Tuesday, January 05, 2010

Avalanche snow removal

I guess I was lucky. I knew when I signed the contract for $60 less then the contractor I was using last year that I might be setting myself up for trouble. If it's too good to be true then there's probably a catch.

I was not particularly impressed with the fact that they came after I finished clearing driveway enough to get car in, the first snow storm of the season around 8:45 PM.

However oddly enough and it may just be sheer coincidence, both times I expected them to have come and they hadn't when I got home, I called, and of course got hung up on by their full mailbox but each time 15 minutes later, the truck would show up to clear my driveway.

I can't say they are as early to show up as Rick does in my neighborhood, but I watched this week-end as Avalanche came as many times to clear my driveway, as Rick's cleared my neighbors.

The main positive thing I can say about Avalanche is that the driver seems to grasp the fact that although I'm in a semi-circle and my single driveway is adjacent my neighbors double driveway, he seems to be able to clear it in a straight line and properly

The contractor I used the past 3 years Rick's, seemed to think because my neighbor and I have adjoining driveways at least on the first car length, that it was ok, just to clear the neighbors and curve at the end of my driveway, so that basically by the time February came along if I didn't clear the snow myself I couldn't get into my driveway unless I went through the neighbors. When I complained about it and I did so twice, I got told that the driver can't tell where the driveway is with all the snow.

Well
1) IT's up to THEM to put their pickets in a fashion as to where they can tell where the driveway is.
2) After being told he coulnd't tell where my driveway was, I put my own picket that is 2 M high and has a reflective top, so that there is no way it can be missed

Well the driver kept missing it What's the point of paying for snow removal if you have to end up shoveling it yourself?

So far I'm reasonably happy with Avalanche. I mean I remember the first year or 2nd year I was with Rick, his service that year was piss poor too Other then the curved driveway I remember getting stuck in my driveway twice because it hadn't been cleared and there was enough snow in it to accumulate under the car and make it so it can't move cause the wheels no longer touch the ground.

THe only thing I'm not too thrilled about, is that it seems Avalanche and SylJack are owned by the same people. Their offices are next door to one another, their trucks are same with same writing. And for the life of me I can never say Syl-Jack, I always say SlyJack. THe dyslexic in me just reads it like that.