We'll never book with White Shark again
We've hired White Shark to clean our eavestroughs for the past three years, and every time they've been weeks or even months late in getting the job done. They send out emails telling you that bad weather is preventing them from doing the work, but when the weather improves, they still don't come. They think nothing of keeping a job that was booked for November waiting till springtime--or, this year, midsummer. This year the excuse was first bad weather (a hard freeze in late November--who could have guessed that might happen?) and then the shutdown. We were sympathetic about that at first, until we discovered how easy it was to hire someone to prune back some tree branches that were rubbing against our roof. The companies we talked to for that job said that yes, if the work was necessary to maintaining the integrity of our house, they could come, and yes, they could observe Covid protocols so that both our family and their workers would be safe. Since overflowing eavestroughs can certainly cause damage to the interior of a house--we've had it happen--why couldn't White Shark have sent someone to do the job as soon as the snow melted? Probably for the same reason they didn't do it when the weather warmed up for a while in December--they don't care enough about their customers to hire enough workers to meet their commitments in anything like a timely way. (Please don't tell me they can't find enough people when the weather or a world health emergency creates a backlog of jobs. Cleaning eavestroughs isn't highly skilled labour. And by the time we were a couple of months into the shutdown, there were a lot of people looking for work.)
- Approximate cost of services:
- $150.00
- Company Response
I am sorry that you have had a bad experience with us. However, I take exception to some of your concerns.
1) We plan Fall eaves cleaning for November when the leaves have fallen. Unfortunately, last season we had a snowfall and consistent sub zero temperatures while the leaves were still on the trees and green in some areas. Even though we had some nice days, eaves need hours to thaw. Eaves are made out of thin metal and are easily damaged if banged or forced.
2) We usually start up in April. Again, we had a long, cold winter, including snow in May! April was the height of Covid fear. Our crews had concerns about travelling on TTC, working with each other and sharing child-sitting duties at home. Additionally, clients asked us to phone them from their driveway and not knock or touch the front doors. As a result we ran less crews and worked at a slower pace.
3) The CERB benefits did not flood the market with workers as you suggest. $2000/month kept a lot of folks at home, happily. This is common knowledge.
4) Cleaning eaves is not skilled labour? Maybe so, but doing it 30 feet in the air is very skilled. The safety protocols concerning heights are extensive. Climbing ladders around homes that have access issues requires a rare skill set. An error in our job can be fatal. 1 in 20 people that comes through our trainings will see a customer's home. In Ontario, 50% of workplace injuries are fall related. These are not good odds. Everyone who works here is someone's son, daughter, husband, father. We take getting them home every night safely very seriously.We move at the best pace possible and try our very best to take care of our clients and workers. More workers would be more profitable for us. But the risk of poor quality jobs or a serious accident are not worth it.
I hope this explanation helps.
Thanks
Roger Singh, Owner
416-828-8393
roger@whiteshark.ca