So i'm working on a church and I got stuck about 30 feet in the air today. Luckily I had just moved because I was fully extended at 80 feet and the wind was killer!
Anyhow, I started to swing the basket of my lift and bang, a hydraulic hose erupts and starts spewing all over the roof. I shut it down and had my ground guy turn my ProPortioner to water and detergent to quickly deal with the mess.
So I'm stuck and worse I gotta PEEEEE. I'm on a major busy corner with all eyes on me and after an hour I just had to let loose. The guy's said I did a great job at not looking obvious!
After some relief my brain started working again. I realized I was only about 5 foot above and two feet away from the steeple. With a little effort I was able to gracefully make it onto the steeple then climbed down onto the roof. Held the metal ribs as I shimmied down to where the guys set a ladder for me.
OK.....all is good, right?
The repair guy shows up and fires up the machine. Spewing fluid everywhere. He caps off to hydraulic lines then fires the machine up again.....spewing fluid everywhere. He does this three times before he can bring the lift down for repair.
After he fixed the machine I had to go up and clean all of the fluid from the roof, then clean it from the driveway. Now they still want to charge me over $1200 for the lift for the day and I say that's great but where do I send my invoice?
The confused lady on the other end of the phone says "No, we send you an invoice" to which I replied, "I have a feeling my invoice will be $10 less than yours" (I have a $10 credit with United Rentals so.....might just as well clear the books before the year ends.
I'm certain it will all work out but if they give me any grief I'll just double my rate as an "emergency fee"!
BlueRidge said
Dec 18, 2016
I am glad you waited to the end to mention United Rentals! I will walk away from a job if they are the only company to rent from.
This past summer I needed an articulating lift for apartment roofs. I reserved the lift a two weeks in advance. They offered a 10% discount if I opened an account. I wasn't so concerned with that because this was a one time deal since the local company I use couldn't help because both lifts were out on a long term rental. To start off they were late on Monday morning. I called and the excuse was they didn't think I wanted it because I didn't do the credit application. BS! They got there 3 hours late! The driver mentions to my guys that they had been working on this machine.
We finally get started around 11 when it was supposed to be 8. They told me they would make it right. I had to call the maintenance guy every day and some days twice. I knew we could finish on Thursday but ended up having to work Friday due to all the down time. Then, the last building (fortunately) it gets stuck way up there. Greg was in the basket and no matter what, it would not come back into position to come down. He did get it moved to where the bucket could be close to the ground then got out. When the service guy shows up he tries to blame it on us for taking the machine beyond it's limits. BS!
If you have the pleasure to talk to Rose in NY, good luck getting her to understand! It took me three months to finally make this go away. I spoke to the local office, sent in documentation, spoke to Rose, sent in documentation... nothing. I finally got a bill with interest so I called. This time it was not to Rose. This lady heard my situation and put me in touch with the manager (I had asked for the regional manager). I went through everything again. He found my email with documentation, apologized and credited me with more than half of the rental which I felt was fair.
As I started out... NEVER will I rent a lift from United Rentals! I was spoiled with the local company and well maintained, working equipment.
I wish I had called to talk to the manager from day one when I noticed the invoice was wrong. I did fill out the application and opened an account but even that wasn't credited. They also forgot to credit the three hours, three men standing around. The aggravation of dealing with Rose and her strong accent set me off more than once!
You should owe nothing or maybe they should pay you! Good luck Doug!
Brett
-- Edited by BlueRidge on Sunday 18th of December 2016 06:33:05 AM
Bryan P said
Dec 18, 2016
I rented a battery powered lift from United that had bad batteries I guess. I spent half the time trying to get enough charge to use the thing. Finished the job from the ladders. I didn't have a chance to complain since I had an accident returning the lift and they had to come pick it up off the side of the interstate. At least they did that.
Maverick Contracting said
Dec 18, 2016
Sure Byron. I'm betting they picked up their equipment and didn't even offer you a lift heheh!
Bryan P said
Dec 18, 2016
Maverick Contracting wrote:
Sure Byron. I'm betting they picked up their equipment and didn't even offer you a lift heheh!
Well, yeah. But I was getting a ride with the tow truck picking up my truck. Weird story, but I had a ratchet strap that fell between the cab and bed of my truck. Got wrapped around my drive shaft and the hook punctured my gas tank. My first Hazmat visit...but it was for gas not bleach!
Fred W said
Dec 18, 2016
Brett, I usually rent from Sunbelt because I always have issues with United. Even with this rental the lady told me the cost was over $1200 when the last time it was less than $600.
The only reason I used them was because that is who the client wanted me to use. Even when we were all done the client tells me that the last time they left the machine sit in their parking lot for almost two weeks and it dripped oil the entire time......So why the heck do you want me to use them?????
SprayWash said
Dec 20, 2016
Every time i've ever had a mechanical issue with a lift from United ( or Sunbelt), they've ALWAYS given me the lift for free for that day. Sometime they still charge the delivery fee. I'm really surprised there not treating you better.
That being said, i do have an account and a great account rep who is my point of contact. I don't deal with the call centers except to pay my bill.
Fred W said
Dec 20, 2016
That's what surprises me Ray. I have a rep and he has been trying to get my business. I did call him today, he said he would look into it.
United for me has always sucked. I generally have issues with the equipment and they have always been over priced. They have some bigger equipment and that is a big difference but like I said, I usually have problems.
I do like that they usually leave equipment sit. I can rent for one day and know that it will probably be there for several days.
So i'm working on a church and I got stuck about 30 feet in the air today. Luckily I had just moved because I was fully extended at 80 feet and the wind was killer!
Anyhow, I started to swing the basket of my lift and bang, a hydraulic hose erupts and starts spewing all over the roof. I shut it down and had my ground guy turn my ProPortioner to water and detergent to quickly deal with the mess.
So I'm stuck and worse I gotta PEEEEE. I'm on a major busy corner with all eyes on me and after an hour I just had to let loose. The guy's said I did a great job at not looking obvious!
After some relief my brain started working again. I realized I was only about 5 foot above and two feet away from the steeple. With a little effort I was able to gracefully make it onto the steeple then climbed down onto the roof. Held the metal ribs as I shimmied down to where the guys set a ladder for me.
OK.....all is good, right?
The repair guy shows up and fires up the machine. Spewing fluid everywhere. He caps off to hydraulic lines then fires the machine up again.....spewing fluid everywhere. He does this three times before he can bring the lift down for repair.
After he fixed the machine I had to go up and clean all of the fluid from the roof, then clean it from the driveway. Now they still want to charge me over $1200 for the lift for the day and I say that's great but where do I send my invoice?
The confused lady on the other end of the phone says "No, we send you an invoice" to which I replied, "I have a feeling my invoice will be $10 less than yours" (I have a $10 credit with United Rentals so.....might just as well clear the books before the year ends.
I'm certain it will all work out but if they give me any grief I'll just double my rate as an "emergency fee"!
I am glad you waited to the end to mention United Rentals! I will walk away from a job if they are the only company to rent from.
This past summer I needed an articulating lift for apartment roofs. I reserved the lift a two weeks in advance. They offered a 10% discount if I opened an account. I wasn't so concerned with that because this was a one time deal since the local company I use couldn't help because both lifts were out on a long term rental. To start off they were late on Monday morning. I called and the excuse was they didn't think I wanted it because I didn't do the credit application. BS! They got there 3 hours late! The driver mentions to my guys that they had been working on this machine.
We finally get started around 11 when it was supposed to be 8. They told me they would make it right. I had to call the maintenance guy every day and some days twice. I knew we could finish on Thursday but ended up having to work Friday due to all the down time. Then, the last building (fortunately) it gets stuck way up there. Greg was in the basket and no matter what, it would not come back into position to come down. He did get it moved to where the bucket could be close to the ground then got out. When the service guy shows up he tries to blame it on us for taking the machine beyond it's limits. BS!
If you have the pleasure to talk to Rose in NY, good luck getting her to understand! It took me three months to finally make this go away. I spoke to the local office, sent in documentation, spoke to Rose, sent in documentation... nothing. I finally got a bill with interest so I called. This time it was not to Rose. This lady heard my situation and put me in touch with the manager (I had asked for the regional manager). I went through everything again. He found my email with documentation, apologized and credited me with more than half of the rental which I felt was fair.
As I started out... NEVER will I rent a lift from United Rentals! I was spoiled with the local company and well maintained, working equipment.
I wish I had called to talk to the manager from day one when I noticed the invoice was wrong. I did fill out the application and opened an account but even that wasn't credited. They also forgot to credit the three hours, three men standing around. The aggravation of dealing with Rose and her strong accent set me off more than once!
You should owe nothing or maybe they should pay you! Good luck Doug!
Brett
-- Edited by BlueRidge on Sunday 18th of December 2016 06:33:05 AM
Well, yeah. But I was getting a ride with the tow truck picking up my truck. Weird story, but I had a ratchet strap that fell between the cab and bed of my truck. Got wrapped around my drive shaft and the hook punctured my gas tank. My first Hazmat visit...but it was for gas not bleach!
The only reason I used them was because that is who the client wanted me to use. Even when we were all done the client tells me that the last time they left the machine sit in their parking lot for almost two weeks and it dripped oil the entire time......So why the heck do you want me to use them?????
That being said, i do have an account and a great account rep who is my point of contact. I don't deal with the call centers except to pay my bill.
United for me has always sucked. I generally have issues with the equipment and they have always been over priced. They have some bigger equipment and that is a big difference but like I said, I usually have problems.
I do like that they usually leave equipment sit. I can rent for one day and know that it will probably be there for several days.