Contractors can say all they want about the importance of on-time delivery of equipment. They can justify using a particular rental center based on its competitive pricing. They can cite the expertise of sales personnel and gloat about the modern technological features of machinery as reasons for using that rental center.
All might be true - especially for smaller contractors - but when it comes to deciding which rental company to choose and, more important, stay with year after year, more often than not it comes down to a contractor's relationship with rental center management or staff. Chances are, if the relationship is good, it is not a coincidence that the contractor receives timely equipment delivery, competitive pricing and any of the other benefits many contractors cite as reasons they stay with "their" rental center.
And, chances are, that contractor won't rent elsewhere."I do most of my business with him because he's a good personal friend and he has the equipment I need," says Doug Geddes, owner of Geddes Fence, a pool and fencing contractor in Lexington, Ky., referring to Jim Wilson, vice president of Wilson Bros. Sales & Rental in Lexington.
Rental center service, technology and pricing can be similar in any given location across North America, so the value of personal relationships should not be underestimated. A little extra attention to detail and a rental center staff that goes out of its way to please a contractor can pay big dividends.
"Our personal relationship with the store is very important," says David Hoffman, vice president of Barkham Commercial, a general contractor in Corpus Christi, Texas. His company has accounts with Prime and Hertz Equipment Rental Corp. "Some of our guys go fishing and on duck-hunting trips with the guys from the store. We give them a steady flow of business, so they look after us."
Connective Services, a mechanical contractor in Wilmington, Del., rents about $1 million worth of equipment annually from the local Rental Service Corp. dealer, according to purchasing agent Larry Ratliff. That contract is put out to bid each year, and for the past seven years it has been renewed with RSC. A big reason is Ratliff's relationship with salesman Dave Meecham at General Rental in Newark, N.J.
"He comes to the job site and does everything I ask," says Ratliff, noting Meecham advises him on the most suitable equipment, delivers it in a timely manner and picks it up when the job is done.
Ratliff's seven-year alliance with RSC is not unusual. Many contractors stay with a rental center for years, and many go way back with individual rental center staff.
Jim Monson, project foreman with Holaday-Parks, a heating, ventilation and air-conditioning contractor in Seattle, has rented from United Rentals in the Seattle suburb of Tukwila since 1987. His long-standing relationships with store manager Jerry O'Neill and sales rep Pete Masterson play an important role in United's keeping Holaday-Parks' business.
"With Pete it's a one-stop shop," says Monson, who rents scissor lifts for ventilation jobs in theaters, sports arenas and aircraft hangers. "I've known those guys for a long time, and they've always had everything I've needed."
In other cases, friendships keep customers with an individual regardless of the rental center. Personifying the importance of those relationships is Dorsie Childs, a purchasing agent with Berwick Electric, an electrical contractor with about 250 employees in Colorado Springs, Colo., and Ron Grasse. Grasse worked for Center Rentals before buying nearby Action Rentals in Colorado Springs with his brother in 1995. They later acquired two additional stores in Denver before the company was sold to United Rentals in 1998.
"Whatever it takes, he'll bend over backward for me and make sure I get what I need," says Childs, who has rented from Grasse for 10 years and shares an interest in vintage cars with him. "I wouldn't be with (United) if he wasn't there."
Similarly, sales reps play an integral role in keeping larger contractors happy, productive and coming back for more.
Treviicos, a Cesena, Italy-based contractor with U.S. headquarters in Boston, specializes in deep foundations for highways, tunnels and bridges, and has been a major client of HERC for many of its East Coast projects. The company does the majority of its equipment rental with HERC's Boston office and senior sales rep Billy Steck. Treviicos, which has rented from HERC since the early 1990s, isn't about to look elsewhere thanks to its relationships with Steck and his company.
"They have the best service around, and he goes out of his way to help us," Treviicos project manager Elie Aboukheir says. "We're very happy to have a person like Billy helping us. He's a big asset to Hertz."
Obviously, not all relationships are built overnight. So how does a rental center manager or sales rep impress prospective clients in the first place and convince them there is a future between the two parties?
"Rental companies approach us all the time," says Barkham's Hoffman, echoing all the contractors interviewed for this story. "But the Prime rep went to the point of bringing his top guy down to our company to show us they were serious about our business. When there's been a problem, they've stood behind us ever since. They work with you personally, and they go the extra mile. That's what separates them from the rest."
