Kodiak Snow blowing Inc

Thank you for your review Mr. Mansfield. Since you signed up for service with us in 2009, we recorded only one (1) complaint from you on Dec. 15/2013 @ 3:43 PM, noting that the competitor had arrived at your neighbor’s house before we arrived at yours. Our 'price adjustment' phone call was made to you on Jan. 16/2014. (We maintain call logs for all phone calls made and received at Kodiak.)

Regarding pricing, as a long-term client you are aware that we offer two prices to clients with single driveways. The first price is for an individual (‘regular’) single driveway and represents our base service price. The second is for a ‘shared’ single driveway and represents a significant discount over the regular single driveway price.

Our base price is clearly featured on our postcard flyer which gets distributed to homeowners every Autumn by Canada Post and is also visible on the Home Page of our website. Similarly, our Terms & Conditions are posted in electronic format on our website and are copied on the reverse side of your contract, which gets emailed to you EVERY August. They clearly state that, “Shared driveway prices apply only if the homeowners for both attached driveways subscribe for service during the same season. If one of the two attached driveway clients does not subscribe for service, regular single, double or triple driveway pricing will apply to the attached client left subscribing for service on his/her own.”

When you signed up for service with Kodiak in 2009 these Terms and prices were explained to you and have not changed since. There is nothing arbitrary about our pricing and our phone call to you on 01/16/2014 was not a retaliatory act as you imply. The phone call made to you was made to ten other clients who all agreed to pay the prescribed price for their driveways.

As a Kodiak client you have access to GPS tracking technology for your tractor online through our website or on your phone via our mobile app, plus you are guaranteed 24-hour Live Answer on snow days, after-hours support, updates on City of Ottawa parking ban information, and annual discount offerings. I would hardly call this ‘awful’ service. It is a shame that you do.

Thankyou for your feedback, Mr. Layer. There are 3 factors that may affect your service at any one point in time; none of which are 'equipment' related: 1. Learning curve for new drivers 2. Large snowfalls 3. Route organization. Last year we had an experienced driver on your route, which allowed us to deliver service more promptly. During large storms, such as what we had on Dec. 22 (20 cms), experienced drivers move more slowly, let alone new drivers. Above and beyond experience and snow accumulation though, route organization plays a significant role in when your service is delivered. Last year, your street sat at the middle of our route. This year it sits at the end. We re-organize our routes every year to make sure that one area is not consistently receiving preferential treatment. Possibly, your street sits at the beginning of our competitor's route this year though, and that is why you see the competitor's clients being serviced first. One theme that prevails in many of the complaint calls we receive (as much as in the calls that our competitors receive) is 'Well, your competitor was here first!'. My question to you and to anyone else reading this response is: 1. You pay for a service. Have you ever not received it from Kodiak? 2. Why does it matter who receives service first; you or the Joneses? I can assure you that although we are behind the competitors on your street, we are ahead of them on the streets which sit at the beginning of our route, because the route is inverted for our competitor. As such, I am sure that their clients are calling them and saying, 'Well, Kodiak was here first.' This type of phone call is difficult for any company to deal with. Do we have to give your street preferential treatment every year in order for you to be happy with our service? You have been a client since 2010 and I would not like to lose you, but the reality is, if you wish to lop our heads off for this type of complaint I will have to let you go ahead. Rest assured, I will pick a client up from the competitor next year who is positioned at the beginning of our route, so it all balances out. Thus it follows from year to year that clients ping-pong back and forth between companies hoping to show their neighbours up with the 'speed' of service they receive from their contractor. Or, perhaps 'speed' isn't the issue, but some other factor is, depending upon the client's state of mind on a particular day. Some people wake up looking for a reason to beat us up; others appreciate the service we provide year after year, as we see below. So far we have provided all of our clients with 18 service visits - not bad for only Dec. 23rd! Thanks to all those who appreciate Kodiak's service! Happy Holidays -Ann Benson (co-owner, Kodiak Snowblowing, Inc.)