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S2-94: Blades of Steel Landscaping, Reading PA
667 Plays6 days ago
The guys sit down with Doug Brown, owner of Blades of Steel Landscaping in Reading Pennsylvania. The guys talk to Doug about their snow operation, and their substantial growth as a snow company in the last few years
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Transcript
00:00:41
The SnowJobs Podcast
All right.
Introduction and Banter
00:00:42
The SnowJobs Podcast
Snow jobs nation. We are back again, bringing you episode 94 of the snow jobs podcast powered by Top Gun Backblades. As always, I'm Steve, you know, who's with me. He's here every week. Couldn't do it without him. My main man, my co-host snow compadre, Chuck Norris of snow, Taylor Swift of snow. Oh, they keep, we keep getting more and more names every week, but there's only one Jeremy Lindstrom.
00:01:15
The SnowJobs Podcast
Sup Jay?
00:01:17
RICK JAMES
Hey, Steve. o Oh, oh, this is gonna do a podcast here.
00:01:18
The SnowJobs Podcast
What are you doing?
00:01:23
RICK JAMES
It's been a pretty uneventful weekend, but I guess we'll get this out for tomorrow.
00:01:28
The SnowJobs Podcast
Yeah. Our third straight Sunday recording. We've been busy. We've been real busy.
00:01:32
RICK JAMES
Yeah, it's all right. It's all right. We, we'll get her done. We get her done every week.
00:01:36
The SnowJobs Podcast
Yeah. Always get it done, man. Always get it done.
00:01:38
RICK JAMES
So
00:01:39
The SnowJobs Podcast
How's things in Fargo?
00:01:41
RICK JAMES
Real good, real good. We're just
Fargo Snow Updates
00:01:43
RICK JAMES
wrapping up a few things. We got everything all staked last week, so everything's staked up, ready to rock, so.
00:01:46
The SnowJobs Podcast
he We have not staked yet.
00:01:49
RICK JAMES
and Waiting on snow, and according to my weather guys, it doesn't look like there's much snow in the forecast for a while yet, so probably do maybe hopefully do some meetings this week with the guys, get a couple of meetings out of the way, and pre-season meetings, and um I don't know, I might be taking a trip to Chicago this week, too.
00:01:58
The SnowJobs Podcast
Yeah.
00:02:09
The SnowJobs Podcast
Yeah.
00:02:11
RICK JAMES
Yeah, I gotta to go get a couple of pushers from a place, a little place called Arctic.
00:02:15
The SnowJobs Podcast
Oh, vaguely heard of them, I think. I think I've heard of them once or twice.
00:02:19
RICK JAMES
and No, maybe we'll see.
00:02:20
The SnowJobs Podcast
but You're going out there to get them.
00:02:24
The SnowJobs Podcast
All right.
00:02:24
RICK JAMES
We'll see.
00:02:26
The SnowJobs Podcast
Cool. That'd be cool if you go to Chicago. Don't go actually to Chicago.
00:02:28
RICK JAMES
Yeah.
00:02:30
The SnowJobs Podcast
Stay outside Chicago.
00:02:30
RICK JAMES
No, no, i yeah I won't be going. I won't be going to Chicago. I already have a different plans.
00:02:34
The SnowJobs Podcast
but but Nice.
00:02:37
RICK JAMES
No.
00:02:37
The SnowJobs Podcast
Very cool. Very cool. So what do we, uh, you think, you think you're good till December ah in Fargo. You think you're safe for snow storm chasing.
00:02:44
RICK JAMES
ah Yeah, and I think it'll be I think I still think in November we might get something
00:02:51
The SnowJobs Podcast
I think we're clear for at least the next 14 days. So that takes us to what the 24th of November. So. I think that's what the the latest ah true weather and Nick and Rob.
00:03:04
The SnowJobs Podcast
I think they all agree that we're clear for the next two weeks. So that's cool. Speaking of Nick and Rob, we have booked them. We.
00:03:14
RICK JAMES
I heard that, yeah.
00:03:14
The SnowJobs Podcast
ah Yeah, they are coming. They ah Nick and Rob weather pros are coming. All
Winter Forecast Preview
00:03:21
The SnowJobs Podcast
right. They are. ah They're going to do a winter outlook episode for everybody.
00:03:25
The SnowJobs Podcast
They're going to go region by region. And yeah, we We set them up, we're gonna go to bring them on, they're gonna gonna do their thing and we're gonna get to see how accurate they are at the end at the end of the winter.
00:03:38
The SnowJobs Podcast
We'll have them back in the spring.
00:03:38
RICK JAMES
That's gonna be...
00:03:39
The SnowJobs Podcast
but
00:03:41
RICK JAMES
Well, that ah we'll see how the winter goes, otherwise they might not come back in in the spring, right?
00:03:49
The SnowJobs Podcast
They'll come back. Those guys, they enjoy the back and forth. They really do. They're good sports and they give it back to us just as much as they take it. So it's, it's a good time.
00:03:58
RICK JAMES
ah
00:03:58
The SnowJobs Podcast
It's a lot of fun with them.
00:04:00
RICK JAMES
and
00:04:00
The SnowJobs Podcast
We're going to be, uh, I think we're recording that next Saturday. Yeah. I think next Saturday.
00:04:05
RICK JAMES
I think that's what he said.
00:04:06
The SnowJobs Podcast
So yeah.
00:04:06
RICK JAMES
So I think we should, that'll be, that should be a good show. We should probably get juiced up for that one. So make it a little more interesting.
00:04:13
The SnowJobs Podcast
Be my guest, brother.
00:04:13
RICK JAMES
Come on, Nick. Come on, Nick.
00:04:14
The SnowJobs Podcast
no Be my guest.
00:04:15
RICK JAMES
Let's go.
00:04:16
The SnowJobs Podcast
You guys have a cup of cocktails and then come on. i'll I'll just run the board and let you guys go at it.
00:04:22
RICK JAMES
Yeah, I could probably do that.
00:04:23
The SnowJobs Podcast
ah That'll be fun though. So yeah, stay tuned for that. The weather pros winter outlook coming to you on the snow jobs podcast, probably in, uh, I don't know, sometime around the 20th maybe.
00:04:35
The SnowJobs Podcast
So we'll see. All right. Uh, so what's that?
00:04:37
RICK JAMES
We just going to, are we just going to release that on the Monday, Monday show?
00:04:39
The SnowJobs Podcast
go ahead
00:04:41
The SnowJobs Podcast
I don't know. I don't know. We got to figure that out actually. We'll see how good it is. I don't know. Maybe.
00:04:47
RICK JAMES
Very, it' very true.
00:04:47
The SnowJobs Podcast
I don't know. We'll see. There's a lot of fireworks and it's entertaining. That could be a Monday drop. Sure.
00:04:54
RICK JAMES
Yeah.
00:04:55
The SnowJobs Podcast
ah So, what did
Feedback on Previous Episodes
00:04:56
The SnowJobs Podcast
we do last week? Last week we had Scott Lezak and Mike Sanilisito. They were back. all right They were back with us two weeks in a row. They came back to do part two of Lessons Learned for a younger or new snow company. Can't thank those two enough. Those guys just killed it for two straight weeks. Great information, sharing their experience with everybody, and we can't thank them enough. so we We got so much this the last two weeks.
00:05:21
The SnowJobs Podcast
So many messages, so much great feedback from all you guys out there about those two episodes. And we're we're very glad that they helped so many guys and, you know, maybe got guys thinking of certain things that maybe they weren't.
00:05:31
The SnowJobs Podcast
And that's what it's all about. um And we're definitely there was so much positive feedback on it. We're definitely going to do another one ah definitely in the new ah maybe in the next new month, maybe maybe next month, December, do a couple more with them, get some more good information out there for everybody.
00:05:45
RICK JAMES
Mm hmm. Yeah.
00:05:50
The SnowJobs Podcast
So, yeah, that's where we're at.
00:05:53
RICK JAMES
We should do it.
00:05:53
The SnowJobs Podcast
ah will We could do that, actually.
00:05:53
RICK JAMES
We should do it. We should do like, uh, we said, I want a show ah guys, like send us questions, a new question and answer one or something.
00:06:01
The SnowJobs Podcast
We definitely could do that.
00:06:01
RICK JAMES
It's like sending Instagram out and yeah.
00:06:05
The SnowJobs Podcast
Definitely. we can know We can do that this week. we'll ah We'll put some questions out there and you guys can fire away what you got and maybe we'll just do an episode answering everybody's questions and seeing what we can do for everybody. Seeing what where you guys need information in and if we don't have it, we know people that might. So we can definitely put you in contact with who you need to be in contact with.
00:06:26
The SnowJobs Podcast
What else?
Doug Brown Introduction
00:06:27
The SnowJobs Podcast
What are we doing tonight? Tonight? All right. We have Doug Brown. All right. Blades of Steel landscaping is in the house. They're from Reading, Pennsylvania. They are here. They're going to tell us all about blades and how they're just absolutely crushing it out there. um Scott Lezak, he spoke very highly of Doug and and Blades of Steel. So, ah you know, we definitely want to hear from these guys. But before we do that, as always, let's hear from team Top Gun and come back and do our week in review.
00:07:27
The SnowJobs Podcast
All right, gang, we're back. We can review not really much to review, honestly, as we said, we had Scott and Mike last week du did two part two of that lessons learned. ah Those guys are awesome. And, you know, the awesome thing is to be able to bring in so many guys from all over the country. They come together on this show. They share their experiences. They share their mistakes that they've learned from. um they They just put it out there for everybody out there. That's that's in the same game as we all are.
00:07:58
The SnowJobs Podcast
And we're all trying to help each other learn and get better in this business. And that's what this show and Snow Jobs Nation is all about. So hearing all the great feedback and messages from those guys, you know, for those two episodes that they worked hard on those. And it's been pretty awesome to hear how many people that that those two episodes have helped. So again, a huge thanks to Mike and Scott. You know, we're definitely going to hammer on that topic again in the future and welcome those guys back there. They're just got tremendous resources for information and stuff.
00:08:27
The SnowJobs Podcast
Do you have fun doing those too, Jay?
Nationwide Snowfalls Discussion
00:08:30
RICK JAMES
Yeah, they're good. Oh, those guys got a lot of knowledge, obviously. So that's why we hit them on.
00:08:34
The SnowJobs Podcast
They do.
00:08:35
RICK JAMES
So that was, that was a good time.
00:08:35
The SnowJobs Podcast
They do. It's always a good time.
00:08:37
RICK JAMES
And always, like I always liked those ones. They're fun.
00:08:41
The SnowJobs Podcast
Yep. Absolutely, bro.
00:08:43
RICK JAMES
you You have a plan, you have a plan and then you just go from there, shoot from the hip and everything else just comes out and the show just goes on.
00:08:43
The SnowJobs Podcast
What else we got here?
00:08:49
RICK JAMES
So.
00:08:50
The SnowJobs Podcast
Yeah, just a basic outline, a couple of questions that we want to answer and to the best of our abilities. And before you know it, we're answering the questions a lot more than we even thought we did, because the guys bring up something that makes you think about, oh, shit, I forgot that forgot this.
00:09:04
The SnowJobs Podcast
And it's ah it's good. Just get as much information out there. Just information bomb just explode. Let it go. What else we got here? Winner is coming up fast, guys. All right. Some parts of the country already got a push in in the last week, right?
00:09:17
The SnowJobs Podcast
Colorado got they got hammered.
00:09:19
RICK JAMES
they got they got 25 inches I thought I heard or something somebody don't
00:09:22
The SnowJobs Podcast
What, 25? I didn't hear that.
00:09:24
RICK JAMES
somebody texts me today and said that or something. I was like, Oh, never heard that, but I could be wrong.
00:09:27
The SnowJobs Podcast
Holy crap, good for them.
00:09:30
RICK JAMES
But that's what I, that's what I was told on a text today from somebody.
00:09:34
The SnowJobs Podcast
Good for them or or not good for them, depending on how you look at it. First time out, 25 inches.
00:09:37
RICK JAMES
Yeah.
00:09:38
The SnowJobs Podcast
I like that though, personally. Like I like that. You get 25 inches. I mean, it's the two inch ones that we seem to have a problem with the first time out where, you know, things aren't going well, 25, you can kind of catch up
00:09:48
RICK JAMES
Yeah.
00:09:52
The SnowJobs Podcast
yeah It's snowing that long. You get the kinks ironed out pretty quick.
00:09:55
RICK JAMES
Yeah, definitely. You just make it happen.
00:09:57
The SnowJobs Podcast
Nobody's expecting exactly. ah But yeah, that's that's pretty cool that a couple of parts of the country have already got pushes in. It's awesome. And then, you know, what do you think?
00:10:08
The SnowJobs Podcast
We got to do a yeah like a winter prep episode for everybody in the next couple of weeks.
00:10:13
RICK JAMES
Probably should.
00:10:13
The SnowJobs Podcast
Talk about what we do right before the season kicks off.
00:10:13
RICK JAMES
I mean, yeah, i would I would, I would think we should talk about our preseason meetings and all that stuff that we do and training and all that fun stuff.
00:10:25
The SnowJobs Podcast
That's cool.
00:10:25
RICK JAMES
Maybe some software issues and stuff.
00:10:25
The SnowJobs Podcast
We can do that.
00:10:28
The SnowJobs Podcast
Yeah. You know what else is coming then? Because the snow's coming.
00:10:32
RICK JAMES
Thanksgiving.
00:10:32
The SnowJobs Podcast
Storm chasing.
00:10:34
RICK JAMES
Storm chasing.
00:10:35
The SnowJobs Podcast
Storm chasing.
00:10:36
RICK JAMES
Oh yeah.
00:10:36
The SnowJobs Podcast
Can't wait to get out there, get some snow flying so we can get some of those episodes filmed. That'll be great.
00:10:41
RICK JAMES
That'll be fun. I'm excited for that.
00:10:42
The SnowJobs Podcast
I know the storm team's ready to go.
00:10:45
RICK JAMES
That will be cool. That'll be cool.
00:10:47
The SnowJobs Podcast
Yeah.
00:10:47
RICK JAMES
if it If it all works out for us so we can go to them and stuff, I think it'll be a blast and I don't know. I'm pretty jacked up for that.
00:10:53
The SnowJobs Podcast
I think we can.
00:10:54
RICK JAMES
So.
00:10:54
The SnowJobs Podcast
I think we can make it. i think you know Depending on the storm, I think it'll be all right. We'll just call Mitchell, tell him we need his his imaginary jet, and we'll be all right.
00:11:03
RICK JAMES
Oh, yeah.
00:11:04
The SnowJobs Podcast
We'll get it done.
00:11:07
The SnowJobs Podcast
wow you didn't Wow.
00:11:07
RICK JAMES
Sure.
00:11:08
The SnowJobs Podcast
No shots at Mitchell. I teed it up for you. No shots at Mitchell.
00:11:12
RICK JAMES
Uh, no, no, I'm not.
00:11:13
The SnowJobs Podcast
You're busy. He's busy tonight. but so
00:11:17
RICK JAMES
I'm just the Mitchell. I don't know. Yeah. He's not worth my time.
00:11:22
The SnowJobs Podcast
Oh, there it is.
00:11:23
RICK JAMES
yeah
00:11:23
The SnowJobs Podcast
There's the shot. There is the shot.
00:11:24
RICK JAMES
and
00:11:25
The SnowJobs Podcast
I knew I could get them. All right. All right. You got anything else, buddy?
00:11:27
RICK JAMES
ah No, no, not at all.
00:11:30
The SnowJobs Podcast
All right, gang. And let's hear from our partners and we'll be back in a couple of minutes and we'll get into this with Doug.
00:14:29
The SnowJobs Podcast
All right, gang, we are back. So let's just get into this. Let's welcome Doug Brown, blade to steel to the snow jobs. How are you, Doug? What's going on, man?
00:14:40
Doug
Oh, it's a nice rainy night here in Pennsylvania. yeah First rain in 42 days.
00:14:43
The SnowJobs Podcast
Nice.
00:14:43
RICK JAMES
ah Wow Really a fireman
00:14:47
The SnowJobs Podcast
Nice. Wow. That's a lot of rain. Yeah. We got fires burning everywhere here. It was a smoky here today. Yeah. They got like three or 400 acres going like in the next County north of us.
00:14:58
Doug
I got 170 going about three miles away from us.
00:14:59
The SnowJobs Podcast
only gather.
00:15:06
The SnowJobs Podcast
Wow. Yeah, it's it's pretty crazy.
00:15:07
Doug
Yeah.
00:15:08
The SnowJobs Podcast
It's it's pretty frigging dry out there. The lawn's already long since gone dormant from lack of water. We didn't have to wait for the winner.
00:15:15
Doug
but
00:15:15
RICK JAMES
When do you guys usually quit mowing up there?
00:15:18
Doug
ah typically right around thanksgiving is when we'll pull the plug on mowing this time of year though you're mowing like every other week just for fall cleanups getting leaves off the lawn but we haven't mowed regular since i want to say august really it's kind of been a lot of skipped
00:15:19
The SnowJobs Podcast
Depends.
00:15:27
The SnowJobs Podcast
Yep.
00:15:27
RICK JAMES
You gotcha.
00:15:34
The SnowJobs Podcast
Yeah. Yeah. It's been about that for here too. Yeah, a lot of skips. And but I mean, there's been years like I think two was it two years ago where we didn't have a like a you need a hard frost to get the the lawns to stop.
00:15:45
The SnowJobs Podcast
You know, otherwise they're just going to keep on going. So I think two years ago, we didn't do final cuts until like the first week of December. I think we were cutting until it was still like growing to get it down to two and a half or two and three quarter.
00:15:55
RICK JAMES
Wow.
00:15:58
The SnowJobs Podcast
But yeah, enough lawn stuff. Oh, Jeremy, take us away, buddy.
00:16:01
RICK JAMES
All right, Doug, why don't you tell everybody about blades of steel when you guys got started and what you're all about?
Doug's Landscaping Business Start
00:16:10
Doug
Well, I got started in 2016. Um, in 2015, I left the local municipality after I quit on a Wednesday afternoon. I had enough and, uh, decided landscaping was going to be my, my route to go in.
00:16:24
Doug
Um, I had a snow background and doing municipality roads and county roads. So I kind of knew a thing or two about snow, or at least I thought I knew a two or thing about snow.
00:16:36
RICK JAMES
Yeah.
00:16:36
The SnowJobs Podcast
Is it a different game?
00:16:36
Doug
And, uh, Oh.
00:16:37
The SnowJobs Podcast
Is it a different game?
00:16:39
Doug
Uh, different game is, yeah, awful different game.
00:16:44
The SnowJobs Podcast
I tell my friends that the plow for the town all the time. I'm like, dude, you guys got it so easy. Just drop the blade and keep driving.
00:16:50
RICK JAMES
clo Plow left, plow right. You're done.
00:16:52
The SnowJobs Podcast
That's it.
00:16:53
RICK JAMES
If he hit something big fricking deal, the city will pay for it.
00:16:53
Doug
i left
00:16:54
The SnowJobs Podcast
That's it.
00:16:54
Doug
Yep.
00:16:57
RICK JAMES
Keep going.
00:16:57
The SnowJobs Podcast
Exactly.
00:16:58
Doug
Yep.
00:17:00
RICK JAMES
Yeah.
00:17:00
Doug
Yeah.
00:17:00
The SnowJobs Podcast
That's funny.
00:17:01
Doug
Yeah. So, uh, yeah, that's the rest is kind of history. We're family business wife. Life helps in the office that helps do maintenance and one off landscape projects.
00:17:15
Doug
I can't get them out of the the house to come play with us anymore. It says he's retired on plowing. He likes the warmth of the couch in the snowstorms.
00:17:22
The SnowJobs Podcast
Smart man, smart man. but Did you did you do so like lawn and did you do anything on the side before you quit or.
00:17:31
Doug
So yes, I was already doing lawns on the side and like four residential driveways and
00:17:35
The SnowJobs Podcast
Gotcha.
00:17:38
Doug
I swear to myself, I'd never do residential driveways again. And I've got like six or seven of them.
00:17:44
The SnowJobs Podcast
Uh, yeah, that's how that it always goes like that. Like, all right, I quit. Now let's ramp up the other one. That's a, that's good.
00:17:50
Doug
Yeah.
00:17:51
The SnowJobs Podcast
Awesome, man. So you started in 16. Sweet.
00:17:54
Doug
Started in 2016, June of 2016.
00:17:57
The SnowJobs Podcast
And what are you guys?
00:17:57
RICK JAMES
and so yeah So you mainly snow, or do you do a lot of lawns and landscaping stuff too?
00:17:58
The SnowJobs Podcast
Go ahead, Jay. Sorry.
00:18:03
RICK JAMES
ah Or what are you what are you doing?
00:18:03
Doug
So or we're, we're. seventy 75, 25, I would say 75% snow, 25% landscaping kind of.
00:18:15
Doug
I'd like to go to the landscaping side to be a little bigger, to have some more employees. So that way it's not like having to staff up, um, every winter. But on the good side is we're out in a farm community here.
00:18:26
Doug
I have a lot of farmers that can't combine corn or corns already off. So there are nothing to do. They come plow for me.
00:18:33
The SnowJobs Podcast
Nice.
00:18:34
Doug
So that's a big.
00:18:34
The SnowJobs Podcast
That definitely helps.
00:18:36
Doug
big pool of people that work for us.
00:18:37
The SnowJobs Podcast
Yeah, that definitely helps. That's cool. And what other like on the landscape side, what's what other services are you guys doing besides lawn maintenance? Are you doing any like hardscaping, anything like that or?
00:18:48
Doug
Very, very small on the hardscape side. um We do light excavation. If you need anything bigger than a John Deere 50 to do it, I'm i'm not your guy.
00:19:00
The SnowJobs Podcast
Gotcha. Gotcha.
00:19:01
Doug
and um So on light excavation, we're all small hardscapes. Favorite walkways, small patios, not no design build or anything. And and then tear out and installs.
00:19:14
Doug
We do a lot of tear out and installs.
00:19:15
The SnowJobs Podcast
Gotcha. Cool. And you're close to Reading, Pennsylvania.
00:19:19
Doug
Yes. Yeah. We're right on the tail of rutting.
00:19:19
The SnowJobs Podcast
So. Gotcha. So what's your what's your market like as far as your annual snow and the types of storms you get?
00:19:27
Doug
So we get our average is about 30 inches a year.
00:19:29
The SnowJobs Podcast
Okay.
00:19:31
Doug
And we get that concrete snuff a lot of times.
00:19:31
The SnowJobs Podcast
okay Yeah, there you go.
00:19:35
RICK JAMES
concrete
00:19:35
The SnowJobs Podcast
There you go. Robert should trademark that.
00:19:36
Doug
Concrete.
00:19:38
The SnowJobs Podcast
He really should. Robert should trademark concrete.
00:19:40
RICK JAMES
concrete but now he can't because he can't because he doesn't he says he never said that so i don't i told him yeah and i told i told him we have receipts so i don't know he just doesn't know
00:19:42
The SnowJobs Podcast
I can't, I can't even say it.
00:19:46
The SnowJobs Podcast
He did say that was who that's where that came from. Because I said, I said we have concrete in New York, but Robert took it to the next level with the main accent. And that's where it came from. Concrete.
00:20:00
The SnowJobs Podcast
Oh, so you get the concrete, too. That's fun. It's fun stuff.
00:20:05
Doug
We do, and then we get them storms that come in and, you know, them, them weather guys hype it up and you're, you're prepared for six to eight inches and the, the side winder comes to the left and then, you know, that, that thermal, thermal election happened, reach around happens.
00:20:19
RICK JAMES
You know, reach around.
00:20:22
The SnowJobs Podcast
You have to reach her out.
00:20:24
Doug
This area gets, gets nothing a little, a little wet on the pavement and the other areas get 16 inches.
00:20:30
The SnowJobs Podcast
Yep. Yeah, it's that does happen. It definitely does that. We'll make sure to ask Rob and Nick about that next week when we have them.
00:20:39
RICK JAMES
Oh yeah.
00:20:41
The SnowJobs Podcast
That'll be fun. So you guys do 30, about 30 inches a year. OK, cool. Do you guys get, are you in the, like, I'm trying to picture where Reading is on the map of Pennsylvania there.
00:20:51
The SnowJobs Podcast
Do you guys, are you in the nor'easter band when they come up the coast?
00:20:55
Doug
Oh, yes, yes.
00:20:56
The SnowJobs Podcast
Yeah. Okay. Gotcha. Good. Very cool. So those are fun. closer
00:21:02
Doug
there was There are storms that I say weed, the guys at that shouldn't really be doing snow, they got to pick up chalk and they're not sure but not sure what what is to happen.
00:21:03
The SnowJobs Podcast
so
00:21:09
The SnowJobs Podcast
100%.
00:21:15
Doug
And funny you say that in 2016, the only snow we got was 32 inches of snow from a Northeastern. That came up and that was my cruise mine and my crew's first plowing of a parking lot was 32 inches.
00:21:29
The SnowJobs Podcast
32 inches. Nice.
00:21:31
Doug
32 inches.
00:21:31
RICK JAMES
Yes.
00:21:33
The SnowJobs Podcast
so That's the, I'll tell you for you either hate them or you love them. I personally love the nor'easters because we're equipped to handle them. And when you're looking at a ah winter that's underperformed, like what was it?
00:21:45
The SnowJobs Podcast
Two years ago, Jay, we had nine inches on February 28th. We got 30, 30 inches in the next 14 days.
00:21:48
RICK JAMES
yeah
00:21:51
The SnowJobs Podcast
You know, the first 14 days of March, we had two nor'easters come up, boom, 15 inches at a time. Done.
00:21:58
RICK JAMES
ah youre
00:21:59
Doug
murder
00:21:59
RICK JAMES
you were like me that year you were like me that year
00:22:01
The SnowJobs Podcast
Yeah. I was like you last year. Yeah. Where we did nothing.
00:22:03
RICK JAMES
yeah
00:22:04
The SnowJobs Podcast
We had like a five-incher. We had like a couple little inch and a half that were melting as fast as they were falling. And that was nothing the entire winter. And then boom, we had the two nor'easters and it made it on paper look like it was just, you know, tremendous.
00:22:18
The SnowJobs Podcast
Well, you know, oh yeah, it's a tremendously average winter. It really wasn't. I think it was four pushes total, but hobby pushing as, as it's called.
00:22:25
RICK JAMES
Yeah, you were like me that year.
00:22:26
Doug
ah you Two years ago,
00:22:27
RICK JAMES
You were like me that year.
00:22:28
Doug
We got, I think, I don't think we got, we got any more than three inches for the whole winter.
00:22:29
The SnowJobs Podcast
but
00:22:32
Doug
It was, it was a rough winter.
00:22:34
The SnowJobs Podcast
Yeah, yeah, I remember that parts of yeah parts of of ah of Pennsylvania got nothing, right?
00:22:42
Doug
Yeah.
00:22:43
Doug
Yeah. I think we were farther, the farther north you go or towards like Lake Erie, they get a lot of lake effect up there.
00:22:43
The SnowJobs Podcast
But then some parts did really well, right?
00:22:45
The SnowJobs Podcast
You just you guys are like in the snow dome.
00:22:51
The SnowJobs Podcast
Mm hmm. Got you.
00:22:54
Doug
The lake effect very. Very rarely makes it down here. Sometimes it does. You get some ribbons, you know, ribbon bands that will make it down here and give you a quick squall that'll be blinding snow for 45 minutes and leave you an inch and a half on the ground.
00:23:11
The SnowJobs Podcast
Gotcha.
00:23:12
RICK JAMES
So what is the average 30.
00:23:12
The SnowJobs Podcast
Cool. 30.
00:23:14
Doug
30 inches.
00:23:15
The SnowJobs Podcast
Yeah. So 30, 30, 30, the dirty 30.
00:23:18
RICK JAMES
That's okay. But what is it like 30 and then like five miles an hour is like 50. Is that what it is around there? You know, cause you guys always have that line.
00:23:27
The SnowJobs Podcast
We do.
00:23:27
RICK JAMES
You always talk about Steve.
00:23:28
The SnowJobs Podcast
Yeah. We, we have, we have steep. Yeah. We have some steep delineations around here.
00:23:33
Doug
i I don't think so. I think you got to go pretty far and for Northwest. um Yeah, get into that.
00:23:45
The SnowJobs Podcast
Yeah. Gotcha.
00:23:46
RICK JAMES
So, so if you're on a 30, you're on a 30 inch snowfall, your average, how many, how many times you push.
00:23:47
Doug
On the other side of 81.
00:23:54
RICK JAMES
So roughly you got to average 14.
00:23:55
Doug
14, 14.
00:23:57
The SnowJobs Podcast
14. Okay. Gotcha. Very cool. So what type would go to check.
00:24:01
RICK JAMES
That I'm sorry.
00:24:03
The SnowJobs Podcast
Got someone else.
00:24:04
RICK JAMES
I was gonna say, is that doubled insulting then? Or is that same or what are you?
00:24:08
Doug
So we figure 14 events, 28 saltings.
00:24:14
The SnowJobs Podcast
Okay.
00:24:14
RICK JAMES
Okay. That's what I was thinking.
00:24:15
The SnowJobs Podcast
Very cool. What type of sites is Blade to Steel doing?
00:24:19
Doug
Oh, we have yet to figure out our niche. So we do a little bit of
Client Insights and Snow Needs
00:24:22
Doug
everything.
00:24:22
The SnowJobs Podcast
Okay, all right.
00:24:22
RICK JAMES
ah
00:24:23
Doug
We we we go from one end of the spectrum to the other. We got the quite a few high-end long clients that are doctors and nurses that need to get to work in the morning.
00:24:33
Doug
So we do their driveways.
00:24:35
The SnowJobs Podcast
Okay.
00:24:35
Doug
Then you go to the other end of the spectrum. we have two warehouses along 78 That the big boy play and one is ten and a half acres of blacktop and the other ones 14 half acres of blacktop We're plowing and then we do everything in between doctor's office ah retail dentist Apartments to two very large apartment buildings or complexes, I guess I would say more complexes ones a 11 unit building units
00:24:47
The SnowJobs Podcast
Okay, nice.
00:25:08
Doug
And then I love the other ones, 14 buildings.
00:25:11
The SnowJobs Podcast
The doctor's driveway that you that you do, do you also do his his office, the doctor's office?
00:25:17
Doug
They are in the hospital.
00:25:19
The SnowJobs Podcast
Okay.
00:25:19
Doug
So now I haven't figured that out yet.
00:25:20
The SnowJobs Podcast
Gotcha. I was going to say I was, I was, and I was going to make the correlation.
00:25:23
Doug
Yeah.
00:25:24
The SnowJobs Podcast
um ah I was going to say, is he paying you more for his drive with it? He wants to pay for, for his office. Cause that, that one of my friends around here had that happen where he, the guy's actually paying him more to do his drive with it.
00:25:35
The SnowJobs Podcast
He wants to pay to push his one acre parking lot.
00:25:39
Doug
That would probably be the case for us because there's nowhere to go. The one I'm really thinking of, there's nowhere to go with the snow at the top of the driveway. A lot of times they'll say, hey, we got 14 inches of snow.
00:25:50
Doug
Come do it after the storm. and We haul a skid steer and we charge them 250 an hour with a skid steer plus travel.
00:25:55
The SnowJobs Podcast
Nice. And they pay it.
00:25:56
Doug
And they, a lot of times, okay, if they're at home, they'll come out with a check and ask me how much it is.
00:25:57
RICK JAMES
me Nice.
00:25:58
The SnowJobs Podcast
Done.
00:26:01
Doug
Hold on. We'll write the check out if I'm there or want to hand a check to one of the guys.
00:26:03
The SnowJobs Podcast
Nice.
00:26:05
Doug
And thank you very much.
00:26:05
RICK JAMES
Wow.
00:26:06
Doug
We didn't have to go out and shovel.
00:26:08
The SnowJobs Podcast
That's awesome.
00:26:09
RICK JAMES
Sounds great.
00:26:09
The SnowJobs Podcast
All right. That's great. Freaking great.
00:26:12
RICK JAMES
Check in hand, check in hand when you get done work.
00:26:13
The SnowJobs Podcast
Yeah, absolutely.
00:26:14
Doug
Back in hand.
00:26:15
RICK JAMES
What is that?
00:26:15
The SnowJobs Podcast
but ah You better not.
00:26:18
RICK JAMES
what
00:26:18
Doug
like can and
00:26:18
The SnowJobs Podcast
Don't tell anybody where that driveway is. Some but guys are going to be lining up to try and steal that that client from you.
00:26:21
Doug
now They can try. They no trial they better be coming and doing all the other services we do there too, because we do everything.
00:26:25
RICK JAMES
ah
00:26:26
The SnowJobs Podcast
yeah
00:26:29
Doug
so
00:26:29
The SnowJobs Podcast
They're throwing money at you as you're coming down the driveway. That's great. Unheard of.
00:26:35
RICK JAMES
wow.
00:26:36
The SnowJobs Podcast
Good for you guys. So you guys do a little of everything you do. Do you do you do mostly like you said warehouses or you do any like retail or are you staying away from retail?
00:26:48
The SnowJobs Podcast
ah
00:26:49
Doug
We have a couple of small strip malls, two or three unit retail strip malls that we do.
00:26:53
The SnowJobs Podcast
OK.
00:26:55
Doug
Um, yeah, I can't want to be in that retail doctor office space, um, either running some type of compact wheel loader.
00:26:55
The SnowJobs Podcast
Very cool. So where are you trying to get your niche?
00:26:57
RICK JAMES
hu
00:26:59
The SnowJobs Podcast
Where do you want to be?
00:27:08
The SnowJobs Podcast
yeah
00:27:14
Doug
If they're close enough, we're doing trucks. And really what I want to dial in is selling seasonal to them with, uh, if they're going to be truck routes, recovering the whole truck cost on four or five locations over a three or four year period.
00:27:31
The SnowJobs Podcast
I like it.
00:27:33
RICK JAMES
strip malls and stuff too, or strip malls big around there or kind of, or not really, or yeah.
00:27:33
The SnowJobs Podcast
The doctors.
00:27:34
Doug
Yeah.
00:27:36
The SnowJobs Podcast
What's that?
00:27:38
The SnowJobs Podcast
Yeah. Yeah. Yep.
00:27:40
Doug
yeah
00:27:42
The SnowJobs Podcast
Definitely. The doctor's offices, the the medical buildings, like the the five and six doctors in one professional building and stuff, those are great sites if you can get them because generally they want high quality work done and they don't mind paying for it. It's it's pretty pretty great to work with. we We work with a bunch of doctors and it's It's pretty easy to to make them happy.
00:28:04
The SnowJobs Podcast
Just do what you got to do. And all they want you to do is make sure that's black payment by the time they're ready to open with their first patients. So they don't mind paying for it.
00:28:11
Doug
Yes.
00:28:14
Doug
I have found that dentists are even better to work for because a lot of times they'll call me, we have three that we three different dentists all of us we deal with and they'll call the night before and say,
00:28:16
The SnowJobs Podcast
They are.
00:28:24
Doug
What are you thinking in for snow? And I send them over our weather report from one of our services. I guess we'll cover that later.
00:28:30
The SnowJobs Podcast
Yep. Yep.
00:28:32
Doug
Uh, and they'll be okay. Well, we typically open at nine, but we're going to open at one. We're going to cancel everything from nine to one tonight and have us ready for one o'clock.
00:28:40
The SnowJobs Podcast
Yeah.
00:28:41
Doug
And I'm like, there's no reason we can't have you ready for 10 30. And now give you extra time. One o'clock. And you still treat them like we treat everything. Low tolerance though.
00:28:53
Doug
I don't want to say no tolerance, zero tolerance. I don't like that phrase, but yes, with a low tolerance, everything is treated as low tolerance.
00:28:56
The SnowJobs Podcast
Yep. That's some kind of impossible, but yeah, I get what you're saying. and Low tolerance.
00:29:05
The SnowJobs Podcast
You know why they do that? We do, we do dentist office too. And they cancel, they cancel full days a lot because they'll get people canceling. If, if the storm is being overblown by the news stations, they will.
00:29:16
RICK JAMES
but What? What?
00:29:18
The SnowJobs Podcast
Oh yeah.
00:29:18
RICK JAMES
Did they do that?
00:29:19
The SnowJobs Podcast
Oh yeah.
00:29:20
Doug
I was going to say, they do that.
00:29:21
The SnowJobs Podcast
Oh, you wouldn't believe the local news.
00:29:21
RICK JAMES
No,
00:29:23
The SnowJobs Podcast
Jeremy, like he's got, the no, no fake news on the news.
00:29:24
RICK JAMES
no no. New stations over hypostorm? Oh, we got to get
00:29:31
The SnowJobs Podcast
Oh crap.
00:29:33
RICK JAMES
10th of inch of rain and I thought it was gonna be a hurricane here from the weather guys, but yeah
00:29:36
The SnowJobs Podcast
do but what if they if they're talking about if they're talking up a snow for two or three days beforehand the dentist like they will get cancelled on at like high rates so if they're if more than half their day already cancels they'll just cancel the whole day rather than bring everybody in
00:29:53
Doug
That's crazy.
00:29:53
The SnowJobs Podcast
So that, yeah, I've been there, but yeah, I guess like if you're going to the cardiologist, that's not an appointment you want to skip, but I think you can probably, you know, your, your dental checkup, they'll you'll let that go rather than go out in the snow, I guess.
00:30:00
Doug
um
00:30:04
The SnowJobs Podcast
I don't know, but they have a lot of cancellations when it snows.
00:30:08
Doug
Interesting.
00:30:09
The SnowJobs Podcast
Yep. I ain't going out.
00:30:11
Doug
Yeah.
00:30:11
The SnowJobs Podcast
I don't want to go to the dentist period.
00:30:12
Doug
So I'm taking it too.
00:30:13
The SnowJobs Podcast
You give me an excuse not to go to the dentist. I'll take it. Oh, snow coming. and Can't go.
00:30:16
RICK JAMES
Yeah.
00:30:17
The SnowJobs Podcast
Sorry.
00:30:18
Doug
Yeah.
00:30:19
The SnowJobs Podcast
Let's reschedule for August.
00:30:21
Doug
Speaking of that height. Uh, I got a client that has a five unit, five or six unit little apartment building called me a couple of weeks ago and was all worked up because she seen on Facebook that some weather weathermen Nick or something around here was posting about the Halloween snow storm all over again.
00:30:42
Doug
And we were going to get 10 or 12 inches of snow and we don't have stakes out yet.
00:30:44
The SnowJobs Podcast
Really?
00:30:46
Doug
She called me in a panic. You don't have my place staked. It's common. I'm like. It was 81 degrees, 81 degrees on Halloween here.
00:30:52
The SnowJobs Podcast
What is coming? yeah Literally.
00:30:55
Doug
I'm like, what is, what are like? Yeah.
00:30:58
The SnowJobs Podcast
I think I was trick or treating with the kids in a t-shirt and shorts at seven o'clock.
00:30:58
Doug
Do you have equi- Yeah.
00:30:58
RICK JAMES
i
00:31:02
RICK JAMES
Don't you like them don't you like when people tell you that do your job what they hired you to do What huh
00:31:06
Doug
Yeah.
00:31:08
The SnowJobs Podcast
It's great. The internet weathermen are awesome. They're, uh,
00:31:11
Doug
I'm waiting for, now they're starting with this Thanksgiving storm. So I'm waiting for the Thanksgiving, I'm waiting for her to call and be like, oh, you're not staked yet before Thanksgiving. Or are we going to have something to do?
00:31:18
The SnowJobs Podcast
Oh, are we getting a Thanksgiving storm?
00:31:21
Doug
No, they're hyping it. I don't think so.
00:31:23
The SnowJobs Podcast
All right. Who's hyping it? I gotta, we gotta call.
00:31:26
RICK JAMES
Oh, let's just roll in.
00:31:26
The SnowJobs Podcast
We gotta call the weather guys.
00:31:27
RICK JAMES
Let's let's roll into this weather steal right now.
00:31:29
The SnowJobs Podcast
Yeah. What do you use?
00:31:30
RICK JAMES
What do you, who are you using?
00:31:31
The SnowJobs Podcast
Who do you use? Who's hyping it?
00:31:33
RICK JAMES
Phantom weather.
00:31:33
Doug
Oh, I am. My weather source is not hyping it, but we use, well, we used to use this great weather source. Um, they get our certified stove totals, this little company out, I think Jersey weather works, you know, and they.
00:31:48
The SnowJobs Podcast
Okay.
00:31:48
RICK JAMES
um Yeah.
00:31:48
The SnowJobs Podcast
You've heard of them.
00:31:49
RICK JAMES
Yep.
00:31:50
Doug
They never gave you any KY jolly or anything when they sent you the bill. So we kind of switched away from that.
00:31:56
The SnowJobs Podcast
ah They are pricey. They are.
00:31:58
Doug
Oh, yeah.
00:31:59
The SnowJobs Podcast
We have, we've heard that numerous times.
00:31:59
Doug
Yeah. Oh, yeah.
00:32:01
RICK JAMES
Oh yeah.
00:32:01
Doug
Yeah. We switched over to true weather. So we're using true weather now. um um Very.
00:32:05
The SnowJobs Podcast
Gotcha.
00:32:06
RICK JAMES
Shannon Murder.
00:32:08
The SnowJobs Podcast
I liked their system. I liked their portal.
00:32:10
Doug
I like, I like their portal.
00:32:10
RICK JAMES
Yup.
00:32:12
Doug
I like their text messages.
00:32:14
The SnowJobs Podcast
Mm-hmm.
00:32:14
Doug
I like that I can add clients to the text messages and they are, and I don't have to forward stuff and I can add my guys to it.
00:32:21
The SnowJobs Podcast
Yep. Very cool.
00:32:23
Doug
So we're, we're happy and we're happy with the turnaround times on the certified snow totals because we try to have all our building done within 48 hours. I don't want to have to wait 72 or a week and a half later.
00:32:30
The SnowJobs Podcast
Yep.
00:32:30
RICK JAMES
the
00:32:32
The SnowJobs Podcast
Do it. If I don't get them out before it, I'll do you one better. If I don't get the billing done in the computer before I sleep after a storm, I forget, but forget what we did.
00:32:42
Doug
Oh, that's yeah.
00:32:43
The SnowJobs Podcast
where would Like, Oh crap.
00:32:46
RICK JAMES
So True Brother has been pretty spot on for you.
00:32:48
The SnowJobs Podcast
Yeah. How were they last winter?
00:32:49
Doug
Run low.
00:32:51
The SnowJobs Podcast
Accuracy wise.
00:32:51
RICK JAMES
so on mode no We don't sugar coat here, this is real life.
00:32:54
Doug
You know, all about, you know, a little, you know, cold weather convection or sidewinder swiping in and one of my sites that I sat on for six and a half hours that never laid.
00:33:06
Doug
um
00:33:07
The SnowJobs Podcast
That happened. That did happen.
00:33:08
Doug
That happened.
00:33:08
The SnowJobs Podcast
That one storm.
00:33:09
Doug
And then the other guys from the warehouse were prepared for six inches and all said and done. I think we had 14 or 15 inches over.
00:33:15
The SnowJobs Podcast
Yeah.
00:33:17
Doug
They were a little understaffed. They were a little upset about shoveling some sidewalk with two sidewalk shovelers. Because I was like, we don't need all these guys to shovel sidewalks. We're only getting six inches. Boy, we'll be OK.
00:33:26
The SnowJobs Podcast
That one storm messed up everybody, all the weather guys.
00:33:26
Doug
They and came right up 78 and set the band up and yeah.
00:33:29
The SnowJobs Podcast
They had no idea what was coming or where it was going to go big and where it wasn't. Yeah.
00:33:38
The SnowJobs Podcast
Yep. That was the one. That was the one where they were, they were calling for like a foot or more a week out. And then by the time, two hours before it was supposed to start, they literally had their hands in the air.
00:33:50
The SnowJobs Podcast
Like, we don't know. Like you can get a coating or you can get two feet. We have no freaking idea. Like, like prepare for two feet, but it'd be happy if you only get a coating. Like what?
00:33:59
RICK JAMES
I want to do, we could push your lot or we couldn't make it there.
00:33:59
The SnowJobs Podcast
the
00:34:03
The SnowJobs Podcast
Yeah.
00:34:03
RICK JAMES
I mean, either way, one or the other is going to happen. Just be happy with it. And then we're not, we're going to get past it and we're not even going to go back to explaining what happened.
00:34:07
The SnowJobs Podcast
Dude, but you know what?
00:34:14
RICK JAMES
We're just going to go to the next day and pretend that day didn't happen.
00:34:16
The SnowJobs Podcast
Like I said, I know Jeremy does not like me defending the weather guys, but I actually was looking at the models to see what they're trying to make their interpretation off. And there's seven models and all of them were saying something completely different.
00:34:28
The SnowJobs Podcast
Like it was. like Yeah, wild.
00:34:28
Doug
I was, it was skewed all over. And to be quite honest, I, I put a post up on LinkedIn and kind of shamed Mark pretty hard on it. And I took it down because I was sleep deprived.
00:34:39
Doug
I was not feeling the greatest. I was sick and I was fucking pissed off about it because I kept getting like updates every hour.
00:34:41
RICK JAMES
ah
00:34:42
The SnowJobs Podcast
yeah
00:34:44
RICK JAMES
but
00:34:45
The SnowJobs Podcast
dude i Yeah, I get it, you know, like, like I said, I get, yeah.
00:34:46
RICK JAMES
we live We, we, we talked to them enough then.
00:34:48
Doug
Oh, anything is setting up. Yeah.
00:34:53
RICK JAMES
They know it's coming. They know it's coming. And they they can all take it. it's it's Honestly, it's just part of the game. They don't understand. There's nothing personal.
00:35:00
The SnowJobs Podcast
Like, and that's why, that's why I really like Nick because I can give Nick shit and he'll give it right back and say, here's what I'm looking at. Let me send you these seven model runs and you tell me where to fucking drop the pin.
00:35:14
The SnowJobs Podcast
You tell me what it's going to do. And I'm like, yeah, I got nothing. Like I looked at him.
00:35:18
RICK JAMES
yeah
00:35:18
The SnowJobs Podcast
I'm like, like I don't know which one's going to be right. He goes, that's the question. Who the hell knows when they're that different? They were, there were some of them that were 250 miles off of each other.
00:35:29
RICK JAMES
You're not, you're not the weather man, Steve.
00:35:29
The SnowJobs Podcast
Like crazy. What's that?
00:35:32
RICK JAMES
You're not the, you're not the weather man. Nick is the weather man.
00:35:34
The SnowJobs Podcast
I am not a weather man. No, I'm not the weather man.
00:35:35
RICK JAMES
So Nick screwed up.
00:35:37
The SnowJobs Podcast
That's what he said. What?
00:35:38
RICK JAMES
Nick screwed
00:35:38
The SnowJobs Podcast
Yeah,
Weather Forecast Challenges
00:35:39
RICK JAMES
up.
00:35:39
The SnowJobs Podcast
no, he didn't. He actually called it. He actually called it. He he actually, he made it very simple.
00:35:44
RICK JAMES
He didn't call mine.
00:35:44
The SnowJobs Podcast
He goes, I don't know. I don't know what's coming, but here's the deal. If it is snowing in Fishgill at 10 PM, you are getting the big one. You know, you're getting the 16 inches or whatever, 18 inches.
00:35:57
The SnowJobs Podcast
If it's not snowing until 2 AM, you're probably only going to get a coating to two. So I'm like, OK, and 10 810 p.m. on the dot. It was snowing and snowing like a mother. So I'm like, all right, well, now I know we're preparing for the big one.
00:36:10
The SnowJobs Podcast
Call everybody in strap in boys.
00:36:13
Doug
Yeah, great.
00:36:13
The SnowJobs Podcast
Yeah, that was that was wild. That was so wild that there was so much deviation in the models. They sent a plane up the NOAA National Weather Service sent up a hurricane hunter plane into that snowstorm because they didn't.
00:36:18
RICK JAMES
I feel... Yeah. yeah
00:36:25
RICK JAMES
I feel...
00:36:26
The SnowJobs Podcast
but All the models are so all over the place.
00:36:27
RICK JAMES
I
00:36:28
The SnowJobs Podcast
They had no idea what it was going to do.
00:36:30
RICK JAMES
feel good.
00:36:31
The SnowJobs Podcast
Crazy.
00:36:31
RICK JAMES
I feel like I'm getting back on track. We haven't gave the weather guys crap for a long time. Now I'm back and we're back.
00:36:35
The SnowJobs Podcast
We have, they've had a nice, easy summer.
00:36:36
RICK JAMES
little They've had a good... They've had a... Now it's time to get back to harassment.
00:36:43
RICK JAMES
I mean, it's...
00:36:43
The SnowJobs Podcast
You get six months off, now here we go.
00:36:45
RICK JAMES
Yeah, that was... Still we get our cease and desist.
00:36:51
The SnowJobs Podcast
that is great oh
00:37:04
The SnowJobs Podcast
Oh, shit.
00:37:04
RICK JAMES
right
00:37:05
The SnowJobs Podcast
Jeremy, you want to take him into your favorite part?
00:37:08
RICK JAMES
Well, yeah, we got to hit the commercial.
00:37:11
The SnowJobs Podcast
Yep. The Jeremy Lindstrom equipment segment is now brought to you by the next leasing. All right. For all your top of the line, lightly used equipment needs. Check out the next leasing. All right, guys, because ah they got what you need and they got they got great prices. If you can get them to call you back, right, Jay?
00:37:31
RICK JAMES
Right on. You got that right.
00:37:33
Doug
um
00:37:34
RICK JAMES
All right, Doug, I want to know what kind of equipment you got, what you got from sidewalk machines, the loaders, the pushers to salters to oh shovels.
00:37:44
Doug
name it We probably got it.
00:37:46
RICK JAMES
All right.
00:37:48
The SnowJobs Podcast
Take us through.
00:37:48
Doug
Keep my shop busy. What do you want to start with?
00:37:51
The SnowJobs Podcast
Whatever you want.
00:37:52
Doug
All right, so the only the only standard thing across the board is we run all four pickups.
00:37:52
RICK JAMES
Your company.
00:38:00
Doug
That's the only thing you'll find. Well, I guess two things. I guess some Western MVP threes on the front of them.
00:38:05
The SnowJobs Podcast
Okay.
00:38:05
RICK JAMES
Are they broke Donald?
00:38:06
Doug
and Now now they're they're running strong.
00:38:06
RICK JAMES
Are the brook Fords broken all the time or what?
00:38:10
RICK JAMES
as I was, ki I was kidding.
00:38:10
Doug
I mean, you know summertime.
00:38:12
RICK JAMES
I was kidding. Just, just, just, just, just a Ford joke.
00:38:13
The SnowJobs Podcast
summertime.
00:38:15
Doug
um but I mean, so or four thieves over there, we are looking at a dodge.
00:38:17
RICK JAMES
gotta
00:38:23
Doug
you know
00:38:23
The SnowJobs Podcast
Yeah, the Rams have been good.
00:38:24
RICK JAMES
yeah
00:38:25
The SnowJobs Podcast
I think they're ugly as sin, but they've but they've done us well. I can't complain about the Rams at all. I don't like anything about them.
00:38:30
Doug
We're trying to get it.
00:38:32
The SnowJobs Podcast
I don't like anything about them besides the fact that they work.
00:38:33
RICK JAMES
ah
00:38:35
Doug
I've got a mission forward to get three guys, their CDLs with a stick and then it's getting sold.
00:38:40
The SnowJobs Podcast
Oh, yeah.
00:38:40
RICK JAMES
Ah.
00:38:40
The SnowJobs Podcast
Nice.
00:38:43
Doug
and
00:38:43
The SnowJobs Podcast
Nice.
00:38:44
RICK JAMES
Nice.
00:38:44
Doug
um
00:38:44
The SnowJobs Podcast
So you got forage of the MP3, the MP3 MVP three. Sorry, God, I couldn couldn't get that out.
00:38:50
Doug
That's yes.
00:38:51
The SnowJobs Podcast
Those are ah I love those.
00:38:52
Doug
Then we, um,
00:38:53
The SnowJobs Podcast
Those have been great for us. You like them?
00:38:57
Doug
All except for when they make the truck like a blue smurf when you catch a curb a little too hard, you know.
00:39:01
The SnowJobs Podcast
Well, don't do that.
00:39:03
Doug
Yeah, she shouldn't, but, you know.
00:39:05
The SnowJobs Podcast
Do you have a
00:39:05
RICK JAMES
Gotta put those flow rate market stakes out.
00:39:06
Doug
In a blizzard, what do you... Yeah.
00:39:09
The SnowJobs Podcast
Shameless plug.
00:39:10
Doug
Yeah. Should've said if I had some cloud-right marking stakes, you know, I would've been good there, but, yet you know, they're probably bent over or fell over the curb line somewhere.
00:39:14
The SnowJobs Podcast
There you go. i that He have sent you some. Oh, man. Do you ah do you have any winter equipment edges? Have you had to change edges yet on those?
00:39:26
Doug
I changed my first set last year to the winter edge and this beautiful thing happened.
00:39:30
The SnowJobs Podcast
What do you think?
00:39:32
Doug
It didn't snow after. It didn't snow after. I didn't get to use it.
00:39:36
The SnowJobs Podcast
Oh, Jesus. Oh, we did, man.
00:39:39
RICK JAMES
still.
00:39:39
The SnowJobs Podcast
And what a change. What what a change. It totally made that plow. Just cut differently.
00:39:46
Doug
but That's what I heard. And I got where the other two edges down on the other two trucks and hopefully put a set on, but I'm looking to.
00:39:52
The SnowJobs Podcast
Very cool.
00:39:53
Doug
put the first set on my plow and was like, we're going to go plow with this. And that's the storm that it never stuck on our parking lot. So I got six inches of nothing to try to new cut edge on.
00:40:03
The SnowJobs Podcast
Dude, that always happens. That always happens to you. No matter what you do, if you have a new piece of equipment, you're just dying to test out. You will get no snow that winter.
00:40:13
Doug
Let's know. Yeah.
00:40:14
The SnowJobs Podcast
It's it's so it's it's like clockwork.
00:40:15
RICK JAMES
Yeah.
00:40:17
The SnowJobs Podcast
It's really unfair. It happens all the time.
00:40:19
Doug
Nice.
00:40:19
RICK JAMES
Like a river blower.
00:40:21
The SnowJobs Podcast
Yeah, right. The room lower.
00:40:22
RICK JAMES
ah
00:40:23
The SnowJobs Podcast
Couldn't use that.
00:40:23
RICK JAMES
yeah
00:40:23
The SnowJobs Podcast
You were waiting for that for years. Couldn't use it at all.
00:40:25
RICK JAMES
Yeah. Yeah.
00:40:27
The SnowJobs Podcast
Oh, man.
00:40:28
RICK JAMES
What else you got?
00:40:28
The SnowJobs Podcast
Well, so ah what what do you got spreader wise on those trucks?
00:40:29
Doug
and we jump over
00:40:32
Doug
Spreader wise two trucks have boss VBX's the 8000s and the other two trucks have Western strikers and then Hold on hold on I was gonna say and then I also have two trucks that have tailgate or like hitch shoulders that have the Western 525 parking lot pro or whatever it is and
00:40:37
The SnowJobs Podcast
Okay.
00:40:42
The SnowJobs Podcast
Okay.
00:40:43
RICK JAMES
Hmm.
00:40:44
The SnowJobs Podcast
How the VBX has been for you.
00:40:44
RICK JAMES
What do you like better?
00:40:46
The SnowJobs Podcast
Yeah. Well, exactly.
00:40:52
RICK JAMES
Hmm.
00:40:52
The SnowJobs Podcast
Okay.
00:40:57
The SnowJobs Podcast
Okay.
00:40:58
Doug
Sure. Yeah. So if I had to, they they hold 550 pounds, 525 pounds.
00:41:00
RICK JAMES
How big are those? I don't, I don't, I don't, I don't know what those I mean.
00:41:06
RICK JAMES
Okay. Gotcha.
00:41:08
Doug
Great for a bank parking lot or something.
00:41:11
RICK JAMES
Mm hmm.
00:41:11
Doug
If you need to pick up with a flatbed, you need snow blowers.
00:41:15
The SnowJobs Podcast
Yep.
00:41:15
Doug
You can't have the embed box.
00:41:15
RICK JAMES
yeah ye Yep.
00:41:17
Doug
That's, that's why we have them.
00:41:19
RICK JAMES
Yep.
00:41:20
The SnowJobs Podcast
Very cool.
00:41:24
RICK JAMES
What are, what, which one do you like better on the Salters.
00:41:24
The SnowJobs Podcast
What do you like better?
00:41:31
Doug
I would have to go, I like my bosses better than my strikers.
00:41:34
The SnowJobs Podcast
Okay.
00:41:34
Doug
The controllers are so much nicer. That digital controller with the numbers over the dials. One of the big things I like about the boss boxes, I could back a truck into the bay.
00:41:46
Doug
I can turn the spinner all the way off, pull the spinner off and turn that chain on a 10 and walk away from it and go do something else and come back in a half an hour and the box is empty.
00:41:49
The SnowJobs Podcast
yeah Yep.
00:41:56
Doug
Where the, the only way to unload the striker is to Let it run the spinner and make a big mess in the salt bin.
00:42:02
The SnowJobs Podcast
Really?
00:42:03
Doug
Yeah, you can't can't take the spinner off.
00:42:06
The SnowJobs Podcast
Hmm.
00:42:07
Doug
Take the spinner off, throws an error code.
00:42:09
The SnowJobs Podcast
No shit.
00:42:10
Doug
Nope.
00:42:10
RICK JAMES
So do you just put it really narrow and let her run?
00:42:10
The SnowJobs Podcast
Hmm.
00:42:11
Doug
I talked it.
00:42:13
RICK JAMES
Is that what you do?
00:42:14
Doug
Yeah, I turned the chain to about halfway, and the spinner down to nothing, and I just let it run. Come back about an hour and a half later, and a two-yard box will be empty.
00:42:23
The SnowJobs Podcast
Interesting.
00:42:23
RICK JAMES
Hour and a half.
00:42:25
Doug
Yeah, takes forever doing it that way, because if you over if you
00:42:27
RICK JAMES
Oh my.
00:42:28
Doug
turn the chain up too high, it overloads the spinner and makes a mess.
00:42:32
RICK JAMES
Yeah.
00:42:34
Doug
And my salt bin I have is only slightly bigger than a tri
Snow Removal Equipment Discussion
00:42:40
Doug
-axle to get a tri-axle in there. So if there's a lot of material in there, it makes a big mess all up the walls.
00:42:41
The SnowJobs Podcast
Hmm.
00:42:44
RICK JAMES
Right.
00:42:47
The SnowJobs Podcast
I thought there was a way to unload those strikes.
00:42:47
Doug
Yeah.
00:42:49
The SnowJobs Podcast
I thought you could do that. I thought you could like pull two pins or something.
00:42:51
Doug
Well, if you stem, you pull the two pins, take the the spinner off the yes stay there and holding the two buttons onll each shot at your fingertips in until they fall off
00:42:59
The SnowJobs Podcast
Oh, no, shit, there's no override.
00:42:59
RICK JAMES
Oh, yeah.
00:43:00
Doug
Yeah, there's no override.
00:43:01
The SnowJobs Podcast
That's dumb.
00:43:02
Doug
Yeah, there's no override.
00:43:02
The SnowJobs Podcast
Oh, that's dumb.
00:43:02
RICK JAMES
Why can you put a jumper while you're on there.
00:43:05
The SnowJobs Podcast
That.
00:43:06
Doug
Yeah.
00:43:08
The SnowJobs Podcast
Yeah, my guys figured out something. I got to ask. I got to ask them how they did it because they they said the same thing, like we're not standing here like fucking idiots holding these buttons for the next hour. They figured something out.
00:43:17
Doug
yeah
00:43:19
The SnowJobs Podcast
ah You know what I wanted?
00:43:19
RICK JAMES
No.
00:43:21
The SnowJobs Podcast
They did. I want to say they kept the the, on the tornadoes. I want to say they, they took the, the spinner off, put it on a five, stood it up on a five gallon pale, kept it connected.
00:43:33
The SnowJobs Podcast
So as far as the controller thought it was still connected and they just let the, let the hopper wide open flow out the back.
00:43:35
Doug
right Okay, I'm at it yes so the On the tornado, they're the spinners totally different.
00:43:40
The SnowJobs Podcast
I think that's what they started doing.
00:43:44
Doug
So that won't work on the strikers.
00:43:45
The SnowJobs Podcast
Yeah. Gotcha.
00:43:47
Doug
That's the product the wires way too sure I mean, I guess I could build a jumper wire or something and there's also a magnet magnet in there that you know makes makes it so it sees that it's but The boss has had lit great magnets too and they got deleted
00:43:52
The SnowJobs Podcast
Might be worth it to save an hour.
00:44:02
The SnowJobs Podcast
I got you. I got you. Cool.
00:44:05
RICK JAMES
What do you, well, well, if you're talking about salt, salt is what are you running for salt?
00:44:05
The SnowJobs Podcast
What else are you running? Sorry. gladja Oh yeah.
00:44:08
Doug
yeah yeah We are running an Egyptian treated salt, mag magnesium chloride treated salt.
00:44:10
RICK JAMES
Since you're, we're talking salted right now. so
00:44:13
The SnowJobs Podcast
There you go.
00:44:20
The SnowJobs Podcast
Cool.
00:44:20
RICK JAMES
Okay.
00:44:21
The SnowJobs Podcast
How's that working for you?
00:44:22
Doug
It works awesome. Way better than the untreated stuff or whatever the other junk American rock salt has sold us in the past.
00:44:25
The SnowJobs Podcast
Good.
00:44:30
Doug
um It doesn't freeze the boxes. We've had it down in boxes well below zero. negative five negative negative two negative five a couple times and you could jump up on top of the box and Run your fingers through it.
00:44:43
Doug
It's like it's sand we got a fleet of skid steers two bobcats in the fleet and five gales The gales are older higher hours
00:44:44
The SnowJobs Podcast
Very cool. Like hearing that. What else are you running on besides the trucks? OK. OK, how are the gals?
00:45:05
Doug
um We have one problem child that the mechanic follows around a lot. um But besides that, the gales have been good.
00:45:10
The SnowJobs Podcast
OK.
00:45:13
Doug
um And the the biggest reason we went with the gales is the dealer support.
00:45:13
The SnowJobs Podcast
okay
00:45:18
The SnowJobs Podcast
Yeah.
00:45:18
Doug
They are a local farming dealer to us and they have a 24-7 AG support and they have a skid steer mechanic that has a four-wheel drive F550. He don't care if it's snowing. He will put his bibs on and pay the shop bill, I'll be there.
00:45:33
The SnowJobs Podcast
That's what it's all about. It's dealer services, everything good for you.
00:45:35
RICK JAMES
Nice.
00:45:37
The SnowJobs Podcast
That's cool. You want to give them a shout outs and they're so good. What dealer it is.
00:45:41
Doug
So it used to be Binkley and Hurst out of Richland and now it is Agritier. About a year and a half ago, they they were bought out by another company and I thought it was going to go downhill and ah the only thing that changed was the name.
00:45:45
The SnowJobs Podcast
Okay.
00:45:54
Doug
They're running still two separate, pretty much two separate companies.
00:45:54
The SnowJobs Podcast
Okay, good.
00:45:58
Doug
I guess while we're on that deal where we are running Massey Ferguson, 1725
00:46:08
Doug
subcompact tractors for sidewalk units.
00:46:11
The SnowJobs Podcast
Okay, cool.
00:46:11
RICK JAMES
Well, how are they?
00:46:12
Doug
for a foot straight bleed and a snow dog, ah not snow dog, snow way ah spreaders. I bought two snow way spreaders after doing the show up at SNS pool and spas.
00:46:23
The SnowJobs Podcast
Cool.
00:46:24
RICK JAMES
nice
00:46:24
The SnowJobs Podcast
Very cool.
00:46:25
RICK JAMES
Nice.
00:46:25
Doug
Very cool.
00:46:26
The SnowJobs Podcast
That was great.
00:46:26
Doug
ah Luxuries of home, not quite there, but they don't break down. They're good on fuel efficient and they plow snow.
00:46:36
The SnowJobs Podcast
There you go.
00:46:37
RICK JAMES
yeah
00:46:38
Doug
They do and I can buy About a quarter cheaper than building a 1025R from deer.
00:46:47
The SnowJobs Podcast
Oh, I bet.
00:46:47
RICK JAMES
Well, it wasn't an L 70. What did you say?
00:46:50
Doug
It's a GC1725.
00:46:52
RICK JAMES
ah Oh, oh, 17, 25.
00:46:55
The SnowJobs Podcast
How are the, you got cabs on them?
00:46:57
Doug
It's a Curtis cab, same as pretty much the deer.
00:46:58
The SnowJobs Podcast
hu Gotcha.
00:47:00
Doug
It's all built in a Curtis.
00:47:02
The SnowJobs Podcast
Cool.
00:47:02
Doug
ah The cabs are really nice. They're a little noisy inside, like I said, the heaters. ah The deer, I think, has a heater that goes kind of across the whole windshield where these just have a little box in the corner.
00:47:12
RICK JAMES
Yeah.
00:47:12
The SnowJobs Podcast
Okay.
00:47:13
Doug
It's better than walking behind snow blowers Guys the guys don't complain they like them The only thing I would say that I really don't like about them is the diesel fuel diesel fuel fills inside the cap So you have to be careful.
00:47:15
The SnowJobs Podcast
yeah Amen.
00:47:15
RICK JAMES
yeah
00:47:26
The SnowJobs Podcast
Oh, gotcha.
00:47:28
Doug
It makes it very hard to show from like a five-gallon bucket transfer tank It's easy, but five gallon can on some sites You got to watch the operators not dumping it all over himself and the machine because then he's riding around with it
00:47:32
RICK JAMES
Yeah.
Equipment Setup and Maintenance
00:47:40
The SnowJobs Podcast
Yep. Gotcha. Cool. Very cool.
00:47:44
Doug
So hopefully, maybe next year when I'll have a boom broom on it, if we can give them a plug.
00:47:48
The SnowJobs Podcast
Yeah, there you go.
00:47:49
RICK JAMES
<unk> room girl mar Yeah.
00:47:49
Doug
I've been kind of chatting here, chatting here and there with them a little bit.
00:47:49
The SnowJobs Podcast
Vroom broom two weeks in a row. Vroom broom got a plug.
00:47:56
Doug
um I wanted to put one on my 23.05 John Deere this year, but I just spending money elsewhere.
00:48:01
The SnowJobs Podcast
I got you.
00:48:01
Doug
Funds are getting a little tight with no snow.
00:48:02
RICK JAMES
I, he's supposed to be here tomorrow. He's making a kit for our hilltop rooms. That same kid he's got on his, he's going to put that on our hilltop rooms. And then we, I think I still got three room rooms coming yet for the 15 1585.
00:48:17
RICK JAMES
So what what are you pushing on those Bobcats?
00:48:19
The SnowJobs Podcast
Cool.
00:48:20
Doug
Awesome.
00:48:21
The SnowJobs Podcast
Very cool. So what else? Anything else in equipment that we missed?
00:48:24
Doug
And then subcompact.
00:48:27
The SnowJobs Podcast
Oh yeah.
00:48:28
RICK JAMES
What are you using the pushers on the buckets?
00:48:28
The SnowJobs Podcast
Yeah.
00:48:29
Doug
ah We're using the older Boss SK 8 and 10 foot steel trip edge pushers.
00:48:34
The SnowJobs Podcast
Yep.
00:48:38
The SnowJobs Podcast
Cool.
00:48:38
RICK JAMES
Mm hmm.
00:48:40
Doug
And then one has Western Prodigy does ah some road, some more road and in one of our apartment complexes does a drive lane.
00:48:40
The SnowJobs Podcast
Very cool.
00:48:45
The SnowJobs Podcast
Okay.
00:48:50
Doug
We're running a prodigy on that.
00:48:51
RICK JAMES
Who is that Scott that said that he liked the Western prodigy, all his guys like those or who wasn't that?
00:48:51
The SnowJobs Podcast
Very cool.
00:48:56
The SnowJobs Podcast
Yeah. I think, uh, no, it was, was it Jonathan wise?
00:48:57
RICK JAMES
Yeah.
00:48:57
Doug
Uh, Jonathan was once wise ones.
00:48:58
RICK JAMES
Well, or.
00:49:02
The SnowJobs Podcast
Wise.
00:49:03
RICK JAMES
Oh, yeah, Jonathan.
00:49:03
Doug
A lot of them, Jonathan Scott's home middle plus.
00:49:04
RICK JAMES
Yeah.
00:49:04
The SnowJobs Podcast
Yeah. Yeah. Those things are good though. They, I mean, they're, they're simple. They're simple. It's a, it angles. If you're doing drive lanes with a skid, they work.
00:49:16
Doug
Yeah.
00:49:16
The SnowJobs Podcast
They definitely work.
00:49:18
Doug
When they get in the parking lots, it's a little more challenging because it doesn't hold enough snow to do long pushes behind the car.
00:49:22
The SnowJobs Podcast
Yeah. Yep.
00:49:24
Doug
But when they're running up and two-speed up and down the drive lane, ah yeah, it's it's perfect windrow left, right.
00:49:26
The SnowJobs Podcast
Oh, forget it. Yeah. Perfect win round.
00:49:29
RICK JAMES
yeah
00:49:30
The SnowJobs Podcast
Yep.
00:49:30
Doug
And you don't need a truck on that side anymore.
00:49:32
RICK JAMES
back dragon again
00:49:34
The SnowJobs Podcast
Yep, that's great. So what you got compacts too.
00:49:36
Doug
And then we got two subcompact wheel loaders, Gale AL650, 10,000-pound loader, three-speed trans,
00:49:46
Doug
19 mile an hour road speed ah That is uh, I like it I would consider buying another one except The price point was really good on the first one right around seventy five thousand pre covet and now they're 105 And Yeah, and then uh, the other one is a jcb 407 which is a lease
00:49:49
The SnowJobs Podcast
How is it? You like it?
00:49:55
RICK JAMES
Yeah. Back to Reagan.
00:50:03
The SnowJobs Podcast
Yeah, that's the Jeremy Lindstrom effect.
00:50:04
RICK JAMES
No.
00:50:05
The SnowJobs Podcast
He started talking about subcompact loaders and that was it.
00:50:09
RICK JAMES
yeah
00:50:10
The SnowJobs Podcast
but
00:50:16
Doug
Five month winter lease that we will probably buy at the end of the season if it goes well I was hoping to get a three Yeah, I was hoping to get a 321 from the nest but uh can't And I can't buy something if you if you don't call the guy back so
00:50:22
The SnowJobs Podcast
Very cool.
00:50:22
RICK JAMES
Nice. Seen more and more of those GCVs though.
00:50:26
The SnowJobs Podcast
Yeah, they're out there.
00:50:30
The SnowJobs Podcast
Yeah, you said they didn't call you back. I will, uh, we will have a conversation.
00:50:37
The SnowJobs Podcast
Yep. We will have a conversation.
00:50:40
RICK JAMES
So do you guys know what tires on those and the skids or skids or loader anything?
00:50:40
The SnowJobs Podcast
Oh man. Um, what else you got? Anything else? Yeah. You got any snow tires?
00:50:48
Doug
So the Bobcat S 300 has a set of cage claws that I bought at equip expo in 2017,
00:50:55
The SnowJobs Podcast
Okay.
00:51:04
Doug
gene I think. Um, I got a really good deal on them because apparently they cost cage a lot of money because they didn't strap me down right onto the way to the equipment. They fell off and hit a car.
00:51:14
The SnowJobs Podcast
Really?
00:51:14
Doug
They didn't want it. They didn't want to take them back home. They were, they were, they were literally a for sale sticker on. They wanted, they wanted nothing to do with taking them back. I, I got a smoking deal on them because the, they wanted them gone.
00:51:26
The SnowJobs Podcast
That's awesome, man. Doesn't matter how it happens.
00:51:27
Doug
Yeah.
00:51:28
The SnowJobs Podcast
That's great. Good for you.
00:51:29
Doug
Yeah. Yep.
00:51:30
The SnowJobs Podcast
How have you liked them?
00:51:33
Doug
I really like them for pushing straight long runs, horrible for trying to clean parking spaces or they're just too grippy.
00:51:42
The SnowJobs Podcast
Yeah.
00:51:42
Doug
You almost got to put some snow down where you're curling a lot. um Or if it's dry, you're going in two days later to clean up parking spaces.
00:51:48
The SnowJobs Podcast
Forget it.
00:51:49
Doug
Forget it. It rock rattles.
00:51:50
The SnowJobs Podcast
Fucking Bronco.
00:51:51
Doug
the Yeah.
00:51:52
The SnowJobs Podcast
Yeah. Yeah.
00:51:53
Doug
Yup.
00:51:55
The SnowJobs Podcast
yep It's the same thing with the wolf paws.
00:51:55
RICK JAMES
Oh.
00:51:57
The SnowJobs Podcast
The same thing.
00:51:57
Doug
Yup.
00:51:58
The SnowJobs Podcast
They're too grippy on dry or even wet pavement. You know, like you said, you got to leave a little bit of snow behind.
00:52:02
Doug
You got to leave a little bit of snow behind to turn on. I don't think you're going to go take it from the snow lot and go do some concrete work. and Do a little dirt work with it a couple of days later because you can bury that thing to the belly pain real quick.
00:52:11
The SnowJobs Podcast
Nope. Yep. Too much weight on too small a diameter tire.
00:52:18
Doug
Yeah.
00:52:19
The SnowJobs Podcast
Yup. No, but i yeah, that's, they're great.
00:52:20
Doug
I'd lessen the.
00:52:22
The SnowJobs Podcast
They're, they're great since the snow tires are great. We've heard good things about the cage claws. That's good. Awesome.
00:52:28
Doug
Yeah, that's the only machine that has no tires. Everything else is just running hey a very narrow galaxy ah skid steer tire. And then the loaders have whatever.
00:52:39
Doug
They come on them. I'm not even sure what the JCB has. I haven't even looked at it It was signed the paperwork. It was delivered a lot a couple days ago and I haven't drove down there to look at it and that's coming with a 10-foot I Don't know maybe a pro pack or I'm not sure it's got a 10-foot pusher with it.
00:52:47
The SnowJobs Podcast
Done.
00:52:50
RICK JAMES
but
00:52:57
Doug
That's all I know Probably the old
00:52:57
RICK JAMES
you Nice.
00:52:58
The SnowJobs Podcast
Gotcha.
00:52:59
RICK JAMES
So what's your favorite pushing machine then?
00:53:08
Doug
Which I haven't covered this, we have a 621 on our fleet, a 544 and a 744.
00:53:16
RICK JAMES
Oh, I didn't.
00:53:16
The SnowJobs Podcast
all Okay, cool.
00:53:17
Doug
I think it's a 744G.
00:53:19
RICK JAMES
I didn't know you were getting to the big lawyers yet.
00:53:21
Doug
Yeah, for the warehouses.
00:53:21
RICK JAMES
Sorry.
00:53:22
Doug
Yeah, for the warehouses.
00:53:22
RICK JAMES
Yeah.
00:53:23
Doug
so um And I think the 744 is probably the, it's an old square body, raw power, no no emissions.
00:53:24
RICK JAMES
So that's a big one.
00:53:34
The SnowJobs Podcast
Love it.
00:53:36
RICK JAMES
Yeah.
00:53:36
Doug
Yeah.
00:53:36
RICK JAMES
744.
00:53:36
Doug
yeah
00:53:37
RICK JAMES
Yeah.
00:53:37
Doug
744 it'll, it'll move some snow.
00:53:37
RICK JAMES
That's a, that's nice.
00:53:39
Doug
Runs a 16 foot ProTech rubber edge pusher.
00:53:44
The SnowJobs Podcast
Okay. Very cool.
00:53:47
RICK JAMES
And he said he had 744 or 644.
00:53:47
Doug
any other ones six twenty one six twenty one g And the G series has a 12 foot Western pile driver.
00:53:49
RICK JAMES
And what was the third one? The case.
00:53:53
RICK JAMES
Okay. Well, gee, gotcha.
00:54:03
Doug
I've never plowed with it, so I don't really can't tell you much about it. That's always had an operator in it. And the 644 has ProTech.
00:54:10
RICK JAMES
Okay.
00:54:10
The SnowJobs Podcast
Cool.
00:54:11
Doug
We're right for sure.
00:54:13
The SnowJobs Podcast
Very cool.
00:54:13
RICK JAMES
Nice.
00:54:15
The SnowJobs Podcast
Uh, as far as the, the, to get back to the salters there, are you guys doing all granular? Are you running liquids at all? Or it hasn't gotten into that yet.
00:54:22
Doug
So I am building a F550, and it has a old green VSI sprayer on it if you know where the green VSI sprayers came from I Got a really good deal local local gentleman hooked me up with it, you know ECF No, no, it's these df ones ECF one.
00:54:38
The SnowJobs Podcast
Uh, that was.
00:54:44
The SnowJobs Podcast
Not the hydro seater, is it? All of the ECF ones, all the ECF ones. Gotcha.
00:54:49
Doug
That's not sure me to see Yeah, Josh were me to some secrecy on what I what went down but Gotta got it got a good deal on it.
00:54:51
The SnowJobs Podcast
ah That's true. Their hydro seeders were yellow, not green.
00:54:58
RICK JAMES
Hmm.
00:54:59
The SnowJobs Podcast
All good.
00:55:00
RICK JAMES
What's easier?
00:55:01
Doug
So we're We're getting into, hopefully Brian this year, we'll see.
00:55:06
The SnowJobs Podcast
Good.
00:55:07
Doug
I was going to get into it last year, but I ran out of money to build the truck.
00:55:07
The SnowJobs Podcast
Cool.
00:55:09
The SnowJobs Podcast
Dude, I hear you. That's, that's the biggest drawback is it is a big cap expense. Very cool.
00:55:16
Doug
Yeah, and I'll buy it off of Jonathan Weiss.
00:55:16
The SnowJobs Podcast
Any other smart,
00:55:18
Doug
He's making it, so I'll get my Brian from.
00:55:21
The SnowJobs Podcast
are you a, how far apart are you guys?
00:55:25
Doug
It's 25 minutes.
00:55:27
The SnowJobs Podcast
Okay, cool. That's not bad. Very cool.
00:55:30
Doug
Maybe right on the other side of Stork, so I got to pass Stork's to,
00:55:30
RICK JAMES
So you keep all your equipment on site then, obviously out there.
00:55:34
Doug
Get to him.
00:55:36
RICK JAMES
that would tell you That's all you guys always do, right? Keep everything on site.
00:55:39
Doug
ah
00:55:40
The SnowJobs Podcast
Yeah, usually.
00:55:41
Doug
Yeah, yeah, everything's on site before the storm. We will pull occasionally a skid steer or two off if it's not snowing to go do work with it.
00:55:51
RICK JAMES
do Do you build block bands or anything then or no on sites?
00:55:51
Doug
But everything else. Now, everything, all the trucks leave the shop, get loaded, and then we just run back.
00:55:57
RICK JAMES
Gotcha.
00:55:58
Doug
The warehouses just get tarps and piles.
00:56:03
The SnowJobs Podcast
Gotcha. Cool. Any other equipment that we missed?
00:56:07
Doug
Um, I do have a Toro multi force.
Year-round Equipment Challenges
00:56:11
The SnowJobs Podcast
Okay.
00:56:12
Doug
Uh, Broom. Wow. Snowblower. Never used a snowblower.
00:56:15
The SnowJobs Podcast
How does that do?
00:56:15
Doug
Had it five years. When I first bought it, it was awesome.
00:56:21
The SnowJobs Podcast
Okay.
00:56:22
Doug
Uh, we ran the crap out of it. The broom doesn't last as long as I'd want it to, especially when your guys are pushing that concrete snow and they put it down and they stop spinning the broom and they just push it with the broom.
00:56:29
The SnowJobs Podcast
Okay.
00:56:32
The SnowJobs Podcast
ye Yep.
00:56:35
RICK JAMES
Push the rhythm, yeah.
00:56:35
The SnowJobs Podcast
Yep.
00:56:36
Doug
to put in the plow on.
00:56:37
The SnowJobs Podcast
not
00:56:37
Doug
They put a big flat spot in the bottom of the broom.
00:56:38
The SnowJobs Podcast
Yep. Oh, That's funny.
00:56:42
Doug
Yeah, so that was actually, I put that thing back together last night. I was out working on the shop, put the brutle the broom, put that back together. um I say I liked it. When I first got it, there was under warranty, there was a whole lot of issues with it. It went back for a couple of odds and ends.
00:57:02
Doug
It is now out of warranty and it seems like in the green season, the, I just had to replace the voltage regulator on it. And a dealer was like, Oh, well it's because it runs, you run it in the wintertime, it's all corroded.
00:57:14
Doug
And it's just, you, we wash it after every storm, salt away, power washing it. It just, I don't know, it's corroded. All the the motor looks like horrible on it.
00:57:27
Doug
It's just not that environment. And then we also run it for mowing season.
00:57:29
The SnowJobs Podcast
yeah
00:57:30
Doug
It's one of our. full-time mowers out every week.
00:57:34
The SnowJobs Podcast
I would tell the guy, you guys market it to be used in the winter. like
00:57:37
RICK JAMES
yeah yeah
00:57:37
Doug
Yes.
00:57:38
RICK JAMES
some multi four
00:57:39
The SnowJobs Podcast
oh i Yeah. Don't get mad at me because I'm using it in the winter. Make the shit last crap.
00:57:44
Doug
Yeah.
00:57:47
Doug
I think Toro could have did a better job working with Kohler on figuring out how to relocate some of the electrical stuff that doesn't need like put weather pack plugs on it or tuck things out of the way, run extensions.
00:57:53
The SnowJobs Podcast
e
00:58:00
Doug
it's just for design, and I looked at a brand new one at the dealership when it was last there, and nothing's changed.
00:58:02
The SnowJobs Podcast
Okay.
00:58:05
RICK JAMES
It's a multi fork.
00:58:07
The SnowJobs Podcast
okay
00:58:07
Doug
The voltage regulator smacked right on the front of the motor, right out in the elements. The spray's coming off the broom, covering the motor and covering the voltage regulator. the
00:58:20
Doug
I guess it's considered kind of EFI, butterfly flap froze up, and they were they blamed that on salt and corrosion. That's why the butterfly flap froze up, and you would go to idle it up, but it wouldn't do anything.
00:58:31
RICK JAMES
yeah
00:58:32
The SnowJobs Podcast
ah yeah yeah Well, then don't market it as a winter machine, you know, market is just a mower.
00:58:32
Doug
Yeah.
00:58:36
Doug
yeah Yeah.
00:58:39
Doug
Yeah.
00:58:39
The SnowJobs Podcast
Oh, it sucks.
00:58:41
Doug
I think that's pretty much it. I don't think of anything that we, nothing really special to you. I think that's it for the equipment.
00:58:47
The SnowJobs Podcast
All right. Cool. How many guys you guys run a storm?
00:58:51
Doug
About 35.
00:58:52
The SnowJobs Podcast
Okay. Nice. All right.
Contract Types and Challenges
00:58:55
The SnowJobs Podcast
Cool.
00:58:55
RICK JAMES
Keeps it busy.
00:58:57
The SnowJobs Podcast
Oh, she got Jay.
00:58:59
RICK JAMES
oh
00:59:02
RICK JAMES
Hell, I just missed it. I had something here.
00:59:06
The SnowJobs Podcast
What do you guys do contract wise? Are you guys mostly seasonals? Are you per push?
00:59:10
Doug
So we do a little bit of everything.
00:59:11
RICK JAMES
I remember.
00:59:12
The SnowJobs Podcast
Okay.
00:59:13
Doug
We yeah we have some seasonals wrapped up in there, some per event, and some good old hourly.
00:59:19
Doug
And I've tried to tried to swing the salary away from hourly, but it is a large contract. um Won a good snow season, 2 to 300,000 a year, and they won hourly.
00:59:19
The SnowJobs Podcast
Not like that.
00:59:33
Doug
And the only reason that I
00:59:34
The SnowJobs Podcast
Really?
00:59:35
Doug
I've straight away from hourly, or tried to straight away from hourly, but I don't push it too hard is this season, we had three inches of snow and they are a zero tolerance snow site.
00:59:48
Doug
We sat there and watched it build up. We had guys there for almost 30 hours and they paid the bill for three inches of snow because they wanted us there.
00:59:55
The SnowJobs Podcast
Wow.
00:59:57
Doug
So I'm like, I don't know how to convert that to a seasonal or a power event on.
01:00:00
The SnowJobs Podcast
Have you asked them why they prefer hourly?
01:00:03
Doug
They think it's fair for everybody is what
01:00:03
The SnowJobs Podcast
Like, Hmm.
01:00:05
Doug
is when I sat down with the the board of director.
01:00:07
The SnowJobs Podcast
Okay.
01:00:08
Doug
he He thinks that's the fairest way to go about it, that upper management feels like they're not paying for a bill if it doesn't snow for the winter time. And they wanted, yeah.
01:00:17
RICK JAMES
What does your equipment sit there?
01:00:20
The SnowJobs Podcast
Yeah. That was my next question. Hmm.
01:00:22
Doug
Yeah, that's the unfortunate part.
01:00:23
RICK JAMES
That's not fair. It's not fair for you then.
01:00:25
Doug
It's not fair for me. And it's kind of a thing that has to get changed in our industry.
01:00:26
The SnowJobs Podcast
Yeah.
01:00:26
RICK JAMES
so
01:00:29
The SnowJobs Podcast
That's tough.
01:00:31
Doug
and I've pushed, I do a lot of retainer, if we're doing, uh, you know, per event stuff. We do a lot of, a lot of site set up fees or retainer fees to recoup a lot of that equipment money.
01:00:41
RICK JAMES
So no retain or anything.
01:00:44
Doug
But that is one site that I tried this year and no retainer, no nothing.
01:00:46
The SnowJobs Podcast
Yeah.
01:00:51
RICK JAMES
So
01:00:52
Doug
But makes up a large part of our revenue.
01:00:52
The SnowJobs Podcast
yeah
01:00:54
Doug
So and how I can find a way to replace it or move on from it.
01:00:54
The SnowJobs Podcast
yeah
01:00:58
RICK JAMES
to Yeah.
Managing Snowstorms and Logistics
01:01:00
The SnowJobs Podcast
Got a food. Yeah.
01:01:01
RICK JAMES
Here's what it is.
01:01:01
The SnowJobs Podcast
but I mean, that's yeah, that's tough. Yeah. Maybe that is just is what it is at that point. If it's not hurting you. Because like you said, you got three inches, you got three inches and they still paid all that money for 30 hours.
01:01:09
Doug
yeah
01:01:13
Doug
Yeah They ah we were there three inches it was note. It was one of them long duration storms um And with the like it's a compact wheel loader a skid steer, I don't know how many I'll pay the square footage it gets three shovelers and
01:01:19
RICK JAMES
Showers.
01:01:27
RICK JAMES
showver
01:01:32
Doug
We had nothing to do with one of our other plow trucks because we sent it over there to sit so that because they wanted the salt truck They wanted us to keep running around with salt and but we don't leave a salt truck on site They just call and say hey, we're done come salt it so I gotta go saw it So I don't know how many tons of salt we've got them out because it was just constantly keep the roads wet and I'm like, hey, do you want us like I'll send the loader home.
01:01:40
The SnowJobs Podcast
Yeah.
01:01:50
Doug
I'll send the guys home oh It might pick up. We we need to we don't want to take the chance. You can't get back here so there there
01:01:58
The SnowJobs Podcast
Oh my God.
01:01:59
RICK JAMES
Perfect.
01:01:59
The SnowJobs Podcast
but No problem.
01:02:00
RICK JAMES
Perfect.
01:02:01
Doug
There they, no problem.
01:02:02
RICK JAMES
I'll bring more equipment.
01:02:02
Doug
There they.
01:02:03
RICK JAMES
I'll bring more equipment.
01:02:04
The SnowJobs Podcast
ah Yeah. Yeah. We're worried about this.
01:02:05
Doug
Yeah. Yeah. We're worried about this. There we sat. I mean, yeah, they were.
01:02:10
The SnowJobs Podcast
That's great. Uh, yeah, I bet it brings some more equipment.
01:02:12
RICK JAMES
you're
01:02:14
The SnowJobs Podcast
Yeah. I'm worried. My guys might not be able to get here either. We should bring a couple more loaders
Snow Management Software
01:02:18
The SnowJobs Podcast
and crap.
01:02:18
Doug
Yeah.
01:02:19
RICK JAMES
Are you run ah running any software, Doug?
01:02:19
Doug
Yeah. We should cover a plot trucks over there.
01:02:22
The SnowJobs Podcast
That's great.
01:02:24
Doug
So yeah, I'm giving a square footage of that site. So there's. 280,000 square feet on that site.
01:02:34
RICK JAMES
It's a
01:02:36
The SnowJobs Podcast
Okay.
01:02:37
Doug
So I don't know what that converts over to Lakers, but that's a good size.
01:02:37
RICK JAMES
good site.
01:02:40
Doug
And that's just the pavement. That doesn't include the 31,000 square feet of sidewalk.
01:02:46
The SnowJobs Podcast
Jeez, nice.
01:02:48
Doug
Yeah.
01:02:49
The SnowJobs Podcast
Holy crap. Are you?
01:02:50
Doug
Golf wear.
01:02:52
The SnowJobs Podcast
Yeah. Jeremy wanted to know software.
01:02:52
Doug
So we use crew control. But we don't really use it that well for snow. We are still very old school. There's the binder. There's the notebook.
01:03:04
Doug
There's the log sheets. Fill them out.
01:03:06
The SnowJobs Podcast
I got you.
01:03:07
Doug
There's the snow maps in them. This year, we're kind of looked at site photos a little bit. I talked to Yeti.
01:03:18
Doug
The biggest problem I have with Yeti is the price point at the moment for not a guaranteed winner.
01:03:22
The SnowJobs Podcast
Mm-hmm. Yeah.
01:03:25
Doug
um And we are trying, I think it's my snowscapes or snowscapes is another software we're we're looking into.
01:03:33
The SnowJobs Podcast
Hmm. Haven't heard of them yet. Have you heard of them, Jake?
01:03:36
Doug
Yeah.
01:03:37
RICK JAMES
No, nope.
01:03:38
The SnowJobs Podcast
Hmm. Interesting.
01:03:41
The SnowJobs Podcast
Very cool.
01:03:42
Doug
Yes, but they don't do any building.
01:03:43
The SnowJobs Podcast
Uh, gotcha.
01:03:44
Doug
They're just pretty much tracking. Kind of looks like photos.
01:03:48
The SnowJobs Podcast
Okay. That's interesting.
01:03:49
Doug
But you can go from, you can do,
01:03:49
The SnowJobs Podcast
We got to look into them.
01:03:54
Doug
I think it's $80 a month or $90 a month for up to 20 say trucks on the road or 20, you know, 20 site guys. And then at the end of winter, you go back to one and it's like $10 a month.
01:04:11
The SnowJobs Podcast
Interesting.
01:04:12
Doug
So yeah, I'll send you over a link.
01:04:13
The SnowJobs Podcast
We got to look, we got to look into that and see what else is out there.
01:04:16
RICK JAMES
Yeah, I never heard it.
01:04:18
The SnowJobs Podcast
Yeah.
01:04:18
Doug
I'll shoot you, shoot you a link and yeah.
01:04:18
The SnowJobs Podcast
Cause we haven't even heard of them.
01:04:21
The SnowJobs Podcast
Very cool.
01:04:22
RICK JAMES
and
01:04:22
The SnowJobs Podcast
Yeah. The more we know, the better.
01:04:24
Doug
Heard, heard about him on another turf turf slash stove podcast. I was listening to it was like, I got to look into these guys.
01:04:29
The SnowJobs Podcast
I wonder if there are a landscape software that maybe just added a snow portal, basically.
01:04:36
Doug
So I kind of think they're the other way they're, they were doing snow and then realized they could use it in the landscape side.
01:04:38
The SnowJobs Podcast
Oh yeah.
01:04:42
Doug
So they use it for fall cleanups and stuff, but it, uh, like one of the things I liked is it emails every time you can set it up every time your crew checks out of the site.
01:04:45
The SnowJobs Podcast
ah
01:04:53
Doug
It sends an email off to that client and says, Hey, we were here. We were here. We did the walks. We plowed. So they know if they need to open, you know, delay in the morning or they, you know, that doctor, Hey, have they been there yet?
01:05:02
The SnowJobs Podcast
That's interesting.
01:05:05
Doug
What am I, what's my lock on? Oh, just open his email up. Oh, look, they were here.
01:05:08
The SnowJobs Podcast
Can you put photos in the email that shows that?
01:05:10
Doug
Yep.
01:05:11
The SnowJobs Podcast
Oh, that's nice.
01:05:12
Doug
I'm pretty, I I'm not a hundred percent, but I'm pretty sure you, it attaches the photos.
01:05:16
The SnowJobs Podcast
It was called what snowscapes?
01:05:18
Doug
No skips.
01:05:19
RICK JAMES
Huh.
01:05:19
The SnowJobs Podcast
Snowscapes. I'll write that down right now. We'll learn a little more about that.
01:05:26
The SnowJobs Podcast
Cool. Very cool. All right. Let's, uh, let's hit some commercials. Let Doug get a drink and we'll, uh, we'll be right back and keep going with them. All right. Back in a couple.
Client Communication and Differentiation
01:06:40
The SnowJobs Podcast
All right, gang, we are but back. We are back with Doug. ah Doug, you have a lot of competition. I mean, obviously you do because you got all the big boys around. ah How do you separate blades of steel from other companies in the area?
01:06:59
Doug
One of our big separation is um we do what we say we're going to do. We show up when we say we're going to show up and we perform.
01:07:09
The SnowJobs Podcast
There you go. So simple.
01:07:11
Doug
um Kind of like you, Steve, I, someone calls and says, Hey, I want to quote for my parking lots. We will put a bid together, but we have to have a meeting and sit down and talk about our bid.
01:07:24
Doug
We do not just submit emails.
01:07:25
The SnowJobs Podcast
Yep.
01:07:26
Doug
We do not just. um throw things out there.
01:07:29
The SnowJobs Podcast
Amen. Amen.
01:07:32
Doug
Kind of a ah Scott Lezak little thing I took away is that we do 12 month billing cycles for our seasonals.
01:07:35
RICK JAMES
Mm hmm.
01:07:38
The SnowJobs Podcast
Yeah, I like that. I'm going to look into that actually seeing if I could, if I could, uh, get some of my clients, if that would be more beneficial to them.
01:07:40
Doug
um
01:07:47
The SnowJobs Podcast
That that sounds nice.
Seasonal Contracts and Equipment Purchases
01:07:51
The SnowJobs Podcast
Now, do you have a lot of snow contracts that you also have for landscaping or is it the other way that you have it more for snow and don't have the landscaping?
01:07:57
Doug
so We have a more for snow and don't have the landscaping. I would say there's, we have 22 contracts total for commercial, not including the couple of driveways we do.
01:08:01
The SnowJobs Podcast
Okay.
01:08:10
The SnowJobs Podcast
Mm-hmm.
01:08:11
Doug
um I want to say five of them, we do the green season. That's it.
01:08:16
The SnowJobs Podcast
Okay.
01:08:16
RICK JAMES
if
01:08:18
The SnowJobs Podcast
Gotcha. And you, even though you don't have them for the green season, you keep them on a 12 month payment schedule for the snow.
01:08:26
Doug
its
01:08:27
The SnowJobs Podcast
Okay. Nice.
01:08:29
RICK JAMES
So you...
01:08:29
Doug
So it's that's worked well with buying equipment for, I hate to say it, but other sites.
01:08:29
The SnowJobs Podcast
And you've, and that's worked for you. That's worked well for you.
01:08:36
The SnowJobs Podcast
Okay.
01:08:36
Doug
It lets us fund our, you know, 1725 clouding tractors that go to the apartment complexes and stuff.
01:08:36
The SnowJobs Podcast
Cool.
01:08:42
The SnowJobs Podcast
Yep.
01:08:42
Doug
Yeah, that that machine makes its money when it's there working, but sometimes you can't always spread that out over the whole year to make sure it's covered payment wise.
01:08:55
The SnowJobs Podcast
I got you.
01:08:55
Doug
So the 12 month billing cycle helps.
01:08:59
The SnowJobs Podcast
Yeah. it Definitely helps with your projections.
01:09:00
RICK JAMES
So So do you put mowers on those 1725s on those masses no Gotcha
01:09:07
Doug
We talk them under the bank barn and blow the dust off of them this time of year.
01:09:12
The SnowJobs Podcast
Nice.
01:09:14
Doug
out
01:09:14
The SnowJobs Podcast
Very cool.
01:09:15
Doug
We have 120 305 John Deere same size but pre that's the predecessor to the 1025 are that lives at my house that drags the wife drags the riding rink with it and that doesn't ah some poor sucker runs that with with gloves and bibs on because
01:09:29
RICK JAMES
Oh.
Family and Schedule Impact
01:09:30
Doug
I refuse to put a cab on it because we use it in the summertime here to drag the riding rink and I'm not dragging, dragging my horse riding rink in a sweat box.
01:09:37
The SnowJobs Podcast
Oh, you have horses, you poor dude.
01:09:37
RICK JAMES
no
01:09:38
Doug
I got 11.
01:09:41
RICK JAMES
ah
01:09:42
Doug
I got 11 of them.
01:09:44
The SnowJobs Podcast
Oh, my God, you poor dumb bastard.
01:09:44
RICK JAMES
like Crazy horse lady. You know, you got a crazy horse, horsewife, huh?
01:09:50
The SnowJobs Podcast
Oh, no.
01:09:50
Doug
No, I got a crazy horse daughter.
01:09:52
RICK JAMES
Daughter.
01:09:53
The SnowJobs Podcast
OK.
01:09:53
RICK JAMES
There you go. Yeah.
01:09:54
The SnowJobs Podcast
She do equestrian.
01:09:56
Doug
Yes.
01:09:57
RICK JAMES
Oh my God.
01:09:57
The SnowJobs Podcast
Gotcha.
01:09:57
Doug
Every Saturday in the summertime.
01:10:00
RICK JAMES
That's expensive.
01:10:00
Doug
Take the mowing trailer off, put the horse trailer on, get up at 4 a.m., load the horse trailer, um my pop my chair out at two hours later, wherever we're going, and sit there all day, and do bids or whatever, and then load the trailer up and drive her back home.
01:10:03
The SnowJobs Podcast
Oh. Oh.
01:10:11
RICK JAMES
you
01:10:14
The SnowJobs Podcast
You poor bastard.
01:10:15
RICK JAMES
Don't use them. Don't use American saddles.
01:10:17
Doug
Yeah, seven-year-old runs my life.
01:10:20
The SnowJobs Podcast
Oh, yeah.
01:10:20
RICK JAMES
oh She's going five and five.
01:10:21
The SnowJobs Podcast
Yeah. That sucks. What else you got for Doug J?
01:10:27
The SnowJobs Podcast
Sure. Yeah.
01:10:29
RICK JAMES
Hi Doug,
01:10:29
The SnowJobs Podcast
Go ahead.
Expansion Goals for Blades of Steel
01:10:30
RICK JAMES
where do you where do you see yourself in your company in the next five years?
01:10:32
RICK JAMES
Where we like to see yourself? o
01:10:37
Doug
I'd like to see myself kind of on the next level. And I say that as more seasonal contracts, better budgeting to recover crocs that are using strictly forced snow on the snow side. So the landscaping company doesn't have to recover anything that's on the snow side.
01:11:00
The SnowJobs Podcast
gotcha Gotcha.
01:11:00
Doug
and Kind of having my niche figure out on what I'm doing. If I'm going to stay with this doctor or small seasonal contracts, or if I'm going to go big and buy some more loaders and try to go join some of the bigger players out on the long 78 with these warehouses.
01:11:17
The SnowJobs Podcast
Yep. It's so tempting though, right? I mean, they're, they're everywhere and there's a lot of money to be made with them. It's very tempting, but there's also a lot of money to be made the way you're doing it.
01:11:30
Doug
they're still The last two episodes, uh, me and Scott have talked a lot and ah the, I guess, square footage price on apples to apples.
01:11:45
Doug
We kind of figured out that we could make more money doing what we're doing than he's doing on a warehouse.
01:11:45
The SnowJobs Podcast
I still like mine. I agree.
01:11:52
Doug
And one failure of a doctor's office isn't as big as one failure of a warehouse.
01:12:00
The SnowJobs Podcast
True. But we're never gonna fail, right?
01:12:02
Doug
ah you well ever gonna we're never gonna fail but I mean you know we did burn a ditch which SK 100 up last year in the middle of a snowstorm yep up in flames yep we we we run it to put it on a on a apartment complex we do with a broom from a local rental dealer and that's what we do their walkways with and the starter hung up on it and she ran until the starter was going red and
01:12:03
The SnowJobs Podcast
Never gonna fail. No failures.
01:12:10
The SnowJobs Podcast
Did you really? Holy crap. ah jesus
01:12:31
The SnowJobs Podcast
Oh, no way.
01:12:31
Doug
Up in flames. She went fire department came out and pointed that alongside the building.
01:12:32
RICK JAMES
oh
01:12:35
Doug
And thank God never spread to the building or anything. No, no, no real damage.
01:12:38
The SnowJobs Podcast
Oh, yeah, that would have been bad.
01:12:39
RICK JAMES
ah well boy
01:12:40
Doug
But yeah, we cooked that thing right out.
01:12:41
RICK JAMES
yeah
01:12:41
The SnowJobs Podcast
You guys are great.
01:12:42
Doug
It's not there. for Yeah.
01:12:42
The SnowJobs Podcast
You're on fire.
01:12:44
RICK JAMES
yeah These guys melt the snow, literally melt the snow off the side.
01:12:46
Doug
Yeah.
01:12:48
The SnowJobs Podcast
That said, melt the snow.
01:12:49
Doug
Yeah. Not the snow at two in the morning. And then the, the manager had the audacity to ask us if we were going to start shoveling the walkways to get caught up.
01:12:57
The SnowJobs Podcast
Jeez.
01:12:58
Doug
Like we're going to bring another machine here when it's done snowing. We're not shoveling the walkways. No, we're not shoveling on my head.
01:13:03
The SnowJobs Podcast
Oh, geez,
01:13:04
Doug
No.
01:13:06
Doug
Oh.
01:13:07
The SnowJobs Podcast
that's so funny.
01:13:07
Doug
Yeah.
01:13:09
The SnowJobs Podcast
What has been
Starting Snow Business Stories
01:13:10
The SnowJobs Podcast
the biggest, like best decision that you've made in the last five years to get you to where you are today?
01:13:17
Doug
Let's get out there and do it. Like. Bit nervous about it. And I came from plowing township roads to. ah Blizzard for my first no storm and I had one skid steer one one brand new F 350 that I put 80 miles on in a parking lot of a Giants retail Food store, ah you know, I don't know how many how big the parking lot was but I put 80 80 miles on that truck going back and forth in the parking lot plowing the Blizzard Yeah, kind of just getting out there and doing it not being afraid to
01:13:45
RICK JAMES
and
01:13:51
Doug
to fail I'm not afraid to fail I fail I'll just pick the pieces up and move on like if I have I've never really had a true failure but if we do we do and we move on learn from it we've had some close calls
01:13:54
The SnowJobs Podcast
Amen.
01:13:54
RICK JAMES
Yeah, you learn.
01:14:00
RICK JAMES
You learn from it, you know.
01:14:02
The SnowJobs Podcast
That's it. Yep. Learn and survive. Cool.
01:14:08
RICK JAMES
Yeah, no, it's.
01:14:09
The SnowJobs Podcast
You got anything else for him, Jay?
01:14:11
RICK JAMES
Well, you got any good plowing stories you'd want to, besides the
01:14:13
The SnowJobs Podcast
Oh, yeah. Besides the burning sidewalk machine.
01:14:17
Doug
oh
01:14:18
RICK JAMES
Yeah, but that was pretty easy.
01:14:20
Doug
should we go back to should we go back to the township that is like oh so they're never gonna hear this so uh because i didn't tell the right story i didn't tell the right story when i did this but uh so i was just out of high school kind of young had a bit of a big ego and i hated people that would
01:14:21
The SnowJobs Podcast
back to the township I was just gonna say that's where the best plow stories are gonna be there ah you don't work there anymore let it let it fly he yeah nobody listens
01:14:23
RICK JAMES
Yeah, the balls aren't a good start there. Nobody cares either. They're just like, ah, that's silly.
01:14:48
Doug
shoot their snow blowers at our trucks.
01:14:51
Doug
And you know they would they would not do it purposely, but they would just be snow and blowing in the street. And i had a I was running a kind of new 2007 F550, had like 15,000 miles on the front of the thing, had a Fisher minute mount to nine foot straight blade, I'm pretty sure.
01:14:51
The SnowJobs Podcast
Okay.
01:15:13
Doug
Well, this older gentleman was going down the road and literally plastered the side of my truck with a snowblower. And I'm like, you know, I'm going to go around the block. and I'm going to teach this guy a lesson.
01:15:25
The SnowJobs Podcast
Jesus.
01:15:25
Doug
I did. I just kind of forgot about the driveway curb that was like protruding out into the road a little bit.
01:15:32
The SnowJobs Podcast
Oh, Jesus.
01:15:32
Doug
And I knew it was there because I knew what street I was on. And I probably hit that thing doing frigging 40. Well, let me tell you, there was a shoot, a set of handles and a gentleman buried to his waist in snow in the sidewalk.
01:15:44
Doug
And I ripped the front of a plow, cleaned off the front of the truck.
01:15:47
The SnowJobs Podcast
Oh, Jesus.
01:15:47
RICK JAMES
oh Oh my god.
01:15:48
Doug
I bleed off the front of the truck.
01:15:48
The SnowJobs Podcast
Christmas. Oh, my God.
01:15:51
Doug
Tour, tour the frame.
01:15:54
The SnowJobs Podcast
Wow.
01:15:54
Doug
Rip the bulge right out of the, front tour the frame. yeahp and Yep.
01:15:58
The SnowJobs Podcast
Holy Christmas.
01:15:58
RICK JAMES
No.
01:16:00
Doug
yep.
01:16:01
RICK JAMES
What?
01:16:02
The SnowJobs Podcast
Wow.
01:16:02
RICK JAMES
No.
01:16:03
Doug
When I asked how I did it, I was totally somewhere else that had a really bad storm drain.
01:16:04
The SnowJobs Podcast
That is.
01:16:08
Doug
It stuck up and I caught the storm drain and that's how I broke the plow.
01:16:14
The SnowJobs Podcast
There you go.
01:16:15
RICK JAMES
Jesus.
01:16:16
The SnowJobs Podcast
ah The statute of limitations is over on it anyway.
01:16:16
RICK JAMES
So your plow was laying there on the road?
01:16:17
Doug
oh So, yeah,
01:16:21
RICK JAMES
Just laying there?
01:16:23
Doug
no, so we drug it back off the, the, we ripped it clean off to the driver's side. Cause I was pushing it to the passenger side and I drug it back to the shop, barely holding on to the passenger side truck frame. I remember the hydraulic hose.
01:16:33
The SnowJobs Podcast
Oh my god.
01:16:33
RICK JAMES
Oh my god.
01:16:34
Doug
It was, it was probably, I know that the best I was touching this fan, it was touching the front bumper. And I had that thing pin so hard twist it.
01:16:47
Doug
I ripped the hydraulic, they have a central hydraulic. I ripped all the hydraulic hoses out of the driver's side of the truck when they got taught.
01:16:54
The SnowJobs Podcast
Jesus Christ.
01:16:55
Doug
Yeah. I think, I think it was like $13,000 to fix the truck frame and buy a new valve.
01:17:00
RICK JAMES
Oh, my God.
01:17:02
The SnowJobs Podcast
Holy shit.
01:17:02
Doug
Yeah. Yeah.
01:17:04
RICK JAMES
yeah
01:17:04
The SnowJobs Podcast
but Jesus.
01:17:05
Doug
So, so that's one story. So then the other good plowing story I have is that used to be a under gate truck had a solder under the gate. And, uh, you know, most people would go with this, Oh,
01:17:16
Doug
put the body up too high and hit something. No, no. I had the body down going along Salton and that chain that hangs over the side of the body broke somebody's mirror.
01:17:18
RICK JAMES
um
01:17:25
Doug
And I called in dispatch. It was like, Hey, I ripped the car off the side of the mirror. I guess I got a little too close with the solder. Okay. We'll call the cops. We'll let the cops go out. Deal with the homeowner.
01:17:37
Doug
Poor gentleman had a warrant. They arrested him for me breaking his window.
01:17:41
The SnowJobs Podcast
Good for you.
01:17:41
Doug
They took him to jail.
01:17:41
RICK JAMES
ah You're doing your, doing your, doing your service, doing your bounty hunter, snow power bounty hunter at night.
01:17:44
The SnowJobs Podcast
There you go. Good for you. but and Crime fighter.
01:17:48
Doug
Yeah, like a yes So guys are crime fighters like I kind of felt bad for him like, you know come out there these drivers lice it over why is business again Yeah, yeah Yeah, we don't need police we don't mean it yeah, yeah Yeah
01:17:52
The SnowJobs Podcast
See? No guys are crime fighters.
01:17:57
RICK JAMES
yeah I don't care.
01:17:59
The SnowJobs Podcast
Minding his own business, laying low.
01:18:02
RICK JAMES
I don't care what you do. It's fine. We're fine. I'm not pressing charges.
01:18:05
The SnowJobs Podcast
Yeah, exactly. No, no police. We don't need any police. good You're just doing your job.
01:18:09
RICK JAMES
We're good.
01:18:11
The SnowJobs Podcast
They arrested him.
01:18:12
RICK JAMES
It shit happens, buddy.
01:18:14
Doug
yeah
01:18:15
The SnowJobs Podcast
Oh, poor bastard.
01:18:15
RICK JAMES
no
01:18:17
Doug
yeah
01:18:18
The SnowJobs Podcast
Oh, man.
01:18:18
Doug
Then I
Humorous Truck Mishap
01:18:20
Doug
guess kind of one of the, the better pal and stories on, on our side was we had a guy fall asleep at the wheel of one of our F three fifties. It had a flat bed on the back of it and backed into the light posts that was in the middle of a parking lot. And thank God he hit the light post and didn't make it all the way to the building, but, and, uh, knocked the light post over and.
01:18:46
The SnowJobs Podcast
We know how expensive those are.
01:18:46
Doug
got back to the shop and called me and was like, Hey man, I got to this lot and the light post was laying on the ground in this perfectly plowed parking lot.
01:18:54
RICK JAMES
I don't know, Dan.
01:18:56
The SnowJobs Podcast
I don't know what happened.
01:18:57
Doug
I don't know what happened. Forget that the, forget that, you know, you put, you rack the flatbed, push the corner into the cab and they luckily didn't break the back window, but yeah.
01:19:09
The SnowJobs Podcast
The old, I don't know what happened.
01:19:09
Doug
Yeah.
01:19:11
The SnowJobs Podcast
I have no idea.
01:19:11
Doug
Yeah.
01:19:12
The SnowJobs Podcast
That's great.
01:19:12
Doug
I had no idea. Yeah.
01:19:14
The SnowJobs Podcast
Nine grand later.
01:19:14
Doug
The perfectly plowed parking lot. Yeah. Yeah, that was, uh, I don't know how much that one was.
01:19:17
The SnowJobs Podcast
Oh man.
01:19:19
Doug
I turned that into the insurance, let them deal with it, but that was probably it for balance stories.
01:19:22
The SnowJobs Podcast
That's funny.
01:19:24
Doug
I don't think I have too many, too many other ones
01:19:25
The SnowJobs Podcast
All right.
01:19:27
The SnowJobs Podcast
All good. You got anything else for Doug J?
01:19:31
RICK JAMES
I don't think so.
01:19:32
The SnowJobs Podcast
I think we're good. Doug, you got anything for us before we let you go?
01:19:35
RICK JAMES
Yeah.
Future Podcast Plans
01:19:41
Doug
of an episode, boys.
01:19:42
Doug
I had a.
01:19:42
The SnowJobs Podcast
Yeah.
01:19:43
Doug
Bunch of topics on my head when I came into this, but we got down some avenues and I don't remember what I was going to, where I was going to go with things.
01:19:47
The SnowJobs Podcast
All good.
01:19:49
Doug
So, you know, maybe do, do another one sometime.
01:19:49
The SnowJobs Podcast
All good, man. We can have you back. No big deal.
01:19:51
RICK JAMES
Yeah.
01:19:53
The SnowJobs Podcast
Absolutely.
01:19:54
Doug
See, see where we are like in a year.
01:19:54
The SnowJobs Podcast
Anytime, man.
01:19:54
RICK JAMES
Yeah.
01:19:57
Doug
See where we are next year.
01:19:57
RICK JAMES
Yeah, definitely.
01:19:57
The SnowJobs Podcast
Absolutely. Definitely.
01:19:59
Doug
Cause.
01:19:59
The SnowJobs Podcast
Yeah. We're going to, I mean, we're going to get through, you give us another year and a half. We'll probably get through all the smoke up, but he's out there really.
01:20:06
Doug
Yeah.
01:20:06
The SnowJobs Podcast
We're, we're tearing through them pretty good.
01:20:07
Doug
Start over again.
01:20:08
The SnowJobs Podcast
So we're going to have to touch base with guys again and find out how they're doing.
01:20:09
Doug
Yeah. um Yeah, I mean, last year I was only doing a little less than a million square feet.
01:20:13
RICK JAMES
Right on.
01:20:16
Doug
And this year I got 2.1 or 2.2 under contract. So maybe next year it'll be 3.5.
01:20:20
The SnowJobs Podcast
Good for you, dude.
01:20:21
RICK JAMES
Good for you. Yeah.
01:20:24
The SnowJobs Podcast
Yeah, absolutely. I mean, keep, keep crushing it.
01:20:25
RICK JAMES
God damn goals.
01:20:27
The SnowJobs Podcast
We're going to see it storks in April.
01:20:27
Doug
Oh, I will be there.
01:20:30
The SnowJobs Podcast
All right, sweet. I'm trying to get S and S to do another event like in the spring, just because of the food. Like I want my, I want my stuffed mushrooms.
01:20:37
RICK JAMES
oh boy yeah
01:20:38
Doug
So. I'm so disappointed. I didn't stay for that. My wife was sick.
01:20:42
The SnowJobs Podcast
Oh, you dude, you missed it.
01:20:43
Doug
My daughter was sick and I was, but I was one of the ones that told them when I reserved, I was not staying for dinner. So I wasn't one of the ones that left them high and dry with too much food because I was very upfront and and Tony was like, you just gotta to stay, just stay just.
01:20:53
The SnowJobs Podcast
No, all good.
01:20:58
Doug
And I'm like, Tony, my wife is sick at home. Like I am driving two hours back home. So I don't have to sleep in the dog house another night.
01:21:05
RICK JAMES
yeah
01:21:06
The SnowJobs Podcast
ah Yeah, dude, you missed some food there. That was good stuff.
01:21:09
Doug
Yeah. Yeah.
01:21:10
The SnowJobs Podcast
I'll tell you, they know how to do it in Pennsylvania. Storks had some spread ah of food when we were out there and then SNS blew that out of the water, which now that the balls hit back across the net, the stork stories are going to have to have to come with some even greater food than what they had in April, because that was tremendous.
01:21:16
RICK JAMES
Oh yeah.
01:21:18
Doug
that Out of the water You gotta get on the Night before party.
01:21:28
The SnowJobs Podcast
um'm I'm looking forward to the party.
01:21:28
RICK JAMES
Yeah.
01:21:29
The SnowJobs Podcast
I'm looking forward to the the the night before party of storks.
01:21:33
Doug
Yeah, you gotta get on the gamas The gamas crew when they do something too because we had an event there For facility care last year and that food was really good, too
01:21:33
The SnowJobs Podcast
Yeah. That'll be a good time.
01:21:45
The SnowJobs Podcast
Yeah, we don't get those invites.
01:21:48
RICK JAMES
Was it Chinese?
01:21:48
The SnowJobs Podcast
We don't get the, yeah, they have Chinese food or something.
01:21:49
Doug
um
01:21:56
The SnowJobs Podcast
ah
01:21:57
Doug
oh
01:21:58
The SnowJobs Podcast
Oh, shit.
01:22:00
RICK JAMES
ah
01:22:00
The SnowJobs Podcast
Oh, Josh will smack me for that.
01:22:02
Doug
Yeah.
01:22:04
The SnowJobs Podcast
That's all good. Yeah, we don't get an invite to to East Coast facility parties.
01:22:08
Doug
yeah i Yeah.
01:22:09
RICK JAMES
No, we're not liked.
01:22:10
The SnowJobs Podcast
It's too high brow. That's too high. but They're too high brow for us.
01:22:12
RICK JAMES
We're little people.
01:22:13
The SnowJobs Podcast
We don't dress up.
01:22:13
Doug
Yeah. Yeah.
01:22:14
RICK JAMES
We're little people.
01:22:15
The SnowJobs Podcast
We're little people. That's it. Oh, man. Well, it was good to have you on, bud. I'm glad we got to finally have you on and talk.
01:22:19
Doug
Yeah.
01:22:21
The SnowJobs Podcast
and
01:22:21
Doug
Good.
01:22:22
The SnowJobs Podcast
Best of luck to you this winter. Keep crushing it.
01:22:25
Doug
We keep, keep doing what we do. We keep pushing forward. We'll see him ahead. And you know, hopefully it's no, that's, that's going to be key.
01:22:30
RICK JAMES
Hopefully you get snow.
01:22:31
The SnowJobs Podcast
That's it.
01:22:32
RICK JAMES
That's the plan.
01:22:34
The SnowJobs Podcast
That's the key.
01:22:35
RICK JAMES
we all need it We all need it.
01:22:36
The SnowJobs Podcast
That's the key for everybody. We all need it.
01:22:37
RICK JAMES
We all need it. We need multi-years of heavy snow.
01:22:40
The SnowJobs Podcast
I would say at least two above average winners in a row weed out some guys that don't need to be in the business anymore. And, you know, maybe put a hurting on some people that are under pricing some things.
01:22:52
RICK JAMES
Just in case.
01:22:52
Doug
We got oh above the average winners it'd be a lot easier to sell seasonals right now we because we We go to you know we go to our Able yeah We go to the table we take you know per event and per and seasonals most of the time with us and and try to give them you know one or the other and I try to push them towards the seasonals but
01:22:55
The SnowJobs Podcast
Just in case. Yeah. Oh, a hundred percent. That's your biggest problem.
01:22:59
RICK JAMES
Look on the bright side.
01:23:04
The SnowJobs Podcast
that's a good one Yeah.
01:23:16
Doug
It's very hard when they say, oh, we haven't had much snow in the last three years. Why? Why do we want to pay that big number at the bottom?
01:23:19
The SnowJobs Podcast
yeah
01:23:21
Doug
And I'm like, well, we need two seasons to have a really good whopping year to be like, oh, well, this is what you would pay if.
01:23:26
The SnowJobs Podcast
True.
01:23:29
The SnowJobs Podcast
True story. Yep. Well, you know what, though? They they got to get bit, unfortunately. Like they, they do have to get bit. We had that ah five, six, I don't even remember. It was a number of winners ago now, but we had that abnormally high one where we had those couple big nor'easters. And then we had our average on top of those. And it was like 90 inches or something. And a couple of those people, because we had a milder winter, the winter before they were like, yeah, we're going to go for push this year. And I'm like.
01:23:57
The SnowJobs Podcast
Please don't, if the weather guys are correct, I gave them all a Robin Nick stuff. I'm like, this is what they're saying for this year. They're saying big storms, you know, it was how they say that every year, blah, blah, blah.
01:24:09
The SnowJobs Podcast
I'm like, all right, well, I've done everything I can on my end. And man, those two guys that want that whimper push, they're like, yeah, can we get back to seasonal next year, please? This is ridiculous.
01:24:18
RICK JAMES
you
01:24:18
Doug
Yeah.
01:24:19
The SnowJobs Podcast
So they need to get bit.
01:24:21
RICK JAMES
Yeah.
01:24:23
Doug
Well, we got to get that lesson taught.
01:24:24
The SnowJobs Podcast
They got to get the lesson taught. They do. They definitely do. So let's hope let's hope across the board this country gets ah some good snow. But hey, you know i mean look it's all looking up, right?
01:24:35
RICK JAMES
It's all good.
01:24:35
The SnowJobs Podcast
The last week's been nice.
01:24:36
Doug
I mean, everything.
01:24:37
RICK JAMES
Yeah. Oh yeah.
01:24:38
The SnowJobs Podcast
It's all all looking better.
01:24:39
RICK JAMES
Shit's getting better. at ah Red wave.
01:24:40
The SnowJobs Podcast
but
01:24:43
Doug
Yeah.
01:24:43
RICK JAMES
She's coming.
01:24:43
The SnowJobs Podcast
The sky is bluer. The air is cleaner.
01:24:45
RICK JAMES
Everybody's happier. okay
01:24:47
Doug
yeah
01:24:48
RICK JAMES
you know All the hard-working people are happy.
01:24:49
The SnowJobs Podcast
Not everybody. Oh shit. But anyway, before we go down that road, uh, let's wrap this up.
01:24:55
RICK JAMES
no
01:24:55
The SnowJobs Podcast
But Doug, thanks so much for coming on with us, man. We appreciate it.
01:24:58
Doug
Thanks for having me.
01:24:58
The SnowJobs Podcast
Keep us posted. Keep us posted on blade to steal this winner. And, uh, that's going to do it guys. All right. This episode of the snow jobs podcast is in the book. What are we at? 94 now, Jeremy.
01:25:09
RICK JAMES
so.
01:25:10
Doug
We weren't counting.
01:25:10
The SnowJobs Podcast
This is 94. Wow, nice. Wanna thank Doug for the time. chip Keep killing it out there, this one, all right? You doubling up every year. Good for you, bud. Blade to Steel's gonna be a big one. Keep crushing it. That is it, guys. Everybody have a great week. Be safe out there. Keep pushing.