Should I Lease, Rent, or Buy Uniforms for My Company?

Should I Lease, Rent, or Buy Uniforms for My Company?

Uniform Rental vs Purchase

For all business owners, choosing to rent or buy employee uniforms depends on several factors, the type of work you do for instance if the wearer's uniforms become heavily soiled on a regular basis, renting may prove more resourceful due to the availability of rental uniform programs, but buying can certainly cost less. There are four key factors that must be taken into consideration prior to making your decision. They include contract length and terms, all fees need to be discussed, and employee turnover.

                                                                     

Cost                                               

Expenses vary between renting or buying employee uniforms. Most cases buying employee uniforms are going to costs significantly less than renting them over an equal timeframe, you could see up to 60% percent less cost in buying the employee uniform opposed to renting the employee uniform for that timeframe. When businesses buy workplace apparel or employee uniforms, they can and have lasted from three to five times as long as rental uniforms even with regular wear and washing. Why? Commercial or Residential laundry is not as harsh on the fabrics of the garments therefore not decreasing the life expectancy of the material. Industrial Laundry is processed in massive wash loads form 400-600 lbs each and include chemical based wash formulas.

                                                                             

Customer Service Agreements (Contracts)

Call it what you will, but in the end, no provider is going to make an investment into your Company without a contract. Without having a document in writing signed and agreed upon by all parties you will not receive rental uniform services from a uniform rental company. Countless times throughout my career I have heard “oh we do not have a contract” by I can assure you there is one, you may just have not known what you were signing. Rental companies require contracts. Contract length and terms will and can vary depending on numerous factors. Far too many factors for me to list here, but, all contracts are up for negotiating. All more the reason to have a Uniform Expert on your side to guide you through this process and not the guidance of an individual whose sole responsibility is to inflate your rental value and length of contract so they make a larger commission! Make sense? Contact The Uniform Broker

Contracts could be a minimum of two years or extended well beyond five years. Rental contracts have specific instructions on time for cancellations. When at the end of each contract term, there is an automatic renewal clause and if you are not aware of it or how to address it, you will likely find yourself under the terms of a contract that has renewed for like term or worse you initiated a 36 month term but neglected to adjust the auto-renewal term and then find your business becomes liable for the terms of the standard Customer Service Agreement of 60 -72 months. The terms of the contract can include additional charges, for instances an extra 20 to 30 percent oversize charge for uniforms that are in sizes above XL. Some rental companies require you to purchase uniforms at the end of the contract on all nonstandard items more commonly known as a “buy-out” or “buy-back”. When you buy uniforms, no contracts exist. You can decide to change your uniform style after the first year if that is what you want to do. Check out our Webstore click here!

                                               

 Repair and Replacement

Now if you do choose to rent uniforms, repair and replacement are often included within your contract. However, there are some rental companies that will require additional charges for certain services. Carefully read the rental contract and be sure to understand every term of it before signing it. Want The Uniform Broker to facilitate your rental or lease program? Click here

If you buy the uniforms for your employees, you are responsible for replacement and repair charges. If your company experiences a high employee-turnover rate, you may want to consider renting or minimally leasing the employee uniforms so that you won't have to repeatedly purchase uniforms that may never be used again.

Get your FREE copy of my eBook "Measuring for Success" click here

                                                   

Extra Charges

Buying uniforms outright the only extra charges involved are if the uniforms need repair or replaced. When renting, you will have to pay setup charges for each new wearer who enters into the uniform rental program unless otherwise negotiated. Also, if the employee has a size change within a rental contract, a charge could result and if the wearer does not submit all of the originally issued amounts after receiving his/hers replaced sized garments, you will then become responsible for what is commonly known as a lost garment/lost product charges. Extra charges are also known as ancillary charges. So, when speaking with a sales rep from one of these companies and they are using “lingo” that you are unfamiliar with, stop them and have them to explain exactly what that means. Also, if you question anything to make certain that prior to signing that your concerns or questions are answered and put into writing.

Follow this link to see the Benefits of Purchasing Your Uniforms

Check out these two awesome videos 
"Should I Rent, Lease, Or Purchase My Employee Uniforms"
"3 Benefits for Buying Employee Uniforms"