Harry’s Hire CompanyExampleHire for: birthday partyEquipment Hire: Day an

M: Hello, welcome to Harry’s Hire Company. How can I help you?
W: Oh, hi, yes, I’ve come in to find out about renting stuff for a 21st birthday party.
M: Yes, of course... First of all, what date is the party?
W: It’s next Saturday. That was the closest we could get to the actual birthday, which is the 22nd of November. Gosh, it’s hard to believe it was 21 years ago, seems like yesterday...
M: So, the 18th of November?
W: No, sorry, I meant the following Saturday, the 25th.
M: OK, we have just about everything here; tableware, marquees... you name it, we rent it!  What size of event are we talking about here? W: Yes, that’s a good question. We were planning to have about 40 people, but you know how these things grow and it went up to 60 at one stage...  umm...  I think it’s back to 55 now. Yes, that’s right.  It was all getting a bit out of hand.
M: Ok, and what kind of catering and entertainment are you having? We can help with entertainment hire, too, you know, if you need microphones or a sound system.
W: Oh, that’s good!    We’ve booked a catering company, and they’re providing a meal.  It’s nothing elaborate, just finger food snacks and then a simple buffet meal, so we’ll need all the usual dinner plates and bowls... I suppose 5 dozen of everything, oh and knives and forks too, 5 dozen sets.
We won’t need any cooking equipment, because the caterers will do that, and they’re providing tea and coffee as well.
M: I see, and do you need any tables or chairs?
W: Well, not tables, because we wouldn’t have room for them, but I suppose some extra chairs might come in handy. What type do you have?
M:  Come over here and I’ll show you.  We have a couple of different kinds. We do have folding wooden ones,  like these,  but the most popular ones are just those stackable plastic  garden chairs, we rent a lot of those...
W: Yes, the plastic ones look great. Maybe 40 of those.
M: Ok...  I’m making a list here as we speak.  Was there anything else? Oh, do you want small or medium glasses? People generally want both sizes.
W: Yep, better get both kinds. Four dozen of each. Umm... and what else? The caterers are supplying a punch bowl, so that’s OK. Oh, I know, what about six ice buckets, for keeping the drinks cold? We’re providing all the drinks because I have a friend who is helping us with that. Umm... I suppose this is going to get very expensive.