The morning after the river burst its banks
Overnight rain, a river over its banks, and by 8am the phone is ringing continuously. Homeowners with wet floors, landlords with flooded flats, builders drying out a job, loss adjusters' contractors wanting ten units at once. Every dehumidifier is out by nine. The heaters and submersible pumps go by ten. Staff start writing names and numbers on a pad for 'when one comes back'.
By the afternoon the pad has several pages. When a dehumidifier is returned, nobody is sure who was first, who has already found one elsewhere, or who was the elderly customer with water in the kitchen. The unit goes to whoever happens to be at the counter.
Why the surge is so hard to manage
- Demand arrives all at once, far beyond what any depot stocks.
- The waiting list is paper, written by several people at once.
- Callers ring back repeatedly because they have no idea where they are in the queue.
- Units stay out longer than needed because customers are not reminded when the job is done.
- Large contractor requests and individual households compete for the same units with no agreed rule.
None of this is anyone's fault. A flood is exactly the moment when a counter process built for normal days stops working.
What a chaotic surge costs
Staff overwhelmed at the counter and on the phone for days. Customers who feel ignored at a stressful time, and remember it. Units that could have gone out twice sitting in a dry room for an extra week. Cross-hire arranged in a panic at poor rates. And a local reputation that is made or lost in exactly these few days.
A surge routine you can switch on
- When you declare a surge, your website and phone message change to explain the situation, and point callers to a waiting list form or a text number.
- Customers join the list with their details, the item they need, the address, and a few questions you choose, such as whether water is still present or whether anyone vulnerable is in the property.
- Each customer gets a confirmation and their position, and a text when a unit is ready for them.
- As units come back and pass their return checks, the system suggests who should get each one next, using rules you set: order of joining, trade or household, or any priority you decide.
- Customers who do not reply within a set time are skipped and the unit goes to the next person, so nothing sits waiting.
- Customers on hire get a reminder after a few days asking whether they still need the unit, with an easy off-hire reply, so units keep moving.
- Cross-hire from other depots is recorded against the waiting list, so you can see how much of the demand you are meeting.
Who gets priority is your decision and yours alone. The routine applies it consistently, and records why each unit went where it did.
During the surge, at a glance
| View | Shows |
|---|---|
| Waiting list | Everyone waiting, by item and order joined |
| Priority flags | Answers to your questions, for your rules |
| Coming back | Units due back today and tomorrow |
| Offered | Units offered, waiting for the customer to reply |
| On hire | Units out, with days on hire and last reminder |
Preparing before the next storm
The routine is set up in quiet weather and switched on when needed, so nobody is building it during a crisis. The messages for your website, phone line and texts are written and agreed in advance. Your priority rules are decided calmly, not argued over at the counter. And after each surge, the records show how many people you could not serve and for how long, which is useful when deciding how many units to own before next winter.
A rush that feels organised
Callers know where they stand without ringing back every hour. Units go out as fast as they come in. Customers who need help most can be seen, if your rules say so. Staff have a list they trust instead of a pad of paper. And your depot is the one people remember for handling it well.
Has a storm swamped your counter?
- Waiting lists after floods are kept on paper.
- Customers ring back repeatedly to ask where they are in the queue.
- Returned units go to whoever is at the counter.
- Units stay out longer than needed during a rush.