I've been plowing for about 15 years. Out of all the clowns that post videos about "how to plow a driveway," you are the only one I would hire because you're the only one who actually knows how to plow efficiently.
Hey Fitz, I think I would take 5" and shovel the snow by the garage doors & the sidewalks. That would really impress your customers. I know you have to back drag some, but I would back drag to a point where I could turn around & plow foward, again might take 5 extra minutes, but a much better job! I think your customers would appreciate the extra effort & would probably stick with you for a long time. IMHO I plowed snow for 20 years in North Central Ohio. No disrepect intended!!
None taken. The service you're talking about is certainly something I would offer many years ago. But at my age, getting out of the truck on every driveway to shovel would just drive me to stop plowing. My customers are happy with the service I provide. They can get what you're talking about from several other companies. But most decide to stay with me because of reliability. Plus, if I were to offer that extra service, I'd have to charge way more money. You mentioned "might take an extra 5 min." It only takes me 2 to 3 minutes to plow a driveway. An extra 5, I'd have to double or triple what I charge.
I push on angles up the driveway, side to side till I get close to the garage. Then, I take small bites backdragging until it gets cleared out. It's a huge pain and very time-consuming. But if it's a blizzard, my customers understand they'll just have to be patient until we can get to them
