zero tolerance clients

Does this sound familiar? Doug Delano, owner of Level Green Landscaping in Maryland, outlines his firm’s snowfall tracking procedures and practices with snow manager Greg Stacho. When the weather forecast calls for snow — even less than two inches — we snap into action the day before. Planning is everything. While some of our customers sign contracts stating they don’t need our services unless it shows at least two inches, others have more pressing needs. “Many of our clients have what we call ‘minimal tolerance,’” Stacho says. “As long as flakes are falling from the sky, they want us there, even if it amounts to just half an inch.” Please Stand By If the forecast calls for an inch and a half of snow starting at 3 a.m., we want our snow removal crews to be rested, not waiting up all night for the phone to ring. So crew members are told to get some rest, and are given a start time to report in the morning. “We need crews to come in,” Stacho says. “We can’t wait until we know if there’ll be two inches.” We contact our minimal tolerance customers the night before, too, to inform them of our plan for their property. “We don’t want to bother them at 2 a.m.” Stacho says. “All that is done by 9 p.m. the night before.” High Tech Weather Tracking On alert from the day before that snow is coming, Stacho checks the weather forecast at about 1:00 a.m. Years ...