I kinda’ did it to myself, and hope I didn’t set a bad precedent for the the whole industry.
I’ve been releasing single-day billed weekend orders that would normally go out after 3pm on Friday quite early, sometimes as early as Thursday morning. Turns out, that’s not such a good idea.
Sometimes, it was for my convenience, but not always. Weekend rentals that go out over any given weekend and bill a single day are already quite a value; they go out Friday and the rental customer keeps it all the way through Monday. That’s three days for a one day billing.
I’ve surveyed the market, from Vancouver, BC to Miami, Florida, and most rental firms charge 1.5 days for the weekend; still a deal. The thing is, a rental firm only generates revenue when the rental item(s) are out and away from the company. Not use days, where a customer picks up Friday, uses it Saturday and returns it Monday, Sunday being a non-use day. That would constitute a one full use day over the weekend.
What’s happening is the customer is in many cases getting more than a one day use out the the gear, and the gear begins to show normal wear and tear at twice (or more) the billing day rate. That just burns up the gear which compromises the longevity and potential revenue return. This also increases maintenance costs, and equipment must be re-purchased at a greater rate. This impacts rental rates directly. Naturally, a weekend renter is entitled to use the equipment from the moment they pick-up the order right up until they return it. That’s a given in the Los Angeles market area, though many area rental firms still bill a longer period over the weekend.
THE CAVIAT
If a customer has a 6am Friday call time, then they must pick-up the gear Thursday to make the call. If they are continuing to film through, say, Saturday, or even late Friday, they have to hold onto the gear until Monday.
So the gear is out Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday until Monday. That’s five linear days. The problem is how to bill it. If a regular Friday through Monday created more use than revenue, which it does, what about the Thursday release? It becomes, in effect, a one day week. Sadly, this billing practice will turn the finest, newest equipment into dust long before its normal lifespan, and way faster that the revenue vs. cost of the items break-even recovery. Not profit, mind you, just to break even. A firm can’t grow, or even sustain itself at a zero-profit level, indeed, being behind the 8-ball for the life of the rental item. You can’t hope to win.
Several rental firms have increased their rates to compensate for this effect. We haven’t yet, but are considering many options.
This next part is directed to the Line Producer, or other person setting up the schedules.
If you schedule a 6am call time for Friday, knowing darn well the rental firm opens at 8:30 or 9:00am, you really can’t complain about the extra day (Thursday through Friday, and into the weekend) billing.
Besides, nobody likes a 6am call time. Make it 10am so everyone is awake and arrives to set on time, at least on the first day of production. Then you have the gear ready to go and everyone’s found the shooting location, warmed up and ready to make movies.
This logic extends to the other side of the weekend, as well.
If you schedule an early call time for Monday, still knowing the rental firm doesn’t open that early, then you have to pick up your order Friday and hold it over the weekend. Expect to be billed the “extra” day.
THE RENTAL FIRM DOESN’T DETERMINE YOUR CALL TIME
There is potential advantage to the Friday-pick-up-for-early-Monday-use scenario. The crew member(s) in possession of the gear have every opportunity to inspect, set-up and verify they’re able to use the equipment, test it and increase their familiarity with the gear, or at least took a moment over the weekend to read the owner’s manual. If a real problem exists, there’s more than enough time to notify the rental firm so that they may implement a corrective proceedure, whether an equipment exchange or the additon of a necessary “thing” that was initially overlooked or was unforeseeable. If you deny the rental firm the opportunity to correct a problem and you choose to not take advantage of it, just like before, you’re fired.
If you pick-up gear on Friday and don’t test the gear until you take it out of the case to use it until Sunday – and then discover a problem - you’re fired. In the olden days, producers used to pay out a half or full day in advance of production start as a prep day. Some more established production companies do budget for a prep day, though that’s occurring less and less.
When I was doing sound, I would prep my Magliner a week in advance, including every conceivable cable, connector, soldering iron, extra connectors and anything else I could imagine I might even remotely or possibly need. Three boompoles, ten 100ft. XLR’s, ten 50ft. XLR’s, seven back-up mics, five extra wireless, etc. I never got caught under-geared . I’d even bring about 100 extra 9volt, AA, AAA and even C-s and D’s even if there wasn’t any equipment that used them. Recall the Boy Scout’s motto: BE PREPARED..
But that’s me, plus, I owned all that stuff, a desirable advantage. Plus while every one else was setting up, all I needed to do was get the cart of the truck, take the plastic wrap off the Magliner and I was pretty much ready to roll; plus I had the confidence that I’ve tested everything five times before I needed it.
But I regress; How does the early pick-up weekend billing problem be solved?
What about a weekend pick-up, either Saturday or Sunday? This sometimes can work out well. Be aware that no rental employee wants to schlep into work on a weekend to release an order. If you can convince someone to come in, they’ll most likely charge you a weekend opening fee. Typically it’s $100 cash. That too could be a good value if an extra days billing is greater. Don’t expect a greater discount on the package to off-set the weekend open fee. Did I mention it was cash?
The only thing I can think of, and have been trying for over a decade, is to bill 1.5 days Thursday-through-Monday, or Friday-through-Tuesday. Still quite a value. And even though it may still truly be a one-day-use, it must be remembered that the rental firm only generates revenue when the equipment is out and away from the store.
RENTAL COMPANIES RENT THE EQUIPMENT, NOT THE USE OF THE EQUIPMENT
Here’s a simple comparison. You rent a car from Enterprise on a Monday. You return the car that next Friday. You go in and tell the rental guy that you only used it on Wednesday, and can you be billed for only one day. When he or she stops laughing, they will bill your credit card for the five days. They too rent the gear (car) to provide the renter access to the gear, not its usage. Whether you drove it one day or all five is simply not relevant.
Naturally, there are considerations such as long-term rental and travel days; those topics are covered in earlier blog postings.
So next time your LP wants everyone to be there before sun-up, and they are screaming about the budget, send them over to this blog. I can’t say it will help, but at least they’ll get the rental firms perspective.
Tags: Call Times, Line Producer's, Thursday's