Introducing New Zealand’s First After Hours Hire Equipment Returns Service

Auckland, NZ: As office workers embrace flexible schedules, tradies and DIYers are being offered the same opportunity with Kennards Hire’s new After Hours Returns service.

Launching this month, this service is the first-of-its-kind in New Zealand’s hire industry, enabling customers to return equipment any day, any time. It aims to address the growing need for more flexibility and convenience to DIYers and tradies, so that they can focus on the job, not the clock.

Following a successful trial period, Kennards Hire’s After Hours Returns service will now roll out across 12 select branches across the country, including key locations in Auckland, Hamilton, Tauranga, Queenstown, and Christchurch.

Insights released from Kennards Hire internal data highlight that:

• For the year to date, customer demand for the After Hours Returns trial service had surpassed total demand for all of 2023.
• The data indicates a growing need for flexible solutions. This is expected to further increase as the summer holiday season approaches, particularly with tradies and DIYers looking to complete jobs before Christmas.
• Almost 40% of customers that utilised the After Hours Returns service in 2024 were DIY-ers , with the highest usage coming from ‘the moving category’, including moving trucks, furniture trailers, and mini loaders.

Tom Kimber, General Manager at Kennards Hire New Zealand, said the service recognises that trade jobs are often time-critical and that DIYers are often working on their projects out of traditional branch opening hours.

Advertisement - scroll to continue reading

Kimber said, “The launch follows the success and customer feedback of our trial service that showed us how much flexibility matters to our Kiwi customers. We’re excited to officially roll this out across New Zealand, ensuring more people across the country can take advantage of this service and focus on what’s most important to them - whether that’s meeting project deadlines or enjoying more time with the family, or doing things they enjoy – rather than waiting for a branch to open.”

Kennards Hire’s After Hours Return service is easy to access - upon enquiring with the branch manager, customers receive a unique PIN code, which allows secure entry to the designated branches after closing hours for equipment returns.

One of the trial customers who regularly used the service over the past year is Food by Fire’s Head Honcho, Rod Thomson, who is based in Christchurch. Having been a Kennards Hire customer for more than 10 years, Rod says the After Hours Returns service has been a game changer for his business, allowing him to return equipment anytime during the night using the pin code: “Being able to drop hired equipment back to the branch so it’s no longer under our care makes my life 10 times easier, and it also means we can crack on with the next job sooner. It’s the perfect solution for us.”

Another business owner, Westend Concrete’s Mike Bishop, based in Auckland, also points to the significant cost-savings businesses can benefit from through such flexible service offerings. Mike explains, “Being able to return equipment at any time reduces the cost of the actual job so I can invoice a customer at a price that’s below what I’ve quoted. With After Hours, we can drop equipment off and drive away. Job done. It’s the best thing.”

As the only equipment hire company in New Zealand to offer this flexible service, Kennards Hire continues to set new standards in customer experience, with plans to expand the After Hours Returns service to additional branches across the country.

About Kennards Hire:

Kennards Hire is a family-owned and operated company that has been in the hire industry for 75 years, with over 200 sites and branches across New Zealand and Australia. Since 1948, its diverse product range extends from general hire equipment for the home renovator and professional tradesperson to specialist equipment and heavy machinery used on some of the largest civil infrastructure and commercial construction projects in two countries. Eden Park Icon Partner, Forsyth Barr Stadium Partner, proud member of Family Business New Zealand, Member of Hire Industry Association New Zealand, major supporter of KidsCan and Springboard Community Works.

© Scoop Media