SnowJobs Podcast
Yeah. Right. They're calling for it. Right.
00:01:57
RICK JAMES
Yep. Yeah. We'll see.
00:01:59
The SnowJobs Podcast
See if the weather guys are right or wrong, right out of the gate.
00:02:02
RICK JAMES
Yeah. So yeah.
00:02:03
The SnowJobs Podcast
That'd be so great if that did not materialize and we could break their balls this early in the year.
00:02:03
RICK JAMES
couple
00:02:08
The SnowJobs Podcast
It'd be awesome. It'd be so much fun for the rest of the winter.
00:02:12
RICK JAMES
Now we need to get started.
00:02:12
The SnowJobs Podcast
Oh, shoot. All right. Well, hopefully you get a push out of, what are they calling for?
00:02:17
RICK JAMES
Two to three.
00:02:18
The SnowJobs Podcast
Oh, two to three, a big one in Fargo.
00:02:21
RICK JAMES
a Huge, yeah, huge.
00:02:22
The SnowJobs Podcast
That's huge in Fargo. Cause with wind that's like at least 16 inches in some spots, right?
00:02:27
RICK JAMES
Probably up, you know.
00:02:28
The SnowJobs Podcast
All right. Is it going to be powder or you think it's going to be wet this early in the season?
00:02:33
RICK JAMES
Supposed to rain turn turn from rain to snow so it'll be wet.
00:02:35
The SnowJobs Podcast
Oh.
00:02:37
RICK JAMES
I'm sure But it's all it's gonna be cold.
00:02:38
The SnowJobs Podcast
Concrete.
00:02:40
RICK JAMES
I mean 20s and lows of teens for the next 10 days We should be oh it's gonna turn a jello Doesn't on the weekends though doesn't turn a jello on weekends just during the week
00:02:45
The SnowJobs Podcast
Man, I hope you're spending your brine every day. Oh, I hope you hope so. but ah
00:02:56
The SnowJobs Podcast
ah Oh, goodness. Oh, you're gonna get me going here. Oh, what are we doing today, guys? All right. By popular demand. We have mighty Mike San Luisito of ODP and super Scott Lee Zach of Castle Rocks. They are back as per your demands. All right. You guys are greedy as hell and demand that we do some more of those first two episodes with them. So we are back for round three. You guys send in a bunch of questions.
Podcast Reach and Merchandise
00:03:22
The SnowJobs Podcast
ah So us and the boys are getting together tonight again to answer them all right so uh this is all listener questions so it should be another good one we sent the questions to uh mike and scott and um you know they're excited about it so they've had time to think about their answers and you know it should be a lot of good information for you but before we do that as always let's hear from our partners at Top Gun and come back and do our weekend review real quick
00:04:20
The SnowJobs Podcast
All right, guys, we're back. Oh, we can review. Let's see. What do we got? You know, we've we got that wrapped right that Spotify does every year at the end of the year. We got that wrapped last year. And it was pretty interesting because it said the snow jobs were listened to in 17, I think. Was it 17 countries, Jay?
00:04:39
RICK JAMES
Yeah, I believe so. yeah
00:04:40
The SnowJobs Podcast
something like that. And we're like, we're calling bullshit on on some of this stuff. And because it was like Argentina, Ireland, and one of them was Australia, and we're like Australia. There were like 17 listeners listed in Australia. Like how the hell can that be possible? Does it even snow in Australia? Well, we kind of thought it was snow guys from the United States maybe going on vacation there and listening while they were there. But apparently not, because this week we actually got a merchandise order from Victoria, Australia, from a Harrison Watt in Victoria, Australia.
00:05:10
RICK JAMES
Yeah.
00:05:14
The SnowJobs Podcast
ah And I had to look it up. Me and Jeremy were on the phone. We're like, is this legit? And we looked it up, and Australia actually does some parts of Australia get a couple snow events a year.
Merchandise Popularity and Design Ideas
00:05:24
RICK JAMES
Yeah, that was crazy.
00:05:24
The SnowJobs Podcast
Crazy.
00:05:25
RICK JAMES
I never thought that. I sent a few extra things in there for him.
00:05:29
The SnowJobs Podcast
Absolutely.
00:05:29
RICK JAMES
Figured why not.
00:05:30
The SnowJobs Podcast
Got to do it. Got to take care of our Australian listeners. Good eye, mate.
00:05:35
RICK JAMES
Yeah.
00:05:36
RICK JAMES
yeah how we yeah How many times do people like you get punched down there and people say that, do you think?
00:05:36
The SnowJobs Podcast
oh
00:05:42
The SnowJobs Podcast
Oh god, probably a lot, man. Probably a lot.
00:05:44
RICK JAMES
ah
00:05:45
RICK JAMES
like
00:05:45
The SnowJobs Podcast
Yeah, I'd get knocked the fuck out, absolutely.
00:05:48
RICK JAMES
ah who i Oh, God.
00:05:49
The SnowJobs Podcast
ah I'd be doing the dumb and dumber shit. Throw another shrimp on a barbie! but the Yeah, but Harrison Harrison Watt if you're listening from Victoria Australia, we really appreciate it man.
00:05:56
RICK JAMES
yeah
00:06:01
The SnowJobs Podcast
That's friggin awesome It's super cool and you know reach out if we yeah if you ever have any need that to talk snow was I don't know how much snow you're getting but you know We'd be happy to talk to somebody in Australia if that's listening to this because it's it's really cool and ah hopefully you like the extra stuff and
00:06:17
RICK JAMES
Wonder when I wonder when it's going to get there.
00:06:21
The SnowJobs Podcast
I know. ah Yeah. What's it taking? Like a freighter. but ah it's I don't know what the Australian ah currency translates to an American dollars, but it was pretty pricey for a car heart.
00:06:26
RICK JAMES
I don't have an idea. It's not Pony Express. I can guarantee that.
00:06:38
The SnowJobs Podcast
It was pretty crazy to see that on Shopify.
00:06:41
RICK JAMES
Yeah.
00:06:42
The SnowJobs Podcast
But Harrison, thanks for listening, bud. That is ah that's pretty crazy. And we didn't believe it until he ordered the merchandise. So hope you enjoy it and hope you enjoy the show. And thanks for listening.
00:06:53
The SnowJobs Podcast
What else do we got here, Jay? ah You're typical, right? Like and subscribe. Jeremy wants his likes. He wants his ratings. ah Like and subscribe to the show and keep buying the merch.
00:07:01
RICK JAMES
Yeah.
00:07:04
The SnowJobs Podcast
We had a big run this week, right?
00:07:05
RICK JAMES
Why don't you have some Hill and Dickinson, but, uh, seven of them.
00:07:06
The SnowJobs Podcast
Big run on the ah your girl is on my plow list shirts.
00:07:13
The SnowJobs Podcast
Seven I know that's a that's a bachelor party right there bought one for everybody at the bachelor party Absolutely good for him.
00:07:13
RICK JAMES
ah Yeah. They're going out tomorrow. Yeah. but hey I'll send them. I'll keep making them.
00:07:25
The SnowJobs Podcast
That's awesome man. What else you got going on check?
00:07:27
RICK JAMES
Yeah.
00:07:29
RICK JAMES
Oh, like I said, um hopefully we're pushing snow, but we'll see money as far as snow jobs. Hopefully we're getting a new sweatshirt here sooner or later. I think they're working on something for us so we can hopefully have some sort of news new design.
00:07:40
The SnowJobs Podcast
All right
00:07:46
The SnowJobs Podcast
New design. Just say no.
00:07:47
RICK JAMES
No,
00:07:49
RICK JAMES
no
00:07:50
RICK JAMES
to what?
00:07:50
The SnowJobs Podcast
That'd be a good one.
00:07:51
The SnowJobs Podcast
Just say no to nationals.
Listener Questions Introduction
00:07:53
RICK JAMES
Oh, yeah.
00:07:55
The SnowJobs Podcast
Put giant just say no on the back and then two nationals tiny on the bottom.
00:07:55
RICK JAMES
Yeah.
00:08:00
RICK JAMES
Yeah.
00:08:01
The SnowJobs Podcast
That would sell. I would sell.
00:08:02
RICK JAMES
Yep. that
00:08:04
The SnowJobs Podcast
ah ah We got anything else on the week in review? I think we're just going to get into it with the boys here.
00:08:10
RICK JAMES
Let's get into it.
00:08:11
The SnowJobs Podcast
You're good to go. All right, guys, let's hear from our partners and we will be back and get into this with Mike and
00:08:12
RICK JAMES
Yeah.
Bid Presentation Insights
00:11:11
The SnowJobs Podcast
All right, guys, we are back. So we're going to bring in Mike and Scott and we're just going to get back into this. So as soon as they step into the, there we go. All right. Everybody's unmuted and ready. Mike, Scotty, what's going on by how are you guys?
00:11:27
Mike Santolucito
Doing great.
00:11:29
Scott Lesak
Phenomenal man, it's a good day.
00:11:30
The SnowJobs Podcast
Another Sunday night with the snow jobs.
00:11:31
RICK JAMES
That's good. Good. yeah
00:11:35
The SnowJobs Podcast
You guys are too good at what you do. We have to keep having you back. We're going to have to start paying you guys soon. This is getting crazy. Guys have too much good info. Everybody wants more of it.
00:11:44
Mike Santolucito
Let's keep it rolling.
00:11:44
The SnowJobs Podcast
um What's that?
00:11:44
RICK JAMES
When do I get paid?
00:11:47
RICK JAMES
When do I get paid?
00:11:49
The SnowJobs Podcast
Whenever we want. um We got to figure that out. We do. We really do. We got to figure that out. Oh, boys.
00:11:55
RICK JAMES
Yeah, yeah whatever.
00:11:56
The SnowJobs Podcast
You guys, ah you all got the list of listener questions that they sent in, right?
00:12:00
Mike Santolucito
Yes, sir.
00:12:00
Scott Lesak
Yes, sir.
00:12:02
The SnowJobs Podcast
All right. So then let's just get into it there. Uh, the first one came from Mitch. Uh, I don't want to butcher this Mitch Jobin or Mitch Jobin. Uh, and he wanted to know, can you explain what a bid presentation meeting looks like for your companies when you do them? Uh, cause we talked about, you know, making sure you got in front of the people and presented the bid and went over it with them. Uh, he wanted to know what goes on, what that kind of meeting looks like for your companies. Um, so Mike, you want to kick us off? Have you done them?
00:12:31
Mike Santolucito
Yeah, yeah, done quite a few of them. So it depends on the client a little bit, but normally it would be either in their office or on site. Usually you would have ah your operations manager with you, ah your right hand, if you're the business owner who's going to be running the site, maybe a few of the operators, if there are seasoned guys in the air that are going to be there.
00:12:53
Mike Santolucito
And you just kind of chat about the history of the company, how you guys kind of got started, ah what you specialize in, ah the technology that you guys invest in, what you guys invest in for your people as far as training, um what you give them to be successful on site.
00:13:09
Mike Santolucito
um You also go over any of the incidentals like the apps that you use for accountability, whether it's time tracking or whether it's photo updates that they need other before, during or after the events. And then you kind of you put the ball in their court and you say, hey, how do you guys prefer to get your communication fed to you?
00:13:29
Mike Santolucito
How do you guys prefer to do the afterstorm, huddle the updates? you know what What are some pain points that you guys have gone through with previous vendors? you know what What do we need to put into this contract that's special to your site that may not have made it to the ah RFP? Maybe the RFP is a little outdated. And then you kind of you trickle into just simple conversations from there. And inevitably, you're going to think of some you know things along the way that you may not have written down that you want to ask them or or same with them. They may have a list they're going to ask you that There could be a few things they think about at the top of their head that just comes to mind, but so that's the brunt of it.
00:14:02
The SnowJobs Podcast
Sure.
00:14:04
Mike Santolucito
You can bring lunch, you can bring coffee, and whatever to set the tone and get everybody engaged involved and involved. You can get fancy with it too. You can do a whole PowerPoint with ah photos and videos of you guys working, you know show off your equipment, show off your team.
00:14:20
Mike Santolucito
If you're in that kind of setting, if not, if it's kind of a meat and potatoes meeting, maybe just stick to the basics.
00:14:25
The SnowJobs Podcast
Mm hmm. Cool.
00:14:27
RICK JAMES
bring and Do you bring your kitty, Matt?
00:14:29
The SnowJobs Podcast
The giant cat.
00:14:29
RICK JAMES
Mike? Do you bring your cat with?
00:14:30
Mike Santolucito
No. No. I should get one of those backpack carriers though.
00:14:34
The SnowJobs Podcast
oh
00:14:34
RICK JAMES
I might close the deal. Doesn't that close the deal?
00:14:37
The SnowJobs Podcast
ah
00:14:37
RICK JAMES
A little petting zoo at the end?
00:14:40
Mike Santolucito
No.
00:14:40
The SnowJobs Podcast
well
00:14:41
Mike Santolucito
The dog closes the deals.
00:14:43
The SnowJobs Podcast
Nice. What about you, Scott? What's it look like for you guys?
00:14:46
Scott Lesak
ah but I would agree with everything that Mike just said and one of the most important parts with doing the presentation really from start to finish too. Don't don't get lost in presentation being like, you know, just presenting the bid. that Your presentation starts the first time you have communication with that prospect.
00:15:05
Scott Lesak
um So start presenting yourself well, and one of the key things is knowing what your scope of work is, knowing exactly how you service your sites, have it written down, know what your first service level is, you know, pretreatments, go into the details about that.
00:15:05
The SnowJobs Podcast
Amen.
00:15:20
Scott Lesak
going to details about how you make the call whether you're gonna plow or put another ice melt treatment down once the precipitation starts. ah Go into some data behind it.
00:15:31
Scott Lesak
Throw some really fancy terms like endothermic and exothermic reactions with depending on what your what your ice melt is that you're using and showcase your skills.
00:15:35
The SnowJobs Podcast
o
00:15:41
Scott Lesak
should Just showcase what you know how to do. Bring the equipment into it. Talk about it. Talk about production rates on that equipment. If you're looking at a big site, talk about big equipment and how much you can plow in an hour and what that looks like and just really show your knowledge through the entire thing.
00:16:01
Scott Lesak
um
00:16:01
The SnowJobs Podcast
Ooh, ooh.
00:16:02
Scott Lesak
you know you can You can hide a lot, but when you start talking like you know the stuff and you know presenting the skills that you truly have, you're not hiding anything anymore.
00:16:02
Mike Santolucito
That's great.
00:16:12
Scott Lesak
they're They're going to read it. They're going to see you and be like, wow, this person is a serious player.
00:16:16
The SnowJobs Podcast
Yep. Absolutely.
00:16:17
Mike Santolucito
Can I redo my answer? That was a great answer.
00:16:20
Scott Lesak
yeah
00:16:21
The SnowJobs Podcast
Point Lee Zach.
00:16:23
RICK JAMES
yeah Oh boy.
00:16:24
Mike Santolucito
Damn.
00:16:25
The SnowJobs Podcast
We're keeping score here, Mike.
00:16:26
Scott Lesak
but
00:16:27
The SnowJobs Podcast
Oh, man. So for us, you know I can tell you exactly what we do, really, because it's not a big secret. Bottom line is when you're getting cold and you you entertain the bid, you you entertain the ah RFP and you say, this is a site that we we want, we can do it well.
00:16:45
The SnowJobs Podcast
ah We are the best choice for this customer. Your job with that bid presentation meeting is to explain in my mind is to explain to them why we're not just trying to sell them.
00:16:57
The SnowJobs Podcast
We're trying to help them see that we are the best choice for them for what they need. um Common mistakes. If you're if you get a bid presentation meeting, which you should always you know insist upon, ah especially if you know your high price, make sure you find out how many people
00:17:11
Mike Santolucito
I
00:17:15
The SnowJobs Podcast
that company or board is bringing to the meeting and prepare packets and proposals for each of them.
00:17:16
Mike Santolucito
am.
00:17:20
The SnowJobs Podcast
And then maybe even a couple extra. There's nothing worse than getting into a meeting and having five or six people huddled around one freaking proposal. All right, that will run you out the door right there.
00:17:31
The SnowJobs Podcast
um Because they're not gonna be, they're on top of each other. They're not really paying attention. They're already uncomfortable because they're all breathing each down each other's neck. So make sure you have the right number of proposal packets.
00:17:43
The SnowJobs Podcast
um We do a packet where it has it has the proposal itself ah broken down into basically, ah you like Scott said, our scope of work, um what we're going to do, how we're going to do it. It has literature in there on how to help them make the best choice, what to look for in other snow companies. We give them a list of eight things that they need to ask of any other company that they're doing a meeting with to make sure that they're comparing apples to apples. Otherwise, our bid is going to seem ridiculously high. so We want them to ask, you know what is the insurance level of the other companies? What equipment are they putting there?
00:18:21
The SnowJobs Podcast
You've requested a certain level of service. This is how we're bringing it to you.
00:18:23
Scott Lesak
Thank you.
00:18:24
The SnowJobs Podcast
Are they doing the same thing? If we're if we're putting a compact loader and two skids and a truck and a couple sidewalk machines, and they're rolling in with a rented skid and a 2,500 from 1996, obviously that overhead is going to be a little different.
00:18:37
The SnowJobs Podcast
That number is going to be ridiculously lower than ours. So we want them we want them to compare apples to apples. Make sure that our bid is being looked at properly. um Also in the packet you know with that literature of you know what we what we offer, what certifications we have, blah, blah, blah, all that stuff. That's all well and good. We give them a map ah prepared map of their site, showing the snow stack sites, mapping out all the hydrants, all the sidewalks, all the zones if we're dividing that up into zones for say like the HOAs where does if we divide them up into zones where the robocall is going to go out for them to move their cars,
00:19:15
The SnowJobs Podcast
Uh, in a zone at a time, we'll clean that zone. We'll move on. Uh, so we, we detail all that on, on that proposal on the map. Uh, what else we, we prepare a site specific PowerPoint. All right. That we do. Um, for example, we had one site that their pain points when they, when they asked us for a bid, their pain points were.
00:19:36
The SnowJobs Podcast
They're a luxury HOA and every year they were paying 30 something thousand dollars to resurface their driveways, seal their driveways because they had a construction bucket on a skid steer that was scratching them, back dragging out the snow. ah So they wanted to fix that. They asked if they if we were capable of doing that. Yes, we are. Here's the muskox. This is how we're going to do it. And we put that right in the PowerPoint. We showed that thing at work and it's a rubber edge, not going to scratch. They were blown away.
00:20:05
The SnowJobs Podcast
The other problem one of the other complexes had was our curbs are getting destroyed by plows and construction buckets, banging into the concrete and breaking it as they're trying to get the snow up and over the curb. Enter the Arctic sectional. The side plates ride up and we show them in slow motion video. Here's how we come in.
00:20:24
The SnowJobs Podcast
to occur when we know we're close we just go when we see the the side plates start to ride up the curb we stop we lift up six inches eight inches whatever high the curb is and we push forward. You know it's stuff like that that separates you and you have that meeting that's where you have the ability to separate yourself from the other company.
00:20:43
The SnowJobs Podcast
So don't take it
Confidence in Presentations
00:20:44
The SnowJobs Podcast
lightly. you know Go in there. Any other special capabilities for their sites that we're bringing to the table, do that. And ah don't be afraid, like Scott said, highlight your equipment. And I think Mike said it too. Highlight your equipment. Be proud of your equipment that you have. you know Show how it sets you apart and and will help with their pain points from their previous contractors. And that's your you got one shot to explain, you know in my case, explain why you're 25% over the other guy.
00:21:10
The SnowJobs Podcast
And we, once we get, we get a bid presentation meeting, we don't lose. You know, we, we are prepared and we listened to them. You know, we're not trying to sell them. We listen.
00:21:21
The SnowJobs Podcast
What do you need from us? Like, okay, you know, nothing is, you can have anything you want as long as you know, long as you know, there's a dollar amount assigned to everything you want. And you know, I think that's, that's how we go about doing it.
00:21:31
Mike Santolucito
Yeah.
00:21:35
Mike Santolucito
And you may not be a great fit for them and that's okay too.
00:21:36
The SnowJobs Podcast
No, we might not be.
00:21:37
RICK JAMES
Right.
00:21:38
Scott Lesak
Yes.
00:21:38
Mike Santolucito
It's okay to pass on something.
00:21:39
RICK JAMES
Mm hmm.
00:21:40
The SnowJobs Podcast
And generally we figure that out. We'll say that before we go through the bid, like we'll, cause we do the, the site walk, we do the, the pre-bid meeting. So we feel them out. We feel what they need and what they want. And we also feel out what their budget is. You know, we, we ask them point blank, like, okay, we, we've now walked the site with you for an hour and a half, two hours. I'll confer with my number two, you know, that walks the site with me. What are you looking at ballpark? What am I looking at ballpark equipment wise, cost wise? And then you know if you're coming out in your head like, OK, this is going to run like 80,000 to 100,000 for a season, and you ask them what their budget is, and they say, well, last year we paid 32. OK, well, you're probably not going to be a good fit for us. Let's save each other the time, because we're looking at like 80 grand here.
00:22:27
The SnowJobs Podcast
and that's like I don't even want to honestly just I'm not trying to be rude but I don't want to waste the 12 hours time preparing a bid and all that stuff for that meeting if you know it's not even close you know absolutely
00:22:39
RICK JAMES
Yeah.
00:22:40
Scott Lesak
Confidence to walk in there confidently be confident in your numbers be confident in what you do know that you're a badass and you're providing a solution that's what you're there for and They'll read you like a book if you go in there not confident.
00:22:50
RICK JAMES
Right.
00:22:53
Scott Lesak
You're not going to sell nearly as much Yep
00:22:55
The SnowJobs Podcast
Yeah, and that' I like like sell without trying to sell. You know, like Scott said, just be confident about what you do and what you can bring to the table for them and how you can help them. And and that that's your sales pitch without even trying to sell.
00:23:05
RICK JAMES
yeah you're the professional
Budget and Pricing Discussions
00:23:10
Mike Santolucito
You have a problem, I'm the solution.
00:23:10
RICK JAMES
help
00:23:11
The SnowJobs Podcast
Exactly.
00:23:12
RICK JAMES
yeah
00:23:12
Scott Lesak
Amen.
00:23:12
The SnowJobs Podcast
What's your problem? Well, here's what you can do. And we are perfectly willing, like when we do that site walk, we're perfectly willing if it's not going to be a good fit for us. We know other guys in the area that are different sizes, all different sizes, all different, you know, ah overhead costs that we know what their pricing basically is ballpark.
00:23:30
The SnowJobs Podcast
We have no problem recommending. You know, cause people remember that like those guys came in and they didn't blow us off. Like they actually helped us find what was going to be a good fit for us at the time. Cause you never know four or five years down the road, you know, they may be shopping again and maybe something is different. I don't know. Maybe they're willing to spend more money because they've low balled long enough and it's been a disaster. You never know. But I, we have no problem helping people find a good fit.
00:24:01
The SnowJobs Podcast
Anything else? about the meeting.
00:24:04
RICK JAMES
no
00:24:04
The SnowJobs Podcast
All right, Mitch, hope that answered your question. Hope that helps you out, buddy. Um, let's see, what else? A bell cruise.
00:24:14
The SnowJobs Podcast
What is the average price per acre in your markets plowed, uh, an average price for 48 inch sidewalks in your areas? Hmm. I think that's kind of company dependent, honestly, isn't it?
00:24:28
RICK JAMES
No.
00:24:30
The SnowJobs Podcast
like company and market.
00:24:30
Mike Santolucito
It's a hundred percent company independent.
00:24:30
RICK JAMES
Yeah, company and region.
00:24:31
Scott Lesak
Yeah.
00:24:32
The SnowJobs Podcast
Yeah, company and market.
00:24:32
Mike Santolucito
Why?
00:24:32
RICK JAMES
Yeah.
00:24:33
The SnowJobs Podcast
Yeah, region and.
00:24:33
Mike Santolucito
And, and client, like who the client is.
00:24:33
The SnowJobs Podcast
and Sure.
00:24:36
Mike Santolucito
Is it a hospital? Is it a school?
00:24:37
RICK JAMES
Yeah.
00:24:37
Scott Lesak
Yes.
00:24:38
Mike Santolucito
Is it retail?
00:24:38
The SnowJobs Podcast
Yeah.
00:24:38
Mike Santolucito
Is it, you know, 24 seven distribution that there's so many factors in there that that's kind of a ah broad stroke with a paintbrush, you know?
00:24:39
RICK JAMES
yeah
00:24:46
The SnowJobs Podcast
Yeah, like region is region is a big one, too, because like out in Minnesota, I know they they like they go crazy when we tell them what numbers we can charge and in the Northeast, you know, for stuff like that.
00:24:56
Mike Santolucito
Yeah.
00:24:57
The SnowJobs Podcast
What we can't even get half that.
00:25:00
Mike Santolucito
You also got to build your production rates too, because it's not just the piece of equipment that you're basing that rate on.
00:25:03
Scott Lesak
Yes.
00:25:04
The SnowJobs Podcast
Amen.
00:25:05
Mike Santolucito
It's the operator that's in that piece of equipment. So you could have a Ventrac doing a 48 inch walkway and let's just say the average is between 4,000 for, you know, a heavy, heavy storm.
00:25:15
Mike Santolucito
4,000 square feet to maybe as high as 8,000 square feet that it'll clear in an hour. And that's, there's a range in there, right? You can do that concrete, you can get that nice fluffy stuff.
00:25:26
The SnowJobs Podcast
yeah
00:25:26
Mike Santolucito
You can get, you know, some fire hydrants in your way, maybe some cars are like to park over the curb because the bump stops are gone. Like, there's just so many weird things that you don't notice until you're actually there doing the work that You'll get that rate over time, maybe the first two years, you'll start to really see the trend shape at year two, but usually by year three, you know exactly what your rate is going to be for that place.
00:25:48
The SnowJobs Podcast
Yeah. Amen.
00:25:49
Scott Lesak
yeah Yeah, I couldn't agree more with the sidewalk stuff.
00:25:49
The SnowJobs Podcast
I like it.
00:25:53
Scott Lesak
You got to get your own production. there's just there There's no way. I mean, we have different production rates on different sites.
00:25:57
RICK JAMES
to read variables.
00:25:59
Scott Lesak
you know it It all depends in our own company.
00:26:00
The SnowJobs Podcast
Yeah.
00:26:00
Mike Santolucito
Yeah.
00:26:02
Scott Lesak
So that's a really that's a challenging question that really doesn't have a good answer. I would say, ah in the tone of what we're doing here though with the with kind of the beginners and trying to grow into this your best thing to do would be reach out to your rep from whatever manufacturer you use and for your sidewalks ask for some production data and take probably a third off of what they tell you because manufacturers always overshoot the production.
00:26:27
The SnowJobs Podcast
Yeah. Oh yeah.
00:26:29
Mike Santolucito
Exactly.
00:26:30
RICK JAMES
Yeah.
00:26:30
The SnowJobs Podcast
No, no.
00:26:30
Scott Lesak
There's no way you're going to be doing that.
00:26:31
RICK JAMES
No. so
00:26:33
The SnowJobs Podcast
but so
00:26:34
Scott Lesak
yeah A 60 inch X mark can mow eight acres an hour, you know, going a different direction, but it's like, come on guys.
00:26:34
RICK JAMES
the
00:26:35
The SnowJobs Podcast
but
00:26:38
The SnowJobs Podcast
ah
00:26:38
RICK JAMES
Yeah.
00:26:39
The SnowJobs Podcast
Exactly.
00:26:41
RICK JAMES
wide open a football
00:26:41
The SnowJobs Podcast
I've never achieved that right.
00:26:41
Mike Santolucito
Yeah.
00:26:44
Scott Lesak
ah And as far as per acre, um, I mean, where we are in Pennsylvania, it's really subjective to everything, but where we are, uh, you know, our lower snowfall areas, we service anywhere from about 35 inch average all the way up to 60 inch average.
00:26:45
RICK JAMES
ah
00:26:59
Scott Lesak
And the 35 inch on, uh, 24 seven distribution, we're between 10, five and 11, five an acre and, uh,
00:27:06
The SnowJobs Podcast
Yeah.
00:27:07
Scott Lesak
Going up into that closer to the 60 inch, we're up around 14, 14 to 15 an acre.
00:27:12
The SnowJobs Podcast
Yep.
00:27:12
Scott Lesak
So, you know, to give you some numbers, but again, that's large scale distribution.
00:27:16
The SnowJobs Podcast
24 seven.
00:27:17
Scott Lesak
That's running big loaders 24 seven white glove service.
00:27:19
The SnowJobs Podcast
Yeah. White glove service 24 seven.
00:27:21
Scott Lesak
So that, you know, be careful with those numbers.
00:27:22
The SnowJobs Podcast
Yeah.
00:27:24
The SnowJobs Podcast
Yeah. it it And it really depends.
00:27:25
RICK JAMES
Yeah.
00:27:25
Mike Santolucito
Yeah.
00:27:26
The SnowJobs Podcast
Like is the, is the business a nine to five business? Do you have all night to get this cleared at your leisure or do you have, you know, is it a 24 seven lives at stake, you know, type, uh, type facility.
00:27:38
The SnowJobs Podcast
They're obviously going to be paying higher rates per acre than a ah facility that closes, you know, at night. And even in, even in a ah distribution center, if they're, if they have hours and they're closed overnight, that's going to lower your price per acre that you can charge and they're willing to pay.
00:27:47
Scott Lesak
Yep.
00:27:54
Scott Lesak
Yep.
00:27:54
The SnowJobs Podcast
you know so i I think it's yeah it's very site dependent and it's regional regionally dependent. um yeah Every market tolerance is different. like even Even a distance of from me to Matt Young like Albany, ah that that's not it's an hour and a half away, but our market tolerance for pricing is completely different. so There's ah so many factors, it's really hard, but yeah, that's the same thing. We're we're between eight and 10 an acre for for the type properties we do.
00:28:24
The SnowJobs Podcast
That's, uh, that's what we, I mean, I think one is like 11 five, but that's a real pain in the ass to do. It's constant traffic. yeah It's a real pain in the butt. So, and they want it kept up on constantly.
00:28:35
The SnowJobs Podcast
You know, I think it's every, I don't think we can have more than every two inches. It's gotta be made a run on it. So it's, you know, basically racetrack. And when you're getting three inches an hour, it's crap, but, uh, yeah, that's, that's basically, I mean, I think we're in the same ballpark with that, but I mean,
00:28:43
Scott Lesak
Yeah.
00:28:47
Mike Santolucito
Yeah, exactly.
00:28:54
The SnowJobs Podcast
I'll tell you this, don't do it for 2,200 an acre.
00:28:56
Scott Lesak
No.
00:28:57
The SnowJobs Podcast
All right.
00:28:57
Mike Santolucito
for
00:28:57
The SnowJobs Podcast
I mean, let's let's just be clear. Like, I mean, there's there's, there's, you know, exactly.
00:28:59
Scott Lesak
Just say no.
00:29:04
The SnowJobs Podcast
You know, I mean, don't, don't do a, just in case, you know, just don't, just don't do it.
00:29:05
RICK JAMES
Just in case you're thinking that.
00:29:10
The SnowJobs Podcast
Um, I don't know. I mean, know like, it's so hard to answer that question because I know a Bell's and what a Bell's Wisconsin.
00:29:16
Mike Santolucito
i think we just did though
00:29:19
RICK JAMES
Yeah, Wisconsin.
00:29:20
The SnowJobs Podcast
so Yeah, it's tough. as far the As far as the sidewalks and figuring out your production, I don't know if it's right or wrong. I know what we've done. When we switched and got the SSVs, they were so fast that we figured out like we just tried to do it with the V blade, ah which is obviously going to be the fastest.
00:29:40
The SnowJobs Podcast
um The broom and the blower are going to be a lot slower, but we actually just took them out in our yard
00:29:41
Mike Santolucito
I think we just did though.
00:29:46
The SnowJobs Podcast
and started driving them in a straight line very slowly. And we timed them, you know, basically how long to cover 100 feet. And now we're okay. Well, those are only 36 inch wide attachments. So now we know we're going to have to make two passes. So you double them up. Like that's a real rudimentary way that we did it. But you know, we did it real world. Like this is pretty much the speed we're going to be going out with the V blade. This is the speed we're going to be going out with the with the blower and we could figure it out and ballpark it basically so that we're we're at least in the realm and, you know, add 20% just to make sure you you got it covered.
00:30:23
The SnowJobs Podcast
So I would tell guys to do that, you know, get out there with the machines you have and just you can run them on dry pavement, you know, just run them slow like you would in a storm and.
00:30:25
Scott Lesak
Yeah.
00:30:31
Mike Santolucito
Yeah, it doesn't have to be snowing. You can do it in any time of year.
00:30:33
The SnowJobs Podcast
Exactly. Yeah. And just figure out how long it took you to cover that area and boom, you know, you should be in the ballpark.
00:30:40
Scott Lesak
Yeah.
00:30:41
The SnowJobs Podcast
so So sorry, a bell. We can only really answer half that question for you, I think.
00:30:45
Scott Lesak
Well,
00:30:46
The SnowJobs Podcast
Um, but hopefully that helped a little bit.
00:30:48
Scott Lesak
I think I think the real answer is you got to get your own data. There is no shortcut to this. You know, take the pointers that you can get as you can get them and you're going to be in the ballpark enough to make some money or at least break even.
00:30:53
The SnowJobs Podcast
Yeah.
00:31:01
Scott Lesak
And as you go get your own data and figure it out yourself, there's no shortcut.
00:31:02
The SnowJobs Podcast
Amen.
00:31:05
The SnowJobs Podcast
Yes, sir. Love it.
00:31:07
RICK JAMES
I think he does a lot. I think a bell is a lot of pertimer heard per time or per or per inch.
Purchasing and Leasing Equipment
00:31:13
RICK JAMES
I remember him saying how many pushes, you know, he, like in a snowstorm, he'll get like, you know, three or four.
00:31:16
The SnowJobs Podcast
for push. Yeah.
00:31:19
RICK JAMES
He'll be at a place.
00:31:19
The SnowJobs Podcast
I think you said that. Yeah, he gets like so many per push. Yeah. Like you get three pushes per storm, like every four inches or something or every three inches he gets paid.
00:31:23
RICK JAMES
Yeah.
00:31:27
RICK JAMES
Yeah. It was something like that. Yeah.
00:31:30
The SnowJobs Podcast
Yeah, that's not a bad deal if you get big storms. If you're getting four or five plows, it pushes out of it.
00:31:32
RICK JAMES
Right.
00:31:35
The SnowJobs Podcast
um All right. What else we got here? ah Looking to buy a compact loader without breaking the bank advice. That's from Noah.
00:31:46
Mike Santolucito
good luck
00:31:47
Scott Lesak
Build a time machine.
00:31:48
RICK JAMES
Yeah, go back, go back.
00:31:49
The SnowJobs Podcast
yeah go back to before Yeah, go back to before Jeremy Lindstrom was on the snow jobs and started talking about how great compacts are.
00:31:50
RICK JAMES
Free COVID, free COVID.
00:31:58
RICK JAMES
Yeah, yeah they're they' they're great machines, but they've skyrocketed like everything else.
00:31:59
Scott Lesak
Okay.
00:32:04
The SnowJobs Podcast
Yeah. I mean, I would, I would just tell them, don't look at the big three, maybe look at some off brands, like look at a Hitachi or a Yanmar, you know, something that they're still trying to gain market share.
00:32:04
RICK JAMES
I don't know.
00:32:11
Mike Santolucito
Good luck.
00:32:15
The SnowJobs Podcast
I know Hitachi, if you're out in like Ohio or even maybe by you, Scott, I mean, what's that dealer that's offering the ridiculously good rates?
00:32:22
Scott Lesak
ah
00:32:24
Scott Lesak
So there was, Bestline was Hitachi, but they're not Hitachi anymore, and there there's another Hitachi dealer, I don't know who that is, but...
00:32:31
The SnowJobs Podcast
There's a big one in, in like the Cleveland, the Zuber area there that all the Cleveland or Ohio guys have Hitachi. And they're all, I forget the dealer's name. They were at SEMA, uh, as the dealer there.
00:32:44
The SnowJobs Podcast
And I can't remember their name, but they, they were running some ridiculously good lease rates and, and all that stuff. And everybody was getting them. So I would tell guys to to look at like the Yan Mars.
00:32:55
The SnowJobs Podcast
I mean, the Yamar has the Yan.
00:32:56
RICK JAMES
What was the Yammer? Did he price at all?
00:33:00
The SnowJobs Podcast
I did the V8 was 74 horse and it was like, I dunno, 11 and change 11,000 pounds, 12,000 pounds somewhere in that class. So it was kind of like a three 21, maybe a little bit smaller, same ground speed, 22 miles an hour. I want to say that was 80. So, I mean, it's what, what's a three 21 running now? Like one 10 bare bones.
00:33:25
Scott Lesak
uh we just paid well we had a big order too yeah never mind never our prices are relevant never mind we're sub 100 i want to say we we're around 94 yeah yeah
00:33:29
The SnowJobs Podcast
Well, you bought a shit ton of them. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. That's called buying power.
00:33:33
RICK JAMES
how Yeah.
00:33:36
The SnowJobs Podcast
So yeah, Noah.
00:33:36
Mike Santolucito
Tell them you're by 20 and then just say, oh hey, I only need one.
00:33:39
The SnowJobs Podcast
Yeah. Noah, if you're buying 16 of them, Scott will give you the pricing.
00:33:39
RICK JAMES
Yeah.
00:33:43
RICK JAMES
Yeah.
00:33:45
The SnowJobs Podcast
Oh man.
00:33:46
RICK JAMES
ah You can find some decent and once in a while you'll find that somebody's trying to pedal on whatever you can, you know, if you don't want to don't not looking for brand new, you can you can find some good users out there too.
00:33:56
The SnowJobs Podcast
That yeah, good call.
00:33:57
Scott Lesak
Yeah.
00:33:58
Mike Santolucito
okay
00:33:58
The SnowJobs Podcast
I was going to say that like maybe look at good used ones or guys that maybe made, made bad financial decisions last year and have to get out from under them.
00:34:07
Mike Santolucito
It wasn't bad at the time.
00:34:07
RICK JAMES
yeah Yeah, never are.
00:34:07
The SnowJobs Podcast
Um, yeah.
00:34:08
Scott Lesak
Well it didn't snow.
00:34:09
The SnowJobs Podcast
Right.
00:34:12
The SnowJobs Podcast
Oh, I mean, I had it priced that it would, I'd be able to afford it for the six months of that snow contract. I forgot about the other six months though.
00:34:17
Scott Lesak
yeah
00:34:19
The SnowJobs Podcast
Uh, but yeah, Hitachi Yanmar. Um, I've heard really good things about gel. Uh, their compact loaders seem to be ah okay. And I think they're basically a giant, I believe they're, they look exactly the same.
00:34:31
The SnowJobs Podcast
I think they're, but they're all, they're all in the realm where they're 20.
00:34:34
RICK JAMES
a girl, I mean, think
00:34:36
The SnowJobs Podcast
What's that?
00:34:36
RICK JAMES
ah Gail a gailyman or what do you call?
00:34:37
The SnowJobs Podcast
Gail Gail G e H L.
00:34:38
RICK JAMES
Yeah. Oh, yeah Okay.
00:34:40
Mike Santolucito
say
00:34:41
RICK JAMES
Yep. ye yep
00:34:41
The SnowJobs Podcast
Uh, but they're all in the realm of, you know, 20%, 25% lower than, than the big three.
00:34:47
The SnowJobs Podcast
I mean, shit, who knows what cat and deer are up to. I haven't checked this week's price increases.
00:34:50
Mike Santolucito
I mean, go on Marketplace. ah I'm on Marketplace right now.
00:34:52
RICK JAMES
Yep Yeah, it's there's one in town here in 906 we're like
00:34:53
Mike Santolucito
There's a 906 for 55,000, 2019 with 1,600 hours. That's not bad.
00:35:03
The SnowJobs Podcast
I am not buying a machine with 1600 hours on it. What am I, Sean? I'm not doing that. I want to know, I want to know how it was used. I really like, that's my biggest fear.
00:35:13
The SnowJobs Podcast
Like you can put lipstick on a pig all day and get the thing shined up, repainted, ready to go, you know, uh, whatever, uh, power wash the engine compartment, make it look nice.
00:35:25
The SnowJobs Podcast
You have no idea what that guy did for 1600 hours or, you know, even 800 hours.
00:35:30
RICK JAMES
in load loaded feathers And loaded feathers, feathers.
00:35:30
The SnowJobs Podcast
That's just me.
00:35:33
The SnowJobs Podcast
Yeah, yeah, exactly.
00:35:34
Mike Santolucito
that's it
00:35:35
The SnowJobs Podcast
Exactly.
00:35:36
Scott Lesak
and
00:35:36
The SnowJobs Podcast
Yeah. Lifting pallets of pillows.
00:35:38
Scott Lesak
ah know I know what our machines do.
00:35:38
RICK JAMES
Mm-hmm. Solidly lightly used.
00:35:40
The SnowJobs Podcast
Exactly.
00:35:41
Scott Lesak
I don't want anybody else's.
00:35:42
The SnowJobs Podcast
exactly Exactly.
00:35:43
Mike Santolucito
yeah
00:35:43
RICK JAMES
yeah
00:35:43
The SnowJobs Podcast
Well, that but wait that's my point. ah I mean, yeah, I, I don't know.
00:35:46
Scott Lesak
I think another really, really good avenue is leasing.
00:35:49
The SnowJobs Podcast
I'm just, I don't do that with that. I mean,
00:35:55
Scott Lesak
Always check out the leasing first if you're getting into it. you can have a drastically lower monthly payment, extend that lease out as far as you can. Usually you can get out to about five years on a lease.
00:36:06
The SnowJobs Podcast
Yeah.
00:36:06
Mike Santolucito
you
00:36:06
Scott Lesak
You'll have some equity at the end. You'll still have a balance on the machine at the end. So you have some flexibility there. ah But to lower your monthly payment, you know, combine all these tactics, combine what we were, what we're saying here, go with a lower dollar one, lease it and see how low you can get that monthly payment.
00:36:16
The SnowJobs Podcast
Yep.
00:36:24
Scott Lesak
Cashflow is the name of the game.
00:36:25
The SnowJobs Podcast
Amen.
00:36:26
RICK JAMES
Oh boy.
00:36:26
Mike Santolucito
to
00:36:27
RICK JAMES
I think XCMG is supposed to be coming with compacts too, aren't they? Aren't they say that or no?
00:36:30
The SnowJobs Podcast
Yeah.
00:36:30
Mike Santolucito
Let this year or next year?
00:36:30
The SnowJobs Podcast
I don't, I don't think they're coming till next year.
00:36:32
RICK JAMES
I think it's next year.
00:36:33
The SnowJobs Podcast
Yeah. I don't think they're coming till next year.
00:36:34
RICK JAMES
Okay.
00:36:36
Mike Santolucito
Yeah.
00:36:36
The SnowJobs Podcast
I mean, but you know, that would be, that would be viable. I mean, that would be a viable option. Um, I haven't seen them yet. I don't know anything about it, but I think they're, they're what in the nine 14 range.
00:36:43
RICK JAMES
I thought so, but you think they'd wanted a little smaller yet though.
00:36:45
The SnowJobs Podcast
Is that what cat nine 14 equivalent? Is that what they're saying?
00:36:51
The SnowJobs Podcast
That's what I thought, but I don't know.
00:36:51
RICK JAMES
I mean, that's.
00:36:52
The SnowJobs Podcast
I think, I think they're their version of a compact of I'm not mistaken was going to be in the a hundred horsepower range.
00:36:58
RICK JAMES
Okay.
00:36:59
The SnowJobs Podcast
I don't think it was going to be a 74 horse range. Um, but I could be wrong.
00:37:02
Scott Lesak
There's a big difference between those.
00:37:02
RICK JAMES
Gotcha.
00:37:03
The SnowJobs Podcast
Yeah, absolutely.
00:37:04
RICK JAMES
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, government juice.
00:37:05
The SnowJobs Podcast
D E F.
00:37:06
Scott Lesak
yeah Yeah. Yep.
00:37:09
The SnowJobs Podcast
Yep. Um, the one, oh, the one thing I wanted to, I did want to throw out cause we were talking about leasing there. Uh, I did want to, we had a couple of guys say that they were having problems getting ahold of Dinesse leasing. Uh, Dinesse leasing actually had a tech issue. We checked in with them where they're automated.
00:37:26
The SnowJobs Podcast
Phone calls that were coming into the dennis number were basically going right to voicemail not getting Forwarded to the guys that are manning the phones where they figured they had to figure that out themselves So call if you if you have equipment needs and you you didn't get a call back from dennis Give them another call all right because they did have a tech issue that they since figured out last week And they said it's been corrected Uh, but we did look into that for the couple of guys, the two or three guys had said they were trying to get ahold of them and, and couldn't get ahold of them.
00:37:57
The SnowJobs Podcast
Uh, what else? Anything else on the loaders?
00:38:02
The SnowJobs Podcast
No.
00:38:03
RICK JAMES
Nope, just a time machine is probably the best option.
00:38:04
The SnowJobs Podcast
All right. Uh, it's yeah. Somebody said, Oh, you know, this will be great. You know, the prices of machines will come down. Why, why would they come down?
00:38:13
RICK JAMES
They're never gonna come down.
00:38:14
The SnowJobs Podcast
They're never coming down.
00:38:14
RICK JAMES
They're never.
00:38:15
Scott Lesak
People are still blind.
00:38:15
The SnowJobs Podcast
Did the price of cars come
Hiring and Employee Management
00:38:17
The SnowJobs Podcast
down? we We got over COVID.
00:38:17
RICK JAMES
Remember,
00:38:18
The SnowJobs Podcast
We were told, oh, you know, the car prices will come down after COVID is over. It's supply chain.
00:38:22
RICK JAMES
Yeah.
00:38:23
The SnowJobs Podcast
Did they ever come down?
00:38:24
Mike Santolucito
No, it got worse.
00:38:25
The SnowJobs Podcast
No. that Why would they come down? We're buying them at this price. Why would they, they have no motivation to lower prices unless we're not buying them.
00:38:31
Scott Lesak
yeah
00:38:32
RICK JAMES
And when all the tires went up years ago, tires just skyrocketed and they're going to come down when oil came down.
00:38:34
The SnowJobs Podcast
Oh Jesus. Yep.
00:38:37
RICK JAMES
Fuck. Never.
00:38:38
The SnowJobs Podcast
Yep. Yeah, exactly. We're idiots. Please just keep, we just keep believing this shit. Oh man.
00:38:45
RICK JAMES
Oh, I've never believed it.
00:38:47
Scott Lesak
we're in an industry of the We're in an industry of the worst investments ever, man.
00:38:47
The SnowJobs Podcast
Uh, what's that Scott?
00:38:48
RICK JAMES
I've never believed it.
00:38:53
Scott Lesak
We're buying really expensive, depreciating assets all day long.
00:38:57
The SnowJobs Podcast
Yes, sir. Yes, sir.
00:39:00
RICK JAMES
be fighting for pennies.
00:39:00
The SnowJobs Podcast
Oh yes.
00:39:01
Scott Lesak
yeah
00:39:03
The SnowJobs Podcast
Yep. Absolutely. Oh, what else do we have here? Um, Zach from B and L lawn service wants to talk about employees, how, how you guys find good ones, um, your hiring process.
00:39:17
The SnowJobs Podcast
And is it better to offer hourly pay or salary?
00:39:22
RICK JAMES
Hmm.
00:39:23
The SnowJobs Podcast
What do you think Mike?
00:39:23
Scott Lesak
there's a lot there
00:39:24
The SnowJobs Podcast
Yeah, there's a lot there.
00:39:25
Mike Santolucito
Good question.
00:39:26
RICK JAMES
Yeah.
00:39:26
The SnowJobs Podcast
It's a multi-part question.
00:39:27
RICK JAMES
I don i get it.
00:39:28
The SnowJobs Podcast
I had one question, Zach, one question.
00:39:29
RICK JAMES
All right.
00:39:30
The SnowJobs Podcast
No, I'm kidding.
00:39:31
RICK JAMES
Well, I get plenty of my employees are word of mouth guys that worked worked here. You know, I got a, I got a really good crew.
00:39:36
The SnowJobs Podcast
This way.
00:39:38
RICK JAMES
Then I just kind of feed off of them. And I mean, I, I always put ads on stuff where I always get a few guys um that way too. But I would say my best, my best way to get new guys is just word of mouth my Instagram.
00:39:46
Scott Lesak
There's a lot there.
00:39:52
The SnowJobs Podcast
Do we all agree?
00:39:53
RICK JAMES
Yeah.
00:39:54
The SnowJobs Podcast
Do we all agree? That's the number one answer on the board is current employees that bring them in.
00:39:56
Scott Lesak
yeah absolutely yeah
00:39:57
Mike Santolucito
Yeah, we did the metrics on it it.
00:39:58
The SnowJobs Podcast
Yeah.
00:40:00
Mike Santolucito
It's our number one next to Craigslist.
00:40:02
The SnowJobs Podcast
Absolutely.
00:40:02
Mike Santolucito
Craigslist is number two for us still.
00:40:04
The SnowJobs Podcast
Craig's list.
00:40:04
RICK JAMES
Mm hmm.
00:40:05
Mike Santolucito
yeah I swear to God, more than indeed, aid more than, yeah.
00:40:08
The SnowJobs Podcast
Wow, that's still, that's still a thing. Holy crap.
00:40:12
Mike Santolucito
Yeah. we Most of our guys that are seasonal, they just keep referring their friends or people they meet along the way and they keep bringing them in. The full-time guys do the same thing, but yeah, Craigslist is still gives us a ton of operators every year.
00:40:27
The SnowJobs Podcast
No shit.
00:40:28
Mike Santolucito
It's amazing.
00:40:30
RICK JAMES
I also got a bunch for if you have a local college near you, I mean, obviously I'm lucky where I have like a a college and stuff where you could talk to egg department or whatever. whatever you have maybe and just just a like here at NDSU they have like whole egg department has their own email college email so they would send out mass a mass email that everybody would get it that we're hiring bla bla blah blah blah call me problem is all they do is see the hourly rate and then you got everybody if fucking blowing your phone up for it's all they care about it's money but which which is fine too but
00:40:53
The SnowJobs Podcast
Yeah.
00:41:01
Mike Santolucito
yep
00:41:05
RICK JAMES
He's got to weed them out, so but I've had I've had good luck that way around here, so.
00:41:07
Mike Santolucito
Yup.
00:41:10
Scott Lesak
Yeah. I think a big thing to keep in mind too, as you're hiring is don't hire for the skills, hire for the attitude. You know, skills skills are important, but skills can be learned.
00:41:17
The SnowJobs Podcast
Absolutely.
00:41:19
Mike Santolucito
You can train anybody to do this.
00:41:21
Scott Lesak
Yeah.
00:41:21
The SnowJobs Podcast
You can teach everything else. You can't teach attitude.
00:41:22
Scott Lesak
Exactly.
00:41:23
The SnowJobs Podcast
Absolutely.
00:41:24
Scott Lesak
yeah You can have the best operator out there if he's a pain in the butt, man, you don't want them.
00:41:25
RICK JAMES
I.
00:41:28
Scott Lesak
So, you know, find the right people that will learn, ah create it, you know, create the good employee.
00:41:32
The SnowJobs Podcast
Amen.
00:41:33
Scott Lesak
That's essentially what it comes down to.
00:41:36
RICK JAMES
Some of my best employees, the guys have never ran anything before, you know, when I teach them and then you get to teach them how you want them, you know, and then they're, they're probably a little bit, a little bit more careful, you know, they're a little bit timid.
00:41:36
Mike Santolucito
yeah
00:41:36
The SnowJobs Podcast
Amen.
00:41:39
Scott Lesak
Yep.
00:41:42
The SnowJobs Podcast
Well, yeah exactly.
00:41:43
Scott Lesak
Exactly.
00:41:43
The SnowJobs Podcast
I was going to say, yeah, they they don't know any different.
00:41:49
RICK JAMES
And so, yeah, so they're, they're, I don't know, I've had good luck with them. So that doesn't scare me if they don't have experience at all.
00:41:53
The SnowJobs Podcast
Yeah.
00:41:56
Scott Lesak
Not at all.
00:41:56
RICK JAMES
He's got to have the attitude and want to, so.
00:41:57
Mike Santolucito
Yep. It actually makes me happy. I don't have to break in with somebody else's habits.
00:42:00
Scott Lesak
yeah Or listen to how much they know.
00:42:02
The SnowJobs Podcast
Yes, exactly.
00:42:03
RICK JAMES
All right.
00:42:03
The SnowJobs Podcast
100%. Uh, we, oh yeah.
00:42:07
RICK JAMES
you know
00:42:07
The SnowJobs Podcast
Yup. If they come in with their own nickname already, that's a no, no thank you. Uh, but we, I don't think we've ever
00:42:14
RICK JAMES
well
00:42:16
The SnowJobs Podcast
I think we've only done word of mouth. Like we've only, all of our guys come from other guys. Like it's all a, you know, it's all an extended family, so to speak. And ah like even the guys that aren't on my other job,
00:42:30
RICK JAMES
Yeah. Yeah.
00:42:30
The SnowJobs Podcast
They, we, we hired a couple, couple, uh, sidewalk guys, younger, younger, younger guys, uh, a couple of years ago.
00:42:39
The SnowJobs Podcast
And they were super hard workers, super attention to detail. We'll do it exactly how you want them to do it. And those guys loved working, loved working snow with us.
00:42:50
The SnowJobs Podcast
And they, in the last two years, I think they brought an additional seven guys with them between the two of them. It's been awesome. So yeah, we don't really, yeah, we don't advertise.
00:43:02
The SnowJobs Podcast
it's They just seem to show up. Like we find them. If we need them, we find them.
00:43:06
RICK JAMES
right As far as pay, I mean, everything we do is all really, I mean, but if we work holidays, we're paying our guys double time. We're giving them. We give them like a bonus per hour at the end.
00:43:17
RICK JAMES
Every hour they work, we'll give them a bonus at the end of the season. kind of Like I've said this before, we we have a tier system. So guys actually want to work every time. you know ah I know who they are.
Employee Retention Strategies
00:43:28
RICK JAMES
I you know i get a printout at the end of the year. And the guys that answer the bell every time, they're going to get the top. And the guys that didn't. And stuff happens. I mean, it's a part-time job. So so they will get they'll get they'll get a bonus, but it won't be as the top bonus.
00:43:38
Mike Santolucito
Yeah.
00:43:42
RICK JAMES
It'll be like a second tier.
00:43:44
The SnowJobs Podcast
My wife's having a baby park the loader at the hospital, but you're coming out.
00:43:44
RICK JAMES
but
00:43:47
RICK JAMES
and hey I've done it.
00:43:49
The SnowJobs Podcast
Done it. They've done it.
00:43:51
RICK JAMES
I've done it.
00:43:53
The SnowJobs Podcast
Uh, wasn't that, didn't we have that conversation with Ben?
00:43:54
RICK JAMES
I've done it.
00:43:57
The SnowJobs Podcast
Like, ah, yeah, that's not going to be a good delivery day.
00:43:58
RICK JAMES
Yeah.
00:44:00
The SnowJobs Podcast
They're supposed to be snowing that day. What are you going to do? He's like, I'll just park the loader at the hospital. where I'm doing that lot anyway. I'll just be there.
00:44:06
RICK JAMES
Yeah.
00:44:07
The SnowJobs Podcast
I'll run in for 25 minutes, get back in the loader.
00:44:09
RICK JAMES
I was actually chased that as his wife went in labor and he was out pushing the hospital. They were going to my dude, I'll just go get her. I'm bringing her in and she'd call you in when it's time to go. I mean, we got shit to do here. So we're hardcore out here.
00:44:22
The SnowJobs Podcast
ah That's great. That's great, man. Oh, that's funny. Um, yeah. What do you guys, are you guys hourly or you do any, you have salary employees, obviously, but yeah.
00:44:34
Scott Lesak
Yeah, we our seasonal guys are all hourly. we We pay everybody hourly. Good rates, really good rates, you know starting around 25 for shovelers, 35 for truck and skid loader, 45 for wheel loaders.
00:44:45
Scott Lesak
so you know We're we're paying paying decent rates. and We go after a lot of excavating companies, the guys that are getting laid off in the winter and we bring them in and we just throw them, hey, this is a metal plus.
00:44:54
The SnowJobs Podcast
Sure.
00:44:57
The SnowJobs Podcast
yeah
00:44:59
Scott Lesak
This is how you work it. Okay. Go around the machine. You can tell us how to do that better than we can tell you. So, you know, finding people that you don't have to train that much besides your process and you know, your way you're actually doing it.
00:45:08
The SnowJobs Podcast
amen
00:45:10
Scott Lesak
um But yeah, we've never had an issue with that. You know, your typical one guy won't show up here or there or something comes up, but At the end of the day, I mean, the hourly has worked really well for us.
00:45:19
Mike Santolucito
Thanks, friend.
00:45:21
Scott Lesak
I hear all these creative solutions and everything. And if it's not broken, we're not going to fix it right now.
00:45:27
The SnowJobs Podcast
Yep. Um, yeah, I would say and like Scott said, excavation, definitely, uh, roofing companies, um, paving companies that paving companies that don't plow.
00:45:28
Mike Santolucito
Yeah. Mm-hmm.
00:45:36
Scott Lesak
Farmers.
00:45:39
The SnowJobs Podcast
Um, that's, uh, that's, that's usually a a really good one, uh, or firemen, honestly, you know, career firemen, usually on a shift schedule, 24 on two or three days off.
00:45:43
Scott Lesak
Yep. Yeah.
00:45:45
Scott Lesak
yeah
00:45:50
The SnowJobs Podcast
Um, and those guys usually all have other talents. Um, so some of them.
00:45:54
Mike Santolucito
okay
00:45:54
RICK JAMES
hired a few cops this year. I i got a, I got a couple of firemen and I actually hired a couple of cops that were looking for something to do.
00:45:56
The SnowJobs Podcast
Yeah. up They're to, you're going to put them in the skids.
00:46:01
RICK JAMES
So I'm like, sweet.
00:46:02
Mike Santolucito
Nice. They're going to bring some lights with them.
00:46:03
The SnowJobs Podcast
You're going to put them in the skids when you're driving around getting pulled over.
00:46:05
RICK JAMES
No, but I, but I like told myself something happens with the Fargo cop. They're going to go over and talk to him cause I ain't going there. Cause that guy's ah he's yeah.
00:46:12
The SnowJobs Podcast
ah
00:46:13
Mike Santolucito
He knows your name.
00:46:15
The SnowJobs Podcast
Um, yeah, he does. He's got Jeremy's number. Um, as far as, you know, something interesting that happened to us, uh, we were obviously all hourly, we're small. Um, but two years ago, we've talked about it numerous times on here that, you know, we only had nine inches and I think three call outs.
Growth for Subcontractors
00:46:36
The SnowJobs Podcast
from November all the way to February 28th. And I was a little terrified. Like, uh, John Stark from Arctic says they check in with their guys, you know, what is it once a week, Jeremy, or once a month, just even if they're not pushing, just yeah, just to make sure that everybody's good.
00:46:49
RICK JAMES
yeah once a week or once every two weeks it was yeah
00:46:53
The SnowJobs Podcast
And you know, so when you do have a call out after not being in for a month, um, the guys will show up. They haven't gotten other jobs. I wasn't so much worried about them getting other jobs. I was more worried about them if they weren't making any money. If they had no money that they were counting on coming in because it wasn't snowing, what would happen to them if they were forced to do something else? So I actually went to a couple of, I actually went to everybody and just said, Hey, listen,
00:47:18
The SnowJobs Podcast
um what the guys that The guys that didn't have another career basically paying bills ah that were working for me, I went to them and said, listen, to help you guys out right now where there's no money coming in, would it basically put them on salary, basically fronting them the average number of hours that you know we usually work in a month?
00:47:39
The SnowJobs Podcast
um And I, we did that, I think for two guys said, yeah, it would actually help if, if you could basically pay us forward and you know, as the snow does come, which inevitably did, we'll just work it off.
00:47:50
The SnowJobs Podcast
And just to keep money in their pocket and keep them from going out and finding another job. Um, that's what we we explored. So it was basically like a salary type deal just because we were in low snow for shit, nine, 10 to the winter.
00:47:57
Mike Santolucito
best.
00:48:04
The SnowJobs Podcast
So it seemed to work out guys need it.
00:48:05
RICK JAMES
you could you guys You guys have issues like, it seems like we got a lot of issues, you know, when guys get laid off and that, you know, you guys have issues with the them getting, they can't get so many hours in order to get their workmen or that to get their unemployment.
00:48:23
RICK JAMES
You guys have any issues out there with that kind of stuff or no?
00:48:26
Mike Santolucito
Back in the day, I did yeah i i had to get creative with a few time cards, basically banking their hours.
00:48:26
The SnowJobs Podcast
Hmm.
00:48:26
RICK JAMES
Cause.
00:48:32
RICK JAMES
Yep.
00:48:32
Mike Santolucito
When they were at their 20-hour mark, you know I would just save it so they would keep getting their unemployment check, but I can't really do that too much these days.
00:48:40
RICK JAMES
Mm hmm. Now you can't anymore, but yeah, it's yeah, we have that issue. lot I mean, I think they get that's a problem. They get paid too much and on a plan where they'd rather just sit home than go get extra work, so.
00:48:51
The SnowJobs Podcast
Yeah, that's definitely a problem.
00:48:52
Scott Lesak
Yeah.
00:48:53
The SnowJobs Podcast
Uh, we don't have that. We don't have that issue. We haven't, we haven't had that issue yet, uh, where we have guys that are on employment.
00:49:00
RICK JAMES
Hmm.
00:49:00
Scott Lesak
We used to do the same thing, though. we'd We'd bank those hours until we realized how illegal that was and how many people that we have. ah That can blow the whistle now. So they haven't done that for a long time.
00:49:09
The SnowJobs Podcast
Oh yeah, it's not worth it.
00:49:10
RICK JAMES
Yeah.
00:49:11
Mike Santolucito
Yeah.
00:49:11
The SnowJobs Podcast
Yeah, it's not worth it.
00:49:11
Scott Lesak
But yeah.
00:49:13
The SnowJobs Podcast
Sorry, but you know, we're not going out on a limb for anybody.
00:49:13
RICK JAMES
Yeah, you can't, you can't.
00:49:16
Mike Santolucito
Glad that was 10 years ago.
00:49:18
Scott Lesak
Yeah, I was going to say, that's 10, 12 years ago, probably.
00:49:19
RICK JAMES
Yeah.
00:49:20
Mike Santolucito
Yeah.
00:49:22
RICK JAMES
You know, that's something you can't do anymore. You can't do any of this stuff.
00:49:22
The SnowJobs Podcast
Yep.
00:49:26
The SnowJobs Podcast
Nope. Uh, let's see.
00:49:28
Scott Lesak
beyond the statute of limitations, we can talk about it.
00:49:31
RICK JAMES
Yeah.
00:49:34
The SnowJobs Podcast
Oh man. Let's see what else we got here. Uh, CJ McAdam, uh, wants to know what do you think are the best steps to grow for a sub?
00:49:45
The SnowJobs Podcast
Uh, that's just got a one ton truck for now. Okay.
00:49:52
RICK JAMES
Probably a snow power or back blade or something that he's kind of talking about to put on it or what let's see.
00:49:57
The SnowJobs Podcast
I think he's, how do you make the step from basically being a one truck guy subbing for somebody else to maybe picking up your own stuff? I don't know. That's, that's what my take on it is.
00:50:08
The SnowJobs Podcast
I could be wrong.
00:50:09
RICK JAMES
Oh.
00:50:10
Mike Santolucito
You got to take the risk and get a piece of equipment that you can add on.
00:50:10
Scott Lesak
I don't think,
00:50:13
Mike Santolucito
and get the word out or talk to the person that you already beat a sub for.
00:50:17
The SnowJobs Podcast
Mm-hmm.
00:50:18
Mike Santolucito
Hey, I got a skits here that I just bought this year for this job.
00:50:18
Scott Lesak
yep.
00:50:21
Mike Santolucito
You know, if, if you're interested, I can put that piece on with the site that you already have me on or another site that you got. I'll get a box for it, you know, make your of rate that you want and kind of grow from there.
Sidewalk Staffing Management
00:50:33
The SnowJobs Podcast
right
00:50:34
Scott Lesak
Yeah, I'd agree with that. And ah to grow, yeah everybody that's subbing with one piece is usually starting out hourly. So go from hourly to, hey, do you have, if you're partnered with a good person that's subbing you, do you have anything else that maybe we could run this entire site on our own? Get into per event from there.
00:50:53
Scott Lesak
and get to the point that you can add you know going back to the first episode we did maybe that track skid loader that you can use in the summertime to do something else and start putting that together and that was really that was that was of course we took we started out hourly as subs and then we got into per event then we started using some machines and we started doing seasonal and ah you know we were doing all that with a really good well two different really good
00:50:53
The SnowJobs Podcast
huh
00:51:01
The SnowJobs Podcast
Okay. Okay. Okay.
00:51:15
Scott Lesak
local companies that we just partnered with. they were They had plenty of work to hand us and treated us well. So just keep growing forward and don't be afraid to go out and try and sell your own accounts.
00:51:27
Scott Lesak
That's the biggest thing.
00:51:28
The SnowJobs Podcast
Sure.
00:51:28
Scott Lesak
Go go try and start getting your own stuff too in the area. Get that root density.
00:51:33
The SnowJobs Podcast
Yeah, I would say so. um I would tell them to talk to who they're actually subbing for. I know as far as if if I'm looking to add accounts or if I have a guy that say subbed for me and he was looking to add accounts and he just said, hey, um you know if you got anything you know of, I'm looking to add a couple of accounts, still subbed for you, but you know start building my own thing.
00:51:55
The SnowJobs Podcast
Talk to who you're subbing for because there's always going to be properties like Mike says all the time that aren't a good fit for one reason or another. ah For me, it would be they're outside my little bubble, you know, my little two mile bubble from our shop. If they're outside that range, we don't really explore it too much. um I'd be more than happy if I had a great sub that always did right by me and was just looking to kick it up a notch and get his own thing going. I would totally steer, you know, his way.
00:52:24
The SnowJobs Podcast
Yeah, they might maybe they're not the best properties. But hey, listen, you got to start somewhere and knock them out of the park. But the one thing I wouldn't do is do not take on sites that your sub is steering to you and let it affect your work that you do for that sub or for that company that you sub for.
00:52:38
Mike Santolucito
Exactly.
00:52:40
The SnowJobs Podcast
That is number one. You do not want to fuck that up.
00:52:44
Scott Lesak
Yes.
00:52:45
The SnowJobs Podcast
um But that I would recommend trying that if you if you have no idea how to go out and get your own properties and you're subbing for an established company. You know, try going that route. There's always properties that don't fit. What do you think, Jay?
00:53:00
RICK JAMES
No, I agree with that a hundred percent. I mean, not everything's going to fit everybody. So I would definitely go with, uh, if you're someone with somebody, just try to keep, that's how you grow that way. And like Scott said, if you can, you know, venture off on your own a little bit and that's what you want to do and go ahead and dip your toe into that a little bit at a time until you feel comfortable, I guess.
00:53:22
The SnowJobs Podcast
I think Scott said ah i think scott would actually said it what last episode, of the episode before, look for lots that are underperforming. you know Look for look for the lots that are not taken care of and don't be afraid to knock on those doors and just at least put a feeler out. like you know Especially if they're not plowed and you know if you pull in and there's business going on, just talk to somebody and be like, why aren't you plowed? you know this This should be done by now. and You'll see what they have to say.
00:53:51
The SnowJobs Podcast
You never know. You know, you, you, maybe you'll get an emergency plow out of it.
00:53:52
Scott Lesak
It works.
00:53:55
The SnowJobs Podcast
Who knows?
00:53:58
Scott Lesak
Yep, that works. That works well.
00:54:00
The SnowJobs Podcast
All right. We got a couple more here. Let's do some commercials. We'll let these guys get a drink real quick and now we'll be back. We got a two or three more of these to get to back in a couple of guys.
00:55:14
The SnowJobs Podcast
All right, gang, we're back. So let's just keep going with this. We've got a couple more to get to, um, Pat from Vermont. This came in from the website, uh, snow It's not just podcast dot.com. Uh, how do you staff sidewalks? How do you determine how many people you're going to need to do the sidewalks, uh, at the location?
00:55:39
Mike Santolucito
I mean, know, know your team, know what they're capable of producing.
00:55:42
The SnowJobs Podcast
Mm-hmm.
00:55:44
RICK JAMES
Production. so
00:55:45
Scott Lesak
production.
00:55:46
Mike Santolucito
What are they going to have with them for ah shovels or SSVs or if there's a Ventrac that's going to come help them after the long runs are done. ah You basically just kind of.
00:55:58
Mike Santolucito
use your knowledge of your team, go to the property and say, yeah, I'd put four guys here. like They can do this place in like an hour, maybe an hour, 15 minutes, hour and a half, something like that. Depending on how many square feet they're doing, I mean, everything's kind of subject to the property, the layout, what they have to do immediately, what they have to do afterwards, what they can do after the storm.
00:56:17
Mike Santolucito
So another kind of tough question to give a solid answer to.
00:56:21
Mike Santolucito
There's just a lot of variables to that.
00:56:21
The SnowJobs Podcast
Yeah.
00:56:24
The SnowJobs Podcast
Yep.
00:56:24
RICK JAMES
Yeah, you got to know your team, know what's your, if it's all handwork or if it's what kind of PC equipment you have in there to team with them.
00:56:24
Scott Lesak
Yeah.
00:56:30
RICK JAMES
I mean, it's, it's a very, a lot of variables there to play with, you know, I mean, I don't, I would always say either start heavy and you can back off, you know, you can, so at least you get your shit done, but I don't know.
00:56:37
The SnowJobs Podcast
Yeah.
00:56:48
Mike Santolucito
Yeah, that's a good point.
00:56:49
RICK JAMES
That's usually how.
00:56:50
Mike Santolucito
It is per event too. I mean, eight inches versus two inches. You're not going to put the same amount of guys
Role of Sidewalk Crews in Snow Removal
00:56:55
Mike Santolucito
at that building.
00:56:55
RICK JAMES
Right.
00:56:57
The SnowJobs Podcast
Dude, I would rather, I would rather have two little equipment operators than two little sidewalk guys.
00:56:57
RICK JAMES
Yeah.
00:57:04
Scott Lesak
Yes. yeah
00:57:05
Mike Santolucito
Agreed.
00:57:05
The SnowJobs Podcast
you know
00:57:06
RICK JAMES
you that's yeah You're going to get called on a sidewalk before you get called on anything else.
00:57:10
The SnowJobs Podcast
Absolutely. I just, I can make up time with the equipment. If I'm missing an operator tour, I under, you know, i I underestimated what we could get done with that machine on that route, but you will always need sidewalk guys, finish work guys.
00:57:25
The SnowJobs Podcast
Uh, so don't yeah overestimate those. Don't underestimate those.
00:57:31
Scott Lesak
Yeah, absolutely.
00:57:31
The SnowJobs Podcast
Um,
00:57:32
Scott Lesak
Get as many guys on equipment as you can too. I mean, there's always those areas that you have to hand shovel. There's there's no way around that, but get as many people on sidewalk machines or ideally in cabs as you can.
00:57:38
The SnowJobs Podcast
yeah.
00:57:46
Scott Lesak
And the more fun fun toys you give to play with and the more operator comfort you give, ah The easier it is to find people again going back to that you're you're always trying to attract people and your word of mouth is a number when one way to do that if Your show or goes home and tells this buddy about how cool a piece of equipment He was running is chances are that buddy might want to come in and try that out.
00:58:07
The SnowJobs Podcast
Yep.
00:58:10
Scott Lesak
So
00:58:11
RICK JAMES
Yep. 100%.
00:58:12
The SnowJobs Podcast
I think it depends on your, it depends on your company makeup too. Are are these site specific sidewalk machines? Are they on a route? ah What kind of equipment are you using?
00:58:22
RICK JAMES
Right.
00:58:23
The SnowJobs Podcast
You know, is it stand on? Is it cab? You know, There's a lot that that would go into it, you know, is it transportable, you know on a trailer or is it rotable? Which is even better. You can just drive it to the next property, you know right down the sidewalk ah You know, that's the dream um And if if you can drive it down the property or transport it How figure out how many properties can the machine access in a four to eight hour period and there you know that goes back to messing around in your yard figuring out how many feet you can cover in a certain amount of time and then what we usually do is we usually tack twenty percent onto that number for the getting off the machine and doing the hand work.
00:59:00
The SnowJobs Podcast
around the edges and the corners and undoubtedly there's always going to be little areas that you steps you know something that guys have to get off so add some time to those production rates to account for those guys stepping off the machine for two or three minutes and having to shovel and manually salt um because that that'll take a little bit and you know just don't like I said get Get your production rates and give yourself a little bit of a cushion too.
00:59:29
The SnowJobs Podcast
You know, you overestimate, don't underestimate the time. Because if you get a big storm, that shit can add up really quick and add up to hours and hours.
00:59:37
Mike Santolucito
Yup.
00:59:38
The SnowJobs Podcast
ah so it's ah yeah But that's, like I said, it's a non-scientific answer, but it's pretty easy to do. Get get whatever you're using on the sidewalk, even if it's a walk behind snowblower. Put the thing in freaking gear.
00:59:50
The SnowJobs Podcast
and Don't go in a fast gear because, you know, let's face it, if it's heavy and wet shit, you're not going to be able to go in gear four on an Arians. You're going to have to go in gear two. So get it on there.
01:00:02
The SnowJobs Podcast
You'll get it out in the open, put it in gear two and walk behind it. See how long it takes you to cover 100 feet and then figure out how wide your sidewalk is because that's how many passes you're going to have to make.
01:00:11
Mike Santolucito
Mm hmm.
01:00:11
The SnowJobs Podcast
And you can I mean, you can get production on everything pretty much even a shovel.
01:00:12
RICK JAMES
All right.
01:00:15
Scott Lesak
you absolutely
01:00:15
The SnowJobs Podcast
The the snowplow shuffles. So. um
01:00:21
The SnowJobs Podcast
no No.
01:00:21
RICK JAMES
ah We always, I don't know. I heard like you, we always pay our shovelers or our sidewalk guys more than we restart our shovelers and sidewalk guys out with more more than we pay our operators just because they're harder to get.
01:00:33
Mike Santolucito
Mm hmm.
01:00:34
RICK JAMES
So we try to entice them because especially for us, you come walk into this shop, you.
01:00:35
The SnowJobs Podcast
Sure.
01:00:39
RICK JAMES
see all these beautiful loaders and what are they gonna wanna do?
01:00:41
The SnowJobs Podcast
Oh, you got to take care of the sidewalk guys, especially if they kill it for you.
01:00:43
RICK JAMES
You gotta be like, yeah you don't want them to even see this side of the shop.
01:00:43
Mike Santolucito
You can get handed a shovel.
01:00:45
The SnowJobs Podcast
If they, yeah.
01:00:47
RICK JAMES
i mean
01:00:48
The SnowJobs Podcast
Yeah. I mean, you got to take care if they, especially if they crush it for you, like if they do a phenomenal freaking job, like what do you guys need? You need breakfast. You need new gloves.
01:00:58
The SnowJobs Podcast
You need you know new jackets. You know, is your jacket not waterproof anymore?
01:01:02
Mike Santolucito
Socks.
01:01:03
The SnowJobs Podcast
All right. Yes.
01:01:04
Mike Santolucito
Keep bags of socks in your truck.
01:01:04
The SnowJobs Podcast
Socks, hats.
01:01:04
Scott Lesak
Yeah.
01:01:06
The SnowJobs Podcast
everything.
01:01:06
Mike Santolucito
That is like, yep.
01:01:06
The SnowJobs Podcast
I've bought them goggles. I, you know, the, the SSV guys, I bought them all goggles. They don't wear them, but I bought them. Like they have everything they could possibly hand warmers, whatever the hell you can think of.
01:01:18
The SnowJobs Podcast
Keep those guys happy because I can put anybody in the heated cab of a truck or a loader and they're going to get what they got to do done. If those sidewalk guys are not happy and they're cold and wet and they are feeling underappreciated, you you're going to be shoveling that shit yourself.
01:01:35
Mike Santolucito
Yep. 100%.
01:01:37
The SnowJobs Podcast
So I, I agree with Jeremy, take care of the sidewalk guys and, you know, try and, and make them like, make them understand that they're doing the most important shit, honestly.
01:01:48
The SnowJobs Podcast
like It really is there.
01:01:48
Scott Lesak
Yeah.
01:01:49
The SnowJobs Podcast
They are literally the they're the tip of the spear, you know if if you don't have good sidewalk That's where your slipping falls are coming from the guys doing that finish work The ones that are making sure they get that last inch that's up against the building because that's gonna melt ah You know from 9 a.m.
01:02:06
The SnowJobs Podcast
To 4 p.m And then once the Sun goes down now, it's gonna ice up, you know You gotta you gotta to take care of those guys make them feel important because the work they're doing is the most important work
01:02:17
RICK JAMES
Right.
01:02:18
Scott Lesak
Yes it is.
01:02:18
RICK JAMES
We always go by like, uh, kind of preach it to, I guess 95 five rule, you know, it doesn't matter. 95% of lots. Beautiful. If you miss that little, little piece on the sidewalk, that's what they're going to call them
Closing Advice and Networking
01:02:30
RICK JAMES
bitch about.
01:02:30
RICK JAMES
So, I mean, it's your, it doesn't matter how great the lot looks.
01:02:31
Mike Santolucito
That's it.
01:02:31
The SnowJobs Podcast
Amen.
01:02:34
RICK JAMES
It's if that, if there's a little ribbon or something along the curb, you're getting called on that and solve for not, you know.
01:02:40
Mike Santolucito
Oh, what's this?
01:02:41
The SnowJobs Podcast
Amen. What's that? Yeah.
01:02:43
Mike Santolucito
hello Oh, what's this?
01:02:44
RICK JAMES
Yeah.
01:02:47
The SnowJobs Podcast
Uh, let's see. What's, what do we got here? Who's better looking? That's from Jeremy from Fargo.
01:02:56
The SnowJobs Podcast
ah I had a tough call. I mean, we're both basically male models, but I'd have to go. I'd have to go with the juice box guy personally.
01:03:05
RICK JAMES
ah
01:03:07
The SnowJobs Podcast
ah
01:03:08
RICK JAMES
This is because you showered in bunch of guys all day
01:03:09
The SnowJobs Podcast
Oh, ah there were some funny ones, too, like, you know, from our crew that doesn't take that shit seriously. What was the good one? How do I upgrade from being a hobby pusher?
01:03:22
The SnowJobs Podcast
That was from Robert. ah Oh, man.
01:03:25
Mike Santolucito
work at Glacier.
01:03:28
RICK JAMES
ah
01:03:28
The SnowJobs Podcast
Oh boy.
01:03:29
Scott Lesak
Ha ha ha!
01:03:29
The SnowJobs Podcast
But yeah, that's, uh, we got it.
01:03:30
RICK JAMES
ODP.
01:03:31
The SnowJobs Podcast
We got them all right. Did w did I miss any? I think i I think we went through all of them.
01:03:36
Mike Santolucito
I think that was it.
01:03:36
Scott Lesak
Yeah, I think that was all you sent.
01:03:36
The SnowJobs Podcast
I think we nailed them. You guys got anything else? The ah the last three episodes you can think of just tidbits you want to throw out there. It's been gnawing at you.
01:03:47
Scott Lesak
Keep learning. Start reading some books. you know Don't forget about the business side. that That's the biggest thing. start you know If you haven't started, start learning how to run the business a little bit differently. Start learning leadership. Read John Maxwell. um There's an awesome book.
01:04:06
Scott Lesak
The Step Up and Lead by a Fireman Frank Viscuso. Yeah, what's his last name? Viscuso. Yeah, Frank, real good book on leadership and you know just start learning more and invest in yourself.
01:04:15
The SnowJobs Podcast
and Okay.
01:04:21
Scott Lesak
That is the best skill that you can have.
01:04:26
The SnowJobs Podcast
Love it.
01:04:26
Mike Santolucito
And network, find any networking events you can in your area, not just for the industry, but for the clients that you're going after too.
01:04:31
RICK JAMES
yeah
01:04:34
Scott Lesak
Yeah.
01:04:34
Mike Santolucito
You know, a phone was a pretty big one out here.
01:04:36
The SnowJobs Podcast
That's a good point, Mike. I like that.
01:04:37
RICK JAMES
Yeah.
01:04:38
The SnowJobs Podcast
That's a good point.
01:04:39
Mike Santolucito
Yeah.
01:04:41
The SnowJobs Podcast
Basically go in the back door is what you're saying.
01:04:41
RICK JAMES
What do you, what do you do? Go, go on the back door, Mike, and just start sliding cards.
01:04:44
The SnowJobs Podcast
That's it.
01:04:45
RICK JAMES
Oh, is that what you do?
01:04:46
Mike Santolucito
That's it.
01:04:47
RICK JAMES
You know, who I am like in Mike mode EP.
01:04:50
The SnowJobs Podcast
That's right. You probably heard me on the snow jobs. I'm the most recurrent guest.
01:04:55
Mike Santolucito
Oh, I am the most recluse guest. Come on.
01:04:57
The SnowJobs Podcast
Uh, no, I think I honestly, I gotta look back. I'll look back. I think you have been on the show the most of any single, of any single person.
01:05:04
Mike Santolucito
Really? Oh, I'm honored.
01:05:07
The SnowJobs Podcast
I would think so.
01:05:08
Mike Santolucito
Am I getting one of those fancy YouTube plaques?
01:05:11
The SnowJobs Podcast
Oh, if we had them.
01:05:12
RICK JAMES
We don't even have one.
01:05:14
The SnowJobs Podcast
If we had them, we haven't, we've never explored the YouTube avenue. We just, that's not us. I don't know
Potential Video Format Discussion
01:05:20
RICK JAMES
I feel people are reaching out asking for that lately. ah Just video.
01:05:23
The SnowJobs Podcast
for YouTube.
01:05:26
Scott Lesak
Well then people would know who the...
01:05:26
The SnowJobs Podcast
What the hell are we going to do? We're going to be like, everybody else just to have to jump on for 10 minutes a day and talk bullshit.
01:05:29
RICK JAMES
they i think they will I think they just want to see our facial expression on some things we're saying.
01:05:35
Mike Santolucito
They want to see the sidebars we're having while someone else is talking.
01:05:36
RICK JAMES
Probably listen to again.
01:05:36
The SnowJobs Podcast
Well, yeah.
01:05:39
RICK JAMES
Yeah.
01:05:40
Scott Lesak
yeah
01:05:40
The SnowJobs Podcast
I have, I have heard that from numerous guests.
01:05:40
RICK JAMES
yeah
01:05:44
The SnowJobs Podcast
Like you lose, you lose a certain amount of hysterical when you can't see you two while you're talking because your facial expressions, when somebody says something or, you know, you throw your hands up and shit, it's lost just doing fucking radio, basically.
01:05:59
The SnowJobs Podcast
But, you know, this is what it is. I don't want to do video.
01:06:03
RICK JAMES
When I was cool as Scott, Scott and on his deal on Fridays.
01:06:03
The SnowJobs Podcast
You want to do video?
01:06:07
The SnowJobs Podcast
I don't know how to do what he does. Like it's like, I don't know. like I don't have the time to figure that crap out.
01:06:12
Scott Lesak
It's easier than this man.
01:06:15
The SnowJobs Podcast
I'm lucky I can do this. I don't know how to do it. You set it up for me. We'll put some videos out there, but um I tried to learn that stream yard crap that you do. I can't do it. Couldn't do it.
01:06:25
Mike Santolucito
Tonya episode 100 video.
01:06:29
The SnowJobs Podcast
Episode 100. Well, it's coming up fast, right?
01:06:31
Mike Santolucito
Yeah, it is.
01:06:32
The SnowJobs Podcast
Couple a shit two year anniversary.
01:06:32
RICK JAMES
Yeah, know it is.
01:06:34
The SnowJobs Podcast
It'll be in like two months. What are we looking at?
01:06:37
RICK JAMES
well
01:06:38
The SnowJobs Podcast
One Oh one Oh four. Yeah. One Oh four will be, uh, will be the two year anniversary.
01:06:45
RICK JAMES
Oh, I suppose you do the math, 104, right?
01:06:45
The SnowJobs Podcast
Crazy.
01:06:48
Mike Santolucito
Yeah.
01:06:49
The SnowJobs Podcast
Yeah. Right. There you go. That's it. Oh shit. Anybody got anything else? Let these guys go to bed.
01:06:57
RICK JAMES
Sure.
01:06:59
The SnowJobs Podcast
All right. All right. Then I guess we'll wrap it then.
01:07:02
RICK JAMES
Thanks guys, appreciate it.
01:07:03
The SnowJobs Podcast
Thank you boys.
01:07:05
RICK JAMES
You're Beth.
01:07:05
The SnowJobs Podcast
That was awesome. Three for three.
01:07:07
Mike Santolucito
It was great. This is all fun.
01:07:08
Scott Lesak
Yeah, this is great. Thank you.
01:07:10
The SnowJobs Podcast
I mean, it's, I love it. It's great that, you know, we put that stuff out on Instagram and, and people were responsive to it and they have questions. So hopefully it helped a lot of guys again.
01:07:21
The SnowJobs Podcast
Cause I know the, the two previous episodes were freaking huge with listens and not just listens were Pete listens. Like guys were listening to it two and three times.
01:07:27
Mike Santolucito
That's awesome.
01:07:30
The SnowJobs Podcast
So there was a lot of information they wanted to hear again.
01:07:32
Scott Lesak
nice Our pleasure.
01:07:33
The SnowJobs Podcast
So that's awesome. We appreciate you guys coming on and giving us the benefit of your knowledge and experience.
01:07:40
The SnowJobs Podcast
All right.
01:07:41
RICK JAMES
Mike,
01:07:41
The SnowJobs Podcast
Anybody?
Surprise Gift from Anderson Equipment
01:07:42
RICK JAMES
you guys will make it a big thing happened was it last week?
01:07:43
The SnowJobs Podcast
What's that?
01:07:45
RICK JAMES
And you had what do you guys have happen out there and ODP land? You have a hundredth loader and
01:07:49
Mike Santolucito
Oh, that's Friday.
01:07:49
The SnowJobs Podcast
The big black loader.
01:07:49
Mike Santolucito
we had We had a surprise for our owner and his parents and their family. Anderson equipment, who we buy all our kumatsus from. They did a really nice job.
01:08:01
Mike Santolucito
They did a ah surprise. Black powder coat, WA 270 loader, get dropped to the shop. you know to the nines, every option, but the the American flag they cut out that they did on the the engine bay was a real good eye catcher. Our one team logo on the arm looked great. And then Bobcat, I'm pretty sure we're over the 200 mark just with the swap outs that we've done, but they they gave us our 200th Bobcat. That was a 76 or something. I forget forget what the new numbers are on those. It's a 650 equivalent. That's what I remember.
01:08:37
Mike Santolucito
but
01:08:38
The SnowJobs Podcast
They gave these to you or you ordered them?
01:08:40
Mike Santolucito
No, we had no idea. We had no idea.
01:08:43
The SnowJobs Podcast
Oh, okay.
01:08:43
Mike Santolucito
This is something that they did for the owner. So it was whether they already ordered or if they were part of the order this year, that might be it.
01:08:45
The SnowJobs Podcast
Wow.
01:08:46
RICK JAMES
Wow.
01:08:46
The SnowJobs Podcast
So they just showed up with two free machines.
01:08:51
Mike Santolucito
But if they gave them to us as like a thank you, that would be pretty sweet.
01:08:56
RICK JAMES
Just no more deals for a couple of years.
01:08:56
The SnowJobs Podcast
no
01:08:59
The SnowJobs Podcast
Yeah.
01:09:00
RICK JAMES
They'll make it up.
01:09:00
The SnowJobs Podcast
Yeah. They'll, they'll make it back. They'll make it back.
01:09:03
RICK JAMES
They always win.
01:09:03
The SnowJobs Podcast
Or they've been, or they've been banging you so hard the last couple of years.
01:09:04
RICK JAMES
They always win.
01:09:07
Mike Santolucito
Yeah.
01:09:07
The SnowJobs Podcast
They're like, yeah, you know what?
01:09:08
Scott Lesak
Yeah.
01:09:08
The SnowJobs Podcast
They're still buying.
01:09:08
RICK JAMES
You can't even get a hat nowadays,
01:09:09
The SnowJobs Podcast
We'll give them one. You throw in a hat, put a hat in the cab.
01:09:13
Scott Lesak
Yeah,
Fleet Growth and Conclusion
01:09:14
RICK JAMES
aren't you?
01:09:15
The SnowJobs Podcast
Make sure we get some key chains in there.
01:09:18
RICK JAMES
Yeah.
01:09:18
Scott Lesak
yeah we we just got these really nice Carhartt sweatshirts with Castle Rocks on them and Case Construction and Powerco and everything.
01:09:18
Mike Santolucito
Exactly. so
01:09:26
Scott Lesak
And we were like, yeah, man, these are the nicest $4 million dollars sweatshirts we've ever had.
01:09:30
RICK JAMES
ah
01:09:31
Mike Santolucito
Yeah, that was a good time there.
01:09:31
The SnowJobs Podcast
That's nice, right? Guys look like a NASCAR pit crew now.
01:09:34
Scott Lesak
Yeah pretty much.
01:09:37
The SnowJobs Podcast
That's awesome. ah Good for you guys, man. That's awesome.
01:09:41
Mike Santolucito
There was a surprise.
01:09:42
The SnowJobs Podcast
That's great. good Good for them, man. That's an awesome achievement, man. That's a lot of freaking machines.
01:09:46
Mike Santolucito
Yeah.
01:09:48
The SnowJobs Podcast
Holy shit.
01:09:49
Mike Santolucito
certainly is i think now it's 102 i think it's 102 and then trucks were trucks were in the 80s now as of this year is we're still waiting on something to come in from merchants so
01:09:50
The SnowJobs Podcast
Craziness. What is your fleet now? Like how many loaders you have in ODP? I don't remember what the answer was. Holy shit.
01:10:04
The SnowJobs Podcast
Wow.
01:10:04
RICK JAMES
Okay.
01:10:09
Mike Santolucito
The last few were getting set up in the letter right now and yes, good steers were, we're over the 200 mark. I don't know what the number is. Ventrax in the seventies.
01:10:21
The SnowJobs Podcast
Crazy.
01:10:21
Mike Santolucito
It's growing.
01:10:21
The SnowJobs Podcast
Good for you guys. that's That's awesome.
01:10:23
Mike Santolucito
It's growing.
01:10:25
The SnowJobs Podcast
All right, guys. Everybody good?
01:10:28
Mike Santolucito
Good.
01:10:29
Scott Lesak
good
01:10:29
The SnowJobs Podcast
All right. All right. Then we'll wrap it there, boys and girls. That's going to do it. Episode 95 of the Snowjaws podcast in the book. All right. we As we said, we want to thank Mike and Scott again for for coming on.
01:10:41
The SnowJobs Podcast
It's been awesome having their knowledge and what's that?
01:10:43
Mike Santolucito
Thank you for having us. Thank you for having us.
01:10:46
The SnowJobs Podcast
Oh, no problem, man.
01:10:46
Scott Lesak
Yeah, thank you.
01:10:47
RICK JAMES
Yeah.
01:10:48
The SnowJobs Podcast
Anytime dude, this is a blast. We had a good time. We're helping people to boot. So it's a win-win Yeah, that's gonna do it. Thanks for all the knowledge boys and the time and the the late nights on Sunday nights here ah But that's gonna do it guys. We are out. Everybody have a great week. Be safe out there and Keep pushing