I run an audio equipment hire business. We rent out speakers, microphones, lights etc for weddings, parties, corporate events etc.
We operate out of a large self storage complex that has a shared & staffed reception. Our unit isn't fully staffed. Our tech just goes there as needed. Maybe 8 hours per week.
The way it works is:
1. Customers book & pay either online, via email or phone.
2. We pack, label & put the equipment out in one of the common areas a day or 2 prior.
3. The customer goes to the shared reception & they point them to our pick up area. The customer
then picks up their order.
4. After the event the customer returns it to the same spot.
We've been doing this for 8 years with over a thousand orders & fortunately never had anything stolen & customers seem to really like
it. When COVID struck we basically had a contactless pickup system ready to go. It's been a pretty good setup but it does have a few of weaknesses:
1. Sometimes people ring up at short notice. This means our tech has to drive about half an hour from his place to get the gear out. That's assuming he's
not out on a delivery job. So either we turn down the job or we take it but it's a bit of a hassle.
2. Whist we've been lucky, the security aspect isn't great. In the picture above would be about $20K worth of gear. People don't have
to show ID to collect their order. Also anyone walking around the complex could steal gear if they really wanted to even though the complex is pretty tight.
3. There is a bit of labour involved in storing & packing all the gear & driving over several times a week.
4. Customers can only pick up & return during business hours. It would be nice to have some way people could pick up/return after hours.
Recently they just installed an Amazon parcel locker outside. I got to wondering if we could set up something similar. It could either be
inside or outside. Outside would need to be much more secure & weather proof but it would allow after hours pickup/return. Inside the complex you
could use a much simpler solution like a set of gym lockers with smart locks.
Igloo Home make a smart padlock where you can get a time limited code & the lock doesn't need an internet connection. You just generate
the code from an app. Apparently these are popular with the AirBnB people. When a customer books I could just send them a code
that works for the days or their hire. I think there's actually an API you could use to send a code if they book online.
We could pre-stock the lockers with our most popular items. For example lockers 1, 2 & 3 might have speakers. 4, 5 & 6 could have
microphones. 7, 8 & 9 could have lights. If someone ordered 2 x speakers & a microphone then I send them codes for lockers 1, 2 & 4
& they have instant access without someone having to go there & pack the order.
The other old school alternative would be to just employ someone to be there for a few hours each day which would solve most of these problems but
it would cost about $20K a year. For $20K I could probably get an awesome automated system that no other rental company has & besides it's never truly passive
income when you've got employees.
Anyway I'd love people's feedback on this. These self pickup lockers seem to be popping up everywhere:
We operate out of a large self storage complex that has a shared & staffed reception. Our unit isn't fully staffed. Our tech just goes there as needed. Maybe 8 hours per week.
The way it works is:
1. Customers book & pay either online, via email or phone.
2. We pack, label & put the equipment out in one of the common areas a day or 2 prior.
3. The customer goes to the shared reception & they point them to our pick up area. The customer
then picks up their order.
4. After the event the customer returns it to the same spot.
We've been doing this for 8 years with over a thousand orders & fortunately never had anything stolen & customers seem to really like
it. When COVID struck we basically had a contactless pickup system ready to go. It's been a pretty good setup but it does have a few of weaknesses:
1. Sometimes people ring up at short notice. This means our tech has to drive about half an hour from his place to get the gear out. That's assuming he's
not out on a delivery job. So either we turn down the job or we take it but it's a bit of a hassle.
2. Whist we've been lucky, the security aspect isn't great. In the picture above would be about $20K worth of gear. People don't have
to show ID to collect their order. Also anyone walking around the complex could steal gear if they really wanted to even though the complex is pretty tight.
3. There is a bit of labour involved in storing & packing all the gear & driving over several times a week.
4. Customers can only pick up & return during business hours. It would be nice to have some way people could pick up/return after hours.
Recently they just installed an Amazon parcel locker outside. I got to wondering if we could set up something similar. It could either be
inside or outside. Outside would need to be much more secure & weather proof but it would allow after hours pickup/return. Inside the complex you
could use a much simpler solution like a set of gym lockers with smart locks.
Igloo Home make a smart padlock where you can get a time limited code & the lock doesn't need an internet connection. You just generate
the code from an app. Apparently these are popular with the AirBnB people. When a customer books I could just send them a code
that works for the days or their hire. I think there's actually an API you could use to send a code if they book online.
We could pre-stock the lockers with our most popular items. For example lockers 1, 2 & 3 might have speakers. 4, 5 & 6 could have
microphones. 7, 8 & 9 could have lights. If someone ordered 2 x speakers & a microphone then I send them codes for lockers 1, 2 & 4
& they have instant access without someone having to go there & pack the order.
The other old school alternative would be to just employ someone to be there for a few hours each day which would solve most of these problems but
it would cost about $20K a year. For $20K I could probably get an awesome automated system that no other rental company has & besides it's never truly passive
income when you've got employees.
Anyway I'd love people's feedback on this. These self pickup lockers seem to be popping up everywhere:
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