In America, particularly on the East Coast, it snows a *lot*. If you are from India or Southeast Asia, or somewhere tropical and warm, you might not be used to the snow or know how to handle it. What do you do when your car gets stuck and you can't go anywhere?
Remember how I mentioned a few posts back that kids sometimes in the fall will go around the neighborhood seeking small chores?
Well, often in the winter those same enterprising kids come to shovel cars out. Now, this is a situation where you *must* not bargain or try to get the job done inexpensively. In this situation, the kids have the upper hand and here's the reason: There's plenty of work--if they can't work with you on price they'll leave you stuck and go somewhere else. People get desperate in the snow, when they can't go anywhere.
The going rate in NJ is about $30-35 to shovel out a car so it can move on to the road--in other words, to get it completely unstuck from the snow. Driveways are more expensive--between $50 and $80. Bear in mind that the kids work quickly and the work is backbreaking.
If you hire a crew of two or more kids, then the going rate is $20-25 per person, flat rate for a car or $40 per person or so for a driveway. What you are paying for is speed. A three man crew should have a car completely unstuck and a parking space carved out and able to move in half an hour or less. It's in their best interests to move fast--their goal is to move from job to job to make as much money as possible.
DO NOT hire a crew or a worker and then attempt to pay by check. First of all, most kids can't cash a check--they have no ID and no bank account. This kind of work is ALWAYS paid for in cash.
All right? That's how that works. Kids are taught from an early age in America that if they want money or anything else, they have to be willing to work for it. SO they work for it. However, if you live in a wealthy neighborhood, the kids might not come shoveling because they don't need to. It depends on the circumstances.
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