This class action lawsuit filed against Hertz Equipment Rental is good reason to revisit your policy on damage waivers. Whether to offer a damage waiver remains one of the most hotly debated issues in the equipment rental industry. Comments range from: “It has no value to...
After nearly 10 years of offering damage waivers at Busylad Rent-All in Tupelo, Miss., the company’s president, Buddy Stubbs, says, “There’s no reason in my mind not to charge a damage waiver.” Like others, Stubbs and his employees had some doubts about damage waivers before they...
James Waite presents on The State of the Equipment Industry from an economic outlook and how to better prepare for what is to come....
An equipment industry client asked the following question: Can my employees use marijuana? If so, when, where, and what can I do about it? Generally: the answer depends largely on where and for whom you are working. LEGALITY: FEDERAL LAW: Marijuana use remains illegal at the federal...
Question: I sell new and used equipment. I usually don’t have buyers sign a separate contract or bill of sale because I have a provision in my rental contract that I believe covers sales. Is that enough or is there some reason I need to...
Question: I’m considering buying a competing equipment dealership. I’m being told that I should buy the assets rather than the equity of the target business because, if I do that, my company won’t assume any of the seller’s liabilities. Is that true? Answer: For most business buyers, purchasing...
Question: I just had two large customers file bankruptcy. One of them was making payments on a rental that included an informal purchase option — just some notes written on the face of a rental contract; the other owes me more than $50,000 on a...
Question: I rented a piece of equipment to a customer without first getting his signature on my rental contract. The equipment was vandalized, and I charged the customer’s credit card for the cost of the repair. The customer disputed the charge, and the credit card...
Question: Recently, we had a customer cause more than $10,000 worth of damage to our equipment. We charged the repair cost to his credit card, but he disputed the charge. He initially admitted in writing that he actually used the machine, but claimed it was...
By James Waite Rental Management Magazine UNDERSTANDING THE NEW STIMULUS BILL; WHAT’S IN IT THAT CAN APPLY TO YOUR RENTAL BUSINESS QUESTION: A NEW STIMULUS BILL WAS JUST PASSED BY CONGRESS AND I’M TRYING TO SET ASIDE A FEW MINUTES TO READ ALL 5,000-PLUS PAGES, BUT I’D SURE LIKE TO...