Issue link: http://psai.uberflip.com/i/951699
W EEKLY EDITION MAR 7, 2018 Putting the "Special" In Your Events …continued By Karleen Kos, PSAI Executive Director o What is required of the customer so that delivery, service, and pick up can occur as stipulated o Makes clear the sorts of things that will incur additional charges o Offers a damage waiver and/or specifies how you will charge for lost or damaged equipment o Spells o ut your cancellation/refund policy • It is also a good idea to have a diagram showing mutually agreed unit placement that is attached to the rental agreement and signed (or t least initialed) by both parties. Site visits are essential for this phase of the planning. • Customers can be notoriously slow in getting you the details you need to do your job. Make sure your agreement states what the deadlines are and what you will do if they are not met. For example, "Customer will provide [company] with a final site map including approved routes for ingress/egress of delivery and service vehicles no later than [date]. A fee of x% of the total rental will be assessed if the map is not provided or if additional site changes are required after that date." • To help make s ure customers don't forget deadlines or feel blindsided by extra fees ( even though they missed the deadline ) , provide them with a form to fill out with all of the information you need. Then send email reminders periodically reminding them of the deadline. A note about the extra fees can be placed discretely at the bottom of the form. • Whenever possible, get payment in advance. If you can't get full payment, it's common to get a non - refundable deposit of a percentage of the anticipated invoice. • No one likes to hear "no," but sometimes customers will want things you cannot say "yes" to. If you can't do something, say so up front and explain why not. Offer them alternatives. The ability to say "no" to impossible requests while saying "yes" to attractive alternativ es speaks volumes to your professionalism and is better for your bottom line. Make it a win - win. Managing the Event • Prepare your staff team so they are ready to do an excellent job for you. Make sure they are trained for the type of event you are offering and know what to handle themselves versus what things they need to refer to the office. • Have a special events coordinator on site during set up. This allows you to head off issues before they become a big deal and allows your drivers to focus on their wor k. It can also be an opportunity to add to the contract as the customer has some of those last minute "a ha" moments. In fact, if you tried to sell them something additional – perhaps lighting for units at an event that will go into the evening – bring a f ew of those lights along to show the customer during set up. They might decide to add them after all. • Getting a huge event can be the best thing – or the worst thing – to happen to your company depending on the user experience. If it is a large event, it m akes sense to have staff on site during the event. You may be able to get the customer to pay for it outright, or you may need to build it into your rate. Either way, you want someone there to solve problems proactively and look after your brand. • If you a re going to need to provide service while the event is going on, make sure to work with the event planners so that their site staff or volunteers are there to help manage the crowds. People tend to respond better to event staff than your staff. It's also s mart to send in crews of two in those situations to help ensure everyone's safety and to get the service done as quickly as possible. P AGE 3 CONTINUED ON PAGE 4