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FAQ's & Policies
Policies related to our machine with operator service
Please take a moment to look over a summary of our primary policies. As you read through them you'll see that they make good sense, and are meant to ensure things work smoothly when we work together. By your reading them over and familiarizing yourself with them you will thereby ensure that you'll be happy with our service and the results and we'll have a long working relationship together.
HOURLY SERVICE Remember that we are an HOURLY SERVICE and that we work for you, by the hour. You need to plan the project, oversee and take responsibility for the work to be done, including ordering the right machinery in the first place.
INDEPENDENLTY OWNED Each branch and operator is an INDEPENDENTLY OWNED and operated franchise or affiliate. While these are licensed to operate under the Bobcat On Demand banner each has it own individual owners and are fully incorporated. As such each are solely and fully liable and responsible for all activities related to the providing of service to you – the franchisor is not.
C.O.D. All services provided are paid for to the operator C.O.D. on site before the equipment leaves. Most locations accept cash, cheque, Visa, MasterCard, and American Express.
START TIME While we will strive to arrive to your jobsite at the time you requested, we must caution you that we cannot guarantee that, particularly on days where we have to float the machinery in, there are many factors out of our control, from mechanical issues back at the yard to traffic problems, safety spot checks on the highway, etc.. Unless otherwise stated, you can assume we will be on site for 8-8:30 AM (or whatever time we can be given the distance, since we try to leave our yard at about 7 AM). For afternoon bookings, expect to stay in touch with your operator as to updated start time; it is impossible to say for any certainty in advance what time he can make it as it entirely depends on how long him morning booking turns out taking (remember that in most cases, just like your jobsite, he hasn't been to the morning site before and so has no real idea going in how long it will take, other than the customer's estimate; and they are frequently inaccurate).
RAIN CANCELLATION We'll attempt to work through any kind of weather: RAIN OR SHINE, snow, storms, etc. - and we won't cancel on you. That's not to say that it might be best to not work in certain weather, mainly due to poor traction for the machine, but this is not a decision we will make for you - remember that we work for you and this decision ultimately rests with you. Here's how our policy works - if we don't hear from you by 7 AM, we'll leave our yard and begin making our way to you, so once it is 7 AM and we've left, you're obligated to us for the morning at least (and whatever float and minimum charges there are) regardless of how successful or not it proves to be. So, IF IT IS RAINING CURRENTLY at your jobsite at 7 or just before and you want to call us off, you can do so at no cost to you - provided it is before 7. (The reason the onus is on you to call is because since we service such a large area, quite often where our yard is it can be good weather, and where you are, raining; not to mention at 6 or 7 in the morning we've found that it is often difficult to get a hold of customers to find out what they want to do, to go ahead or not - much time can be wasted. And finally, you know best the soil conditions of your jobsite, how much of a time constraint you are working under, etc. So the decision has to be yours.)
and due to the large area we serve which can be
UTILITY LOCATES To be safe you should assume that any time we are doing any digging, you should have had a utility locate done first. When it come to natural gas lines, the law is pretty clear - removing any amount of soil is to be preceded by a gas line locate first - whenever in the presence of a gas line (and that means if the city or town you are in has gas, not whether the house or street you are on does or not). Fines, repairs and penalties from the TSSA (government agency) and /or gas company are steep enough, it is not worth your taking the risk. And our operators won't take the risk on your behalf - they aren't the contractor, you are - it is your responsibility to call it in, not theirs. If they get to your site and you haven't gotten your locates done for them, be warned now, that they may refuse to dig - and because it is your fault - you were forewarned (and you should know better anyway, esp if you are in the business). It's not their fault - the did their part of the bargain - showing up as requested with the machinery you wanted, ready to work. They are just obeying the law. So, if you haven't done the locates and they consider the layout of the site to be too risky and refuse to dig for you, you will be responsible to pay them at least the minimum due to that point (ie float fees, minimum hour charges, etc.). In Ontario, the number to call for locates request is 1-800-400-2255, Ontario One Call. Or contact the gas utility company directly. With Ontario One Call, they will coordinate all the appropriate utility companies on your behalf (ie, you only have to make 1 call). Bear in mind that they usually do not make the call for locating water and sewer lines - you have to contact the city directly for that. And regarding the gas locates - it is not a locate if you do not have the complete paperwork - drawings and reports that the locator drew up when he came by (may have left them with the homeowner, watch out for that!), and they must not be more than 30 days old. The TSSA is very strict about these points. No paperwork, over 30 days old - you don't really have your locates done, they are useless! We say that anytime digging is being done you should have your locates done first, that is true, however it is especially true for anytime we are using a mini-excavator, back-hoe (attachment), trencher, or auger. And contrary to common opinion, gas lines are not always buried 3-4' deep. We see them often 18" or less, sometimes a lot less (6" once!). If you have buried telephone, hydro or fibre optical cables, even cable TV. If you don't have locates for all of these, you take the full risk.
WINTER ISSUES For work done between November and April remember that winter weather and commitments can impact your booking. Some branches (not all) do contract snow plowing in the winter and so may be unavailable for a booking of yours on a given morning after a snow event the night before. Also, if the driving conditions are not safe to be floating a machine, we may have to put it off until they are salted and clear. And, as always, it is your job to make sure that the work you want to have done can be done - if the ground is too frozen, especially for the machine you've ordered, we'll try our best , but cannot guarantee success.
CALLS RECORDED In order to assure that your order is handled accurately and that you get exactly the equipment and service you requested, most calls to and from our dispatchers and/or operators may be recorded, giving us the opportunity to review details afterward.
FAQ's (Frequently Asked Questions) Pertaining to our machine with operator service
Q - Do you come out to look at my place (the jobsite) first?
The quick answer is no, not usually. Very rarely does a jobsite require a visit in advance. Most bookings can be done easily over the phone by talking with dispatch, and perhaps looking at the website, seeing what the machines look like, what their specs are, etc. If that isn't enough, we can arrange for a branch owner or manager or other experienced operator to call you to discuss some of the finer technical details with you. If that isn't enough, you could take a few digital photos of the site and email them to us. As if none of that will work, sure we can come out to look. |The reason we don't offer to right away, is frankly it saves cost, especially in that less than 1% of the time is it even necessary. Since we are not contractors and only charge by the hour, there is no way for us to build into the price the cost of making site visits (like one can when contracting). So, depending on where your site is located, and so on, there may be a small charge to come by and offer you advice, but even so, that is usually credited back to you against the bill when you do hire our services.
Q - Should we expect the operator to get out of the machine and help out?
No, and there's a couple of good reasons why not: First, if you are paying him $80 per hour, its safe to say that using him as a labourer is not wise use of your money. Secondly, our operators are hired on expressly for the purpose of running machinery, they are highly skilled personnel and are not usually keen on doing out-of-the-machine labourer's work. And then there are potential legal, liability and compensation issues that may limit his ability to help out even if he were inclined to. That said, you will find that most of the operators are more than willing to hop out and give you a hand if needed, you'll find that the attitude they display is generally one of a desire to be helpful and to please you. So if they do give you a hand with some labour or other task (including offering advice or suggestions on how to do some aspect of your project), just remember that that they don't have to, they are doing you a favour, and it is something that they are doing on their own, not something sanctioned by it is just not something that should be expected. Our advice - have labourer(s) on hand when we're there so that this won't be a problem, and your machine can stay busy being efficient.
Q - Do you do contracting as well? (Can I hire you to lay the sod, waterproof my basement, build a deck, etc?)
No, we strictly offer machine rental with operator, period. However, we do have many contacts in the business who are reputable, local contractors and sub-trades who we'd be happy to pass your name on to. Give us a call or drop us an email and we'll be happy to see what we can do.
Q - How far in advance do we need to book you?
As a rule of thumb we recommend booking as far in advance as possible - a week or more is normally adequate. However, the more critical the date is to you, the more important you book early, of course. Also, if you are requesting a machine or attachment that is not common, one we don't stock at each branch, then book early. Same goes for weekend bookings - not all our operators are available to work each weekend, so with higher demand and fewer operators, we'd recommend that you book for a weekend at least one or two weekends in advance if doing then is critical.
On the other hand, we are called Bobcat On Demand for a reason - we are frequently available with very little turn-around time. Next day service is generally available, especially if you don't mind paying a couple dollars more to have another branch a bit farther away service you (to cover the distance; float fee). Same day service is often a possibility too - never hesitate to call and see what we have available - maybe there was a cancellation, or a job got finished sooner and a machine may be right in your area!
Q - Some of your branches offer rental of the machine without the operator. When would going that route be advisable, rather than having an operator supplied?
Generally we'd say that our machine with operator service is the most cost-effective way to get your work done, but there is one circumstance when we could suggest that renting without the operator is maybe better. It requires a situation where the machine would need to stay on site for an extended period of time (like at least 3 or 4 days) and where it would not be used for the majority of the time - perhaps just an hour or two a day, spread out over the duration. If that is the case, and you have a qualified operator to run it for you, a rental-only may be the way to go. But do keep in mind that planning it out well may allow you to condense all the machine work into just one or two sessions, and we may be able to do a couple of 1/2-day sessions for you - maybe even leaving the machine on site so as to save you extra float fees (if we are able to leave it behind, that is). And it is not uncommon for us to come and go several times for brief stints to the same site, sometimes even in the course of just one week, sometimes switching machines to allow us to have the best tool for that phase of the project all the way through.
Q -Are your rates flexible?
No, not really. Our published rates are firm and apply to all as stated (see your local branch for specific rates). Our rates are fair, very competitive. And when you factor in your actual cost you'll find that we save you a lot of money over contracting (for a fixed price) a particular job, and compared to renting a machine and putting a novice or even part-time operator into (add in their wages, the costs of waste and inefficiency, possibly damage) it we'll always be a lot cheaper when you factor in the higher productivity we bring in. Many contractors even prefer using us instead of floating in their own machine for small projects; some have even forgone owning machines of their own entirely when they found how our fleet of various-sized machines was always at their disposal.
As to our rates' flexibility, there are a couple of potential cost savings you may be able to take advantage of if your circumstances qualify - check out our deep discount rates for long-term assignments (ie 3-weeks or more) or for high-volume contractors - for more details check out the rates section on your local branch's web page. The other thing that might work is "standby" service - if you have a very small task that needs doing - like a couple of rocks moved, or a bin filled, or the like - which might be 1/2 to an hour's work - and you are hesitating to book for a 4-hour minimum, speak to dispatch to see if this "standby" service option might work for you. He may be able to offer you a discount in lieu of your being flexible as to when we can come by - at our convenience, when we already have a machine working close by in the area.
Q - How good are your operators?
The best! We think so, and so do our customers - that's what they tell us. Check out some testimonials. And meanwhile, consider this point - would contractors, who use us weekly, or more, continue to do so if they didn't consider our guys to be the experts?
