PortaPottyBossPro Blog — Event Rentals & Booking

Last-Minute Add-Ons: Handling Extra Event Porta Potties the Week of the Event

The week of the event, the phone rings. The wedding has 60 more guests than planned. The festival added a second stage. The church picnic just found out the building restrooms will be locked. They need more units, and they need them on the same truck that is already loaded for Friday. Handling these add-ons smoothly is part of being an event company.

The Week-of Phone Call

Good communication, like the texts covered in Confirmation and Reminder Texts for Event Porta Potty Customers, often triggers these calls. The night-before reminder reminds the host to look at their numbers one more time, and they realize they need more. That is a good thing. It is much better to hear it on Thursday than to get an angry text on Saturday night about long lines.

Can You Do It?

Before saying yes, check two things: whether you have the units, and whether the truck has room and time. Look at the job's existing unit types and quantities, then look at what else is going out that day on the dispatch board. Keep your own count of what is available. If you are already stretched thin on hand wash stations that weekend, say so honestly and offer an alternative, like a deluxe unit with a sink.

If the answer is yes, confirm it with the customer in a text so there is a record of what they asked for and what it costs.

Update the Existing Job

The simplest add-on is more of the same at the same place. Update the quantity on the existing delivery job, add the unit numbers if you track them, and update the placement notes if the new units go somewhere different. The driver sees the new quantity and notes on their phone. Update the pickup job to match, so the extra units come home too.

Add the new lines to the invoice. Because the invoice is built from line items, the customer sees exactly what changed.

When It Is a Separate Delivery

Sometimes the main delivery already went out, and the add-on needs its own trip. Create a new delivery job for the extra units. It lands on the Waiting List, and you can assign it to whichever truck is closest that day. The driver sees it in route order on their phone, and the customer gets the on-the-way and arrived texts as usual.

Put a note on it that it is an add-on to an existing event, so the driver does not set the units somewhere random. "Two extra standard units, add to the bank behind the barn, same row."

During the Event

Some add-ons happen while the event is running. A festival bank gets overwhelmed and the organizer wants two more units and an extra service visit. Add the units as a delivery job and the visit as an extra pump-out. Both show on the Waiting List until assigned. Confirm the price by text before the truck goes.

For more on running service during an event, see Mid-Event Service at Multi-Day Festivals: Pumping Porta Potties While the Gates Are Open.

Billing Add-Ons Fairly

Many operators charge a rush fee or an extra delivery fee for add-ons that need their own trip. Whatever your policy is, put it on your estimates and website so customers know before they ask. When the add-on is on the same truck as the original delivery, many operators skip the extra fee as a courtesy.

With a card on file, the add-on is charged with the rest of the invoice when the pickup is completed. Nobody has to call the customer for another payment.

Keep the add-on visible to the whole office. A note on the client that says what was added, when and at what price helps whoever handles the final invoice or a question from the customer later. When a customer says they never asked for the extra hand wash station, the text thread and the note answer it.

Downsizing Too

Not every change is up. A wedding shrinks, a race has fewer registrations than expected. Decide your policy for reductions close to the event. Many operators allow them freely up to a certain date and charge the original amount after that, since the units were held. We cover this in Event Porta Potty Cancellations and Date Changes: Setting a Policy and Keeping It.

Learn From Every Add-On

If you see the same kind of event come back with add-ons every year, your guidance at booking is too low for that kind of event. Adjust your rule of thumb. Note it on the client record too, so next year you can say, "Last year you added two units on Thursday, should we start with those?" For more on handling event bookings, visit the event porta potty rental software page.