Snow Clearing Service that does not show up when you most needed them
6 months ago, I wrote a review about Metro Snow and contemplated changing service and I regretted not doing so. I had been with Appleseed since 2009 and continued to use them when they changed their name to Metro Snow in 2015. Their service has deteriorated since they changed to Metro Snow. It is the same owner but the service is just never the same.
During the big storm on January 23, 2019 on a weekday, they did not clear the driveway till 10.45pm that day, 10 hours after the snow had stopped. I had to shovel the driveway so that I could park my car in the garage. I waited patiently till 9pm before I sent an email about the issue.
Then yesterday (February 12, 2019), there was 35cm snow storm that started in the evening and ended this morning around 12 noon. Metro did not come to clear the driveway even once. As I type this review (11.30pm), my driveway is still not cleared and the snow bank at the end of the driveway was more than 2 feet high, and packed. In anticipation that my driveway may not be cleared tomorrow morning, I plan to wake up earlier than usual to take the bus.
Sigh... what happened to the great service Appleseed provided? It is just a name change and the owner is still Ken Dale. I don't understand why he was able to do such a great job then and not now, just in a period of 2 years.
- Approximate cost of services:
- $375.00
- Company Response
To the reader:
While we take every negative review here on HomeStars very seriously, I think it imperative that these complaints be put in a proper perspective here.
With over 6000 customers Metro is without a doubt the largest and most established residential snow clearing service in Ottawa.
If we’ve had say 50 bad review this winter there are still 5,950 happy well served, satisfied customers very pleased with our service delivery this winter. Sadly, ‘happy clients’ see no need to provide a positive review.
Basically 1% create 99% of the negative, sometimes hostile reviews.
I am in no way diminishing or minimizing these complaints and we address them and try to learn from each and every one of them.
We’ve experienced massive back to back continuous storms,broken several snowfall records yet have continually ‘been there’ every storm with effective service each time.
Yes, ‘some clients’ will inevitably get missed the odd storm for whatever reason And every company has misses, breakdowns, tardiness on a few routes during the odd storm.
By virtue of the fact we are the largest company it stands to reason we would have relatively more complaints from such a large clientele.
Compared to other companies however our complaint ratio is lower then most.
We are a highly organized, highly responsible and caring organization with great dedicated staff.
Each year we sign up hundreds of ‘new, inexperienced’ customers who just don’t know how a ‘private service’ operates. Unrealistic expectations and timelines create unhappy clients.
When assessing our efforts, please remember the 99% of our clients that have never complained or written negative reviews over the 25 years we;ce been serving them.
Thanks for reading this general reply but I thought it proper to provide the ‘other side of the coin’ here.
Ken Dale
President
Metro Snow and Ice