What is your experience with tents?

[Jeremiahswindshieldrepair]

I have tried out tents at a few locations and have had some success but it was limited in time. For instance, I put a tent up at a local mall and did $4000 my first week. After that I put one of my employees there and he never did more than 4 or 5 a day and it dwindled down to nothing in about 4 or 5 weeks. I was wondering if the length of time is touchy like that in your state?

[gold star wsr]

To start out so very well, then have business drop dramatically after putting an employee in the place really sounds suspicious to me.

Maybe he just isnt as motivated as you are, since its not his business.

It is important to trust the people who work for you, but with such a dramatic change, I think you really need to find out what is going on there.

Is it possible that you have put the fox in charge of the hen house?

Have you considered spot checking to see if he might be busier than what he is telling you he is (charging cash, and not reporting it to you)?

[Jeremiahswindshieldrepair]

I do think that might be a valid point ... but this guy is someone I would trust with my "insert expensive or meaningful item(s) here". I came back myself 3 weeks later and did only an average of 6 a day. that fisrt week was an average of 14 a day..... kinda wierd?

[mafsu]

Is it possible that you tapped out the regular visitors to the mall. People who come their every day. Then your six per day were just regular shoppers. I would think your average would go up after a couple of months, once people knew where to get their windshields fixed.

[drfixachip]

Wow! I wish I could find a location here that would provide a measley SIX repairs a day!

I have been steadily working several locations in town and have yet to have ONE
of them pull SIX in a week!

I know that there is someplace here in town that can get a response better than I have
had with my tent... I just haven't found it yet...

While I have repairs coming from several sources... I was truly hoping to be able to start putting tents in several locales around town by now. Alas... I'll figure out how to make the tents work around here somehow.

Sorry if my response is of little help... But if my tent did 6 repairs a day, I would begin to look for a place to put a second tent... 3rd tent...etc...

Best wishes!

[Jeremiahswindshieldrepair]

Ya, 6 a day isn't bad. It really started to wane at the end of a 2 month stint there though. I hope someone out there has had a long term success in a tent and can tell me how the numbers work over a longer period of time?

[blaneblair]

I know noone wants to hear the word Rain, I live on the coast and it rains quite a bit here.. I saw in Spokane a few guys with tents but they did not work under it only used it for the advertisement.
Do some of you find a way to work in the rain successfully?
B.b

[gold star wsr]

We dont get a lot of rain where I am, so it's not often a problem. I usually just try to reschedule if it rains. Occasionally, it will happen, though, that I have a repair in progress and it starts to rain. That happened to me this morning... just a light drizzle. I have the liquid resins umbrella with me, so I put it up. If its not more than a few stray drops, I use the UV screen to keep the water away from the repair area.

[brad333]

When you set up these tents, how do you go about paying the person that owns the land. How do yall do the tent thing?

[Bois]

I normally do cold calling during the week (Mon - Thur) and set up a tent on weekends (Fri - Sat). The first time I did this, I had 15 customers the first weekend. The 2nd & 3rd weekend it dropped to 6 customers - all at the same location. Now, I'm lucky to get 4.

My problem is I can't find decent (heavy traffic) locations. In the town I live, the university owns most of the land adjacent to the busy roads. Spots that are available are on less traveled or mainly residential roads. I've been trying for 3 weeks to get permission to set up in the parking lot at a strip mall where a new discount store just opened. Property owner (out of state) is draggin their feet.

In a larger city 15 miles away, I found that city ordinance prevents vendors from setting up on the busiest street in town unless the business or service provided is related to the primary use of the property. [I don't think car washes can have wsr. But a mechanic shop can have a wsr tent.]

I can find location in small towns (population of >1,300) but there's too little business.

Still trying,
Dale...