The season’s first snowstorm chilled Colorado households but heated up business for companies that help residents prepare for winter conditions, from tire shops to landscapers.
Mark Powell, owner of Guaranteed Excellence, a landscaping company based in Littleton, said he received twice as many calls Monday as usual, with many coming from people looking for help with the removal of broken tree limbs.
“Any kind of disaster like this is always good for business,” said Powell, noting that a typical service call to prune or remove a tree would cost $300 to $500.
Residents also scrambled to get their sprinklers winterized. Englewood-based Superior Landscape Design, which charges $60 to blow out and insulate sprinkler systems, said calls increased by about 30 percent Monday.
“Usually, we try to get it done before the first freeze every year, and this (storm) kind of caught people off-guard,” office manager Paula Jendel said.
Heating companies also saw an influx of calls as many residents found they couldn’t light their furnaces.
“It’s pretty busy. People generally wait until the last minute (to check on their furnaces),” said Sheila Boone, vice president of Day & Night Mechanical Solutions Inc. in Denver.
Jim Price of Aurora Heating and Cooling Service in Aurora said he started receiving calls at about 4 a.m. Monday.
Aurora Heating offers 24-hour emergency service for those with heating problems. The company charges $89 for a basic service call in which it troubleshoots heating problems. Parts and labor charges apply to repairs beyond the initial troubleshooting.
“We’re getting a lot of ‘no heat’ calls,” Price said. “People are not prepared for winter or used to getting snow this early.”
However, Monday wasn’t the first round of “no heat” calls received by Franklin for Electric in Littleton, office manager Angie Franklin said. She said business began to pick up in late August going into the fall as long-standing clients anticipated the onset of colder temperatures.
The company charges $75 to diagnose furnace problems, regardless of how long it takes, Franklin said.
Although the snow quickly melted off metro streets, tire shops also did brisk business.
“We have worked on 92 vehicles today,” said Ryan Gorman, assistant manager at Discount Tire Co. at 6171 E. Evans Ave., around 2 p.m. “It is definitely weather-related.”
Volume was double that of a typical day, and when the weather forecast called for snow, the store added six workers on top of its regular crew of seven to install snow tires, which can cost from $35 to $300 per tire, Gorman said.
Snowblowers and parts for snowblowers that didn’t work after months of sitting idle were also moving at Four Seasons Outdoor Equipment Inc. in unincorporated Arapahoe County.
Glenn Mussett, owner of the store, said he had sold three snowblowers, which run from $500 to $2,200 at his store.
Demand for snow-removal equipment will eventually be replaced by a rush for chain saws and chain-saw parts as people deal with broken tree limbs, Mussett said. Chain saws at his John Deere dealership run from $200 to $500.
“The trees are really tearing up,” said Mussett, who suffered tree damage in his yard in Aurora. “If this is any indication, we may have a bad winter.”
Staff writer Andy Vuong can be reached at 303-820-1209 or avuong@denverpost.com.
11.81 MILLION
Skier visits to Colorado’s slopes in the 2004-05 season, up 550,000 from the previous season
28%
Increase in international skier visits to Colorado slopes over the 2003-04 season
$300
High end of the price range for snow tires at a Denver Discount Tire Co. store
$2,200
High end of the price range for snowblowers at Four Seasons Outdoor Equipment Inc.
