There is a pattern that often plays out across commercial properties in the Twin Cities. A property manager hires a snow removal company in October. The crew shows up for the first storm, does decent work, and then gradually becomes harder to reach. By February, response times are lagging. By spring, the manager is already looking for a replacement.
Tom Rosensteel has watched this cycle repeat for years in the outdoor services industry. As General Manager at Twin City Outdoor Services, he has spent considerable time understanding why it happens and what separates the companies that break the pattern from the ones that perpetuate it.
“The difference is not necessarily equipment or pricing,” Rosensteel explains. “It is whether the relationship is transactional or operational. A vendor fills a purchase order. A partner understands the property, the tenants, the liability exposure, and the standards that the manager is accountable to.”
The Real Cost of Turnover
Property managers who rotate service providers every year or two often experience the full cost of doing so. There is the obvious time spent on RFPs, site walks, and contract negotiations. But the less visible cost(s) include institutional knowledge. A new crew does not know that the loading dock on Building C floods when temperatures swing above freezing. They do not know that the medical office on the east side of the complex requires 24/7 clear access. They do not know that the retail tenants on the south end expect salt application before their doors open at 7 AM.
That specialized knowledge takes a minimum of a full cycle of seasons to build. Sometimes longer. Every time a property manager starts over with a new provider, they are paying to rebuild it from the ground up.
What Operational Partnership Looks Like
At TCOS, Rosensteel has built a model around four integrated service lines: snow and ice management, commercial landscaping, concrete and surface work, and trucking logistics. The structure is deliberate. When one team is on a property for snow operations, they are also identifying concrete damage from freeze/thaw cycles, flagging potential issues before spring startup, and noting landscape areas that need attention post-winter.
“We call it year-round visibility,” Rosensteel says. “Our crews are on your property 12 months a year across multiple disciplines. That means we catch problems early instead of reacting after something fails.”
This cross-service awareness is difficult to replicate when a property manager uses separate vendors for each discipline. The landscaping company does not talk to the snow company. The concrete contractor has never met either of them. Nobody has a full picture of the property, and problems fall through the gaps between scopes of work.
Trust Is Built in the Off-Season
Rosensteel points to a counterintuitive principle: the strongest Client relationships are often built during the months when the least visible work is happening.
“Anyone can show up during a snowstorm. That is expected,” he notes. “What builds trust are the proactive meetings in preparation for the next season where you walk the property together and plan for the months and years ahead. It is the proactive call in August when you flag a concrete section that is deteriorating and recommend repair before winter makes it worse. It is the transparency when something goes wrong or could go wrong and the ongoing commitment to ensure there are no surprises.”
This is a philosophy rooted in Rosensteel's 30+ years in business development across multiple industries: Clients stay when they feel like their Partner is proactively thinking ahead on their behalf.
Accountability as a Competitive Advantage
One area where Rosensteel has been vocal within the industry is accountability structures.
“Property managers are accountable to their tenants, their ownership groups, and all stakeholders in the process,” Rosensteel says. “They need a Partner who documents everything, responds to calls immediately, and owns the outcome. That level of accountability is often missing in this industry. It shouldn't be.”
He ties this back to a broader point about the outdoor services market in the Twin Cities. As properties become more complex and tenant expectations increase, the bar for service providers is rising. The companies that will survive are the ones that operate like Partners, not like vendors waiting for a work order.
The Winning Culture Behind It
None of this works without the right team. Rosensteel is quick to credit the people inside TCOS who execute the Partnership model daily. He has spent significant effort building a culture where field crews, account managers, and operations staff all understand that their job extends beyond the scope of any single service call.
“You control the process or the process controls you,” Rosensteel says. “That applies to how we train, how we communicate, and how we hold ourselves accountable to the properties we service and the Clients we serve.”
For property managers evaluating outdoor service providers, Rosensteel's advice is straightforward: look beyond the bid. Ask how the company communicates during a crisis. Ask what happens between seasons. Ask whether they will still be responsive in year three the way they were in month one.
The answer to those types of questions can provide helpful insights into whether you are hiring a vendor or choosing a Partner.