Rental Equipment

[arbor pro]

I realize this is not the right forum for this question but, i can't get the response I'm looking for in the equipment forum - apparently, nobody's reading the equipment forum right now...

Anyhow, I need to know asap what anyone's experience is with renting equipment (as lessee or lessor) and something goes wrong with the equipment. I just rented out my towable lift for the week and the customer told me that a stabilizer pad (12" round pad on the end of the stabilizer arm) fell off during transport causing him to take 3 hours to backtrack and look for it. There is no damage to the pad (which he managed to find) and I am wondering what is appropriate to appease the customer for his 3 hours of looking for a part that shouldn't have fallen off of the machine.

If anyone can tell me what a rental store's policy is in such a case, I would be most obligued. I am wondering whether I should, at a minimum, give him 3 extra hours with the machine or also give him a $ discount for his trouble...???

 

[DDM]

I had rented a concrete core drill from HD rental department for a job I was doing a few months ago.It was a hand held drill.I went in 10 min before they closed the nite before.I told the guy I needed a concrete core drill to drill 4" holes.He handed it to me and off I went.The next morning 45 miles miles from the home depot and with 2 employees there We realized he had rented me an electric hammer not a drill.I was furious I called HD and the guy that answered thought it was funny.Not a good thing on his part.I had to pay the employees for 4 hrs for there screw up plus a 90 mile round trip.I went into the HD ready
go after the rental store manager and the store and regional manager.The rental store manager was there lucky for him he wasnt the one that answered the phone.All in all I got the correct hammer drill for 3 days no charge.and a 250.00 credit on my HD account.And the idiot that laughed at me got to find himself a new job.

 

[TDunk]

I can see both points of view here. If the pads bolts on and it fell off, i'd say it's your problem. If the pad just slips on and he didn't bother take it off before he left, his problem. Even if the pad does bolt on, part of his pre-trip should be checking stuff like that. To keep peace i'd probably knock off some money cuz he'll probably need to rent it again.

 

[Garfield]

do you want to rent it again?

Try to figure out what the customer thinks is reasonable before making an offer but ultimately it should be fair in his mind if you want to deal with him again. If you rented it to him for less than the rental place would have you could explain that you already gave a discounted rate so you can't afford to lower the price more......good luck!

 

[tree md]

We rent a crane here when we need it for large removals. The first time we rented one it cost us $2600 for the 64 ton crane (we had to pick 3 trees completely over the house). which we used for 12 hours, including 2 hours travel time. The owner hadn't told us about the 3% fuel sircharge or having to pay for overtime which threw us off about $250 on our bid. I complained to him for not disclosing the fuel sircharge or having to pay for overtime and he offered to split the difference with me. I thought that was reasonable. We still rent from him and have an excellent relationship today. I would say offer to split the difference with him and knock off 1.5 hours. That would seem reasonable to me.

 

[treemandan]

I had rented a concrete core drill from HD rental department for a job I was doing a few months ago.It was a hand held drill.I went in 10 min before they closed the nite before.I told the guy I needed a concrete core drill to drill 4" holes.He handed it to me and off I went.The next morning 45 miles miles from the home depot and with 2 employees there We realized he had rented me an electric hammer not a drill.I was furious I called HD and the guy that answered thought it was funny.Not a good thing on his part.I had to pay the employees for 4 hrs for there screw up plus a 90 mile round trip.I went into the HD ready
go after the rental store manager and the store and regional manager.The rental store manager was there lucky for him he wasnt the one that answered the phone.All in all I got the correct hammer drill for 3 days no charge.and a 250.00 credit on my HD account.And the idiot that laughed at me got to find himself a new job.

Yes, I don't understand what is so G-dam funny either. They really do take care of me at the rental yard around here and everything works out just fine... always. I haven't been near a home depot in a long time.

 

[treemandan]

I realize this is not the right forum for this question but, i can't get the response I'm looking for in the equipment forum - apparently, nobody's reading the equipment forum right now...

Anyhow, I need to know asap what anyone's experience is with renting equipment (as lessee or lessor) and something goes wrong with the equipment. I just rented out my towable lift for the week and the customer told me that a stabilizer pad (12" round pad on the end of the stabilizer arm) fell off during transport causing him to take 3 hours to backtrack and look for it. There is no damage to the pad (which he managed to find) and I am wondering what is appropriate to appease the customer for his 3 hours of looking for a part that shouldn't have fallen off of the machine.

If anyone can tell me what a rental store's policy is in such a case, I would be most obligued. I am wondering whether I should, at a minimum, give him 3 extra hours with the machine or also give him a $ discount for his trouble...???

Well I guess if you felt comy renting out your stuff... are you insured for that? Sure I would understand if it was a buddy but then a situation like you desribed would not have been mentioned except just to make light of it.
Real deal renting? you had better look it up.

 

[juststumps]

I can see both points of view here. If the pads bolts on and it fell off, i'd say it's your problem. If the pad just slips on and he didn't bother take it off before he left, his problem. Even if the pad does bolt on, part of his pre-trip should be checking stuff like that. To keep peace i'd probably knock off some money cuz he'll probably need to rent it again.

WRONG ! WRONG ! WRONG !!!! If you are in the rental biz,,, the stuff should be in working order !!!!!

i'm renting the thing to work,,, not to do your matinece for you !!!

I'd be embarassed , if a piece of my gear went out like that,,, parts falling off on the road....

lucky, the guy went back and found the part....he lost work time,,, saved the renter a lot of money... i'd give the guy a free rental,, just for good will...

 

[juststumps]

We rent a crane here when we need it for large removals. The first time we rented one it cost us $2600 for the 64 ton crane (we had to pick 3 trees completely over the house). which we used for 12 hours, including 2 hours travel time. The owner hadn't told us about the 3% fuel sircharge or having to pay for overtime which threw us off about $250 on our bid. I complained to him for not disclosing the fuel sircharge or having to pay for overtime and he offered to split the difference with me. I thought that was reasonable. We still rent from him and have an excellent relationship today. I would say offer to split the difference with him and knock off 1.5 hours. That would seem reasonable to me.

your talking apples and oranges here ...your talking about spliting a hiden fee,, VS lost time of work,,production....at least,, i'd give the guy an extra days use for free... JMHO

 

[arbor pro]

WRONG ! WRONG ! WRONG !!!! If you are in the rental biz,,, the stuff should be in working order !!!!!

i'm renting the thing to work,,, not to do your matinece for you !!!

I'd be embarassed , if a piece of my gear went out like that,,, parts falling off on the road....

lucky, the guy went back and found the part....he lost work time,,, saved the renter a lot of money... i'd give the guy a free rental,, just for good will...

It wasnt' for a lack of maintenance. The pad is held onto the stabilizer arm by a small rubber o-ring. The ring must have simply failed when the customer hit a bump in the road. It's a design flaw but, hey - I didn't design or build the thing.

The customer returned the lift last night - all covered in paint overspray. I didn't make a big deal out of the cleanup I now have to do - he didn't make a big deal out of the time he spent looking for the pad. He didn't ask for any discount on the rental and he won't be getting one - we're even.

 

[arbor pro]

Well I guess if you felt comy renting out your stuff... are you insured for that? Sure I would understand if it was a buddy but then a situation like you desribed would not have been mentioned except just to make light of it.
Real deal renting? you had better look it up.

I'm insured as are my customers who must name my company as the loss payee on their insurance for $1m.

I use my lift about 3-4 hours a week. If I can make $1400 renting it out for a week, that makes loan payments for 2 months. That means I get to use it for free basically.

Yes, I now have some cleanup to do on my lift but, the painter who rented it just called me and offered to come over tonight to settle the bill and help clean it up with his powerwashing equipment.

Renting is the real deal. Why not if it helps you to acquire and keep a piece of equipment that you might not otherwise be able to afford? The insurance removes the liability factor, the rental agreement spells out the rental terms. Rental fees are paying for my lift and I'm using it for free.

 

[TDunk]

It wasnt' for a lack of maintenance. The pad is held onto the stabilizer arm by a small rubber o-ring. The ring must have simply failed when the customer hit a bump in the road. It's a design flaw but, hey - I didn't design or build the thing.

The customer returned the lift last night - all covered in paint overspray. I didn't make a big deal out of the cleanup I now have to do - he didn't make a big deal out of the time he spent looking for the pad. He didn't ask for any discount on the rental and he won't be getting one - we're even.

Sounds good to me.