A snow and lawn crew works on a schedule nobody in your parent's house sees. The truck comes before anyone wakes up, the bill arrives after the work is done, and the only proof that the work happened is what the contract says should happen. Before you choose one, read the terms for what they do when the weather turns, not only the line that says they clear the walk.
Local option: New Plan Care gives families in the St. Louis area in-home help so a parent can stay home: companionship, help with bathing and dressing, meals, and overnight care. Call (314) 405-0887.
Know which kind of contract you are comparing
Most offers fall into three shapes. A per-visit plan charges each time a crew comes out, so a quiet season costs little and a heavy one costs more. A seasonal plan charges one amount for the whole season, with a set number of visits or a clause that covers extra storms. A per-storm plan works like a trigger: a crew is called out when a certain depth of snow falls. Put the three side by side and ask what each one does in the storm that matters most to your parent, the one that arrives overnight on a weekday.
Pin down the trigger in writing
Ask the company to state the snow depth that starts a service call, whether it is measured on the driveway, the walk, or as a general estimate, and who makes that call. Ask whether ice-only events are covered, since a thin glaze on the front steps is often the hardest thing to see from a phone. Ask whether a second storm in the same day triggers another visit. Get the answers in an email or on the order form, not only on a phone call.
Check the scope line by line
Read what is included on the walk and the steps. Some plans clear the driveway and the walk to the street but not the front steps or the path to the side door. Others include salt or a sand mix and charge extra for it. Ask whether the crew clears the path to the mailbox and the entrance your parent actually uses, and whether they leave the edge of the walk clear of the pile. Ask what happens when a car is parked in the driveway and whether the crew will come back for it.
Check the reporting from 500 miles away
You need a way to know the work happened without driving down. Ask whether the company sends a text or email after each visit, whether that message includes a photo, and who you call when no message arrives. Ask for the number of the on-call line and how long a return call usually takes during a storm. Ask who holds the gate code or key and whether the company keeps a written note of where it is kept. A company that will not put its reporting in writing has told you how it will report.
Compare two offers on the same page
Write both offers on one sheet with the same rows: trigger depth, ice coverage, return for a second storm, steps and entry path, salt, after-visit report, on-call response, and who holds access. Leave the price row for the bottom and compare it last, after you have seen which offer does the work your parent needs. Two offers with different triggers are not the same product, even when the totals look close.
Tonight
Pull the last invoice or the current contract and find the trigger line. If it says nothing about depth or ice, call the company tomorrow and ask the trigger questions above. Ask for the reporting terms in writing. If nobody local can confirm the crew came, the Local Help for a St. Louis Parent page lists the kinds of local checks you can ask for.
To leave with the doctor or therapist: ask whether the entry route she uses needs a clear path that is wider or flatter than the one a crew would normally clear, and whether icy steps should be a reason to use a different door on snowy days. Bring the route you have actually walked, not the one the contract describes.