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materials.” Most well-established and as well as through word of mouth, and On the other hand, it is very
reputable companies should have the they are the biggest culprits of snow difficult for a well-established, well-
resources and budget to purchase the removal scams. known, and highly familiar business
materials they need to serve their These contractors are usually the to hide after scamming a customer.
customers. Up-front payments provide most competitively priced as their Plus, they have much more at stake,
unnecessary leverage to the contractor, operating costs are often minimal. which is why it is very rare for well-
and this is how most scams occur. However, as they are merely solo oper- established companies to be behind
4) Steer clear of the “one man and ators, it is very easy for them to operate these scams.
a truck” operations incognito. This gives them the upper 5) Ask the contractor how many
These types of operations are often hand in their ability to scam and/or not properties are assigned to each
found on platforms such as Kijiji, live up to their commitments and with vehicle in their fleet
Craigslist, and Facebook Marketplace, little or no accountability. If responsiveness is important to you,
then this is certainly something you do
not want to pass up on asking.
There are many well-intended snow
removal contractors out there who
make the mistake of taking on way
too many properties. This practice
prevents them from getting to your
site within a reasonable timeframe
following a snowstorm and leav-
ing you feeling as if you have been
scammed.
The more properties a contractor
stacks onto their rosters, the slower
of a response time you can anticipate
(unless, of course, you miraculously
happen to be right at the top of that
roster!) Additionally, this will also
impact the amount of time it will take
to circle back around to you should
each site require multiple visitations
within the same snowfall.
In conclusion, selecting a highly
reliable, reputable and ethical snow
removal company this winter may not
be easy, nor will it be cheap. However,
your true savings should be measured
based on the liability risks you are
avoiding because you hired a provider
that prioritizes the safety and accessibil-
ity of your condo. n

Lisa Ricci has worked in the lawn
care and snow removal industry for
over 15 years. During this period, Lisa
worked for various solo operators as
well as the more established provid-
ers. This provided Lisa the opportunity
to witness, first-hand, the industry’s
biggest strengths and challenges. Lisa
co-founded Markland Wood Group, a
lawn care and snow removal company
in Toronto, in 2015. In doing so, Lisa’s
primary objective is to change the tra-
jectory of the industry’s tainted repu-
tation to that of professionalism, trust
and honesty.
MarklandWoodGroup.ca

56 I CM Magazine FALL 2024