Tips for Your Holiday Rental
It’s the most wonderful time of the year–but it can also be the most stressful time of the year, especially when you’re planning a production or event! Fortunately, when it comes to holiday rental snafus, TheatreWorld has seen it all over the years. Our team has compiled a few holiday rental tips for you to help avoid some common issues. We hope this will keep both your event and your TheatreWorld rental experience merry and bright!
Don’t Count on Your Order Arriving Early
Our long-time customers know that sometimes, if UPS happens to be running early, our backdrops arrive ahead of schedule. During the holidays, scheduling is tight and UPS transit times are often longer than usual, so this is extremely unlikely to happen. You should expect to receive your backdrop on the first day of your rental period, as stated on your invoice. (Unless you have added pre-days, this is always a Monday.)If this creates a problem, please contact TheatreWorld to see if it would still be possible to add pre-days to your order.
TheatreWorld’s Backdrops are Signature Required
TheatreWorld’s backdrops all require a signature for delivery. These hand-painted fabric backdrops are costly and time-consuming to replace and are vulnerable to theft or damage if left outside. There is no way to waive this requirement, so please plan to have your backdrop delivered somewhere where an adult will be available to sign for it.
Your tracking number, which you’ll receive on the ship date indicated on your invoice, will provide an accurate delivery date estimate about 24 hours after your backdrop ships. Should an issue arise, such as an emergency or an earlier than expected delivery date, we can always request a hold at UPS for you. Held drops can often be picked up same day, but not always, so please be sure to notify us as quickly as possible if you need assistance with this. If you realize prior to your ship date that you need to change your shipping address, please let us know right away.
We Cannot Arrange a Specific Delivery Window
Our backdrops are delivered by UPS, not by TheatreWorld employees or any sort of courier service. Just like when you make a purchase from any online retailer, once the drop ships, we have no control over the delivery time.
UPS can deliver ground packages to a residence as late as 7 PM. For businesses and schools, UPS should be generally aware of your operating hours and will usually attempt delivery within that window. For this reason, we recommend beginning your rental week at least one day before you actually need to use the backdrop. If your drop is currently scheduled to arrive on a day you need to use it, please reach out to our customer service team and see if you would be eligible to add a pre-day to your order.
Please Inform Us About Holiday or Vacation Closure Dates
While we do our best to anticipate common holiday closures and to schedule shipping around them, we cannot know every customer’s holiday schedule. If you are going to be closed on any day that is not already an observed UPS holiday, please notify our customer service team. We’ll make sure, to the best of our ability, to ship your backdrop so that it doesn’t arrive on a day you are closed. If you’re at all concerned, we also invite you to provide an updated shipping address where you know someone will be available to receive the backdrop, so long as you provide that information prior to your ship date.
Shipping Delays May Happen
Unfortunately, with such a large number of packages shipping all around the country this time of year, plus the start of winter weather in many places, it’s inevitable that, in spite of careful planning, the occasional shipping delay occurs. We do our best to use the transit estimates provided by UPS to calculate when we need to ship so your drop will arrive on the first day of your rental period, but transit times do sometimes change throughout the season.
If a shipping issue arises, we will always do our best to help resolve it, but sometimes, unfortunately, there is simply nothing to be done. Once the backdrops ship, their journey is out of our hands and it is very hard to intervene. We promise it frustrates us as much as you when this happens. Though we’re deeply sympathetic to the problems a late backdrop can cause, we are, unfortunately, not able to issue any full or partial refunds for late arriving backdrops. We appreciate your understanding.
Please Be Considerate – Return Your Backdrops on Time!
As you might imagine, holiday inventory is limited. Many, many of our holiday backdrops need to ship out again the same day they return to us. We really rely on our customers to return their backdrops on time to help us ensure that we don’t disappoint anybody. You can find your backdrop return date on your invoice. Please respect your fellow backdrop renters and strictly adhere to it. (You’ll also avoid late fees!) Should an unavoidable delay occur, please let us know immediately so we can make a plan.
Follow ALL Instructions for Direct Ships
If you have agreed to help us out by shipping your backdrop directly to the next customer, first of all, thank you! We really appreciate your help. We ask you to be sure to get your boxes in the mail on time and to please take extreme care to use the correct label. A direct ship label will have your name and address in return address field and another customer’s name and address in the recipient field. If your label shows TheatreWorld as either the sender or receiver, you are using the wrong label!
If You Lose Your Return Labels, Let Us Know
TheatreWorld provides return labels with every order. They will be in a large white envelope with other important information about hanging and caring for the backdrops. Please keep this envelope in a safe place and please be sure to use the provided return labels. If you misplace the labels, not to worry–just let our customer service team know ASAP and we can email you another copy. Do NOT use the original labels to return the boxes to sender. This makes them hard to track and sometimes results in them being delivered back to you instead of coming back to TheatreWorld.
Check Your Local UPS Store Hours
UPS stores are independently owned and can set their own hours. They may even choose to close for additional days around a holiday. If you have opted to return your backdrops to UPS yourself when your rental ends, please call your local UPS store to double check that they will be open when you plan to bring your boxes by.
Don’t Wait Until the Last Minute to Return
It is extremely important to leave plenty of time for your backdrop return, especially if you have a holiday closure coming up. This is particularly important for our customers who are relying on a UPS pickup at their location. Please stay until UPS has picked the boxes up. If UPS has not arrived before you have to leave for the day, please take them to a local UPS store yourself. Do note that if your backdrop gets locked inside a school or business that is closed over the holidays, you will be charged for at least an additional week.
Open All Boxes IMMEDIATELY
It is essential that you open all boxes immediately upon receipt. If there is any issue with your backdrop, whether you’ve received the wrong item or find damage, we can’t help you unless you let us know early in the week. If your are not in your venue until later in the week, do your best to find a clean, open space to unfold as much of the backdrop as possible.
Check Your Invoice NOW to Confirm Everything is Correct
While we strive to make zero mistakes on your invoice, our team is only human. Very occasionally, invoice errors occur. Please check NOW to make sure the backdrop name, size, rental dates, and shipping address are all correct. It is much harder to correct issues once the backdrops ship (and sometimes it’s impossible) so we appreciate your help in finding any issues early.
Tracking Numbers
If you haven’t receive your tracking numbers, please first check your invoice for your ship date. (This is different than the first day of your rental period.) If it’s past your ship date and you still haven’t received an email about tracking, please check your junk folder. If you STILL don’t see anything, please contact our team directly. It’s likely just an email issue, but we’ll confirm your drop has shipped and make sure you get the information you need.
Plan Time to Hang and Steam Your Backdrops
While we do regularly steam our inventory, it’s important to remember that these backdrops are fabric and, as such, are extremely prone to creasing. Even a freshly-steamed backdrop, after being folded and shipped, will likely arrive with creasing along the fold lines. Leaving extra time to let them hang will help somewhat, but the only foolproof way to remove creases and wrinkles is to steam your backdrop. You can use a standard clothes steamer to do this. Be sure to select a steamer with a plastic head and to steam the unpainted side of the drop only. As you might imagine, this can take a long time, so please plan accordingly.
TheatreWorld Holiday Hours
TheatreWorld is closed on Thanksgiving Day, Christmas Day, and New Year’s Day. Nobody will be available to answer the phone on these days and we will not be open for local pickup or return. We may also have abbreviated hours the day before or after a holiday. If an issue arises on a day we are closed, please leave a detailed voicemail on our main line and someone will respond ASAP.
Call the Main Line With After-Hours Issues – Not Individual Extensions
TheatreWorld is open Monday through Friday, 9 AM EST to 5 PM EST. If you need to reach us outside these hours with a time-sensitive problem, we ask you call our main line, not individual employees’ extensions, and leave a detailed voicemail. Management does their best to monitor phone messages that come in over the weekend and after hours, but employees will not be monitoring their inboxes outside working hours. Your best chance for a quick response is to call the main line. (And, again, don’t forget to leave a detailed message!) It’s also a good idea, if responding to an email, to hit “reply all” vs. “reply”, as employees may be using personal time this time of year.
We’re Here to Help!
We hope these holiday rental tips will pave the way for a smooth experience during this busy time of year. If you have any questions whatsoever, please don’t hesitate to contact our customer service team. We look forward to supporting you, this holiday season and always!
