The Secretary Victorian Hire and Rental Association
Dear Madam,
Re: Herald-Sun Article: Call Your Local Hire Shop & $ave Money
First let me thank you for inviting the public to write in and comment on the hire industry. I would like to relate to you my experience recently with a local hire company and how their advice saved me money and the chance of ruining my carpets at home.
Bright and early last Tuesday I phoned their office on the Princes Highway. The phone was answered eventually by a person called Holdar Linemate. We seemed to lose contact immediately, but surprisingly he came back on after a while having cleverly guessed my name. He said "Are you Wright?" I replied "Why yes." Upon which we seemed to lose contact again. It was not very long before I heard a different person asking if anybody was attending to me. I said yes, Holdar Linemate.
A little while later Holdar came back on the line. He asked if I was Wright so I knew he had been trying to keep in contact with me. But blow me down, just as I began to state my business, this infernal music that had been crossing our line all morning began again. Then almost as suddenly it stopped. Holdar's voice came through loud and clear. "You there mate, we've got a couple in stock, you'll need a licence and we'll want a $100.00 deposit." Well I was astonished to say the least!
To think that one would require a licence to operate a carpet cleaner and how on earth Holdar had accurately guessed my requirement. "Very clever these hire people" I told Martha while we waited. I thanked Holdar and was about to hang up when he replied, "When for?" Thinking I had missed something with our bad phone line I said "Pardon me." He asked "When will I hold her for?" I said I would have to apply for a licence first and call him back tomorrow. We were so well acquainted now that Holdar told me "Oh a licence is not really essential have you got a Medicare card? Struth what could happen? I did not want to take any unnecessary risks.
So I asked him if I could get into any trouble. He said "I'm quite new here just a minute and I'll find out." I think the phone must have slipped out of his hand then because I was deafened by a noise as if the receiver had hit the desk top. I was still soothing my ear and just about to start my lunch when he returned. "If you use it near Rio you might bugger the diamonds." I told him I wanted to clean my rugs at home and we had no plans to go to Rio! But I was intrigued about the diamonds he had mentioned, so I asked him to qualify this comment. He said, I'm not sure being new and all that, diamond wheels I think".
At this point I was most unsure as to whether I might perform a seemingly simple chore without getting into a whole lot of trouble. I called out to Martha, she was getting tea ready. However I was saved by Holdar's next comment. I decided to cancel the job. After all a little bit of dirt never hurt anyone! Holdar suggested it was not really worth cleaning my carpets until after I had completed my hire and returned the machine, because it creates a lot of dust. So I feel that these few hours on the phone were a great investment especially when I think of the strife I could have been in. I suppose I must have saved myself twenty dollars too.
Yours deceivingly,
Nev. R. Wright