Remind customers of their responsibilities
One of our favourite customers has recently had a problem that is interesting to highlight for others in the industry.
They erected a marquee for a client and left it well strapped down. The client then in all their wisdom decided to ‘borrow’ most of the tie downs to anchor down their own gazebos as strong winds were forecast. Lo and behold the strong winds caused damage to the main marquee exactly where the tie downs had been removed.
This is an incredibly rare occurrence, I can think of only one similar incident happening in all my time of marquee hiring so there’s no need to be too concerned but it would be sensible to take precautions.
Essentially you need to ensure the customer is aware of their responsibilities and obligations, for example:
- ensuring no part of the marquee is dismantled (partially or otherwise), this includes tie downs but also wires or cross-braces on larger marquees
- not to leave indoor furniture outside -chairs with seat pads and/or covers are often carried outside by guests but not returned at the end of the event leaving them open to rain overnight
- marquees should be closed up overnight or in strong winds
- no electrical equipment should be tampered with including any temporary earth rods (used with generators etc)
Ideally have a form that is signed just to cover yourself if anything did happen.
Thanks for reading
Spencer
