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Archives for October 2020

How to design the perfect inspection process for equipment rental operators

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A step-by-step guide for equipment rental operators to implement inspection management software into their check-in / check-out process

One of the biggest fears equipment rental operators have when implementing inspection software is figuring out how it will impact their existing processes. They understand that damage is an issue. They know the software will increase damage collections. But they worry about how to implement the change. Who should do the inspections? The technicians or the drivers? Where should we do inspections? In the yard or at the job site? Should we inspect only at check-out, check-in, or both?

At Record360, we’ve helped thousands of rental locations transform their inspection process. From this work, we’ve developed a strong perspective on what works and what doesn’t. This guide contains those learnings. It will help heavy equipment rental operators develop the perfect inspection process that will get adopted quickly and drive immediate results.

Operators should follow two principles when upgrading their inspection process

Equipment rental operators should follow two principles when implementing inspection software:

  1. Simplicity drives consistency, and consistency is key. To benefit from inspection software, you need to follow the same process for every rental, every time. To get consistency in the process, the process needs to be simple so it’s easy to understand and easy to adopt.
  2. You want to upgrade your process, not overhaul it. It’s easier for your team to adjust their process and behavior than to do something completely new. This means mirroring your existing inspection process closely so the new process is intuitive and fits into your existing workflow easily.

When is it better to have drivers do inspections?

Equipment rental operators have two options for doing inspections:

  • Option 1: Drivers can do inspections when they drop off at the job site
  • Option 2: The service team can do inspections before the equipment leaves the yard

Having drivers do inspections has some advantages. If you have your own drivers for the majority of rentals, your drivers will pick up inspection software quickly because they’re used to getting signatures at the job site. They love the ease of using a simple mobile app to take photos and videos after they’ve unloaded the equipment. It helps protect the driver from arguing the equipment arrived at the job site damaged, was dropped at the wrong location, or was damaged in transit

However, if you use third-party drivers, or customers frequently pick up equipment, Option 1 is harder to implement:

  • It’s harder to get third-party drivers to follow the process. They’re more interested in dropping the equipment off, attempting to get a signature, and getting out of there quickly.
  • When the delivery of equipment varies from your own drivers to third-party haulers or customer pickups, it’s harder to enforce a consistent process.

For most equipment rental operators, having your service team do inspections is best

For most equipment rental operators, it’s better to have your service team do inspections as they prepare the equipment for rent. It’s much easier to drive consistency in your process, which is critical for protecting your assets and increasing damage collections.

  • Service technicians already follow a rental-ready process, so it’s easy to incorporate inspection software into that workflow
  • Every asset goes through the same process, so you make sure nothing gets missed
  • Service technicians naturally want to use a simple mobile app because it helps them do away with clunky paper forms or digital cameras and shared drives

Must Read: The Power of a Checklist: A Deep Dive into the Impact of Heavy Equipment Inspection Sheets

What is the perfect inspection process?

The inspection process outlined below incorporates the best practices and learnings from helping thousands of rental shops upgrade their processes. This process is consistent, simple and mirrors existing workflows for most operators closely. If you follow this process on every rental, operators can expect dramatic increases in their damage collections within months.

Equipment Check-Out

  • Customer makes a reservation
  • Rental coordinator instructs yard team to prepare the asset for rental
  • Yard team / shop team uses Record360 to follow a consistent inspection checklist and take photos and videos
  • Rental coordinator adds the specific equipment to the contract
  • Drivers picks up and drops the equipment at the customer

Equipment Check-In

  • Driver drops the equipment back in a specific area of the yard
  • Yard team unloads the equipment and immediately performs an inspection with Record360
  • If no damage is present, equipment is washed and prepared for next rental
  • If damage is present, an email trigger from the mobile app sends an alert & inspection summary to the rental coordinator
  • Rental coordinator immediately sends inspection summary to the customer to notify them of damage
  • Service department prepares repair estimate for damage
  • Rental coordinator closes contract and invoices the customer for damage
  • Service department repairs the equipment

Rental operators that follow this process operate with confidence because they know they have good documentation to rely on in the event damage occurs.

Interested in learning more about Record360? Schedule a demonstration today.

How to double damage collections while strengthening your customer relationships

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Stomaching equipment rental damage doesn’t need to be a ‘cost of doing business’

Many rental operators think equipment damage is just ‘the cost of doing business’. They rely heavily on their best customers for revenue, and they want to build long-term relationships. When equipment comes back damaged, some operators think they can’t or shouldn’t be charging for equipment damage because it will jeopardize the relationship and push the business away.

This is a false tradeoff. Operators think this way because, historically, they’ve never had good enough equipment condition documentation to have a non-confrontational conversation with a customer about damage. When you don’t have good documentation, telling a customer they’re being charged for damage naturally causes tension and frustration. Customers will say: “How do you know it wasn’t like that when you gave it to me? Where’s the proof that it wasn’t damaged on the truck?”.

Having conversations about equipment damage without documentation is also tough on your team. It’s nerve-racking for a rep to have to tell the customer they’ll be receiving an invoice for damage when they have no actual proof. Your sales and customer service want to be building relationships with your customers, not fighting with them over damage.

Operators don’t need to make a tradeoff between eating equipment rental damage costs or fighting with the customer

The best heavy equipment rental operators we’ve seen realize that you don’t have to decide between eating the cost or fighting with the customer. When you have good documentation, it builds a relationship of trust and accountability with your customer. Customers feel like they’re being treated fairly because they know they won’t get charged for something they didn’t cause. Documentation also incentivizes the customer to take better care of the asset because they know they’ll be held accountable if damage does occur.

Good documentation also gives your team peace of mind that they’re not about to enter a fight with the customer when they notify them of damage. Sharing clear before and after videos and pictures takes the heat out of the conversation. When customers see clear evidence of the damage they will generally pay without protest. Even if you decide not to charge for the damage, you’re now able to tell the customer directly that you haven’t charged them for it, which helps you build credits in your relationship with them.

Heavy equipment rental operators should follow best practices to rapidly collect on damage without conflict

When damage occurs, the best rental operators we’ve seen follow clear best practices to get paid quickly for damage and avoid confrontation with customers.

Damage doesn’t need to be a ‘cost of doing business’

1. The customer should always receive a copy of the inspection report when the equipment is checked out.

This sets the expectation that you care about damage and encourages them to take good care of the equipment. It also builds trust because they know they’re not going to be charged for pre-existing damage. The best way to implement this is to have Record360 automatically send an inspection summary to the customer on check-out.

2. You should inspect equipment immediately when it gets back in your yard

If you wait too long to do your check-in inspection, customers will argue that the damage occurred on your lot, not theirs. Build a practice of doing inspections within 2-4 hrs of the equipment returning to the lot, ideally immediately after it’s unloaded.

3. If equipment comes back damaged, you should notify the customer immediately.

This manages expectations with the customer well. Even if you don’t have an estimate prepared, they can see that equipment damage has occurred, and they expect an additional invoice for damage.

The best way to do this is by having an alert for new damage in your check-in inspection that notifies the rental coordinator so they can send the inspection summary to the customer immediately.

4. It matters how you have a conversation with the customer.

You don’t want to poke customers in the eye about equipment damage. Frame the conversation gently – “You might not be aware this happened, but it looks like the equipment was damaged. No worries. Our team is preparing an estimate for repairs that will be sent along with your final invoice.”

5. When you send the invoice for damage, include the inspection summary.

This gives the customer confidence you’re not unfairly charging them – they have a clear record of damage attached to the invoice so they know what they’re paying for.

The best way to do this is to download a PDF inspection summary from the Record360 dashboard with images of the damage selected.

From dents to ripped-off doors, rental damage doesn’t have to be a cost of doing business. With consistent documentation, you can more easily charge customers for damage and build trust with them in the process.

Interested in learning more about Record360? Schedule a demonstration today.