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To avoid getting snowed on a plowing contract, make sure you do your own digging.
That is the message offered by the Better Business Bureau, a consumer support organization that takes complaints related to business services.
Ottawa BBB president Diane Iadeluca says the snow removal companies that typically get bad ratings are the ones that overbook and lack the resources to honour their contracts.
“Often it happens that these startup companies — or people that do landscaping in the summer for example — decide that ‘I’m going to do snowplowing this year,’ and often they are not equipped … to service their customers.”
One contractor, Ace of Blades, has received 15 complaints since January from customers who claim it was late or didn’t show up after snowfalls. Some customers appeared to have paid the full amount for the season in advance, a practice the BBB discourages.
Anne Lowrey, who lives on Western Avenue, near Island Park, is among the disgruntled customers.
“(After) the big snowfall of Dec. 10 when we had 22 centimetres I didn’t see anything of them,” said Lowrey, who says neighbours had the same issue. “And then I went away for three days and I came back and it still wasn’t done.”
Lowrey says she contacted the Citizen’s Public Citizen column and a plow came by the next evening.
Then Jan. 3 brought 18 centimetres of snow encrusted by a thick layer of ice from freezing rain. Lowrey, 49, who recently had her hip replaced, said she was unable to contact the owner, Grant Van Den Heuvel.
In an interview, Van Den Heuvel acknowledged that customers were missed in the Westboro and Prince of Wales Drive areas. However, he said his eight plows couldn’t reach certain properties because Enbridge gas and city emergency vehicles were moving around the neighbourhood blocking streets between 2 and 8 a.m. on Jan. 4.
“They (the drivers) literally have to do their route four times until it’s completely done because Enbridge has been screwing it all up,” said Van Den Heuvel.
Asked about a possible gas leak and road closures in the Westboro area, the City of Ottawa said in a statement that “traffic services were not notified of a need to close any road for that reason last weekend.”
Van Den Heuvel also said drivers needed to get acquainted with new routes during the first major snowfall. That’s what happened in Lowrey’s case.
“Anne Lowrey was our fault, I talked to the driver and he said ‘Yeah I did Western Court and not Western Avenue.’ I think he did Northwestern (Avenue) instead of Western.”
He denied that Lowrey’s neighbours were missed, adding later: “Out of 1,000 people you are going to have 25 people that either get late service or missed.”
Van Den Heuvel said anyone who emails him at acesnowservices@gmail.com will get a response within a few hours. He said he will supply refunds “if it’s a legitimate thing that is our fault.”
One customer who may ask for his $378 back is Bob Erlandson, 71, who said he and he wife were forced to park on the road when their Ace of Blades driver didn’t appear.
“This past Sunday morning he didn’t show up to plow and the rest of the street with his competitor had been plowed and at 11 a.m.,” he told the Citizen.
The BBB has assigned the company an F rating. Iadeluca says typically the bureau’s resolution rate is 70 per cent. In Ace of Blade’s case, it’s 16 per cent.
“If they (consumers) complain to us we certainly push the company to solve the issue,” says Iadeluca. “But we’re not having too much luck because I think they’re a bit overwhelmed and they just can’t deliver.”
Van Den Heuvel said he resolved earlier complaints with customers directly.
Diane Iadeluca’s tips for plow customers:
查看原文...
That is the message offered by the Better Business Bureau, a consumer support organization that takes complaints related to business services.
Ottawa BBB president Diane Iadeluca says the snow removal companies that typically get bad ratings are the ones that overbook and lack the resources to honour their contracts.
“Often it happens that these startup companies — or people that do landscaping in the summer for example — decide that ‘I’m going to do snowplowing this year,’ and often they are not equipped … to service their customers.”
One contractor, Ace of Blades, has received 15 complaints since January from customers who claim it was late or didn’t show up after snowfalls. Some customers appeared to have paid the full amount for the season in advance, a practice the BBB discourages.
Anne Lowrey, who lives on Western Avenue, near Island Park, is among the disgruntled customers.
“(After) the big snowfall of Dec. 10 when we had 22 centimetres I didn’t see anything of them,” said Lowrey, who says neighbours had the same issue. “And then I went away for three days and I came back and it still wasn’t done.”
Lowrey says she contacted the Citizen’s Public Citizen column and a plow came by the next evening.
Then Jan. 3 brought 18 centimetres of snow encrusted by a thick layer of ice from freezing rain. Lowrey, 49, who recently had her hip replaced, said she was unable to contact the owner, Grant Van Den Heuvel.
In an interview, Van Den Heuvel acknowledged that customers were missed in the Westboro and Prince of Wales Drive areas. However, he said his eight plows couldn’t reach certain properties because Enbridge gas and city emergency vehicles were moving around the neighbourhood blocking streets between 2 and 8 a.m. on Jan. 4.
“They (the drivers) literally have to do their route four times until it’s completely done because Enbridge has been screwing it all up,” said Van Den Heuvel.
Asked about a possible gas leak and road closures in the Westboro area, the City of Ottawa said in a statement that “traffic services were not notified of a need to close any road for that reason last weekend.”
Van Den Heuvel also said drivers needed to get acquainted with new routes during the first major snowfall. That’s what happened in Lowrey’s case.
“Anne Lowrey was our fault, I talked to the driver and he said ‘Yeah I did Western Court and not Western Avenue.’ I think he did Northwestern (Avenue) instead of Western.”
He denied that Lowrey’s neighbours were missed, adding later: “Out of 1,000 people you are going to have 25 people that either get late service or missed.”
Van Den Heuvel said anyone who emails him at acesnowservices@gmail.com will get a response within a few hours. He said he will supply refunds “if it’s a legitimate thing that is our fault.”
One customer who may ask for his $378 back is Bob Erlandson, 71, who said he and he wife were forced to park on the road when their Ace of Blades driver didn’t appear.
“This past Sunday morning he didn’t show up to plow and the rest of the street with his competitor had been plowed and at 11 a.m.,” he told the Citizen.
The BBB has assigned the company an F rating. Iadeluca says typically the bureau’s resolution rate is 70 per cent. In Ace of Blade’s case, it’s 16 per cent.
“If they (consumers) complain to us we certainly push the company to solve the issue,” says Iadeluca. “But we’re not having too much luck because I think they’re a bit overwhelmed and they just can’t deliver.”
Van Den Heuvel said he resolved earlier complaints with customers directly.
Diane Iadeluca’s tips for plow customers:
- Check the company’s rating and reviews at the Better Business Bureau at www.bbb.org/ottawa
- Talk to neighbours about their experience with a snow removal company
- Don’t feel pressured into signing a contract; get a few quotes. Iadeluca says typical rates range between $300 and $400. A much lower price is usually too good to be true.
- Make sure the contract states how often the plow will come and how many centimetres of snow has to fall before the company provides its service; and whether it will clean up city-plowed snowbanks or shovel walkways.
- Iadeluca strongly suggests not paying the full amount up front. Pay half first, and the other half on an agreed date once the operator proves services will be rendered.
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