This is the question we field more than any other in September: should I pay per push, or sign a seasonal contract?
The short answer for West Metro is simple. We do not offer per push snow removal. Every driveway we clear is on a seasonal contract. Here is how the two models differ in general, and why we chose to run only one of them.
Per push, in plain terms
With a per push plan, you pay for each visit. It snows enough to trigger service, a crew clears the driveway, and that event gets billed. A quiet winter costs very little. A heavy one costs a lot.
Nothing is committed up front, which is the appeal. The catch is that per push customers are almost always served after contract customers, because routes are built around the people who signed for the season. On a normal four inch event that might mean a wait of an hour or two. On the storm that shuts down the west metro, it can mean much longer.
Seasonal, in plain terms
With a seasonal contract, you pay one price for the winter and the driveway is cleared every time the trigger is met, however many times that turns out to be. At West Metro, service starts at two inches of new accumulation in a single snowfall event, and the contract runs November 1 through April 30.
Your price is quoted for your property and is stated on your service agreement. There is no per visit charge inside the contract and no cap on the number of visits. Your cost is set before the season starts, no matter what February does.
Our post on what a seasonal contract actually guarantees walks through the commitments line by line if you want the detail.
Why we only offer seasonal
Running both would mean running two kinds of customer: the ones we have committed a place on the route to, and the ones we fit in when we can. We would rather not have a second tier.
Every property we service is on a route that is built in the fall. We monitor conditions around the clock and dispatch once properties hit the trigger. Because every driveway on the route is a contract driveway, nobody gets bumped to the end of the day because a bigger customer signed up for more.
It also keeps the math honest. With per push, you are betting on the winter. With a seasonal contract, we carry that risk instead of you.
The part people get wrong about per push
Most people run the same flawed mental math: take our average seasonal snowfall, guess a storm count, and multiply by the per-push rate to compare against a seasonal quote.
Total snowfall is the wrong variable. Your bill depends strictly on how many separate events cross your trigger threshold. In Minnesota, we average about 50 inches of snow, but typically only see one 6-inch snowfall all winter. The rest comes as a steady drumbeat of 15 to 20 smaller clippers, long-duration snows requiring multiple pushes.
A winter that drops 50 inches across eight big blizzards is a cheap per-push year. But our actual reality—a high frequency of small events—means per-push accounts almost always end up costing more by spring, just with less upfront commitment. Nobody knows in October how many times the plow will need to run. A seasonal contract takes that gamble off your plate.
Who seasonal is built for
Seasonal makes the most sense when being stuck is not an option. That covers most commuters leaving Corcoran, Dayton or Rogers before six, anyone with a medical appointment schedule they cannot move, anyone managing a rental or a second property from a distance, and anyone with a long, steep or shaded driveway where a two inch event is a real job rather than ten minutes with a shovel.
Households that had one bad morning last winter usually say the same thing when they sign: the fixed cost was never really the point. Knowing the driveway will be open was.
What every contract gets
Every driveway is cleared with the same equipment and the same standard. We run tractors with blowers rather than plow trucks on residential drives, which matters more than it sounds like it should. A blower throws snow clear instead of piling it, so you do not end up with banks squeezing the driveway narrower every storm, and there is far less chance of clipped edging, sod or asphalt.
The property still has to be ready. Markers in before the ground freezes, cars parked to one side, overhanging branches cleared. Our driveway prep guide covers what we ask for.
Lock it in before the routes close
Routes are built in the fall and they fill. The crews running snow are the same people finishing fall cleanups, and once the first plowable storm lands the calendar stops being flexible.
September and October are when this decision is easy to make. By November, routes that were set weeks earlier are already running.
You can see coverage and how we scope residential work on our Maple Grove snow removal page, or start from the main snow and ice page if you are in one of the other towns we serve.
Frequently asked questions
Does West Metro offer per push snow removal?
No. We only offer seasonal contracts. Every driveway we clear is on a route built in the fall, and every customer on that route gets the same priority.
Is per push or seasonal cheaper?
It depends on the winter. Per push can come out cheaper in a light season with few separate storms, and more expensive in a heavy one. A seasonal contract is the same price either way, so it removes the guesswork. The variable that decides it is not total snowfall but the number of separate events that cross the two inch trigger, and that number swings widely from winter to winter in the west metro.
How is the seasonal price set?
It is quoted for your property and stated on your service agreement. There is no per visit charge within the contract and no cap on the number of visits from November 1 through April 30.
What does the two inch trigger mean?
Service starts when a single snowfall event drops two inches of new accumulation. It is two inches from that storm, not two inches of whatever happens to be sitting on the driveway from last week. We monitor conditions around the clock and dispatch before sunrise once properties reach the trigger.
Which towns do you plow?
We service portions of Maple Grove, Plymouth, Corcoran, Rogers, Medina, and Hamel. We are based in Maple Grove, so the northwest metro is our home territory.
Why use tractors with blowers instead of plow trucks?
A blower throws snow clear of the driveway rather than pushing it into piles along the edges. That keeps the usable width of the driveway from shrinking as the season goes on, keeps sight lines open at the street, and dramatically reduces the risk of damage to edging, sod and asphalt that comes with a steel blade.
When should I sign for the winter?
September or October. Routes are built before the season and they fill in order, so signing early is how you get a place on one.