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S4-176: First Due Property Maintenance, Kingston NY
430 Plays4 days ago
The guys sit down with Mike Fitzgerald, the owner of First Due to talk about his focus on growing the snow side of his business, and focusing on taking fewer properties on, but ensuring they are the right ones for him.
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Transcript
Introduction and Sponsorship
00:00:39
The SnowJobs Podcast
Here we go, Snow Jobs Nation. We are back again bringing you another episode of the Snow Jobs Podcast, main show powered by topkin ta um my Top Gun Backblades. It's episode 176. 176th Monday
Travel Plans and Recording Pressure
00:00:54
The SnowJobs Podcast
in a row. We're dropping the best show in snow just keeps rolling.
00:00:59
The SnowJobs Podcast
I think somebody else uses that name too, but it doesn't make any sense. What's up, Jay?
00:01:03
RICK JAMES
Yeah. How about you, buddy?
00:01:05
The SnowJobs Podcast
ah i'm doing good man we're uh we're we're getting this done tonight and we're flying out of here in what 24 hours
00:01:13
RICK JAMES
Yeah, think ah Tuesday morning I'm flying out. So, yeah.
00:01:16
The SnowJobs Podcast
yep heading for shits and addy we are back to our normal sunday night under the gun recording schedule we've recorded a bunch of episodes this week and we forgot we needed a main one i'm on that we're better under the gun dude we're better anyway
00:01:26
RICK JAMES
Don't really what happens.
00:01:31
RICK JAMES
Sure. Sure.
Flight Preferences
00:01:32
The SnowJobs Podcast
ah
00:01:32
RICK JAMES
Yeah, we get done one way or another.
00:01:34
The SnowJobs Podcast
oh
00:01:34
RICK JAMES
Not
00:01:35
The SnowJobs Podcast
How was your week?
00:01:38
RICK JAMES
Pretty busy, honestly. Busy, busy. Just like you, I suppose.
00:01:42
The SnowJobs Podcast
Yep, yeah, it's been busy trying to get as much work in as possible before our little vacation.
00:01:43
RICK JAMES
lot of trucking.
00:01:49
The SnowJobs Podcast
so ah yeah, it's been a busy week and i go back to work tomorrow and get out of work early Tuesday morning and get right on a Cessna and get to Cincinnati.
00:01:59
RICK JAMES
Yeah, same. Give her hell in morrow and
00:02:01
The SnowJobs Podcast
you're on a You're on a big plane. I checked it. You're on a big plane. You're on a big Airbus.
00:02:05
RICK JAMES
yeah, just makes a bigger ball of fire.
00:02:11
The SnowJobs Podcast
ah I'd rather be in a big plane. I feel better.
00:02:15
RICK JAMES
Yeah,
00:02:15
The SnowJobs Podcast
Those...
00:02:15
RICK JAMES
just, it's not going to matter. Whatever happens, happens. Nothing you do about buddy.
00:02:18
The SnowJobs Podcast
Oh, that's it.
00:02:19
RICK JAMES
Enjoy the ride.
00:02:20
The SnowJobs Podcast
Well, yeah, yeah, yeah. That's, uh, I don't know.
First Flight Experiences
00:02:24
The SnowJobs Podcast
I'm not a fan, not a fan. I just don't like it. It's always the first, first flight of the year is always the toughest by, uh, by the time we're out the storm, a couple of flights ah under our belt, it's a little bit easier.
00:02:36
RICK JAMES
I know. It doesn't bother me. I like it. Get up, get down, get out of here. It's all good.
00:02:41
The SnowJobs Podcast
There you go. Well, you got what, short hop into Minneapolis? And then another, it's not a very long flight for you to Ohio. I was shocked that Minneapolis to Ohio is like an hour and 40 minutes, I think. All right.
00:02:52
RICK JAMES
No clue. Whatever they do. I just sit down and enjoy the ride. so They tell me I'm there, we're there. so
00:03:00
The SnowJobs Podcast
yep well well you know i uh i switched it up tonight so i gotta do it because sean's gonna yell at me so you guys know who we are right but you want to hear it anyway so that's right
00:03:19
The SnowJobs Podcast
steve and jeremy together again i don't know if people
00:03:23
RICK JAMES
Who's going to get upset?
00:03:25
The SnowJobs Podcast
Sean.
00:03:26
RICK JAMES
Oh, who cares what Sean wants?
00:03:27
The SnowJobs Podcast
Sean loves the sound bites. He loves sound bite. is wow
00:03:34
RICK JAMES
the
00:03:35
The SnowJobs Podcast
ah
Arctic Party Plans
00:03:38
The SnowJobs Podcast
Oh, man. Yeah, it's ah it's been a busy week, but we're looking forward to getting out of here, getting with the crew again. Got some good events. Got the big Arctic party on Thursday night, which I don't even know.
00:03:50
The SnowJobs Podcast
What are we going to do? We're just going to shut that down, go back to the house, grab the bags and go, because we both have really early flights.
00:03:58
RICK JAMES
Yeah, I think that's what we normally do, so let's just do it.
00:04:00
The SnowJobs Podcast
Yep. I think we got to be at the airport like 4
00:04:04
RICK JAMES
Sounds perfect to me.
00:04:05
The SnowJobs Podcast
like yours is 550 or something suck like oh nice that's like can't possibly be any worse than pittsburgh airport trying to get out of there that morning that was absolutely awful so we're we're counting on you cincinnati even though the episode or the episode the airport is in kentucky uh it uh hopefully will be a lot better experienced in pittsburgh
00:04:08
RICK JAMES
Yeah, send it. yeah I'm all good. It's all good.
00:04:17
RICK JAMES
Oof, that was terrible. Terrible.
00:04:31
RICK JAMES
Is it Kentucky? have no idea.
00:04:33
The SnowJobs Podcast
Yeah, the airport's actually over the border in Kentucky for Cincinnati. It's like 20 minutes away. So, yeah, I was kind of shocked by that too, but that's apparently how it is. Yep,
Guest Introduction: Mike Fitzgerald
00:04:45
The SnowJobs Podcast
but that's ah pretty much it for the for the week there.
00:04:45
RICK JAMES
That'll be fun.
00:04:48
The SnowJobs Podcast
so today today, we got a good one. We're staying local to me in New York, all right? We we had them on a panel when Winter Storm or Mega Storm Fern was bearing down on us. we were We were talking to the guys that are local to me about what we're doing to to prepare for it, and it was supposed to be like 20-something inches or whatever. I think we got every bit of it. Yeah.
00:05:11
The SnowJobs Podcast
it It was good, but we got Mike Fitzgerald of First Due Property Maintenance in Kingston. You know, he was on that panel, but we never gave him a a company profile episode, so we definitely wanted to get him back and and get that done for him.
00:05:23
The SnowJobs Podcast
So that's what we're doing today. He's here with us, and we're going to hear all about his company, First Due Property Maintenance. But before we do that, you know what we got to do. As always, we got to hear from Team Top Gun and come back to a quick week of review.
Father's Day and Personal Stories
00:06:07
The SnowJobs Podcast
You know those days, some days you feel like you're in the zone, and some days you just know you don't got it? I don't got it today.
00:06:13
RICK JAMES
You don't got it?
00:06:14
The SnowJobs Podcast
I definitely don't got it. I am not sharp.
00:06:16
RICK JAMES
I
00:06:16
The SnowJobs Podcast
I am not good. I'm a beat, so i this this may go off the rails. but quick
00:06:22
RICK JAMES
thought you took a nap today.
00:06:23
The SnowJobs Podcast
I did, but that actually made it worse, I think. i'm I'm still, like, foggy from it.
00:06:26
RICK JAMES
Wow.
00:06:27
The SnowJobs Podcast
I got an hour and a half uninterrupted. It was like, holy crap, what time is it?
00:06:31
RICK JAMES
Wow.
00:06:32
The SnowJobs Podcast
It felt like I slept for three days, so it was one of those weird things. But... Yeah, Week in Review. Happy Father's Day to all the dads out there, guys. Hope everybody had a great day. Hope everybody got to enjoy some time with their families. Hope the kids behaved, all that good stuff. The wives were nice to you.
00:06:50
The SnowJobs Podcast
And hope you guys all had a great day. Speaking of Father's Day, I also wanted to take a second and congratulate my dad, right who I'm very proud of. And he sometimes listens to the show to see if I'm behaving myself, which we all know I'm usually not.
00:07:02
RICK JAMES
you.
00:07:05
The SnowJobs Podcast
But dad ah dad just retired this past Thursday after over 45 years of being one of the entire country's top oral surgeons.
00:07:15
The SnowJobs Podcast
And that's not me saying that. That's all his doctor peers that will tell you anytime you meet them that you know how how great a surgeon he is and how like highly uh highly sought after he is so uh he called it quits after it's over 45 years because i'm 50 and he was practicing when i was two so it's 48 years you know 49 years it's it's close i was uh i was two when we moved up to fishkill here so he's been ah he's been a surgeon a long time and uh
00:07:44
RICK JAMES
Hmm.
00:07:47
The SnowJobs Podcast
You know, I'm very proud of him. i He did it. He's like the ultimate role model for hard work. He he worked multiple jobs, put himself through college. They had no money, put himself through medical school.
00:07:58
The SnowJobs Podcast
One of the most driven and hardworking people I've ever met. So you couldn't have a better role model as a parent. So congrats to my dad on an amazing career and best of luck now being with my mother 24 seven.
00:08:09
The SnowJobs Podcast
That should be interesting. That should be a really interesting household.
00:08:11
RICK JAMES
ah
00:08:13
The SnowJobs Podcast
I think a lot of golf is going to be played. and a lot of day trading and a lot of golf. just He'll sit in his office and she'll tell him to stay up there. It'll be a good time. But but yeah, congratulations
Podcast Updates and Listener Engagement
00:08:25
The SnowJobs Podcast
to my dad.
00:08:25
RICK JAMES
Congrats.
00:08:25
The SnowJobs Podcast
um Let's see. Storm Chasing Season 2 live on YouTube. We got three episodes up for you. The Bruce Company was Episode 3. That was the most recent, so if you haven't already done so, head over to YouTube, check out all three of those episodes.
00:08:41
The SnowJobs Podcast
Sima 2026 is in this year. It's this week, so we're going to be out of here shortly, heading on to Cincinnati, and that's running from ah Tuesday, was it the 23rd to Friday the 26th.
00:08:55
The SnowJobs Podcast
Storm, what's that?
00:08:55
RICK JAMES
Yep. I said, yep, that's what it is.
00:08:58
The SnowJobs Podcast
Nope. Storm Field Day is in July this year. They moved it up a couple weeks, usually in August, but it is July 29th and 30th this year. So tickets are on sale currently on the Storm website. You can go over there and get them.
00:09:12
The SnowJobs Podcast
The event will sell out. it It sold out last year, and it's it's really worth going. I think they i think over 75% of the people flew in for it last year, so that was that was nice to see.
00:09:23
RICK JAMES
Excellent.
00:09:23
The SnowJobs Podcast
a lot of guys had a lot of interest. I believe Jordan and Bob Marks are doing the – the keynotes this year, the speaking, I think they're talking about, I don't remember what the topic was, but I remember saying, Oh, that's actually something I might actually sit there and listen to the whole time. It it sounded very good to get Bob's, I think two different perspectives on doing the same thing, Bob and Jordan. So that should be a great, great couple days out there.
00:09:48
The SnowJobs Podcast
It always is. That's, it's always a good time out there. um September 17th is the event that'll be up after that. The 16th and 17th, actually what, what do you got
00:09:57
RICK JAMES
Well, we got we got a one day kind of thing. I guess a pasta shop August 13th. We're going to have like a little little ah a Phantom Phantom Turbo Todd and some local vendors are going to be there.
00:10:04
The SnowJobs Podcast
Oh.
00:10:12
RICK JAMES
Just kind of a one day kind of half a day trade show kind of thing.
00:10:15
The SnowJobs Podcast
So for everybody out there that doesn't know who Putz is, that's Josh Abrahamson of Valley Green in Fargo. So if you're in the Fargo area, I guess, when is it? August 13th. There
00:10:25
RICK JAMES
August 13th, yep, it'll be at his Josh's shop in Moorhead. So i'll get we'll get more information out for it.
00:10:29
The SnowJobs Podcast
there you go.
00:10:31
RICK JAMES
But, yeah, it's just a one-day, kind of a midday thing just to, yep, see the phantom and stuff like that.
00:10:34
The SnowJobs Podcast
Yeah, that's cool. You need more of those. Those are great for networking.
00:10:39
RICK JAMES
Yep.
00:10:40
The SnowJobs Podcast
Yeah, we are actually ah we are actually in talks to bring a one-day event to upstate New York, a Snow Jobs one-day event.
00:10:40
RICK JAMES
So.
00:10:49
The SnowJobs Podcast
So that look for that next spring. and That's definitely something we're going to pursue before the big before the big gala. gotta do a You know, there's nothing in May. Like, we need something in May.
00:11:05
The SnowJobs Podcast
Something's got to happen in May. So we might as well be the ones to do a nice one day in May for all the upstate New York, Massachusetts, Connecticut guys. So look look for that.
00:11:14
RICK JAMES
sure
00:11:16
The SnowJobs Podcast
um So September 16th and 17th is a Wednesday, Thursday. if head over to Pennsylvania for those. That's Storks on Wednesday, the September 16th. That's their Plow Tech School for all Douglas products. Phenomenal, absolutely phenomenal class.
00:11:32
The SnowJobs Podcast
Highly recommend it. Worth every penny. The cheat code book alone is worth every penny to be able to really fix anything, Douglas. And then if you're there at Storks on Wednesday the 16th, you might as well head to Scranton Wilkes Bar. It's about an hour and change away, hour and 10 minutes for Thursday. That is the S&S Snow and Ice Solution 6th Annual Snow Show.
00:11:56
The SnowJobs Podcast
All right, i hear they're going big this year, so Tony and Janet always put on a great event. that's a That's probably one of the most intimate networking events, wouldn't you say, Jay? Like, we're basically, like, left to network most of the time.
00:12:06
RICK JAMES
Yeah. Yeah.
00:12:09
The SnowJobs Podcast
Like, ah like they left us alone to break into groups and just talk shop. It was phenomenal last year.
00:12:15
RICK JAMES
Yep.
00:12:15
The SnowJobs Podcast
Had a great panel discussion, and then it was like, all right, you boys are you're on your own. Try and behave. Which we might have or might not have, but... ah
00:12:24
RICK JAMES
Yeah, maybe.
00:12:25
The SnowJobs Podcast
Next up is the big concert out in October 1st at Oxbridge, Massachusetts, the Morton Wallace concert.
00:12:29
RICK JAMES
Yes. Yep. DeMorton Wallace.
00:12:35
The SnowJobs Podcast
ah
00:12:36
RICK JAMES
Laney Spalding's going to be in there.
00:12:37
The SnowJobs Podcast
Oh, fuck.
00:12:37
RICK JAMES
Yeah.
00:12:39
The SnowJobs Podcast
Patty Sam and Northeast De-Icing Solutions is having their third annual de-icing day. That's up in, as I said, Uxbridge, Massachusetts, and that is October 1st this year.
00:12:50
The SnowJobs Podcast
That's it. New Snow Jobs patch hats are in. The store is stocked. Head on over to snowjobsnationstore.com. Get all your stuff for the next, what do you got, another week, right?
00:13:01
RICK JAMES
Yeah, we got 25% off on all the T-shirts and hats.
00:13:01
The SnowJobs Podcast
Another Another nine days, 25% off and you get entered to win anything.
00:13:05
RICK JAMES
and
00:13:09
The SnowJobs Podcast
that What is it? Over 100? A hundred suitcase, store
00:13:11
RICK JAMES
Over 100, you're going to enter the window. I want to wear suitcases. ah Yep.
00:13:15
The SnowJobs Podcast
snow jobs, monogrammed travel case. It's awesome.
00:13:20
RICK JAMES
I got them. I picked them up. They're in my place right now.
00:13:22
The SnowJobs Podcast
Is it the carry-ons or you got a bigger one?
Snow Jobs Nation Store Promotion
00:13:25
RICK JAMES
Carry-ons. Yep.
00:13:25
The SnowJobs Podcast
Nice. Perfect. The carry-on is great. So head on over to the snow jobs nation store, get your 25% off, spend a hundred dollars, get entered to win the carry-on, which is not cheap.
00:13:36
The SnowJobs Podcast
That is a what? 300 and something dollar, $400 four hundred dollars thing
00:13:41
RICK JAMES
It was close to 300, yeah.
00:13:42
The SnowJobs Podcast
they're pretty freaking pricey um yep keep hitting like and subscribe on apple podcast and spotify give us those five star reviews and drop some comments we've had a lot of comments recently on uh spotify and apple so good for you guys keep them coming and uh that's about it you got anything else jay all right let's hear from our partners we'll be right back and we'll get into it with mike
00:13:42
RICK JAMES
Yep.
00:13:59
RICK JAMES
i don't think so. Ready to rock.
00:16:18
The SnowJobs Podcast
I'm officially losing my voice, but we're back. We are back. Thanks to our partners. We really appreciate you guys. We could not do it without you. Thank you for standing behind the show as hard as you do.
00:16:29
The SnowJobs Podcast
We could not do it without you. We generally ah genuinely appreciate all the support from our partners. They're amazing. And that's ah that that's the cue for Mike to come on in.
00:16:41
The SnowJobs Podcast
So, Mikey, how are you, buddy? Unmute and tell us all about it.
00:16:44
RICK JAMES
Mike.
00:16:45
The SnowJobs Podcast
How you doing, bub?
Mike's Vacation and Lawn Care Challenges
00:16:47
mfitz281
What's up, brothers? How are you? Happy Father's Day.
00:16:49
The SnowJobs Podcast
good you too bud how's it going
00:16:49
RICK JAMES
Thanks a lot, you as well.
00:16:51
mfitz281
Thank you. Thank you. We're doing be great, actually. I'm ah um'm starting my vacation off today.
00:16:57
RICK JAMES
That's good.
00:16:58
mfitz281
We just got in the big house, so we're we're getting kicked off, and we're hoping for a good week.
00:17:02
The SnowJobs Podcast
that's awesome good for you dude i i could never take vacations we were doing lawns if the boss was not around you'd have so many call outs and guys not showing up like come on
00:17:06
RICK JAMES
Nice.
00:17:12
mfitz281
It's
00:17:17
mfitz281
No calls yet, but I'm sure once the week starts off, I'll be getting a few. So.
00:17:21
The SnowJobs Podcast
You know, it's good, though. It's been super hot. And I don't know about up there, but our lawn's already browning.
00:17:27
mfitz281
Oh, it's dead. Several of my several of my places, is my large commercial are, that it's a dust field.
00:17:28
The SnowJobs Podcast
Yeah.
00:17:33
The SnowJobs Podcast
Yeah.
00:17:33
mfitz281
I have rain green in sight.
00:17:35
The SnowJobs Podcast
it's It's wild. This is the earliest I've ever seen it go brown. So it's been brown for a couple weeks.
00:17:39
RICK JAMES
oh
00:17:40
The SnowJobs Podcast
pretty great And we've had rain.
00:17:43
mfitz281
Yeah.
00:17:43
The SnowJobs Podcast
we've we've had substantial rain i think we're gonna get another couple inches tomorrow we got uh we got a big storm coming in uh they're saying two or three inches of rain possible and like 50 mile an hour winds so that's it yeah it should be great hopefully it's out of there by the time the cessna takes off uh jay why don't you take us away buddy
00:17:54
mfitz281
Well, you keep it in New York. don't need that here.
00:17:57
RICK JAMES
yeah
00:17:57
mfitz281
Yeah, yeah.
00:18:00
mfitz281
yeah yeah
00:18:03
RICK JAMES
a You bet. Hey, Mike, what? I'll tell everybody about first due property maintenance, where you guys got started and what you're all about.
Origin of First Due Property Maintenance
00:18:11
mfitz281
All right, so back in back at about 2021, I had left a job down in the five boroughs there in the Bronx and got hired at a new job in Kingston, New York.
00:18:14
RICK JAMES
Thank you.
00:18:22
mfitz281
So i figured that I only worked two days a week on that job, and I had a lot of time to spend doing something else because sitting at home was not doing it for me. So over the years, I've always been in the...
00:18:36
mfitz281
snow, land management, anything you could think of outside with machines, you know, doing something for somebody else. And I just figured, you know, be a good time to start something for myself. So me and another buddy from work started up first two property maintenance and we mainly Didn't really know where we were going other than grass to start.
00:18:54
mfitz281
And next thing you know, in that first year, i think we were doing everything that we could get our hands on. Pressure washing, cleaning gutters, mowing grass. I mean, picking jobs way too big for what we were even capable of doing and just banging them out.
00:19:08
mfitz281
um
00:19:08
The SnowJobs Podcast
Yeah, we got it.
00:19:09
mfitz281
Yeah.
00:19:09
RICK JAMES
ah
00:19:10
mfitz281
You guys done this before?
00:19:10
RICK JAMES
Yeah.
00:19:11
mfitz281
Several times. We'll get it taken care of.
00:19:12
The SnowJobs Podcast
Absolutely no problem.
00:19:14
mfitz281
Yeah.
00:19:14
RICK JAMES
ah
00:19:15
The SnowJobs Podcast
but
00:19:16
mfitz281
So ah we started out kind of very small, um one mower, one trailer, just kind of going around, had about 30 lawns. And unfortunately, right about around the end of that first year or so, we split up. ah And I kind of went my own way with the business and really but within that second year took off, uh, started to bring it down into just doing lawns, um, some minor tree work, anything landscaping wise, and then, uh, ended up getting the snow plowing.
00:19:47
mfitz281
Um, That kind of took off for me, and and here I am you know about five years later, and right now I'm honed in on basically lawn, snow, and excavation, and that's what I focus on.
00:19:59
mfitz281
I try not to do anything else. I try not to get on any roofs and do any gutters anymore, ever. um very Very simple, because as a second job for me, this is now more of a full-time job for me, and here we are.
00:20:04
RICK JAMES
of what
00:20:13
The SnowJobs Podcast
crazy how that shit happens right like i just need to do something on the side for a couple hours a week make a little extra money and now you're working then you're working harder than your a job yeah it happens quick if you do good work yep well i mean that happens if you do good work the word gets around and uh before you know it you're like shit what the hell happened so you you guys just you're doing any hardscaping anything like that nothing you're just smart man dude and
00:20:14
RICK JAMES
Yep.
00:20:16
mfitz281
Yeah.
00:20:22
mfitz281
Yep, yep. Pros and cons, pros and cons.
00:20:25
RICK JAMES
Yep.
00:20:27
RICK JAMES
go
00:20:34
mfitz281
Yep.
00:20:42
mfitz281
I have not dabbled in the hardscaping. I try, you know, even as of this year, I pretty much honed in on I am doing lawn care and your basic, you know, trimming some hedges, anything like that.
00:20:55
mfitz281
A little bit of, you know, minor landscape work, but I i have some pretty decent properties for lawns that aren't too too much to deal with.
00:21:00
RICK JAMES
Nice.
00:21:02
mfitz281
And then ah I do the occasional excavation job, you know, maybe, don't know, five to 10 a month, maybe. Nothing too crazy to keep me going. And then ah the snow in the winter, and that's it.
00:21:15
The SnowJobs Podcast
Do you have a you have a, with the lawns, do you have a problem finding reliable guys to mow?
00:21:15
RICK JAMES
nice
00:21:19
The SnowJobs Podcast
Do you find yourself having to be there a lot?
Lawn Care Focus on Quality
00:21:22
mfitz281
I feel like I'm lucky. i do do a lot of it on my own. I mean, in the in the summertime here for the lawns, I have two... Two guys mainly, one's like kind of full-time with me and a couple part-time guys. And then, ah you know, several I throw in in between there when guys just want a little extra money.
00:21:42
mfitz281
um But so for me, I grab a lot of the the other cops and firemen and all of them guys, and they're always looking for a little bit extra money.
00:21:47
The SnowJobs Podcast
Sure. Absolutely.
00:21:51
mfitz281
that We have the similar schedules and they're always willing to work. So I can't complain there.
00:21:54
The SnowJobs Podcast
That's a good thing.
00:21:55
mfitz281
I have really good guys.
00:21:57
The SnowJobs Podcast
Yeah.
00:21:57
RICK JAMES
this
00:21:57
The SnowJobs Podcast
I mean, it used to be a lot easier, but my problem was we all got freaking old and nobody collectively, none of us wanted to cut lawns anymore. That's why we just, we started like getting rid of a bunch of them at a time.
00:22:05
mfitz281
Yeah.
00:22:09
The SnowJobs Podcast
Every year we downsize the lawns, downsize the lawns. And after COVID, like, I don't know how you make money doing bulk lawns anymore.
00:22:17
mfitz281
Yeah, i ah that's I could say that's why I keep the couple excavation jobs going, you know, monthly because i've I've weeded out a lot of people. I've weeded out a lot of people that didn't want to pay what, you know, what we're worth.
00:22:30
mfitz281
And, and you know, i just, I really got everything moving the way I needed it to.
00:22:31
The SnowJobs Podcast
Sure.
00:22:37
mfitz281
And i'm I'm in a good position right now. So I don't want to take on too much or or take on the customers I really don't need.
00:22:39
The SnowJobs Podcast
There you bud.
00:22:43
mfitz281
And I kind of just stay with what I got right now. It's working out for me. So.
00:22:47
The SnowJobs Podcast
Very cool, man. Very cool.
00:22:48
RICK JAMES
Nice.
00:22:49
The SnowJobs Podcast
So we have similar markets. Well, not similar markets, but we're pretty close in in geography. We're only about 40, 45 minutes, depending on who's driving up the thruway from each other. um what What are you guys averaging as far as your annual snowfall up there in Kingston?
00:23:07
mfitz281
So typically your average is, but I'd say 40 to 50 inches a year.
00:23:12
The SnowJobs Podcast
Okay, you're right in the same ball.
00:23:12
mfitz281
um
00:23:13
The SnowJobs Podcast
It's all the Hudson Valley, so generally it's it's pretty close.
00:23:17
mfitz281
Yeah, we didn't get that this past year, but that's generally what we get and and even sometimes less than that. so
00:23:23
The SnowJobs Podcast
What did you end up with your final total for the
Snowfall Patterns and Regional Challenges
00:23:26
The SnowJobs Podcast
year? Were you over 80?
00:23:27
mfitz281
So I was right at 80 in my my higher elevations because I service like a Uh, 20 miles, you know, north and south, really. I don't go too far east and west, but on my strip, when further north I went, the higher I got. and then in the lower end, i was getting right around like 65 to 70 inches.
00:23:47
The SnowJobs Podcast
Yeah, because you're right between, like Kingston's right between two big punch spots. Like you got the Mid-Hudson Valley, like Fishkill to Poughkeepsie that gets punched, and then you got Albany area, which gets punched, and you guys are kind of like in that in that area in between where if you go north towards Albany, you'll have more, and but you got to go well south to to get into that snow band again.
00:24:09
mfitz281
Yeah, it's it's funny because typically over the years, and and like I said, I've been doing it for years for everybody else and and then, you know, in the last five for myself. And I always tell everybody, yeah I'm not really too worried about town Ulster, city Kingston, doesn't snow here. We may get a little touch of everything around us, but ah it always goes around us, right? Heavy storms.
00:24:29
mfitz281
Yeah, that didn't happen this year.
00:24:30
The SnowJobs Podcast
um Not this year.
00:24:32
RICK JAMES
Oh.
00:24:33
The SnowJobs Podcast
What about in years past, though? You guys you guys don't you don't get any of the big ones?
00:24:38
mfitz281
We get it, but it's a lot of clippers.
00:24:41
The SnowJobs Podcast
Okay.
00:24:41
mfitz281
We're getting we're getting the edge of all the storms around us.
00:24:42
The SnowJobs Podcast
Oh, you get the lake effects.
00:24:44
mfitz281
Yeah.
00:24:44
The SnowJobs Podcast
you get They reach you, the bands?
00:24:47
mfitz281
Yeah, they do, but we we're really getting, like, we're not getting the main part of it. We're getting the edges of it.
00:24:53
The SnowJobs Podcast
I got you.
00:24:53
mfitz281
So it's not really accumulating. We'll get them. They'll come quick. They'll hit hard, but we're they're still not getting typically what other people around us are.
00:25:01
The SnowJobs Podcast
Yeah, they either go north to Albany or they go south to Fishkill, and you guys are right in the middle, so you're catching the edge of both.
00:25:07
mfitz281
Yeah. Yep.
00:25:09
The SnowJobs Podcast
ah But you still, I mean, you guys are still good for 40-plus, you know, year in, year out, right?
00:25:09
RICK JAMES
Thank you.
00:25:14
mfitz281
Yeah, this year, obviously, great winter.
00:25:15
The SnowJobs Podcast
Yeah.
00:25:17
mfitz281
the The years prior, um a lot of, very wet.
00:25:17
The SnowJobs Podcast
Doubled up.
00:25:21
mfitz281
um We get a lot of rain, even if we're not getting snow. It's always it's it's always doing something, whether it's rain or snow, but typically not as much.
00:25:29
The SnowJobs Podcast
10-4, 10-4. What type of sites do you guys concentrate on?
00:25:34
mfitz281
Yeah. So when I started for myself and I have one truck, I had about 60 residential, um a lot of shoveling, you know, a lot for some guys that were with me, a lot of shoveling sidewalks in the city environment.
00:25:42
The SnowJobs Podcast
All right.
00:25:50
mfitz281
um A lot of angry customers when, you know, you're not there when they think you're going to be there, even though if you're going to what the contract says, everybody's got an opinion.
00:26:01
mfitz281
um
00:26:01
RICK JAMES
Yep.
00:26:02
mfitz281
So now, ah exactly, exactly.
00:26:03
The SnowJobs Podcast
You got 60 balls.
00:26:05
mfitz281
And i I did not like doing residential. So over the years, I've i've faded that out. um I went from at my peak, almost 100 residential to now I'm doing, i think I do maybe 10 residential overall.
00:26:19
mfitz281
And the rest is all commercial.
Competitive Landscape in Snow Services
00:26:22
mfitz281
um Anything from your small doctor's office to several acre industrial lot.
00:26:30
The SnowJobs Podcast
very cool very cool is there room for growth up there
00:26:31
RICK JAMES
this
00:26:36
mfitz281
There is, but there's a lot of big dogs in the game up here.
00:26:39
The SnowJobs Podcast
yeah
00:26:39
mfitz281
We've had a lot of OGs are still in business up here. um They got a lot of the big you know package stores and you know local non-management company.
00:26:50
mfitz281
they They have them scarfed up right now, but they're there's still room for growth, especially in this last year or two. I've seen a lot of them starting to phase out, not wanting to do snow anymore because of the stress and the headache.
00:27:01
mfitz281
um So I'm getting a lot more calls for the the bigger type of companies that have been ah out of the game for a while and a lot of the a lot of the other people just aren't cutting anymore.
00:27:11
mfitz281
they're not providing the same service they said they were you know five, ten years ago. so
00:27:14
The SnowJobs Podcast
Well, yeah, I mean, and that really would come to light this past winter.
00:27:18
mfitz281
Yeah, oh definitely.
00:27:18
The SnowJobs Podcast
You know, that was, did you get a lot of calls this spring?
00:27:22
mfitz281
I got so many calls. It got to the point where i was like, i I would love to take you all, but I got to start going through these now and figuring out you know the who's who and what's going to be best for me.
00:27:23
The SnowJobs Podcast
Yeah.
00:27:31
mfitz281
so
00:27:32
The SnowJobs Podcast
Yeah, I mean, i've I've said that so many times on here that, like, we're getting calls from, like, property management companies saying, like, all right, that know us. They know our what we do well, and they're like, dude, we need you to do this. We need you to take this site on next year, blank check.
00:27:48
mfitz281
All
00:27:48
The SnowJobs Podcast
Like, just let us know what it's going to cost. And they've already okayed, like, they they learned their lesson. Like they've said, you know, the property managers, the boards yelling at the property managers or the property owners yelling at the property managers, the property managers telling them, you got what you paid for.
00:28:04
The SnowJobs Podcast
If you want better service, you need to give me more money to work with. You know, we need to have a bigger budget for snow.
00:28:07
mfitz281
right.
00:28:10
The SnowJobs Podcast
You can you can go cheap on the lawn. You can go cheap on the blacktop ceiling. You can't go cheap on the snow.
00:28:17
mfitz281
Yeah, i I really strive to provide top-notch service no matter what you're actually paying for, what to greet upon. i always try I'm always doing more than i more than I probably should to get my money out of it, but i'm always I'd rather have good good quality, good service that people are bragging about to their friends and family and and ah you know businesses around them rather than be you know overtaxing myself, overtaxing my guys and not be to provide something that's you know worthwhile.
00:28:30
The SnowJobs Podcast
Sure.
00:28:43
mfitz281
so
00:28:44
The SnowJobs Podcast
Yeah.
00:28:44
mfitz281
ah We talked about it during the the show about fern. I mean, the amount of properties during that big storm, you know, even days to follow, still two, three feet of snow.
00:28:51
The SnowJobs Podcast
Oh, yeah.
00:28:54
The SnowJobs Podcast
Yep.
00:28:55
mfitz281
And your lot's perfectly clean.
00:28:55
RICK JAMES
Mm-hmm.
00:28:57
mfitz281
It's it's black. We don't have to worry about it. And it's just, you know, seeing that days later, and people really saw that. and that's it was It was wild.
00:29:05
The SnowJobs Podcast
Yeah, that storm ended like 7 a.m. and most, I think, every one of our properties was open by 10, ready to go.
00:29:11
mfitz281
Yeah. Yep.
00:29:12
The SnowJobs Podcast
And there were complexes, like complexes where people were trapped locally for two days. They couldn't get out of their complex. There was 20 inches of snow just still sitting there. Get what you pay for.
00:29:23
mfitz281
I couldn't believe Honestly, like, it's just not being able to provide what you say you're to be, it you know, telling these people that you're going to be able to do for them and then days later being trapped in, like you said, and just driving past it, like, man, wish I could help.
00:29:36
mfitz281
but Like...
00:29:37
The SnowJobs Podcast
So i think I think the main problem in our area, because there was one company that is a it's a, I don't think it's a national, but it's a it's a private equity-backed company now that bought up a bunch of companies in the area. And they took on a lot of sites that should have dedicated trucks and dedicated equipment.
00:29:59
The SnowJobs Podcast
And they were doing them on routes, which that's okay. You can put trucks on routes and shit or machines on routes. But when it's two, three inch an hour snowfall rates for seven hours, that you're going to be exposed. And at that point, if you're plowing with a truck and you made a run at two inches, you come back five hours later, there's 15 inches. You ain't moving that with a truck.
00:30:21
mfitz281
No.
00:30:21
The SnowJobs Podcast
you know especially if you got to carry it a long distance.
00:30:22
RICK JAMES
Yeah.
00:30:23
The SnowJobs Podcast
So I think that's where a lot of the bigger companies got into they got into trouble trying to just put these trucks on routes. And then, God forbid, you lose one truck. you know One truck goes down, and now you're backfilling.
00:30:33
mfitz281
Yeah.
00:30:33
RICK JAMES
Yeah.
00:30:35
The SnowJobs Podcast
You're doubling up routes. That's how that shit happens. so But, yeah, it was it was ah it was a good winter for the companies that do snow well around here.
00:30:40
RICK JAMES
Mm-hmm.
00:30:46
mfitz281
That's for sure.
00:30:46
The SnowJobs Podcast
That's for sure. That is for sure.
Equipment Management During Snow Events
00:30:50
The SnowJobs Podcast
Jay, what do you think? Dinesh leasing equipment segment? All right, hit him.
00:30:53
RICK JAMES
I think so. All right, Mikey. You know, we I like my equipment. What kind of equipment are you running your business?
00:31:01
mfitz281
So trucks wise, I'm running mainly all Fords and a couple Dodgers thrown in there. um For equipment wise, I'd say we do have a loader, a Wolf loader.
00:31:15
mfitz281
I got that prior to last season.
00:31:16
The SnowJobs Podcast
Nice.
00:31:18
RICK JAMES
Mm-hmm.
00:31:19
mfitz281
Kubota skid steer, Bobcat skid steer. um It's pretty much it for the big equipment. I've done yeah larger rentals in the past, but that's where the Wolf Loader came in. It just wasn't wasn't feasible for me, and it I was not getting the bank in my buck.
00:31:32
mfitz281
So the Kubota, yeah, that was my first winner with it.
00:31:34
The SnowJobs Podcast
That was your first dinner with it, with the Wolf?
00:31:34
RICK JAMES
I don't
00:31:37
mfitz281
Yep.
00:31:37
The SnowJobs Podcast
How many hours did you get?
00:31:38
RICK JAMES
know. Oh, sorry.
00:31:38
The SnowJobs Podcast
Do you know of it? I'm sorry, Jay.
00:31:41
mfitz281
I want to say i put at least... At least... at least 40 to 50 hours on it. Cause I mean, I, I ran that thing every storm, whether it was an inch or, you know, I was in that machine every storm.
00:31:49
The SnowJobs Podcast
Okay.
00:31:55
mfitz281
So, um, I, I, it might even be over 50. I can't remember off top my head, but, uh, I was running it a lot. Um, Skid steer, same thing. i have a track skid steer.
00:32:06
mfitz281
um I've had that since new several years ago. Great machine. couple different skid steers mixed in here and there, depending on the amount of sites that year. Mainly mainly a couple bobcats, if not, at least one more.
00:32:20
mfitz281
And then I'm running... um Single dual-stage snowblowers, all mixed batch there, um as well as I run Kubota tractor for a couple of my larger sites with a snowblower on the front of it.
00:32:35
mfitz281
Enclosed cab, heat, you know, it's anytime you can't get somebody to work, you know, that doesn't want to shovel, it's easy to be able to say, hey, I got a machine with some heat I could throw you in and just go sit and do sidewalks for me the whole time with a salter on the back of it.
00:32:39
The SnowJobs Podcast
Oh, yeah. Yep.
00:32:47
mfitz281
um That's pretty much it. The rest is all, you know, the old trusty pine handle.
00:32:54
RICK JAMES
What do you what are you pushing on those Fords? What do you got on the front for blades?
00:32:57
mfitz281
So I'm all Fisher Western. I got one Western in the fleet, but the rest is all Fisher, eight, six, nine, sixes, V plows. um And then i have a couple different pushers for the larger equipment.
00:33:13
mfitz281
um Right now I'm running my main is a cage and then I have a several rubber edge cheap pushers that I just leave at sites case I need to throw them on.
00:33:21
RICK JAMES
Nice backup though.
00:33:25
The SnowJobs Podcast
yep
00:33:25
mfitz281
But slowly phasing them out because I learned real quick after the first couple of years of buying them how much more of a hassle it was going to be having in those. so
00:33:35
RICK JAMES
a nice backup though
00:33:35
The SnowJobs Podcast
yep ye what what as you phase them out what are you looking what are you thinking for replacements what's your dream yeah
00:33:42
mfitz281
Live edge, and I need live edge. I'm trying to get anything with a live edge, but I mean, obviously the the Arctic's, and the more I see them, it's just obviously the way to go. I do love my cage. They got the the live edge on it now.
00:33:58
mfitz281
But for for me, the best bang for my buck, and especially the way I use the machines, live edges and anything that I can angle.
00:34:07
RICK JAMES
Yep.
00:34:08
The SnowJobs Podcast
yep i'll tell you the arctics are fireman proof i can personally attest to that well you get to go my guys haven't been able to break them not even danny damage not even danny damage has been able to break it and his his arctic has hydraulic
00:34:11
RICK JAMES
Yeah.
00:34:11
mfitz281
yeah
00:34:15
mfitz281
I do hear you put them through. that's That's for sure. That's what I'm hearing. so but the
00:34:23
RICK JAMES
yeah hate
00:34:25
mfitz281
Exactly. Exactly. that's That's good to hear. that's
00:34:29
The SnowJobs Podcast
it is it's it's a
00:34:30
RICK JAMES
What are you using for salters?
00:34:32
mfitz281
Salter, same thing. ah um you for For the most part, it's all Polycasters, Fisher Polycasters. um I do have one older Smith, stainless Smith, that is just a simple on-off chain drive, works every time we turn it on.
00:34:50
mfitz281
My father runs that one. And then i also, in my truck, I actually run a salt dog with an auger.
00:34:57
The SnowJobs Podcast
okay
00:34:57
RICK JAMES
Okay.
00:34:58
mfitz281
And just because I like, honestly, it was one of the first ones I had for my truck. My truck's got a six-foot box. I like being able to just throw that thing in there, and the way it's shaped, I can still get another snowblower, a bunch of shovels, everything around it without too much of an issue, so it works good.
00:35:09
The SnowJobs Podcast
sure cool very cool what else you got for jay with equipment anything or we cover it
00:35:12
RICK JAMES
Yes.
00:35:18
RICK JAMES
Did you have any? yeah that's probably the majority the client. Did you have any issues last winter with the salt shortage you guys had out there?
00:35:25
mfitz281
So I didn't really have any issues. Luckily for me, I've been blessed with knowing a lot of really good people in my area. um You know, a lot of people well-connected on where we can still get salt.
00:35:37
mfitz281
But I would say, even though there was a shortage where I didn't feel it because I was always able to get some,
00:35:43
RICK JAMES
Lord.
00:35:44
mfitz281
I felt it in price because I mean, not stocking up to the amount I used, I you know i didn't use anything too crazy.
00:35:46
The SnowJobs Podcast
Oh, yeah. Yeah.
00:35:52
mfitz281
I'm not not a huge company, but I probably myself went through just over a hundred tons of salt. um And by those last few tri-oxal loads of salt I was getting at the end of the season, i was paying, probably i probably paid half of my annual amount of salt just in those last three.
00:36:12
mfitz281
It was so expensive.
00:36:13
The SnowJobs Podcast
yeah
00:36:14
mfitz281
you know several guys that were only selling local. and I was able to get a couple couple yards here and there from somebody, but for the most part, it was not a good year for Salt, that's for sure. Luckily, like I said, i really good people looking out for me that I was able to get some still, but a lot of other people did not.
00:36:31
The SnowJobs Podcast
Yeah, it was all who you knew in our area, definitely.
00:36:35
mfitz281
Yep, yep.
00:36:36
The SnowJobs Podcast
It was definitely, if you were if you had the right guy, if you'd been doing business with the right guy for a long time, you you stayed in salt. like Even though we paid, like you said, the last load we had to take in, we in hindsight, we would have been okay because...
00:36:51
The SnowJobs Podcast
March was nothing we didn't even have I don't think we even salted I think one one maybe one two inch nothing the first two days of March and the rest of it was over um so I could have I could have done without i had enough in the bins to ah to get through but I took in that last load and i was like what how much
00:36:53
RICK JAMES
Bye.
00:36:58
mfitz281
Yeah.
00:37:12
The SnowJobs Podcast
a Joe was like, yeah, do you want it? I'm like, yeah, I'll take it. But man, am I feeling it like right in the ass? It it was, I think, three times. I think it was like three times the price of a normal truckload. It was like...
00:37:28
mfitz281
We weren't even totally through the the season yet. I think we were midway. And our our one of our biggest local suppliers, I was there... um My buddy was hauling it from me. I was there. I was getting ready to pay. I'm sitting in line.
00:37:40
mfitz281
And ah I don't know what it was. just We'll just say $100 a ton. The guy in front of me pays at $100 a ton. I come up. She goes, oh, sorry. They just called.
00:37:50
The SnowJobs Podcast
Just one up.
00:37:51
mfitz281
It's $180 a ton now. I'm like, this guy, freakight he I'm behind him.
00:37:55
RICK JAMES
yeah
00:37:55
mfitz281
i think my truck's in front of him. It's like, what do you mean?
00:37:58
The SnowJobs Podcast
Oh my God. oh
00:38:00
mfitz281
So, yeah.
00:38:00
RICK JAMES
Wow, that one's really suck.
00:38:01
The SnowJobs Podcast
i would i would wig out.
00:38:01
mfitz281
Yeah. If I didn't need the salt that day, I probably would have left without salt because they would've kicked me out of there.
00:38:09
The SnowJobs Podcast
Holy crap, that sucks. ah
00:38:13
RICK JAMES
Damn. It's like...
00:38:14
The SnowJobs Podcast
So what do you, you said you do salt, granular salt.
00:38:15
RICK JAMES
cool
00:38:18
The SnowJobs Podcast
Are you using treated, untreated? What are you doing? Okay.
00:38:21
mfitz281
Typically, I just go untreated. i mean, i do here and there, depending on pricing and everything, I'll grab some treated salt. What I what i typically do, honestly, is I'm throwing a lot of treated salt on um our walkways because not a lot of people are asking for the calcium.
Strategies for Salt Management
00:38:38
The SnowJobs Podcast
Mm-hmm.
00:38:38
mfitz281
So I get the treated for all of my walkways. It obviously works better. And then on for the amount that I'm sending, like I said, i'm always my people are are visiting the sites as much as they can.
00:38:50
mfitz281
They're scraping. We're using very little salt for actually um trying to get our places bare because they're getting scraped nonstop. So they the amount that they're having to throw down in between isn't ah isn't that bad. So for me, it's just not using the treated is the feasible way to go.
00:39:09
RICK JAMES
kind of What kind of contracts do you have then? Are you going hourly, seasonals, or print time, or what are you guys doing?
00:39:15
mfitz281
So for me, i don't have anybody that ever asked about hourly. I don't offer it. um For the most part, I am contract. um I would say we're probably 70% contract, 30% per push.
00:39:30
mfitz281
um Luckily, with the the smaller commercial per push I grabbed this year, saved me for all that extra labor and salt that I did have to buy. But for the most part,
00:39:39
The SnowJobs Podcast
What happened? You didn't have caps?
00:39:40
mfitz281
I go on two of my places.
00:39:42
The SnowJobs Podcast
You're
00:39:44
mfitz281
I had caps, but ah other than that, I was able to make it through and, and did good with well what I had having those extra per push I picked up this year.
00:39:53
The SnowJobs Podcast
going to have caps on everything next year?
00:39:56
mfitz281
Yes, I am.
00:39:58
The SnowJobs Podcast
ah
00:39:58
mfitz281
ah And knowing the way my luck works, knowing the way my luck works, we won't go over those caps for another 20 years.
00:39:59
RICK JAMES
Live alert.
00:40:05
The SnowJobs Podcast
No, but that's the thing. Like, you're not going to trigger it But God forbid that we get that double-up winner like we just had, man.
00:40:13
mfitz281
Yep.
00:40:13
The SnowJobs Podcast
Like, I'm sure you know guys. I know guys that have good businesses in the area that do snow well, but their contracts were not ready for that 80 inches, and they were on a lot of – one guy, I know he's 90-10.
Contract Types and Financial Dynamics
00:40:27
The SnowJobs Podcast
He's 90% seasonal, and he didn't have caps, and he he was he's struggling. Like, you could really, even if you do great work, if the contract's not structured to watch out, watch your ass in all all winters, all conditions, it you can really feel it, like, negatively, big time.
00:40:47
mfitz281
Yeah, lot of people around me felt it this year.
00:40:47
RICK JAMES
Phil.
00:40:51
mfitz281
And learning from some of the best, you know, paying attention to the show and the way i've I've built my contracts, I tell them like, this is what you're going to pay, but you're you're not going to have to worry.
00:40:51
The SnowJobs Podcast
love that.
00:41:01
mfitz281
And luckily, on some of the contracts, I might be a little low. I didn't really make out there, but I made out well in other places. then the extra per push I added this year, it just luckily it saved me.
00:41:11
mfitz281
Because if I stayed with the way my my structure was last year, I i probably wouldn't have been as well off as I am this year.
00:41:11
The SnowJobs Podcast
Yeah.
00:41:16
The SnowJobs Podcast
There you go. I mean, shit, we all, or like, we put we we put the caps and floors in because we learned the hard way that we needed them.
00:41:18
RICK JAMES
Getting
00:41:26
mfitz281
Yeah.
00:41:26
The SnowJobs Podcast
Like shit.
00:41:26
RICK JAMES
good.
00:41:27
The SnowJobs Podcast
like That's, that's why we put them in like six years ago. Cause we, we, that was the last banger winner. Was that that 89, 90 inch winner where we had the two mega storms that dropped 50 something inches between the two of them.
00:41:39
The SnowJobs Podcast
We, we were like, was like, shit. It's, we had 48 inches. I think by January 1st or January 10th, I was like, Holy shit. Like we're, we're there. We got the whole winter left to go.
00:41:52
The SnowJobs Podcast
And we learned the hard way. Like we lost a lot of money. We, we, we kept our service up because you, like you said, you're never going to not do above and beyond what the contract says.
00:42:03
The SnowJobs Podcast
That's just, you know, most snow guys, most private companies anyway.
00:42:05
mfitz281
Yeah.
00:42:06
RICK JAMES
Thank
00:42:08
The SnowJobs Podcast
Um,
00:42:08
mfitz281
Yeah. but I stay away from a lot of those, those management companies, you know, offering up the Walmarts for half of what they should be getting, if not a quarter of what they should be getting too, you know?
00:42:17
The SnowJobs Podcast
You don't want to take the Kingston Walmart for $38? Come on.
00:42:21
mfitz281
No, nope no, no.
00:42:21
RICK JAMES
you.
00:42:23
mfitz281
I'm good. No matter how many times it gets put in the portal, I'm still not taking it.
00:42:23
The SnowJobs Podcast
oh
00:42:25
The SnowJobs Podcast
Yeah. oh You're not going to Syma, right?
00:42:30
mfitz281
No, no, not this year, but.
00:42:32
The SnowJobs Podcast
me tell you, there's a lot of lot of national management companies there, and there's a lot of salt guys there. to I think, Jeremy, have you ever seen that many salt companies? What do we count, like 11 boots were salt companies?
00:42:43
RICK JAMES
It seemed like quite a few this year, yeah.
00:42:45
The SnowJobs Podcast
Like, I've never seen half that. And now they're all there. they're alltra i think they're all doing damage control. No, the sky's not falling. Everything's good. We'll have salt. Don't worry about it.
00:42:55
mfitz281
Yeah, we'll see.
00:42:57
RICK JAMES
Yeah.
00:42:57
The SnowJobs Podcast
and They're going to be out. and If any part of this country has even a remotely decent winner, they're going to be out.
00:43:05
RICK JAMES
Have you either one of you guys stocked up yet this year for next season on Salt?
00:43:08
The SnowJobs Podcast
Yeah, I took a load in.
00:43:09
RICK JAMES
Yeah.
00:43:10
The SnowJobs Podcast
Yep, I took a load in.
00:43:10
RICK JAMES
Yeah.
00:43:13
mfitz281
have a buddy looking to get off a good amount, so I'm going to probably take some of that.
Preference for Granular Salt
00:43:18
mfitz281
But I was going to wait until probably next month start looking into it. cause I'm building a new sheds somewhere else, so I'm trying to hold off and take any more at the other one.
00:43:25
The SnowJobs Podcast
yep um you looking to do any liquids in the future or not not worth it for you it's not for me either so i understand what you're talking about yep
00:43:26
RICK JAMES
Yes.
00:43:33
mfitz281
I don't think it's worth it for me right now. Yeah, I just, you know, I like the idea of it, you know, being able to send that one truck out and just let them let him hammer down.
00:43:43
mfitz281
But for everything else, like it's just not feasible for me.
00:43:46
RICK JAMES
Mm-hmm.
00:43:47
mfitz281
I think I like the ah the granular.
00:43:47
The SnowJobs Podcast
yeah i understand What about contracted weather service? Anybody telling you what's not coming and what's coming?
00:43:53
mfitz281
hu
00:43:55
The SnowJobs Podcast
All
00:43:56
mfitz281
Honestly, nope, I stay away from all that. I just monitor about 15 different weather channels that I can.
00:43:59
The SnowJobs Podcast
right.
00:44:03
RICK JAMES
Yeah.
00:44:03
mfitz281
My phone has about, you know, like I said, 15 tabs open.
00:44:03
The SnowJobs Podcast
There you go.
00:44:06
mfitz281
I just keep swiping to the next one to see who's, you know, out of the 15, maybe seven are pretty close to being the same. And then I go about two inches lower and also on the worst set, five inches higher.
00:44:17
mfitz281
And we're, you know, pretty much my guys know if it's snowing, whether it's snowing in an hour or it's snowing right now, they're working.
00:44:23
RICK JAMES
working?
00:44:24
mfitz281
So.
00:44:26
The SnowJobs Podcast
There it is.
00:44:26
RICK JAMES
Nice. How many guys you running out event?
00:44:30
mfitz281
So, ah bare minimum, I would say three to five guys, and then we go anywhere from three to five to 10 15. You know, on anything that's over five inches, I'll bring in the full.
00:44:40
mfitz281
I'd rather just have everybody in, bang everything out quick.
00:44:42
The SnowJobs Podcast
Sure.
00:44:43
RICK JAMES
Yeah.
00:44:43
mfitz281
um You know, great service, bang everything out quick, and guys are back home. But there's other days where they're all working the the A job, and we're doing it with those five on a big storm.
00:44:54
mfitz281
So, sometimes you just got to make it work.
00:44:55
The SnowJobs Podcast
Yeah. That's that is always the challenge when the storm is rolling in and you get that five day and they start hammering out the timing on it and you you put the text out to all the all the guys and say, all right, who's who's working?
00:44:57
RICK JAMES
Make it work.
00:45:10
The SnowJobs Podcast
And then the second question is, who is willing to to trade a shift? Who is willing to try and get off?
00:45:15
mfitz281
yeah
00:45:17
The SnowJobs Podcast
Who's going to take a vacation day? And You know, it's nerve-wracking until the crickets stop and the bings start coming in with, oh, yeah, i can I can do a swap or I can do this.
00:45:23
RICK JAMES
Thank you.
00:45:29
The SnowJobs Podcast
Somehow they always make it happen. My guys always they always make it happen. always make it happen
00:45:33
mfitz281
I've been desperate a couple times. I offered to pay some overtime pay for a few people. I offered some... some ah
00:45:40
The SnowJobs Podcast
that's the one thing i can never, if they're getting overtime, I really can't, I can't complain. Like I tell them take the overtime because you know, for some of them it's pensionable, you know, and ah you gotta, you gotta to let them take the OT, but otherwise, yeah, I've, yeah, I've like, I've leaned on stuff.
00:45:56
The SnowJobs Podcast
Hey, remember, remember how many times you took the track machine last year to do a side work and stuff.
00:46:00
mfitz281
there
00:46:03
The SnowJobs Podcast
That was your need. This, ah this, this storm is my need.
00:46:05
RICK JAMES
Yeah.
00:46:06
The SnowJobs Podcast
Get your ass in the seat.
00:46:07
mfitz281
Payment is due.
00:46:07
RICK JAMES
Yeah. Yeah.
00:46:08
The SnowJobs Podcast
ah
00:46:09
mfitz281
Yeah.
00:46:10
RICK JAMES
Payback. Payback.
00:46:11
The SnowJobs Podcast
Yep. All right. Yeah, you're right. But yeah, it's, it's, it's sometimes a challenge doing it that way, but you know, we're basically, we're basically in the same boat. Like everybody, yeah everybody always asks about, you know, how we do things and stuff. And I tell them like, it's very, it's very hard for you to run a normal company without those guys.
00:46:34
mfitz281
yeah
00:46:34
The SnowJobs Podcast
Like not everybody has the setup that me and you have where we have that ability to, you know, make a couple phone calls or put out a group text. And even if they don't normally work for us, we can get guys that are mature for the most part, mature, somewhat responsible and usually have some kind of knowledge and equipment operation.
00:46:54
mfitz281
Yep, exactly.
00:46:54
The SnowJobs Podcast
So it's pretty easy that way. Yeah.
00:46:58
mfitz281
Everybody's just got their own their own expectation when they come out. This one needs chicken fingers. This one needs you know the equipment that has the heat. This one won't operate this shovel. It's always something. But hey, you got to make them happy and they do just as good as job.
00:47:13
The SnowJobs Podcast
yeah no it's it's funny the operators the operators only want coffee they don't even want egg sandwiches in the morning they just want coffee and and tobacco to get them through and then the kids are the ones the sidewalk ninjas they want all the chicken fingers and fries that's that they're the chicken fingers guys but i'm like man crazy uh
00:47:13
RICK JAMES
Yep, 100%. Do
00:47:22
mfitz281
Yeah.
00:47:28
mfitz281
Yeah.
00:47:33
RICK JAMES
you see yourself upgrading or getting any more new equipment for next year or are you staying steady?
Plans for Equipment Acquisition
00:47:41
mfitz281
I'm looking at ah possibly another skid steer. Right now, I only own one myself. The track and the the rest I've either rented or, you know, um But I'm looking at probably another skid steer, even if it's like a used something with, ah you know, not tracked with wheels that I can like run around in different sites.
00:48:01
mfitz281
um Just, I'm always looking to upgrade or change the the model of the way I'm doing things. So it'd be nice to have something I can run around. Maybe even another woof loader. I don't know.
00:48:11
The SnowJobs Podcast
Well, i got I got a black one sitting at the shop.
00:48:11
mfitz281
I do like my woof loader.
00:48:12
RICK JAMES
Nice.
00:48:12
mfitz281
I've used it a lot even since the winter. ah
00:48:18
The SnowJobs Podcast
ah
00:48:18
RICK JAMES
I got a $344 for sale. don't know.
00:48:20
mfitz281
ha Listen, listen
00:48:22
The SnowJobs Podcast
that's That's too expensive to truck across the country as it is.
00:48:26
mfitz281
let me make it, let me see how much I spend on this vacation.
00:48:26
RICK JAMES
and so
00:48:28
mfitz281
We'll go from there.
00:48:29
The SnowJobs Podcast
ah
00:48:30
RICK JAMES
okay a
00:48:32
The SnowJobs Podcast
Yeah, I mean, you you definitely you always have that Dinesse option if you listen to that episode that that Lucas did. He laid it all out, all the programs. And that's how I got the equipment I have, because I couldn't have grown like that with machines. If it wasn't for those guys. So that's something I would deck you're in the same boat. I was, you know, seven, eight years ago. So that is something I would definitely recommend you talk to them and see if that works for you financially. Cause it's a much better option doing their, their snow lease or, or even they rent them too.
00:49:03
mfitz281
Yeah, I do like that. I would say another thing for me is, you know, the reason I probably don't have more equipment is, believe it or not, I have more of a problem finding people that can... run equipment well and are comfortable running equipment, especially once you go over a skid steer, than I do being able to just find general workers that I could throw in a truck.
00:49:17
The SnowJobs Podcast
Okay. Sure.
00:49:22
mfitz281
You know, most of them have driven a truck, plowed for their uncle or something, you know, back in the day. But as soon as you say, hey, I got, you know, a skid steer here, it's not hand and foot, or I got this new loader, or you think you can, like a lot of people start to get a little iffy there.
00:49:28
RICK JAMES
Yep.
00:49:36
mfitz281
Okay.
00:49:36
The SnowJobs Podcast
Dude, if you put me in a hand and foot control skid steer, it's not going to be pretty.
00:49:40
mfitz281
thirty
00:49:40
RICK JAMES
It's been a while. It's been a while.
00:49:41
The SnowJobs Podcast
Oh, my God. It's been a while.
00:49:43
mfitz281
Yeah.
00:49:44
The SnowJobs Podcast
Although the two skid steers we have at work are hand and foot controls. And, like, everybody's always telling me, like, hey, go go jump in the skid. I'm like, dude, you do not want me in that machine, in either one of those machines. And they're like, you got thousands of hours in skid steers. I'm like, not with fucking farmer controls, dude. Not with farmer controls, man. I got pilot controls.
00:50:04
RICK JAMES
I hate the H-pattern ones. Have you run an H-pattern? Those are terrible.
00:50:09
The SnowJobs Podcast
Uh, the, the cases all have the ability to switch to it, but now i no, know.
00:50:12
RICK JAMES
ah Yeah, they can switch, but yeah. No, I suck at the H-pattern. I'd rather do hand-to-foot than the H-pattern.
00:50:18
The SnowJobs Podcast
Why would you not want your controls to be intuitive? Like, you know, if I want it to go forward, I push, I push the joystick forward.
00:50:22
RICK JAMES
Yeah.
00:50:25
The SnowJobs Podcast
I wanted to go left, push it to the left, right. Then your right hand is your dominant hand.
00:50:28
mfitz281
listen
00:50:30
The SnowJobs Podcast
Most people. And that's your bucket and your boom. Like, I don't understand why you would want hand and foot controls, but the farmers, they say, love it. They love the hand and foot controls.
00:50:40
RICK JAMES
Bobcat makes like the Bobcat brand. That's they make a shit ton of hammer foot.
00:50:43
The SnowJobs Podcast
I know.
00:50:44
RICK JAMES
Still, still there's some dealership.
00:50:45
The SnowJobs Podcast
Crazy.
00:50:46
RICK JAMES
That's pretty much all they get. and like, why?
00:50:49
The SnowJobs Podcast
Yeah, the the rural places, like they that's what I said.
00:50:49
RICK JAMES
Fuck that.
00:50:52
The SnowJobs Podcast
who Who would run these? And they said, you wouldn't believe it. The farmers are they're so hardcore hand and foot.
00:50:56
RICK JAMES
Yeah.
00:50:58
The SnowJobs Podcast
I'm like, wow, good for them. I can't run these things.
00:51:00
RICK JAMES
Yeah.
00:51:01
The SnowJobs Podcast
It's been so long now.
00:51:01
RICK JAMES
Yeah.
00:51:02
The SnowJobs Podcast
I'm so spoiled with the pilot controls. Forget it.
00:51:07
RICK JAMES
yeah
00:51:07
The SnowJobs Podcast
but yeah i mean yeah that that would be tough to put anybody in a in a hand and foot control machine forget it that's tough
00:51:15
mfitz281
like my my yeah it's It's difficult finding people to run equipment by me.
00:51:18
RICK JAMES
Thank you.
00:51:20
mfitz281
I mean, they're they're out there, but the we'll see. We'll see what the next couple of years have to bring.
00:51:25
The SnowJobs Podcast
see you said you got a lot of competition for snow in the area like what do you what would you say separates you guys from them
00:51:33
mfitz281
Well, I would say a lot of the competition
What Sets First Due Apart?
00:51:35
mfitz281
in the area that's smaller, probably equivalent to my size.
00:51:40
The SnowJobs Podcast
Sure.
00:51:40
mfitz281
The biggest thing that sets me apart from them is my quality of service that I'm provided. And, you know, my guys, all the pride they have and what they're providing for me because they just know, um you know, great great employees, um great service at the level of me. And then other than that, it's just...
00:51:56
mfitz281
the competition that's larger, they're just on such a larger scale that, I mean, for me right now, I can't take as much as they can on because of their, you know, ability to provide. But at at my size, definitely quality of service and the pride in the work we're doing.
00:52:11
mfitz281
And, you know, the relationships I build with those people, I try to be as personal as I can with every single owner, um employee on the complex, you know, maybe even just the family member coming in and out.
00:52:19
The SnowJobs Podcast
Smart.
00:52:25
mfitz281
But
00:52:26
The SnowJobs Podcast
That's how you do it. That's how you get bigger.
00:52:27
RICK JAMES
Yeah,
00:52:28
The SnowJobs Podcast
Definitely. Jay, what do you think? You want to do commercials and hit five and five?
00:52:32
RICK JAMES
yeah let's do that.
00:52:33
The SnowJobs Podcast
All right, let's take a quick commercial break. We'll be back in a minute.
00:53:43
The SnowJobs Podcast
I just realized that Yeti commercial is still on there. Yeti, you owe us some money.
00:53:46
RICK JAMES
yep
00:53:47
The SnowJobs Podcast
when you When you come back in the winter, you owe us some money. We've apparently kept that. Has that been on the whole frigging time?
00:53:52
RICK JAMES
Yep. Yep.
00:53:53
The SnowJobs Podcast
Holy shit.
00:53:54
RICK JAMES
Yep.
00:53:54
The SnowJobs Podcast
You owe us a lot of money, Yeti.
00:53:58
RICK JAMES
sir
00:53:59
The SnowJobs Podcast
You're frigging welcome.
00:54:00
RICK JAMES
yeah
00:54:00
The SnowJobs Podcast
How did Steve mess that up? Not me, the other Steve. Crap. All right. Let's keep moving. Five and five. Go ahead, Jake.
00:54:09
RICK JAMES
Pro bono. All right, Mike, where would you like to see this company go in the next five years? what are you looking forward at?
00:54:17
mfitz281
So I'm still looking to, I would say, downsize on the amount of properties I'm servicing. However, um and of maybe you know as I downsize in a few larger facilities, um i i would rather have less but larger amount of businesses I'm providing to than continue to grow with a smaller smaller commercial I've been taking on.
00:54:43
mfitz281
um I don't think the size of my company overall is going to change much. I think if anything, it's just going to be continuing to upgrade, continuing to change the way yeah we are providing services to best fit our needs and ah larger, like I said, larger contracts for less less amount of customers.
00:55:05
RICK JAMES
Yep.
00:55:06
mfitz281
That would just work best for having the A job still.
00:55:07
The SnowJobs Podcast
Very cool.
00:55:10
The SnowJobs Podcast
Yeah, no, i'm absolutely.
00:55:10
RICK JAMES
Yeah, yeah, I don't know.
00:55:11
The SnowJobs Podcast
ah Listen, I agree with you. that's That's why we keep it so tight here. Same reasons. It makes sense. um What do you think the best decision you've made in the last five years to get you to where you are now is?
00:55:26
mfitz281
listening to my peers, um, being, being very open to any wisdom, knowledge, um, anything that anybody has to offer that's been in the game, you know, past, present, um, learning from those I've worked from in the past and taking a lot of, uh, advice from my father who's been doing the similar game for a lot longer than I have. Um,
00:55:53
mfitz281
And just, yeah, I mean, i that would probably sum it up the best.
00:55:58
RICK JAMES
Yeah.
00:55:58
The SnowJobs Podcast
Sounds good. Perfect.
00:56:00
RICK JAMES
You said your father helps you quite a bit, didn't you, in the past episode?
00:56:02
mfitz281
Yeah.
00:56:03
The SnowJobs Podcast
Super mechanic.
00:56:04
mfitz281
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
00:56:05
RICK JAMES
Yeah.
00:56:05
mfitz281
So he also just retired, Steve.
00:56:09
The SnowJobs Podcast
Yeah, you said
00:56:09
mfitz281
Him
Father's Contribution and Retirement
00:56:10
The SnowJobs Podcast
that.
00:56:10
The SnowJobs Podcast
That's good for him. Congratulations.
00:56:11
mfitz281
and and i he just retired from my job, 22 and a half years on the fire department, with 30 total to the city of Kingston.
00:56:17
The SnowJobs Podcast
Good for him.
00:56:19
mfitz281
So congrats to him. Shout out to him.
00:56:21
The SnowJobs Podcast
Yeah, it's awesome.
00:56:22
RICK JAMES
Nice.
00:56:22
The SnowJobs Podcast
Congratulations.
00:56:22
mfitz281
um
00:56:22
RICK JAMES
Congrats.
00:56:23
mfitz281
And then he continues. He also owns a business, Fitzgerald Fire Apparatus Repair. He's been doing that for a long time, as long as I can remember, since i would before I was even born.
00:56:36
mfitz281
um Came into doing that while being Army Engineer, also retired out of the Engineers.
00:56:40
The SnowJobs Podcast
Nice.
00:56:42
mfitz281
and He still works on fire trucks pretty much every single day, even though he's retired from the fire department. And he also works on everything that I have every time it breaks.
00:56:53
The SnowJobs Podcast
There you go.
00:56:53
mfitz281
On my schedule, obviously, not his, as fast as he can do it.
00:56:54
The SnowJobs Podcast
Thank God for that.
00:56:54
RICK JAMES
Perfect. Yeah.
00:56:57
The SnowJobs Podcast
Yeah. Thank God for that.
00:56:59
mfitz281
so ah But he's ran probably every piece of equipment I think there is to operate on this earth and every different brand and knows the ins and outs of everything.
00:56:59
RICK JAMES
Yeah, that's great.
00:57:08
mfitz281
So if it's broke, he's more than likely to be able to get fixed. So I rely heavily on him.
00:57:12
The SnowJobs Podcast
um that That's a critical person to have Absolutely you do
00:57:14
RICK JAMES
You need that guy. Yes.
00:57:16
mfitz281
Yeah. And then occasionally when, you know, we are getting that big storm, ah he gets put in the the mix there, or even though he doesn't want to. that That's when it's on his time.
00:57:25
The SnowJobs Podcast
Yeah
00:57:26
mfitz281
He shows up and, you know, hopefully it's at least within a half hour of when I asked him to be there.
00:57:28
The SnowJobs Podcast
ah
00:57:32
The SnowJobs Podcast
uh that's i'll tell you then that's a critical that's a critical guy to have when you have that guy that you're you know you have a go-to guy that just seems to have mechanical knowledge knows the ins and outs of everything can figure out how to get you back running again you can't put a price on that like that's so valuable especially if he's there during the storm i could get a machine back up and running guess that's critical
00:57:33
RICK JAMES
Nice.
00:57:55
mfitz281
Yeah, especially when the loader and the truck goes down in the first two hours of a very large storm.
00:57:55
RICK JAMES
Yeah.
00:58:01
The SnowJobs Podcast
yep yep that uh man it that's snow though shit that is snow no matter how much you prepare man fucking murphy always has a fucking say and he's a fucking jerk off man that guy always shows up oh christ what so what lessons have you learned in your early stages or as you started to you know you started to grow and expand a little bit that you want to pass on to to guys that may just be starting out
00:58:06
mfitz281
ah Yeah.
00:58:06
RICK JAMES
yep
00:58:08
mfitz281
Yeah.
00:58:13
mfitz281
yeah
00:58:15
mfitz281
That's for sure.
00:58:30
mfitz281
I would say don't over promise. Don't over promise. Don't over, you know, oversell yourself, but not be able to provide it when the the time is due. um More is not always the best.
00:58:42
mfitz281
So don't answer every call and accept every person that's looking to give you some business.
00:58:45
RICK JAMES
Yeah.
00:58:45
The SnowJobs Podcast
Amen. Amen.
00:58:47
mfitz281
um Don't settle into the same way you've been doing things, whether it's been a year or 30 years. I mean, it's a constantly evolving world we live in that goes for pretty much everything you do day to day. yeah.
00:59:01
mfitz281
every chance you get, be willing to learn, be willing to change it up to better yourself, better your your services. And if the if you are able to, always provide the best quality service you can for every customer, even the ones you really don't feel like dealing with.
00:59:18
The SnowJobs Podcast
eat those ones especially most times ah the ones you don't want to hear from oh man i that was perfect i love that uh jay you got anything else for him want to hear any funny stories
00:59:20
mfitz281
Yeah.
00:59:31
RICK JAMES
No, I don't think so. Sounds like a great operation going. ah yeah, yeah. let's Let's hear some. I'm sure Mike's got some good stories being a fireman and stuff.
00:59:40
The SnowJobs Podcast
if he uses fireman he's got funny stories i guarantee it
00:59:43
mfitz281
yeah Well, ah we'll start with one from back. yeah back i used to work for this company, a very large company in my area. and They do a lot of construction excavation jobs and really good close family friends.
00:59:57
mfitz281
So, you know, anytime that I wasn't working, I'd be in one of their machines or in one of their trucks.
01:00:01
The SnowJobs Podcast
Start with an M.
01:00:03
mfitz281
No, no, no, no.
01:00:04
The SnowJobs Podcast
No. Okay.
01:00:04
RICK JAMES
Oh.
01:00:05
mfitz281
Green trucks, big, big company local to me.
01:00:06
The SnowJobs Podcast
Okay. I got you. I got you
01:00:08
mfitz281
So ah they they were one of the largest snow ah snow guys in the game up here for a while. And for few years, we took care of the two major hospitals in the city of Kingston. And a several occasions, they had a deleted 6-0 power stroke that we would be teamed up in being another fire department guy. And You know, throughout the winter, a lot of, a lot of homes like to burn the winter. Cause everybody's always, you know, using multiple ways to heat their house. And I just remember you would know when we were coming because we'd leave the hospital if we could, and that truck would be screaming. I think we blew the muffler off at about three times on the way to the firehouse for a call.
01:00:43
mfitz281
Um, On several occasions, you know, we weren't at the hospital. It was always, you know, the same way we all are. Hey, i got a sure I'm short over here on a guy.
01:00:53
mfitz281
Could you come ah take care of this? like, yeah.
01:00:55
The SnowJobs Podcast
Sure.
01:00:56
mfitz281
So he goes, the one day i need you over at a couple of the box stores. You know, we're down a loader guy over there.
01:01:03
RICK JAMES
obstancy
01:01:04
mfitz281
You ever ran a loader? I'm like, I don't know, 15, 16. He's like, you you've been doing this with your father, you know, other guys, you know, you could run a load around. I'm no problem. Never ran a load in my
Humorous Loader Story
01:01:16
mfitz281
life.
01:01:16
mfitz281
um Let alone it was one of the first, you know, joystick control loaders at the time.
01:01:17
RICK JAMES
sir
01:01:22
mfitz281
So I get in this thing and it's a big loader.
01:01:22
The SnowJobs Podcast
Yeah.
01:01:25
mfitz281
I mean, probably one of the biggest I've ran.
01:01:26
RICK JAMES
and this thing starts slipping and it just starts fading.
01:01:28
mfitz281
And I'm going through this big box store pushing down the lanes and this thing starts slipping and it just starts spinning. And I'm going completely sideways in this ginormous loader.
01:01:39
mfitz281
I'm not even plowing. We are both sideways and I'm just sliding down this lot praying I'm going to stop before I end up in the store at the bottom. I spun it right around. kept driving and just parked for a half hour so I could go get a cup of coffee and change my pants after I got done.
01:01:55
RICK JAMES
yeah
01:01:57
mfitz281
So at the end, he's like, hey, the manager, you know, he reached out.
01:01:58
RICK JAMES
You're
01:02:02
mfitz281
He said the loader was going completely sideways at one point through the lot. didn't really look like you plowing anything. I said, not much got plowed throughout that experience, but I came back after and finished it out for you. Don't worry.
01:02:12
RICK JAMES
out of your learning.
01:02:12
The SnowJobs Podcast
man. oh then That's it.
01:02:15
mfitz281
Yeah, that's, I mean, after that, you know, I knew exactly how to run it, but that's every time he said, hey, you think you can run this?
01:02:15
RICK JAMES
Learn a lesson.
01:02:16
The SnowJobs Podcast
That's how you learn.
01:02:22
mfitz281
You ever ran? Yep. Last week, actually, I just ran it.
01:02:24
RICK JAMES
Yep.
01:02:26
mfitz281
So, ah and then I'll end, ah I got one one last good one. Hopefully he doesn't listen to this. So my father, he his truck that he mainly uses to plow, the one storm,
01:02:39
mfitz281
ah we were doing a couple of different things. We'd swap trucks and everything. This is, I'd say two years ago. So I'm out, you know, one of them nights, of course, I'm the last one out going through every single site.
01:02:49
mfitz281
It's all a couple areas that I feel like needed, you know, going over the sites that the guys did.
01:02:50
The SnowJobs Podcast
Oh, Jesus.
01:02:54
mfitz281
It's gotta to be 3 AM. I'm shot. It's been a long day. I'm in his truck. I got the music blaring in the middle of this commercial parking lot. And I get the idea. I'm going to start doing donuts and trying to video it.
01:03:05
mfitz281
Well,
01:03:07
The SnowJobs Podcast
um jesus
01:03:07
mfitz281
As I'm leaving the lot and i'm doing I'm doing donuts in his truck and I'm videoing at the same time. We're all, you know, couple of us joking around each other. The steering gets real stiff as I start to come out of the turn. I'm driving back and I pull up to his house and i'm like, I don't know what happened, but the power steering shot in this truck.
01:03:28
mfitz281
And he's like he's like, what do you mean? It was fine when you left. I said, you know, I don't know. I was plowing a lot. I hit something. Power steering is completely gone in this truck. Just let me know whatever it needs. We'll get it fixed. We'll get fixed before the next storm.
01:03:41
mfitz281
So ah unfortunately, when he hears this, he is going to hear it's from the donuts that I happen to be doing at that time, having the time of my life at 3 a.m.
01:03:41
The SnowJobs Podcast
Oh, man.
01:03:48
RICK JAMES
yeah a so That was great.
01:03:48
mfitz281
But...
01:03:51
mfitz281
Dad, if you're listening to this, just know that it was in good...
01:03:51
The SnowJobs Podcast
Oh, man.
01:03:54
mfitz281
We had a lot of laughs out of it. Whether you were part of it or not, I laughed. its
01:04:00
The SnowJobs Podcast
I'm sure it didn't take him too long to fix it.
01:04:03
mfitz281
No, was fixing next day.
01:04:03
The SnowJobs Podcast
Oh, man. That's great.
01:04:05
mfitz281
Yeah, you know, it's always something.
01:04:06
RICK JAMES
That was good stuff.
01:04:07
mfitz281
I'm sure there's plenty more, but that's, you know.
01:04:11
The SnowJobs Podcast
That's plenty, man. What do you, i got one more for you before we let you go. What do you, you know, from your point of view, what are the biggest issues
Ongoing Industry Challenges
01:04:19
The SnowJobs Podcast
in the snow management industry for you?
01:04:23
mfitz281
Oh, boy. i mean, insurance is always a big one. You know, it's never going down.
01:04:27
The SnowJobs Podcast
Mm-hmm.
01:04:28
mfitz281
so It's always going up. um And I would say just price of equipment seems like, you know, there are a few people out there obviously trying to get some cheaper equipment in the game that's able to provide just as good a service. But, ah you know, it's the price point just to get into it unless you're staying at your...
01:04:46
mfitz281
your single truck with a one shoveler, it's very, very expensive. It is not cheap to be in the snow game. and That goes for everything.
01:04:53
The SnowJobs Podcast
no it is not it is not and there's still guys out there fucking taking contracts for like zero dollars just i don't understand it oh well i mean that's honestly probably how they're able to do it you take away my insurance i don't have to be half as expensive as i am and we're in new york
01:04:54
mfitz281
Like I said, especially the insurance.
01:05:03
mfitz281
Yeah, no insurance, you know, one truck.
01:05:09
mfitz281
Yeah.
01:05:15
mfitz281
Yeah. If you got an enough guys shoveling salt out of the back bed of the truck, I think you're right too.
01:05:20
The SnowJobs Podcast
There you go.
01:05:20
mfitz281
If you just got to keep banning shovelers.
01:05:21
The SnowJobs Podcast
That's all you need. Yeah. Yeah. You just have the, have the wolf pack in the back. I think Sean, think Sean DiVincenzo has a truck like that. have six guys shoveling salt out.
01:05:31
RICK JAMES
yes Yeah.
01:05:34
The SnowJobs Podcast
Oh shit. All right, Mike, you got anything for us before we let you go, bud?
01:05:38
mfitz281
um No, thank you very much. Obviously, I'd like to reach out or shout out all my guys, you know, Jeff, Pat, Uncle Joey, my father, Max, all all the guys that are unnamed. You guys are really what keeps me going throughout the season. Without them, I'd be literally doing absolutely none of this because they they're what keeps me going.
01:05:59
mfitz281
Even when I'm watching them barely surviving throughout the night and they're keeping me surviving, you know I can't thank them enough, especially my father, for keeping everything going.
01:05:59
The SnowJobs Podcast
Amen.
01:06:08
mfitz281
um um Everybody in between. Everything that helps me. you know Learning from you guys, it all it all wakes at work in the end.
01:06:17
The SnowJobs Podcast
Sounds good, brother.
01:06:18
RICK JAMES
Yeah.
01:06:19
The SnowJobs Podcast
Very cool. All right, man.
01:06:20
RICK JAMES
Sounds good.
01:06:20
The SnowJobs Podcast
Well, thanks for the time. We appreciate it.
01:06:23
mfitz281
Thank you.
01:06:23
RICK JAMES
Yeah. Thank you, Mike.
01:06:23
mfitz281
i appreciate
01:06:24
The SnowJobs Podcast
All right. Well, that's going to do it. We'll wrap it. Jay, you got anything else?
01:06:28
RICK JAMES
That should do it. and Appreciate Mike coming on.
01:06:29
The SnowJobs Podcast
All right, we got to get on a plane. Yep, we got to go. we got to get on a plane here. So that's going to do it for episode 176 of the Snow Jaws podcast main show. As we said, thanks again from to Mike for the time.
01:06:42
The SnowJobs Podcast
We wish first due all the best in the future. Everybody, if you're traveling this week to Syma, be safe out there. And if you're at Syma, celebrate responsibly and don't be afraid to come and say hi everybody else have a great week we'll see you next week keep pushing