Call us for a price
Your website lists the machines you hire, with photos and specifications, and says call for a price. A builder looking for a mini digger on a Sunday evening for Tuesday morning can't do anything with that. He finds a competitor whose site shows a price, availability and a book button, and books there.
Your trade account customers are the same. The site manager who wants a dumper next week has to ring the depot during office hours, while he is juggling a site.
Why booking isn't online already
Online booking for plant is harder than for a hotel room. The website needs information that lives in the hire system and around it, and some bookings need a person.
- Availability depends on the hire system, the workshop and transfers.
- Prices differ for account customers, cash customers and hire length.
- Delivery pricing depends on the site location and the machine.
- New customers need checks before a machine is released.
- Some machines need a conversation about the job before booking.
What phone-only booking costs
Enquiries outside office hours go elsewhere. Account customers ring for simple repeat bookings that tie up the hire desk. Customers comparing hire companies online skip you because they can't see a price. And the desk spends its time on routine bookings instead of the ones that need advice.
Search matters here too. People looking for plant hire near them increasingly expect to see a price and whether a machine is available, and a page that only offers a phone number gives them little reason to stay. Your fleet may be better than the competitor's, but the customer never gets far enough to find out.
Online booking tied to your hire system
- Your website shows availability by category and depot, read from your hire system and workshop status, for the dates the customer chooses.
- Prices are calculated: account customers sign in and see their agreed rates, cash customers see your published rates for the hire length.
- Delivery is priced from the site postcode and machine class, using your transport charging rules.
- Cash customers pay a deposit or the hire by card through Stripe, and go through your new customer checks.
- The booking is created in your hire system as a provisional booking, and the hire desk confirms it after any checks, with the customer notified.
- Categories you want handled by a person can be set to 'request a quote' instead of 'book'.
| Customer | What they can do online |
|---|---|
| Account customer | See agreed rates, book, add site order number |
| New cash customer | See prices, book with deposit, complete checks |
| Complex requirement | Request a quote with job details |
| Any customer out of hours | Book or request, confirmed next working day |
The hire desk afterwards
Routine bookings arrive complete, with dates, site and payment where needed. The desk confirms them rather than taking them by phone. Out-of-hours enquiries become bookings. And customers comparing hire companies online see your prices and availability instead of a phone number.
Signs you need online booking
- Your website says call for a price.
- Out-of-hours enquiries go unanswered until morning.
- Account customers ring for simple repeat bookings.
- Competitors near you take bookings online.
- The hire desk spends most of its time on routine bookings.