Storm day

What a storm does to a snow business

The snow is the easy part. The calls, the claims and the counting are what eat your night.

AI-generated scene

An older woman on the phone at her front window, snow covering her driveway

Am I on your list?

Problem one

The phone doesn't stop

A storm turns every client into a caller at the same moment. They want to know if they're on the list, when you're coming, whether you can do the neighbour's too. Meanwhile you're in the truck, both hands busy.

Every call answered, several at once
Clients hear their route and window in plain words
Only the calls that need you ring your cell

A cleared and salted entrance ramp at a small medical building

Problem two

Slip-and-fall claims show up months later

A fall on a walkway you cleared can turn into a claim long after the snow has melted. What helps is a dated record of when you were there and what you told your client.

Ontario rule of thumb. For an injury caused by snow or ice, the Occupiers' Liability Act requires written notice within 60 days, served on the property's occupier or the contractor hired to clear it. The general deadline to sue is two years. Not legal advice; ask your insurer and your lawyer.

Every call and text time-stamped and kept
A fall reported on the line is written down and sent to you as urgent
The line never admits fault or talks insurance

A skid steer clearing snow beside parked cars in a strip-mall lot

Problem three

Per-push billing means counting every visit

Seasonal, per push, per event, hourly. If you bill by the push, every visit to every property has to be counted, and at month end that usually means memory and scraps of paper.

"Done" texts sent route by route, each one saved with its time
A list per storm of who heard from you and when
Photo proof per visit is coming next, if customers want it

Who is calling

Every client has a reason to call

Shift workers, parents, seniors, store owners, property managers. On a storm morning they all call at once.

A mother buckling her son into a car on a freshly cleared driveway — Families leaving for school and work

A crew member shovelling the front steps of a townhouse at dawn — Steps and walkways by hand

A small sidewalk machine clearing a residential sidewalk — Sidewalk routes

A freshly cleared driveway and walkway on a sunny morning — Done before they wake up

A plow blade pushing a wave of snow along a road at night — Push after push

Two crew members loading bags of salt into a pickup at night — Salt loaded for the second pass

An example night

A storm night, with the storm line

What the night looks like when your phone answers itself. The times are an example, not a promise about the weather.

Two crew members in hi-vis jackets in a plow yard at night, one pointing at her phone

9 PM
The forecast firms up
You set tomorrow's storm plan from your phone and send every client the "snow is coming" text.
3 AM
Crews head out
The early callers start: shift workers, nurses, anyone leaving by six. Each one hears their route and window.
6 AM
The busiest hour
Several calls at once, a new commercial request, a client who can't get out for dialysis. That one rings your cell.
8 AM
Texts go out
"On our way" to Route B in one send. "Done" to Route A.
Noon
The snow stops
You add the second-pass window to the plan. Everyone who calls hears it.
Evening
The summary
Every call summarized, every new request in one list, every text logged. Read it at the table, not at the wheel.

Commercial lots too

Property managers call as often as homeowners

Plazas, condos, medical buildings and offices all want to know when their lot will be open. The storm line gives them the window for their site and passes anything urgent straight to you.

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