How To Be A Good Equipment Renter

We offer a lot of tips and tricks for our equipment owners to be good hosts on CLINK. How to list their equipment, how to make the most from their investments, how to be helpful and put a lot of trust in strangers. Building a peer-to-peer community is a two-way street, we need our Renters to be responsible and respectful to keep this train on the tracks.

1. Know Where You Are

The first step in having a positive rental experience is that it is convenient for both parties. We very intentionally ask for your location when setting your profile, and when the owners list their items to help you make convenient choices. Keep the host in mind when you ask them to deliver when its more than 20 minutes away, a rental can quickly become a burden when they lose an hour out of the work day.

If your host is willing to meet you at a job site or public location, be as specific as possible. “You head my way and I’ll head yours” does not work. Look at a map, suggest a location that is half way, and then confirm a specific location.

2. Pre-Rental Check

The app will require the host to upload pictures of the actual equipment prior to the hand-off. They can take several pictures to show the condition before they leave it in your hands, you should do the same. Though we are a platform for equipment rentals, we are not the judge, jury, or insurance adjuster; damage claims will be assessed by these photos.

3. Don’t Be Over Confident, Ask Questions

Your host is doing you a favor by letting you use their equipment, and charging less than a brick and mortar store. So don’t be a jerk when they want to show you how to use and maintain their expensive equipment.

Ask questions that are important to the machine/tool:

• What kind of fuel, and do I need to bring it back full?
• Are there any important grease points, how often do I need to grease?
• If I need to get a new blade/bit do you have a preferred brand?
• I’m going to get a load of sand in this trailer (confirm weight rating with them)
• Are there any special quirks about this machine I should know?

4. Research

This goes for a few things. Personally I like to see what the same unit costs at the national rental stores, to see what this person is saving me. I also like to know all about the machine I’m getting, and if there are any tips for the task I’m using it for.

• Price and Savings
• How to use the specific machine (even if its just a refresher)
• Is it the right item for my task
• What are the limitations (weight rating, working height, physical specs)
• What does the material weigh (ex: how many pavers can I load on this trailer)

It is not mandatory to do this research, but knowing the limitations and working within them shows respect to your host.

5. Mind the Cancellation Policy

We have a 24 hour cancellation policy, in that if you cancel within 24 hours of the rental we will keep a portion your refund. We actually give that money to the host to offset any burden they may have incurred.

Think about it from the hosts prospective, they are a contractor as well and one or more of these instances happens:

• They made arrangements to not use that equipment for a period of time so it could be available to you.
• They have a third party delivery set up which they need to cancel/reschedule (for large equipment)
• They personally (or had an employee) clean and prep the equipment for your rental
• They declined another rental request after accepting yours.

6. Pay and Contact through CLINK

Make sure you message the host through the CLINK app. It might be tempting to ask for a cell number and take the conversation out of the app, but keeping your conversation in the app will help you if there is a future dispute or damage claim.

All payments need to happen within the app. If your host suggests a discount to pay cash, you should decline and report that action to us immediately. The entire reason the CLINK app was created was to allow people to safely make money from their idle equipment. To protect the hosts, we collect the renters fee upfront. And to protect the renter, we pay the hosts after the item is returned. It is a secured transaction to ensure a positive experience for both parties. Payments in the app are so easy, it really doesn’t make sense to do it any other way.

7. Be Honest and Take Responsibility

This is construction equipment, even when you use it as intended you are going to be rough with these items. If you break something, be honest. If you lose something, offer to replace it. Remember the item belongs to someone just like you, you’re not getting back at the big box store, you’re hurting an individual.

Remember we instructed the equipment owner to take a bunch of pictures of their item.

Renters are important. In a two sided marketplace we have a real “chicken or the egg” situation. That being said, we need the chicken to take care of the egg, and the egg to bring the chicken joy… I’m not even sure who represents what, it’s a delicate balance. If you have any tips to add, or a great chicken recipe, comment below.