Building a safer rental process
Technology helps save lives.
by Brian Beaudry
Rental software allows managers to better manage equipment through its lifecycle. This software also provides access to equipment guides and training videos that make using and servicing equipment safer. Every step of the rental process is safer than it’s ever been.
Then, COID-19 arrived.
COVID-19 has amplified the need for technological solutions to get business beyond the traditional handshake deals, pen-and-paper signatures, site visits and more. Contractors expect not only clean, but disinfected equipment; losing an operator for a couple of weeks of self-quarantine or worse affects meeting deadlines.
Likewise, rental business owners and their staff want to know their teams are protected.
On Canadian Rental Service’s Counter Talks podcast, Patrick Flannery spoke with Wayne Harris, Point of Rental CEO, about how suppliers are helping rental companies navigate today’s muddled business waters.
The most important piece of the puzzle, says Harris, is that rental leaders have the right attitude to take on this challenge. It’s an opportunity to solve problems.
“They’re not throwing up their hands, saying ‘I quit,’ ‘This is too hard,’ or even saying, ‘Well, we’ve always done it this way, so we’re going to keep doing it this way,’” says Harris. “What they’re doing is rolling up their sleeves and saying, ‘How can we solve this?’”
The second piece is taking the time to survey the landscape and see what’s possible. With contactless showrooms, delivery is becoming crucial; even businesses that were dragging their feet on making deliveries a part of their business are moving quickly to incorporate them. In places where rental has been considered an essential business, electronic signatures and payments have helped limit virus transmission opportunities. The technology has been around for years, but now companies like Point of Rental have developed electronic signature software specifically for rental companies.
Rental software can help make the rental process safer by taking out some of the common touchpoints before the rental takes place, at document signing and when equipment is delivered, serviced and picked up.
1. Before renting
Online access to equipment information can provide manuals and how-to videos to ensure renters know how to operate the equipment.
A website provider can link a rental center’s inventory to an online store to provide a way to provide, up-to-date information for potential clients without overpromising.
2. Getting signatures
Getting customers to reserve an item is the first part of the rental process. Customers want a way to sign contracts and pay online. For example, Point of Rental’s eSign & Pay allows rental companies to take care of that entire process via email. There’s no time spent standing at the counter.
When customers pay online, nothing needs to be touched. Payment is made before the customer shows up or you send out the delivery team.
3. Touch-free pick-up and return
Newer equipment in your fleet probably has integrated telematics. With contactless drop-off and return, team members greatly reduce their risk of putting themselves or their families at the risk of coronavirus.
4. Don’t forget your team!
Limiting employee/customer interactions helps reduce COVID-19 transmission of disease, but employee-to-employee interactions can also be reduced via technology. Mobile apps play a crucial role in this process because most rental work is done away from a desk.
For example, the Point of Rental One app makes intra-company messaging easy. Desktop and mobile users can message one another to get answers quickly and safely without making personal contact.
It also features time-clock functionality, allowing team members to clock in remotely. Management and workers can learn how to use these new tools now and they will be façile at using them when demand bounces back. Solutions implemented now will pay off in efficiency and a more paperless, modern customer experience.
Brian Beaudry is content generator at Point of Rental.
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This article originally appeared in the September-October 2020 issue of Pro Contractor Rentals magazine. © 2020 Urbain Communications LLC.
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