Plowz and Mowz Gears Up for Their First Big Snowstorm in Boston

Image via Plowz and Mowz on Facebook

The heaviest snowfall has hardly started in the Boston area, but already the founders of an on-demand plow service are getting slammed with requests.

“Without a doubt it’s already busy in Boston, and we’re seeing an order come in every 30 seconds,” said Wills Mahoney, cofounder of Plowz and Mowz, a smartphone-based app that lets users call up a plow truck driver to clear out their driveway with the click of a button. “People are scheduling ahead for tomorrow— we are getting crammed with requests.”

Mahoney said this is the first major snowstorm the company will handle in Massachusetts since they launched here last year. With operations up and running in other parts of the country that have already been hit by serious storms—namely, Buffalo, New York, and Minneapolis, Minnesota—he said he’s looking forward to getting to work in Greater Boston, as the blizzard, expected to dump up to three feet of snow, heads toward the area.

Plowz and Mowz, which offers yard work on-demand spring through fall, and snow plowing services come winter, was conceived in 2012 by Mahoney and his then-roommate at Syracuse University, Andrew Englander. Since then, they have been clearing snowy driveways for customers in more than 30 cities across the country.

With Boston’s “potentially historic” storm on the way, however, they’re looking to do some serious business.

“We’re actually expecting to break a record in terms of the amount of plows,” he said. “We have had a couple thousand requests before, but we’re going to dash by that easily, and it’s not even snowing there yet.”

Customers using the app can either schedule for a plow to swing by their neighborhood to remove snow from their driveway on the spot, or schedule a time in advance, either in the morning or the afternoon. If a customer isn’t home, or they want to request the snow-removal service for an elderly relative who lives far away, the local providers that work with Plowz and Mowz will snap a picture of the job once finished, so they know it’s complete.

Customers pay through the app, using a secure server that stores their credit card information—a typical job costs around $45—so they never have to go outside to greet the plow truck driver.

Mahoney said the company anticipates there will be at least “a few hundred plows” out in full force during the storm, covering a roughly 40-mile radius within the Boston area.

“Right now, over past couple hours, we’re averaging every 30 seconds. Most of these are kind of going viral because they are first time signs ups, and people are placing the orders ahead of the snow,” he said. “It’s nice to see people using this service. There’s clearly a need, as we are seeing.”