KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The mild winter is great for those of us who prefer spring like weather but not so good for others, especially those in the business of wintry weather.
The lack of snow and unseasonably warm temperatures has taken a toll on local snow removal businesses, but thanks to Mother Nature, Wednesday there was work.
“It has been slow, it’s hard on the employees because we don’t have as much snow work,” said John Dobbs, a supervisor at Denes & Company.
He says this winter, or lack thereof, has been tough on business.
“Very slow, very slow, this is kind of an odd season, two weeks ago we were running around in t-shirts cleaning leaves out of bushes for our customers and trimming trees back and now we’re freezing,” Dobbs said.
Last winter was the opposite. According to chief meteorologist Mike Thompson, this time last year it snowed 21.5 inches. As of Wednesday, it has snowed less than ten inches. Dobbs says without snow, the money is tight.
“You have to keep a steady income in order to make the bills,” he said.
Phillip Gomez has been working here for six months. He says working in the snow isn’t ideal.
“It’s a love-hate relationship,” said Gomez,
But he says it’s the best when it comes to income.
“When there’s more work there’s more money,” Gomez said.
Dobbs says they’ve been doing tree work and equipment maintenance to stay busy.
“You’ve just got to try and make do with what you’ve got,” said Dobbs.
“Just got to be patient I guess,” added Gomez.
Dobbs says Denes & Company only has five employees, and Wednesday’s snow is giving them something to do.
“It’s a relief for the employees because they can get hours in,” said Dobbs. “It snows or a tree blows over, I wouldn’t wish that on anybody, but, it is how we make our living.”
“Hopefully it’s heavy, hopefully it sticks, you know, so we can possibly get out there and do some work,” Gomez said.
Some employees are hoping the snow lasts long enough to boost business, but short enough to get back to the warmer weather jobs.
