The lads always gave me stick about site visits, wondering aloud what tape measure I’d been using as they struggled to fit the corner of a marquee in to a tree when it was supposed to be 3ft away!.
But the reality is there are two sides to a site visit, one is effectively a survey of the area to make sure everything you suggest will fit/is suitable. The other is helping the client choose which option is best for them (and hopefully hiring them a marquee!)..
I realise smaller functions/companies may not require site visits. Large functions may need to be with a committee of contractors to coordinate everything. I can only talk from my experience, which was 1 or 2 of us going out for site visits.
These are the things we looked for when carrying out a site visit, I’ll deal with the site survey side of things this week and the helping the client side of things later. We used to have a special site visit form to fill in so we didn’t forget anything.
- Make sure the marquee fits and access is suitable. Sounds obvious but have a tick box for checking access to remind you. is the site suitable? – any over head power lines, underground utilities (ask client and have a tick box for having asked the question)
- Do dogs use the garden? if so put on the quote the site must be clear of dog poo on the day of arrival – up to you but we put this on after having to clear several gardens one year (really not pleasant)
- Any trees/flower beds to be aware of either inside or outside of the marquee?
- Is the ground hard or soft? Just so you know what anchoring equipment you’ll need when erecting is it a long walk from the van/trailer/lorry? This might affect how long the job will take
- Power – where’s it coming from and what safe route can the cable take to the marquee
- Outside lighting – is it available? is it likely to be required?
- Make sure the marquee fits (trust me it’s worth measuring twice)
Thanks for reading
Spencer