Are you maximizing your event production when you work with a temporary air conditioning and generator rental company? Does this question even cross your mind when booking a rental company to come in with AC package units and generators? Or do you treat it as a transaction only? There’s no wrong answer here, but there are several ways to kick your service up a notch. The following blog post lists out multiple items to consider, especially for event planners new to the game, or for first-time events that have never taken place in the past and have no history to plan from.
Ask What’s Best for My Event. Not What’s Best for My Rental Partner.
When it comes to service, we count on experts to give us sound advice. What’s the appropriate equipment to use when renting portable air and/or power for a special event? Too often in the rental industry, companies will try to fit the equipment they have in stock into your event, even when it doesn’t make sense compared to another option they may have to sub-rent from an equipment partner. Companies make more money when renting equipment they own, so 99 out of 100 times they’re going to want to use what they have, instead of what they don’t have. It’s worth it to ask “Why this equipment?” Get a second quote and compare your communication between the two companies, and only share equipment quoted from a company with another company when you know it makes the most sense for the job. Sometimes it’s better to see what each company offers first to understand their level of expertise.
Does Your Rental Partner Walk Your Event Venue or Space?
If your event is happening for the first time ever (not an annual thing, at least not yet), does your partner walk the space with you or attend a planning meeting (in-person or virtually)? If not and the event is more intensive than just needing a generator rental for the stage, your sales rep is either lazy or too busy with other customers to make the time to meet. Does your rental partner emphasize events, or do they focus more on construction and industrial work? This is a fair question to ask as most of the larger rental companies make higher money margins on construction jobs, which are also much less intensive on labor compared to events.
Does Your Rental Partner Communicate with Your Other Event Partners, i.e. Catering, Audio/Visual and Entertainers?
Is it easy to connect your partners with each other and delegate those duties so you can focus on other, more important aspects of your job? Do they already know each other, or have they worked together in the past? When it comes to events, it’s a small world. Good air and power reps and companies know major event players or at least know what they will likely need when it comes to power distribution based off of their previous experience.
Does Your Rental Company Differentiate Its Drivers from Its Installers? Why Does This Matter?
Uhhh, because if they do differentiate between the two, it’s a potential problem. At pro-event air and power companies, drivers and installers are one and the same. If you work with a company that has a driver drop the generator off, then another person or team comes in later to install the equipment, you’re looking for trouble and delays in your production schedule. Sometimes when rental companies differentiate drivers from their installers, they use outside companies to deliver the equipment. These third-party drivers often have no real knowledge or information regarding the equipment or your event. Sometimes they don’t even tell you they dropped the equipment off before leaving the event site. You just walk around the event and Boom! There’s a generator where it shouldn’t be all the sudden, and now you have to wait for the next team member to get there to move it.
Do These Guys Know Events Inside and Out?
Does your rental partner offer technician on-site services? Not only do most companies provide installers to set and strike the equipment, they should offer a technician to stay on-site for the full duration of the event, to help troubleshoot electrical or air conditioning issues such as a vendor surprising you with a last-minute electrical request, or the AC getting too cold or warm for guests, where the thermostat can be adjusted by a professional. Yes, this is an additional cost, but it’s worth it to have an experienced technician on hand. You only get one shot at a successful event. If the air goes out for two hours, your guests will remember that forever.
The second part of this is does your technician actually know air and power distro, or are they simply a warm body paid to sit on-site, and hope all goes well? Get to know your technicians who stay on-site for events. If it’s a different guy every time you produce an event, chances are your rental partner isn’t experienced in events, because event pros want to work events, especially with partners they are familiar with.
Demand More from Your Air and Power Rental Partner and Your Event Will Improve Immediately.
Ask about the equipment your provider advises you to use. It doesn’t have to be an intensive Q and A, but a simple “Why do you suggest using a 25-ton package unit and a 100KW generator for this sized tent?”. This can go a long way to building trust with your sales rep and understanding the why behind the equipment.
Have you ever met your rep? Has he or she ever seen the venue or event in person? Have you been to lunch or at least had them drop by your office (or event, if office is at home)? It’s okay to have never met a sales rep the first few times you work together, especially on super turnkey events that need minimal equipment. After a year or so, you should be able to lean on them for more than quotes – but advice to help make your event better and more efficient.
Hand off your power provider to your other event partners to save on time. If they are unreachable or take forever to follow up for your other partners, you may have a problem when it comes to event day.
Who’s delivering and installing your equipment? Get to know the team that makes it happen on-site. You can request specific installers to work your event if you provide enough time for your sales rep to make it happen. If your rental partner doesn’t have anyone you prefer to work on-site, you likely have your answer that they aren’t equipped to save the day if an emergency arises.
When you talk to your rental partner about providing air and power for an event, do they follow up with you promptly? Do they ignore you? Do they offer advice on what kind of application you should consider when looking for something a bit more detailed like cooling a huge nonprofit gala fundraiser inside of a big tent? Your rep should be excited to work with you. Same goes for the install team. If they aren’t experienced in events, it’ll likely show with their preparation and execution eventually.