Rain or Shine Services

Rain or Shine's Five Rules for planning a Successful Event

4. COMPARE APPLES TO APPLES- EXAMPLES  

So what are some examples of what we mean by apples to apples.  

The following is a list of actual different examples of the "fine print" taken from some of our competitors in the Vermont and New Hampshire rental market. Typically they do not point out these charges until after you have signed on with their contract. All of these are policies that we do not follow. We feel it is unfair to the client and it is not something that we endorse.  

1. 8.0% Non- Refundable Damage Waiver on "event" rentals vs. Actual Damage replacement cost. The difference is that for the damage waiver you will pay 8% of a certain group of items whether the items are damaged or not, and you will not see that money again. Our policy of damage replacement is that you will pay only for the items that are damaged. We have found that this amount for the average wedding is very low if anything at all. We feel that it is only fair to charge people for what they damage. 

2. Furniture set-up fees. Other competitors add an extra charge to set-up and breakdown tables and chairs. This can be anywhere from $.80 to $1.50 per chair or up to $3.50 per table. We find that wedding clients do not have the time or the energy to spend time setting up the furniture in the tent. We also find that caterers will usually charge an extra fee for their staff to perform these duties. Our policy is to set up the tables and chairs as part of the rental price per chair. As long as there is a approved floor plan (previously worked out by us and the client free of charge) we will set-up and breakdown the tables and chairs for no additional cost. 

3. Charging for small but necessary lighting items. Some companies will charge clients for every single extension cord, cube tap, and dimmer. These charges are only billed after the set-up day. We include all the cords and dimmers necessary to light a tent when you rent a lighting package from us. For example we charge $1.50 per foot for perimeter string lighting. This includes all the cords to "power it up" and the dimmers to adjust the lighting through the evening. 

4. Sidewalls on tents. We include windowed sidewalls hung and rolled up on all of our installed tents. (unless it is a tent only rental) Some of our competitors charge an additional $1.40 per linear foot plus an additional $8.50 each wall section to roll them up. For example for a 30 x 80 Tent of $1920 plus 10 sections of sidewall equals an extra $280 for the walls and an additional $85 to roll up. The equals a price of $2285. Our better quality tent of the same size with the cleaner walls rolled up is only $1800.