Newsletter 51

Hello to all BIHA members,

A very warm welcome to BIHA newsletter # 51. (Issued 3rd May 2006).

  Contents: 

1)   Stolen bouncy castles.

2)     Second-hand inflatables & equipment for sale.

3)     Two Telford inflatable trade shows. (March 2006)

4)     Real life hire stories.

5)     Spotlight on a hire company.

6)     The winning entries. (BIHA competition).

7)     BIHA validation Scheme (BVS). http://www.inflatable-safety.co.uk

8)     How to avoid parking tickets and speeding tickets.

9)     Fuel saving ideas.

10)  Complaint to the BIHA.

11)  Thought for the month.

12)  Jim’ll fix it for you!!

13) Job vacancy.

14)  Additional services from Art and Sole (The company who produces www.biha.org.uk ).

15)  Don’t let your castles be "bounced around!"

16) PAT testing.

17)  Closing comments.

 

1) STOLEN BOUNCY CASTLES


Please can you add this to the next newsletter. Thanks!
Our van was stolen from outside our home in Farnborough, Kent on the night of the 26th March 2006 with two brand new bouncy castles on board. The van was subsequesntly recovered in St Pauls Cray, Orpington, but both castles and blowers etc had been taken. We would like to warn other hirers in the Orpington area to be extra careful.
Descriptions:
- 15ft x 16ft Space Theme Adult/Kids Bouncy Castle (Manufactured by Jump for Joy, PIPA tag number 18222)

- 12ft x 15ft Jungle Theme Kids Bouncy Castle (Manufactured by Jump for Joy, PIPA tag number 18213)

If anyone if offered these units for sale, please contact us on 07904 155403 and your local police.

Kind regards
Fay & Christian (Jumping Jacks)

 

More stolen equipment.

 

Have just been to collect one of my adult castles to find it gone. A note on the door claimed the hirer was called away at short notice and had left the castle rolled up in the back garden. Guess what - its not there!
The police arent interested until I can prove that its been stolen but am 99% sure I'm not going to see it again. It is an adult castle. Very distinctive with an Egyptian theme, 3 bif n bash figures and a yellow pyramid sewn into the bed. The bloke who hired it said that he used to hire bouncy castles on the beach so has experience and may be trying to operate it on a beach somewhere over the bank holiday period.Am gutted as you never think its going to happen to you. There is a picture of it on my web site at www.partytimecastles.co.uk It is the Pharaohs Kingdom Castle. Its also Pipa tested and has the blue Pipa disc sewn onto the front post. There were two red mats with it but one was left behind in the garden - probably couldn’t fit it all into hia vehicle.  If you see it please phone me on 01472 750476  Thanks
Calypso

2)   Second-hand inflatables & equipment for sale.

 

FOR SALE

Please see below the latest second-hand inflatables being sold by BIHA members. If any member is interested in advertising their second-hand inflatables to over 1,800 BIHA members (completely free of charge), please email me at:  mark.jerram@ntlworld.com (Don't forget to always include your town and county area, so that potential buyers can calculate how far they must travel to view your second-hand inflatable before they enquire).  If you are looking at a second-hand unit, always check carefully the condition of the bed seams and also the stress points. If you are not sure what to look out for when assessing the condition of a second-hand inflatable - try and take someone with you who is experienced. (Please note that the BIHA cannot be held responsible for the quality of the second-hand inflatables advertised in this alert, so please be vigilant).

FOR SALE

12 x 12 disco bounce / space pod, fully enclosed dome castle, has been hired it out 11 times . The castle was made by Gaz Inflatables in Nov 2004, it has a big alien head that can be tucked in or out on the top. Comes complete with 2 x blowers needed to power the unit.  £1100.00. For pictures please see our website (although the colour is NOT pink, its in grey & black) or phone Leapfrog Inflatables for details - 01435 867441 / 0796 33 22 111. www.leapfroginflatables.co.uk we are based in East Sussex.

Tim & Rebecca

Leapfrog Inflatables

 

FOR SALE

 

1. Galaxy six bed trampoline trailer complete. good earner and can be assembeled by one persone in half an hour. £ 5200.

 

2. Airquee two lane bungee run with adult and childrens bungees complete, as new £ 2, 500.

 

Reason for sale,  moving into diferent field of corporate hire.

 

for further details please call  cris 01263 823150 or 07909 723926.  items may be viewed at www.norfolkbouncycastles.co.uk

 

FOR SALE

 

Large 19x11x9 inflatable slide
Excellent conditon
£600 in Northampton
01604 761466

 

FORSALE

Bouncy Castle Hire Business For Sale

 

3 x 12x12ft - 1 Tiger, 1 Giraffe and 1 Undersea Theme all with shower covers.

 

1 x 12x12ft Slide/Bouncer Combo Jungle theme.

 

1 x 9x12ft Bugs Bunny (old).

 

All the above include RCD adaptors, stakes, tarpaulins and pegs, extension leads, blowers and cleaning accesories.

 

Giant Games

 

2xWooden Jenga, 1 x Wooden Limbo, 1 x Get Knotted 2x2m with inflatable dice, 1 x Snakes and Ladders 2x2m with inflatable dice.

 

Space Hoppers

 

Some Party Bags and fillings.

 

Sack truck, Sand Bags A Board, Stationery, logod fleeces and t-shirts and mobile phone with SIM card and telephone number.

 

£5500.00

 

Please visit our website to view the above at www.airplaybouncycastlehire.co.uk

 

Please call Richard on 01202 854628 or 07773 618401

 

FOR SALE

 

COMPLETE BUSINESS FOR SALE

Genuine reason - Due to increasing family commitments.

Business location - Didcot, Oxfordshire.

Current business name - Jumpin' Jax Bouncy Castle Hire.

Business includes:-

1 x 16'x16' Seaworld themed castle with attached raincover (that folds back) bought June '05 made by Whitehall inflatables.

1 x 12'x18' Wizard themed castle with bouncy slide at front of castle with attached raincover (that folds back) bought March 04 made by BeeTee.

1 x 12'x12' arched castle with detachable raincover.

1 x 7'x7' ballpool, this hasn't got a raincover.  Includes 4 bags of balls approx. 1000.

All castles include electric blowers and anchor pegs.

2 BeeTee mats sizes 6' x 4'.

2 smaller mats sizes approx. 3' x 4'.

4 extension leads (25m).

3 RCD trips.

6 coloured sand bags made by Whitehall inflatables.

1 sack trolley.

Advert in Yellow Pages (there is time to change phone number).

Established business name with future bookings.

White Ford Transit semi hi-top diesel V reg van.  No sign writing on vehicle. Excellent condition.  low mileage.  Fully boarded. Taxed and MOT.

Total price £8000 ono.

Contact:  Lesley Tilbury on 01235 811877    e-mail: graham@tilbury1.wanadoo.co.uk

FOR SALE

CUB KARTS FOR SALE.

THESE KARTS ARE IN FANTASTIC CONDITION WE HAVE FOUR KARTS AND THE INFLATABLE TRACK PLUS 9 BATTERIES AND ALL ACCESSORIES IT ALL COMES ON A SPECIAL TRAILER.

WE ARE SELLING THESE ITEMS DUE TO WE HAVE TOO MUCH STOCK NOT BECAUSE THEY ARE NO GOOD.

WE HIRE THESE OUT FOR CHILDREN'S PARTIES AGES 3 TO 10 FOR 2 HOURS OR 4 HOURS. THEY HIRE OUT FOR £250.00 FOR 2 HOURS AND £400.00 FOR 4 HOURS A GOOD MONEY EARNER.

PLEASE CALL ME ANY TIME FOR ANY MORE INFORMATION.

SELLING PRICE £4000.00

CONTACT TONY HART

WWW.FUNDAYLTD.COM

08700 113 993

07836 570 278

 

FOR SALE

 

Inflatable Climbing Tower For Sale

Only one of its type in the UK.

184 sq ft of surface area but only 10ft tall so need for harnesses.

Comes with confirmed 5 day dry hire booking in August worth £800 on which the deposit has been paid.

The tower has the number 1 natural listing on Google & Yahoo search engines and all enquiries from these will be passed to buyer.

Sale due to shortage of suitable staff.

Serious Offers welcomed.

Tel: 07976 256 702 or email richard@lichfieldentertainments.com

 

FOR SALE

 

12’ x 12’ Octopussy bouncy castle as manufactured by Bee-Tee.  It is now 4/5 years old, but is of exceptional quality, and has never needed repair.  In the last 12 months it has earned me in excess of £1500.  I would like to sell, to release capital to purchase new for the coming season.  It only reached £500 on ebay, so it never reached the reserve.  I would like £800.  The catalogue photo can be seen on my website at – www.stevenagebouncycastles.co.uk  Buyer to collect (Hertfordshire).  Call for more details. Ski – 01438 359114

 

Ski

01438 359114

07985 216658

www.1st-choice-leisure.co.uk

www.stevenagebouncycastles.co.uk

 

FOR SALE

 

mark could you please advertise my bouncy castle hire business. i have run it on a part time basis for seven years now but due to increased hours in my full time job it is time to pass it on.  i want to sell it as a complete package  as follows:

 1   15x15 merlin theme castle.    with 1.5 blower

 1   15x10 pirate theme castle with junior slide      with 1.5 blower
 
  1   11x12 nursery bounce jungle theme     with 0.75 blower
 
  1     12x12 circus theme castle       with 0.75 blower

  all castles apart from the nursery bounce come with shower covers and are two years old. also included are four crash mats, pegs,ground sheets, extension leads with weather proof sockets and sack barrow. i have one years advertising in the yellow pages and bookings  for the coming months. i have full liability insurance which is the cheapest i have come across.I am unsure if it can be changed over but we can try! All this equipment fits comfortabley into my Citroen Dispatch van which is a little tatty but has never let me down. it is white (no surprise there) and is an S reg. this comes with the package. I do have another unit that is a pink fairy castle with slide. this castle is five years old and although well looked after is starting to look its age. im quite sure if this is unwanted my daughters will be overjoyed. 
As I said I have always had to organise my bookings around my full time job but have built it into a decent local business with a good reputation and many regular  customers. The price for this is 7500 pounds which can comfortably be re couped within the first year.

contact Andy on 07956 432 675 or Email leapfrogs2003@yahoo.co.uk

 

FOR SALE

1 14ft X 12ft castle with underwater design, 1 12ft x 12ft stripy castle, 1 12ft  x 12ft castle with a picture of pigs on roller skates on the back. blowers, rain covers, satety mats, pegs.  All must go, total £1600 ono, willing to sell seperately.

Donna Oram  

 

FOR SALE

We have some items for sale that might be of interest.

Including some unusual Inflatables: Airbourne Adventure, Surf Time, PandaCastle by Zizo, Human Football Table and more.

Details at  http://65.109.117.27/used.htm

 

Prices are in Euro but we have a conversion chart on the site and we will arrange delivery door to door.

Kindest Regards.
Eric O' Sullivan
Managing Director
Carousel Enterprises / Toons and Balloons
Tel: +353 96 32042
Fax: +353 96 32042
Mobile: +353 86 2692630
Email: info@toonsandballoons.com
Web: http://www.toonsandballoons.com
" Our Business is Fun "

 

FOR SALE

 

I am selling:

 

1. 3 Brand new 49cc quad bikes with 30x50 foot inflatable track

 

2. A 12x12 Tiger bouncy castle

 

3. A 10x10 Clown bouncy castle

 

4. An 8x8 Clown bouncy castle (can be used as a ball pit as it has a safety net)

 

5. An undersea adventure maze (size and shape can be adjusted but it is

12x12)

 

6. Giant Jenga

 

7. Bouncy/Space hoppers

 

8. Giant Ludo

 

9. garden darts

 

10. Limbo

 

11. Giant Pick up sticks

 

12. Sack race

 

13. Giant Snakes and Ladders

 

14. Quoits

 

15. Giant Chess

 

16. Get Knotted (Giant Twister)

 

17. Electric start blowers (fans) for all three bouncy castles, the undersea adventure and inflatable track (total of five) to blow them up and keep them blown up

 

For pictures or any more information please email me on getbidding@oink.co.uk with the title quads. I will consider splitting at a reasonable price. Can deliver.

 

 

FOR SALE

 

I have the following items to sell –

 

Bouncy Slide - 19'x11'x12' brand new condition (never hired), offers over £550.

 

Bouncy Castle - 15'x11' 11 months old, excellent condition no damage, ready to hire, offers over £450.

 

X5 new safety mats (6'x4') 3" thick, never used for hire, 4 still in original sealed packaging, 4 blue, 1 red - best offer over £100.

 

X4 safety mats (5'x3'), blue, good condition, £65.

 

Fan (1.5hp), boxed - £75

 

Gibbons Fan (1.5hp), boxed, very little use - £100.

 

Bouncy castle/slide bags (suitable for inflatables as sold) £15 each.

 

All items to be collected from Bristol area.

 

Please contact Kirstie on 0117 3307367 or e-mail 'info@crazyplay.co.uk'

Many thanks,

 

Kirstie Green

Crazy Play, 25 Bye Mead, Emersons Green, Bristol, BS16 7DL.

 

FOR SALE

 

The Big Fun Company has creased trading and is selling off some of our stock, listed below, feel free to view our website and contact us.

Kids dinosaur bouncy castle 12’x12’. PIPA tagged.

Comes with blower, ground sheet, stakes, sand bags and mat.

 

Inflatables supa slip and slide 8’6x19’ underwater theme PIPA tagged.

Comes with blower, ground sheet, stakes, sand bags and 2 mats.

 

Football shoot-out 10’x10

Comes with blower and stakes.

 

2 giant mega four games.

Giant chess and draughts set

 

We are based in Saffron Walden in Essex.

www.thebigfuncopmany.co.uk

 

FOR SALE

 

      10+12 bouncy castle and blower 10 months old only used when out with the rodeo bull    £350

adults sumo suits and mat 8 months old £450

inflateable penalty shoot out and blower like new £350

7.5 kva honda sdmo generator little use like new £400 [£900 new not a cheap chinese copy]

 Tel Andy 07977 534070  or 07973828664    East Yorkshire

 

 

FOR SALE

 

Due to other business commitments we have decided to stop A.M.S bouncy castles gy we would like to thank you and the BIHA for all your help and advice over the last two years.

 

Can you please include in your next news letter our castles for sale;

 

1. 13ft - 16.5ft A frame castle magic theme childrens   £800

2. 11ft - 14.5ft A frame castle jungle theme childrens   £700

3. 16ft - 19.5ft A frame turret castle adult                    £1,600

4. 16ft - 19.5ft A frame hawaiian castle adult               £1,600

 

All the above have fitted rain covers and were manufactured by tear-away leisure in april 2004 and are all in good condition, PIPA tested and tagged. Each castle has fitted mats across and around the step and an electric blower, between them they have only been hired out 80 times.

 

All four castles £4,500 inc VAT

If you would like pictures please email me at simonams@aol.com If you wish to view the castles we are in Grimsby N.E.Lincs

 

Regards Simon A.M.S Bouncy Castles

 

FOR SALE

We are closing down and wish to sell an 8ft by 12ft (including step) box-style castle, with a detachable shower cover. It is two years old and in good condition. It comes with a fan and stakes. Price: £600. We are based in High Wycombe, Bucks. Call 01494 717726.

 

Audrey Wixon

Style Leisure Network Ltd

 

FOR SALE

 

Could you please advertise my bouncy castle hire business. i have run it on a part time basis for seven years now but due to increased hours in my full time job it is time to pass it on.  i want to sell it as a complete package  as follows:

 1   15x15 merlin theme castle.    with 1.5 blower

 1   15x10 pirate theme castle with junior slide      with 1.5 blower
 
  1   11x12 nursery bounce jungle theme     with 0.75 blower
 
  1     12x12 circus theme castle       with 0.75 blower

  All castles apart from the nursery bounce come with shower covers and are two years old. also included are four crash mats, pegs,ground sheets, extension leads with weather proof sockets and sack barrow. i have one years advertising in the yellow pages and bookings  for the coming months. i have full liability insurance which is the cheapest i have come across.I am unsure if it can be changed over but we can try! All this equipment fits comfortabley into my Citroen Dispatch van which is a little tatty but has never let me down. it is white (no surprise there) and is an S reg. this comes with the package. I do have another unit that is a pink fairy castle with slide. this castle is five years old and although well looked after is starting to look its age. im quite sure if this is unwanted my daughters will be overjoyed. 
As I said I have always had to organise my bookings around my full time job but have built it into a decent local business with a good reputation and many regular  customers. The price for this is 7500 pounds which can comfortably be re couped within the first year.

Contact Andy on 07956 432 675 or Email leapfrogs2003@yahoo.co.uk

 

3)Two Telford Inflatable Trade Shows – March 2006.

  http://www.biha.org.uk/telfordslide/telford2006.htm

On the 7th and 8th March 2006, the Inflatable and Softplay Show was held at the Telford International Centre, Telford, Shropshire.   The inflatables on display were superb, although there were not as many as expected. Visitor numbers were also a bit disappointing. 

The exhibitors at this show were:

Jump Jump - 0116 260 6632

 

Kit For Kids – 01732 455000

 

Just Inflatables.com – 01628 529000

 

Inflatable World Leisure – 01949 838921

 

Childs Play Leisure – 01509 853977.

 

AIMODS / PIPA

 

Inflated News

 

BIHA

 

On the 8th March, the Inflat-a-Show was held in the Telford Rink.  This was a busier show and there were more exhibitors and visitors. 

One exhibitor (“Robot Wars”) was unfortunately unable to get their lorry through the door of the ice-rink.  The width of their lorry was about 3mm too wide.  They had to turn away and head home.  This was disappointing as many visitors were looking forward to seeing these "Robot Wars" up close and personal!

 

The exhibitors at the ice-rink show were as follows: 

 

Total Leisure UK  N. Wales-  01352 713069

 

Q.T. Inflatables - Netherlands - +31 24 343 42 41

 

Hyper Inflatables - Bristol - 0117 955 5544

 

Krazy Castles - Kent - 01227 281407

 

AJL - Liverpool - 0151 478 3336

 

Big Fun UK - Ipswich - 01473 743135

 

Solo Services -Halifax - 01422 359966

 

Bouncealong - Coventry - 024 7663 7108

 

Power fans - N. Wales - 01352 732114

 

GAZ - Leicester - 0116 289 7714

 

Abacus - Somerset - 01749 689007

 

Supersumo - Loughborough - 01509 610037

 

Inflated News

 

BIHA

 

You can see some photos of these two trade shows online at:   http://www.biha.org.uk/telfordslide/telford2006.htm

 

The BIHA had a stand at both shows and several new members came on board.

 

 

4) Real life Hire stories.

I knew from the second I got woken up I was going to have one of them days!

 

I had three castles for today, originally 4 but one I had to cancel as I found out before hand it was a flat and they didnt own the ground out side a block of flats so I was worried as she was struggling to get the money as her gov payments wernt in yet and for my castle etc...

 

7:am  I am still sleeping and my phone goes it was the sister of the person who wanted the castle at the flats. She wanted to pay for the castle for her sister and said could I still do it. I had to explain again that I couldnt as I didnt have permission to put it on the land as she didnt own it i did offer if she could do it at a friends house or something. I didnt tell her I didnt trust them if they were that strapped for cash as i had recently read the thread on the stolen castle.

 

9am first castle delivery and there garden was way too small for the adult castle so they offered me a extra £10 ( wish I never bothered now) to drive back and get a smaller castle. I called the next person to check it was ok and they said fine as there party wasnt till later. I changed the castle and set out to the next.

 

10:15am second castle got there to find they went shopping as they thought i was going to be very late ! I did say it would only be 10 - 15 mins. Anyway they turned up at 10:40am  I called ahead to my next one and he said not to bother it was my loss  I tried to get around him but he was not having any of it even at a discounted rate he wanted to upset his kids.

 

I only got 2 castles out and I had a s*** morning. I guess we all have bad days at some point but this took the p*** for me

 

5) SPOTLIGHT ON A HIRE COMPANY.

This month the BIHA will be focusing on Trevor and Jill Taylor’s hire business - based in Tottington, Bury. Lancashire, UK. http://www.tumbleturrets.co.uk 

(Trevor and Jill also won a new Gibbons 1.5 blower in the BIHA competition - kindly donated by bouncycastlesales.com )

 

1. Who are you?   Trevor and Jill Taylor – Tumble Turrets – Bury, Lancashire.  (www.tumbleturrets.co.uk)

2. Why did you start an inflatable hire business?  I once hired a bouncy castle for my daughter’s birthday, but it was very poor.  As a result, I half-heartedly bought a new bouncy castle for her and started hiring it out.  The business has just grown from these small beginnings. 

3. What did you do before?  I am a lecturer in Leisure Management. 

4. What do you most enjoy about the business?  Meeting new people, and being appreciated that you do a good job. 

5. What do you least enjoy about the business?  Wind and rain. 

6. Where do you see yourself in 5 years time?  We would like to grow Tumble Turrets as a family business.  However, we do not want quality of service to suffer, so we do not want our hire business to become too big. 

7. If you could “wave a magic wand” and change one thing about the industry, what would it be?  We would like it to be compulsory for every hire company to have an automatic annual MOT test for each inflatable.  We would also like more regulation e.g. compulsory public liability insurance for hire companies.  

8. Do you have any ideas, hints and tips to help the other members?  (see below for their idea which won them a new 1.5 Gibbons blower.) 

9. How have you most benefited from your membership to the BIHA?  Getting business from the BIHA website which links to our site via the Lancashire link.  We also found out about the low cost PL insurance company through the BIHA, and this has saved us a small fortune.  We also have benefited from using the BIHA logo on our company literature.  

Many thanks Trevor and Jill for taking the time to answer these questions.  If any other member would like to be featured in “Spotlight on a Hire Company” in the next newsletter – please email me at: mark.jerram@ntlworld.com    Many Thanks…Don’t forget your answers and comments will be read by over 1,800 inflatable hire companies.…………

 

6) The winning entries. (BIHA competition)

1)      Overall winner.  (Trevor & Jill Taylor – Tumbleturrets, Bury, Lacashire)

Idea on how to improve your winter hire profits.

Winter is always a slow time for our industry , especially for outdoor hire.  An idea would be to hire an indoor venue (e.g. a community hall) and then setting up about 4 units and charging about £5.00  for an afternoon of fun and would improve profits.  Halls can he hired relatively cheaply and are usually large enough to house 4 units.  Flyers could be sent out to your customer base inviting them to the event.  If this was done during December, then this could be classed as a Christmas party.  Party bags could be included in the price and also light refreshments (even cheese and wine).  A free raffle would also go down well. 

This idea is also a good way of making sure that your inflatables get a good airing during the winter months.

BIHA note:  We particularly like this idea as it solves 3 problems in one. i.e. Making some extra money during the winter, giving opportunities to dry out your best inflatables during the winter and thirdly encouraging new potential customers to see your inflatables “in the flesh”.

2)    Runner-up.

Darren Latimer (Innovents, Crowthorne, Berkshire) also won a new Gibbons 1.5 blower for donating the following idea:

My idea for this BIHA competition is to have a “Discount card”.  When your customer hires 3 bouncy castles, they receive a 25% discount on the 4th hire.

This idea is similar to the loyalty cards offered by Tesco, Sainsbury and WHSmith etc.

 

7) BIHA Validation Scheme (BVS)

http://www.inflatable-safety.co.uk

 The BIHA is pleased to announce final details of the new BIHA Validation Scheme (BVS).  One critisism of the BIHA during the last five years has been that it is too easy for an operator to join.  (i.e. all they have to do is fill in the application form, sign the declaration of professional integrity, abide by the code of conduct, pay their subscription fees and they become a member).   When the BIHA was first launched in late 2000, it was not envisaged that it would become so popular in the industry (nearly 2,000 members to date!) 

 

In recent months the general public has become aware of the existence of the BIHA as a result of the corporate advertising scheme (CAS) which has put the BIHA into every copy of the yellow pages under the category “Bouncy castles and inflatables”.  Similarly, the Thomsons Local directory has also given the BIHA a mention in all their directories under the same category.

 

In addition, the BIHA has managed to get onto the first page of the largest internet search engine – Google.  This means that if anyone types the keywords “bouncy castles” or “bouncy castle hire”  they almost instantly find the BIHA website on the first page of Google.   Similarly, if a member of the public is looking to hire a bouncy castle or inflatable in say Berkshire or Reading, they tend to enter “Bouncy castle hire Berkshire” or “Bouncy castle hire Reading”   This search almost instantly brings up appropriate member’s listings in the Google results. 

 

This feature is an almost priceless benefit of BIHA membership, as it means your customers and potential customers can easily find you even if they do not have their Yellow Pages available, or if they have forgotten / lost your company name and phone number.  Everyone has heard of Google, and this is where most people search when they are looking for a bouncy castle hire company in their local area.

 

However, as a result of the general public suddenly becoming aware of the existence of the BIHA, I am starting to get complaints from the public who have used a BIHA member, but have been disappointed with the service, which has caused them to contact another BIHA member to correctly fulfill the booking.

 

One example occurred last week.  A customer booked a bouncy castle with a member for her young son’s 5th birthday party.  The son chose the inflatable (from the operator’s website) several weeks before the party and was extremely excited that this particular inflatable was to be delivered on her birthday. 

However, on the morning of the party the operator contacted the customer and told them that they would not be delivering the inflatable due to the weather forecast which said there may be showers, and he did not want to run the risk of his castle getting wet.   The customer was extremely disappointed (not surprisingly!) as her daughter would not be able to have the castle which she personally chose several weeks earlier. 

 

The customer then asked the operator why their “strict wet weather policy” was not mentioned in their paperwork, or on their website. The operator did not give a satisfactory answer to her.

 

Happily for the 5 year old, the customer contacted another BIHA member (from the Yellow Pages) and he was able to provide an alternative bouncy castle at very short notice. (If this incident had happened at the height of the summer, then the customer may not have been so lucky!).

 

I am very surprised that this member did not explain that he had a “wet weather policy”.   The BIHA takes it very seriously when customers are let down like this, as it can bring the industry into disrepute and the disappointed customer may think twice about hiring an inflatable in the future.

 

If a the weather conditions are poor (such as high winds or heavy rain) then yes, from a safety point of view it is usually best to contact the customer and tell them that for safety reasons, it is best to cancel the inflatable.  

 

However, in this case, the forecast was for light showers.  (With an adequate rain-cover and all the electrics fully water-proofed) then the operator should not have cancelled.

 

As a result of this increased public awareness the BIHA has made the decision to produce a document showing required safety and operational standards which ALL members must adhere to if they wish to display the BIHA logo on their advertising and business stationery.  Please visit: http://www.inflatable-safety.co.uk 

for more information.

 

In order to make sure that members read and understand the details of this requirement there will be an online multiple choice exam which all members must pass in order to continue to display the BIHA logo.  (If any member has reading or writing difficulties then there will be a oral version of this exam).

 

For all members who are successful in passing this multiple choice exam, then there will be some unique benefits which should greatly enhance the other benefits of membership.

 

Benefits of the BIHA Validation Scheme for members.

 

1)      Continue to use the BIHA logo for 2 years (until the requirement to take the exam again).

2)      The public will be able to see which members are validated (as it will be mentioned on all free listings) Validated members are more likely to be used.

3)      Opportunity to have another FREE advert on www.biha.org.uk  under a different geographical area (e.g. the county next to your county).

4)      One free pixel advert for your business (see: http://www.europepixels.com/inflatableoperatorsuk

5)      A free eBook (The long awaited sequel!!).  “How to turbo-charge your profits from hiring inflatables – Vol. 2 )   See:  www.biha.org.uk/ebooks/turbocharge.pdf  for the first version published in 2001.  The sequel is much bigger and better!!

6)     Another free eBook “Inflatable Hire Disaster Preparedness Kit”   Don’t let your customers down in the event of a disaster!  Be prepared for the unlikely. E.g. What to do when your….van breaks down, your castle gets ripped on the booking before, your driver doesn’t turn up, it’s raining heavily and the customer insists that you deliver the inflatable, the customers garden is too small,  you are running late,  etc. etc. etc.

7)     Automatic entry into the monthly BIHA competition where there will be some valuable prizes e.g. new 1.5 blowers, garden games, shopping vouchers etc. etc.

8)      More respect for members and for the BIHA as a whole, by the rest of the UK leisure industry.

 

In order to run and administer the BVS, I will need to hire two additional staff members (part-time), as a result there will be a fee to become validated.

 

Fortunately, I have been able to keep this fee relatively low, partly due to the large volume of  members.

 

The fee will be £14.99 and will include all the above benefits as well as the opportunity of winning a prize each month.

 

This fee will be payable once every two years and will be in addition to your normal BIHA membership fees.

 

Over the next few weeks, every BIHA member will be sent their examination papers (multiple-choice type) with instruction about how to answer the questions etc.

 

(There will also be a requirement for helpers (e.g. staff and family members) who take responsibility for setting up inflatables to take the exam.

 

Please note the fee of £14.99 per two years applies to the business as a whole (not the number of people in the business taking the exam).

 

Also, please note that this fee is fully 100% tax deductible, and also for the free advertising alone is exceptionally good value for money.

 

If anyone has any queries / comments about the BVS – please email me at: mark.jerram@ntlworld.com 

 

Finally, please note that in order to be able to display the BIHA logo on your yellow pages advertising, business stationery etc. etc. you will need to be validated.

 

Thanks for reading, and please look out soon for your safety training manual and exam papers in the post and by email.

 

To become validated is very simple, you read the course materials, answer the multiple choice exam questions (correctly) and then pay your validation fees (£14.99).

 

 

8) How to avoid parking tickets, and speeding tickets.

 

 

Kindly submitted by a member:

 

I have some information that might be of benefit to the other BIHA members with regards to traffic regulations.

 

Parking Tickets whilst loading or unloaded!

I know many members will at times have to deliver a castle and unload / load while parking on a single or double yellow line. Tickets issued by a policeman or a traffic warden are called Fixed Penalty Notices or FPNs and these are enforced through the criminal justice system and are valid even if the ticket is not issued to the driver or placed on the car - however a different law exists when tickets are issued by a local authority parking attendant (the most common way of receiving a ticket in many areas is from a local authority parking attendant), these tickets are called Penalty Charge Notices or PCNs for short. If you are loading or unloaded on a yellow, double yellow or red line, parked partially on the curb etc and a Local authority parking attendant starts to issue you with a ticket, if you drive off before the ticket is given to you or placed on the vehicle the ticket is invalid, you may still receive a notice in the post but a short letter explaining the ticket was never issued to the driver or placed on the vehicle will normally get the ticket cancelled. This is law under the road traffic act 1991.

 

Causing unnecessary obstruction of the highway

Last year you may recall I emailed you about a ticket I received while delivering a bouncy castle in a large town, I slowed down to look for the number of the house in a quiet side road, causing no obstructions or difficulties to others but was stopped by a policeman on a motorbike and issued with a £30.00 ticket for ‘causing unnecessary obstruction of the highway’ after a 20 min heated debate I carried on with the delivery but decided to challenge the ticket in court – in October 2006 I received a letter asking me for any details about the incident, I swiftly returned the document to the court explaining the clear facts and evidence and have since not heard any more about the matter. Anyway my advice to members is, if harassed while going about your honest business and you receive a ticket for an offence you feel was in-just, always challenge it by returning the ticket with a letter within the given time period as often the case will get revoked.

 

Speeding Cameras

Mark, please pass this onto the other members as there are an ever growing number of speed cameras on our UK roads and sometimes it’s possible to get innocently ‘flashed’ while going a little over the limit. Now I do not condone speeding and think that all members should drive safely at all times but if a member gets flashed going just over the limit they should receive a Notice of intended prosecution or NIP for short, the law states that this must be received within 14 days plus a couple of days extra for the post, so if you receive a NIP after 17 days this is then illegal and a letter should be sent back stating this. The police are allowed some extra time if you are driver of a company car, hire car or someone else’s car as they will need more time to trace you. Most cases the NIP will be issued on time and there is little you can do apart from pay the fine, however if you was sharing the journey with another driver at the time of the incident and you genuinely can not remember which driver was driving at the time of the enforce then you do have the option of replying to the NIP with a letter explaining that you are unaware of who was driving at the time of the journey as it was been shared. Do not sign the NIP and do not complete the form, just return a letter promptly explaining that you are genuinely unsure which driver was driving at the time. You may receive a follow up letter demanding to know the name of the driving but again just return a letter as before explaining you are unsure. In most cases this will then get dropped.

 

 

 

9) Fuel saving ideas.

 

With fuel at almost £1 per litre at time of writing, it is absolutely essential that all inflatable operators reduce their fuel costs to improve their bottom line.

Here are 3 websites which are useful.

 

http://www.pipelinecard.org  This is a new free loyalty card launched by the man who organised the fuel protests a few years ago and is aimed to strike a deal with a major fuel supplier to save customers between 5 – 7% on their petrol and diesel costs.

 

 

http://www.petrolprices.com  This very useful site allows people to look at different fuel stations in any town in the UK and compare prices.

 

http://www.biha.org.uk/gaspump.htm  “62 ways to beat the gas pump monster!” by Liz Tomey.  This excellent ebook, although written primarily for US motorists, still has loads of great ideas which can save us all a lot of money over time.  It costs just 95p and can be downloaded instantly 24/7 from http://www.biha.org.uk/gaspump.htm through PayPal or secure credit card transaction.    Some highlights of this ebook are: “A secret you must do with the nozzle (as you fill up) to save half a cup of fuel which you have already paid for!!  And “A little known piece of knowledge about the best time of day you should buy fuel to get the most for your money!

 

I enjoyed reading this ebook and have already put some of the ideas into practice (one idea saved me 10% on my fuel costs instantly).    

 

 

10) Complaint to the BIHA

 

 

Hello Mark,

 

I would like to pass on some feedback about one of your members,  ************.

 

It is my son's 6 birthday party tomorrow. About 6 weeks ago, I booked a bouncy castle. I phoned 3 BIHA registered companies from the yellow pages then chose one which had a castle my son preferred and booked it.

 

This morning the company phoned to say that because it has been raining they were not prepared to bring out the castle. When I asked, and told them over companies were still prepared to deliver bouncy castles, I was told it was because they get dirty and it takes too long to clean them.

 

************* have nothing about this "wet weather policy" on their website and did not warn me about this when I booked the castle.

 

Luckily another one of your members has been able to provide me wih a castle (***********)) but my son is very disappointed that he is not getting the castle that he has been expecting for 6 weeks, and I have had a lot of stress and hassle today that I could have done without!!

 

I will be making sure all my friends know to steer clear of ***************" but I would also like to point out that his appalling unprofessional attitude reflects extremely badly on your organisation.

 

I look forward to your response,

 

Name and address withheld.

 

 

 

11) Thought for the month.

 

‘If you always do what you’ve always done, you’ll always be what you’ve always been’

 

T.D.Jakes

 

 

12) Jim'll Fix It For You!

 

If you are running Microsoft Windows on your computer, you might

need this.

 

To help relieve customer support problems, Microsoft has

developed a secret little tool that scans a customer's computer,

and removes the most prevalent computer viruses.

 

Microsoft found that when their support staff uses this tool,

they are able to resolve a large percentage of customer support

problems quickly.

 

Just run the secret software, and the Windows related problem

often goes away.

 

You can find this secret program, the 'Malicious Software Removal

Tool', and run it online at

 

http://www.microsoft.com/security/malwareremove/default.mspx

 

It is free and updated every two weeks.

 

Even if you don't need this virus removal tool today, you might

want to bookmark it for later.

 

 

 

13) Job Vacancy

 

Hi Mark,

  We was wondering if you could put this ad in the next alert thanks.

 

  Driver required to deliver/pick up inflatables on a part time casual basis every other weekend in the birmingham area.

Must be reliable smart & have access to a van or an estate car,references will also be required.

 

Anyone interested please call 0121 684 1169 and ask for Andy or  Lyn

knew from the second i got woken up i was going to have one of them days !

 

14) Services from Art and Sole.

 

Services from Art and sole (The company behind the BIHA website – http://www.biha.org.uk  )

 

Art and Sole Photography and Design offer a 50% discount to BIHA members

for web-site design.  Contact Rob Graham at info@artandsole.org  Visit

the web-site at www.artandsole.org

 

For some good FREE photographic software to help improve the images that

you use on your web-site visit www.photomarket.org.uk

 

15) Don’t let your castles be "bounced around!"

We know it well. It’s the quiet season, and once again it’s the time to frighten our Bank Managers by spending our hard-earned money.

Apart from insurance, do you know what we spend most money on?

Yes, that’s right, buying new equipment and getting existing Inflatables repaired and tested.

But have you thought how much time and money you expend by just transporting your units to and from the manufacturer and tester, or sending out new units?

 

For example, if you are taking a unit from Luton to Leicester, the return journey is about 160 miles and will take you approximately 3 hours (plus socialising time when you get there!). It will be the same to collect it!

According to The AA the cost of running a new car costing less than £10,000 to buy over 5000 miles is nearly 52p per mile (http://www.theaa.com/staticdocs/pdf/allaboutcars/fuel/petrol2004.pdf)

I don’t know what you value your time at, but it has to be at least £10 per hour.

Therefore the real cost to you of our hypothetical journey could be 160mls x 52ppm = £83.00 plus 3 hours @ £10ph = £30, total £113.00.

It’s not really cost-effective, is it – especially if your van is not new and frugal and has a small engine AND can be guaranteed to avoid traffic jams without breaking down!

We decided that is was more efficient to use a courier service to deliver and collect our units. There is a fixed cost whatever the number of units, regardless of road conditions. AND we were able to use our time more creatively.

Well, our observations led us to the supposition that, with the best will in the world, most courier companies do not train their operators in the safe handling of Bouncy Castles!

The answer was clear. We have set up a Courier service with drivers (us!) who know the Inflatable hire business and look after castles and blowers properly. It works for us, and we would like to offer the service to other BIHA members.

Not only would you get a special rate, but you would also have the security of a specialist courier who will collect your unit at a time convenient to you.

Interested?

Contact David of Accelerated Freight on 0787 671 5080 and give the reference “BIHA” for a quotation – you won’t be disappointed!

Thank you

Martin Howard – Markate’s Leisure Hire

 

16) PAT TESTING

                                                           HEMEL 01442 402770

BRACKNELL 01344 646454

MOBILE 07917765979

WWW.1STOP-ELECTRONICS.CO.UK

The portable Appliance testing service (P.A.T. test)

We aim to help you make your work location a safer places, and keep your electrical equipment safe from shock, fire or other hazard. We give every appliance a thorough visual check, then use the highest quality fully calibrated test equipment to perform appropriate electrical tests to the IEE guidelines.

Electrical Equipment in the work place must be tested and kept safe for employees to use; also any equipment used in conjunction with the general public must also be tested.

Please find our price list bellow

NUMBER OF ITEMS TO BE PAT TESTED

PRICE PER ITEM

1001+

£1.50

501 - 1000

£1.60

201 - 500

£1.75

101 - 200

£1.85

1-100

£1.95

PLEASE CALL FOR MORE INFORMATION

OR LOG ON TO OUR WEB SITE

WWW.1STOP-ELECTRONICS.CO.UK

 

17) Closing comments.

The BIHA hope you have enjoyed this newsletter and have taken at least one idea to apply to your hire business.

If you would like to contribute to the next BIHA newsletter – please email me at: mark.jerram@ntlworld.com

Many thanks.

Mark Jerram

BIHA founder

 

http://www.biha.org.uk

http://www.biha.org.uk/NA49db.htm  (Recent newsletter)

http://www.biha.org.uk/NA50ml.htm  (Recent newsletter)