I don’t know if it’s just me, but I feel like there are two possibilities when you ask a McDonald’s employee for Ketchup—they either grab a big ‘ol handful of Ketchup packets and throw them in the bag, or they ask, “Do you want one? Or two?”
Now, I can’t speak to the Ketchup packet policies of McDonald’s—they might not even have a Ketchup packet policy—but there is something to be said about the monetary difference between these two scenarios.
If McDonald’s tells their employees to freely hand out Ketchup packets like they’re candy on Halloween, the company as a whole could lose a ton of money in unnecessary Ketchup packet costs. But, if, on the other hand, McDonald’s instituted a policy where their employees counted out three, and only three, Ketchup packets for every meal, they could bleed money in labor costs instead.
At this point, you might be asking yourself, “What does this have to do with my event rental business?” and, “Is anyone else craving a Quarter Pounder?”
In any business, you have to remember that time is money. This applies to your rental business, too.
I have a strong suspicion that McDonald’s has a grab-a-handful-at-a-time Ketchup policy. While it might seem counterintuitive to someone looking to reduce condiment costs, the time saved in the long run by not spending precious seconds counting out a specific number of packets is worth a few extra cents spent on Ketchup.
As you write policies for your rental biz, think about which workflow will actually save you money in the long run.
Should you rent out forks individually? Or should you rent them as sets so that you don’t have to pay an employee to count out 82 forks for a particular event? Remember those forks will have to be counted upon packing, delivery, pick-up, and restock (that’s actually 328 counts).
Should you always pack extra dining chairs because your client will invariably need a couple more once you’re onsite? Or risk having to make a trip back to the warehouse on event day?
Should you incentivize clients to pay by credit card so they can also opt in to Autopay their final balance, decreasing your time-to-close as well as employee hours spent chasing down, processing, and recording payments right before event day?
Once you do the math, you’ll be grateful you introduced policies that cut down on labor even if they first appeared to increase other costs upfront.
Want to chat more about saving time and money in your event rental biz? Schedule a consulting call with me!
Happy renting!
