Bouncy Castle Hire - Wind Speed Safety
We absolutely hate cancelling a customer's booking, but sadly today we had to cancel all outdoor hires of inflatables.
Part of being a responsible hirer is knowing when it is and it is not safe for a bouncy castle. There are lots of things we need to check, surface type, space and making sure the inflatable can be secured correctly. All of these things we're able to check before we confirm a booking, we can ask questions on our booking form and if in doubt perform a check in person before the booking is definate; We can ask for photos, we can ask the customer to measure the space and check all of these things before hand, making sure it's safe in advance.
Sadly, the one thing we cannot know when a booking is taken in advance is the wind speed. The golden source of infomation that the Health and Safety Executive uses for wind speed comes from the met office; Today they issued a yellow weather warning of wind speeds over 40mph in the local area. The legal limit for an inflatable is 24 miles per hour, so being over 40 is a very clear situation with storm Hannah looming over the UK!
We regulary check these wind speed predictions through the week, so luckily we have been able to contact customers a week in advance to warn them of this likely scenario. Some have managed to find halls, some have recheduled, but fortumately all of them understood and appreciated being given as much notice as possible (letting people down on the day when the predictions of high winds where available up to a week before isn't acceptable in our view).
We're really pleased that all of the customers understood the reasons and didn't request us to go ahead anyway (not that we could or would), but realised that they was being told this because the number one priority for us is their child's safety. We would never knowingly put anyone in danger and in this situation it's clear that a responsible hire company should contact their customers and cancel the outside bookings. It doesn't happen very often fortunately, but when it needs to happen, it's not something we shirk.
If a bouncy castle company ever cancels the booking or tries to reschedule it with you due to high wind speed and safety, please don't look for someone that will fulfill the booking. They are genuinely only doing this for the safety of your child and guests.
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