ABC Rental Centers has been a staple of weddings along the Gulf Coast for nearly 50 years. We recently had a chance to catch up with David Delk, owner and president of ABC Rental, and learned what keeps him going after all these years. Keep reading for David’s sage advice and hilarious stories from inside the wedding business!
David, how long have you been in business?
Since 1968 – 48 years.
How did you get started?
Charles Delk, my father, started ABC Rental as a general rental store which had tool rentals and some party and wedding rentals. It only carried one pattern of China, flatware, a few chafers, a few white candelabras, archway, and only white tablecloths. I joined my father in the early 80’s at ABC and started enlarging the party/wedding side of the business. I became President of the company in the late 90’s.
What do you like most about what you do?
I enjoy working with my team at ABC Rental to create unforgettable memories for our clients. Large events, small events, and even people who just pickup items from the showroom. It’s an adventure with each customer.
Tell us about you and your company: what you do, special services, products, exclusives, etc.
ABC Rental rents almost everything for an event. We have about 10 types of rental chairs, tables, tents, dance floors, vintage items, chandeliers….we like that we have more choices for customers that other stores don’t have.
If you could give a bride one tip/one bit of advice, what would that be?
Price isn’t everything…service, kindness, quality, and professionalism should always be part of your “adventure.” Details, details, details…Don’t miss the details on every aspect of your event.
Any funny stories to share (no names please)?
This blog isn’t big enough for all I’ve collected over the years! But here are a few of my favorites: Sometimes there are differences between the bride and her mother on details. I remember an instance in our showroom where their differences became louder, then fingers pointing at each other, then the bride decided to throw a display plate at her mother. Needless to say I asked them to go elsewhere. Another one? In the early 90’s we experienced a large increase in business and hired new employees. This was before mobile phones to contact customers and GPS to find the exact location but we knew exactly where the customer wanted the rentals. We erected a big tent, set-up tables and chairs and had the linens waiting to be put on. You can imaging our embarrassment when the customer walked up and told us his home was across the street. Since then we have advance meetings with our customer’s at their home or they meet us at the time of delivery.
Would you like to book the services of ABC Rental for wedding ceremony or reception? For more information on ABC rental visit or www.premierbridems.com or www.abcrental.com