The RTO Show "Let's talk Rent to Own"
Welcome to "The RTO Show Podcast," your gateway into the fascinating world of the Rent to Own (RTO) furniture industry. Join host Pete Shau, who brings nearly two decades of experience to the table, as he dives into engaging interviews and thought-provoking discussions on the latest trends and innovations. With a blend of humor and realism, Pete explores the evolving landscape of Rent to Own, making complex topics accessible and enjoyable for everyone. Whether you’re a seasoned professional or simply curious about RTO, tune in for insights that will inform and entertain!
The RTO Show "Let's talk Rent to Own"
Adapting to Retail Challenges w/ Jennifer Harrod at RTO World 2024
Ever wondered how rising costs are shaping consumer behavior in the retail world? In our latest episode, we sit down with Jennifer Harrod, owner of Jameson's Sales and Rentals, right from the heart of APRO's RTO World 2024 convention in Orlando, Florida. Jennifer shares her story of a grueling 16-hour drive to the event through heavy rain and offers a candid look at her business's summer performance. She highlights how a robust June gave her the momentum needed for the third quarter and introduces us to her new full-time Penske truck rental service, despite a dip in Penske's peak season performance this year.
Discover the secrets behind evolving sales strategies in the challenging economic landscape as Jennifer discusses her innovative approach to selling appliances and furniture. With customers now prioritizing essential items like appliances over luxury furniture, Jennifer reveals how immediate weekly discounts can provide the instant gratification that drives sales. She also shares the importance of maintaining a good inventory, the benefits of reliable vendors like American Wholesale Furniture and Nationwide Furniture Distributors, and why keeping high standards for product quality and repair capabilities is crucial for customer satisfaction and efficient store operations.
Get inspired by the innovative retail trends that could revolutionize your business! From Capital Concierges' groundbreaking large cash register-like machines to the growing necessity of a robust online presence on social media platforms like Facebook and Instagram, Jennifer provides insights into attracting more foot traffic and adapting to market trends. Plus, we touch on the invaluable benefits of networking at industry shows, the unique offerings of our rental home company, and the excitement of future collaborations. Don't miss out on the valuable lessons and personal stories that make this episode a must-listen!
Hello and welcome to the RTO Show. I'm your host, Pete Chow. Today we're covering podcast guest Jennifer Harrod, owner of Jameson's Sales and Rental, who stopped by the Gerard Norman Marketing Booth during the APRO's RTO World 2024 convention in sunny Orlando, Florida. That's where we had the RTO Show podcast set up for multiple guests to stop by randomly and talk rent-to-own with us. Now, during several of the few podcasts that we release, these will be the interviews that came from those impromptu discussions. Now, this was a great, great show where I was able to talk to some wonderful people in the RTO industry and really get a chance to get them to open up for a few. Just a side note this interview literally happened in the convention hallway right in front of the vendor hall where all of the product vendors were located, so it was a little loud, very alive during the interview. The removal of secondary voices and sounds was extremely difficult, but I do think that we still captured the heart of the conversation in this podcast. So, if you can listen, past the extra interruptions and enjoy the interview. Also, I wanted you guys to know that this is the end of season four with the release of these RTO World 2024 Flash interviews. That's because it's time for season five baby of the RTO Show podcast.
Speaker 1:Now, the entirety of season five will be done in audio and video format, so make sure that you find my YouTube channel, the RTO Show podcast, and make sure that you subscribe to us on there as well, so you don't miss anything due. Now. You can also follow me on Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn, as well as find us on Spotify or Apple podcasts. And remember that this podcast wouldn't be here without your support. So if you'd like to become a sponsor for the show, please head on over to the website at the RTO show podcastcom, Click on a sponsors page and if you're on your phone, click on the three lines at the top of the homepage. Then go to the sponsors page and show your support through the links. Your help is always appreciated. Thank you so much.
Speaker 1:And with that being said, here's the Flash Podcast with Jennifer Herod, owner of Jameson Sales and Rentals, just outside the RTO World 2024, all the way from Orlando, and I have a personal favorite back here visiting us for just a little bit Jennifer Harrod from Jameson Reynolds. You guys are great. You've always been great to the show. How are you doing?
Speaker 2:Great. Well, you know that's the first time I've been in about five years, so I'm pretty excited.
Speaker 1:Yeah, how was your trip? Because that's the big question everybody's had. How was your trip? Because that's the big question everybody's had. How?
Speaker 2:was your trip all the way to us? Because it's been. It was crazy. Well, I drove. It should have been about 12 hours. It took me 16. It rained the last four hours of the trip, which really slowed me down.
Speaker 1:Yeah, well, it was rough, but I'm glad you're here. Yeah, so how has the summertime been treating Jameson? So how has the summertime been treating Jameson.
Speaker 2:It's been better than the spring. Really. We had a really good June. July was a little slower. August is always kind of slow with school starting.
Speaker 1:But you know, everybody says, you know, going into it in June, no, july and August are usually the hardest months and it's you're farthest away from everything. You're farthest away from them getting out of school and you're farthest away from them going back to school, yeah, and it's kind of like that kickstart, right, that just gets you back in and they go back and finally people start getting back into their routines back to daycare, back to school, back to shopping, normally, right. So you guys have had a couple of things that you added full time since the last time that we talked on the show, right? So you had the Penske full time now. Full-time now it's a full-time thing. But you guys better remember this this is an RTO store who does everything.
Speaker 2:Yeah, we started that in January and they're in their peak season right now, which we're still probably a little slower because we're still considered new, but overall, penske said that their peak season has been lower this year than normal.
Speaker 1:I don't think anybody can afford to move anywhere.
Speaker 2:If they don't, they're not.
Speaker 1:Right, right. I mean they're kind of already where they're at.
Speaker 2:Right.
Speaker 1:Yeah, so with July being better, right? Or is it June, june, with June being better? Did that set you up for a good fourth quarter or a third quarter? Did it give you that push? Because I know summertime is a lull and if you get your customers to be steady or a little bit over in the summertime, you're going into the third fourth quarter in a better way, because usually we lose in the summer and we gain it back in the third quarter, right. So are you in a good spot right now where you can say, hey, that was a real good push.
Speaker 2:June was yes, yeah, yeah, I mean, I think you can always be better. Don't quote me on that we can always be better. I mean, june could have been slow too. So yeah, it definitely helped.
Speaker 1:So how's this year been for you? I've had a lot of people tell me 2024 has been a really rough year, yeah, it's.
Speaker 2:I mean, like we've talked before, I mean, from furniture to food is really high and food usually wins out. You know, when you choose between now, appliances, tvs, things that you know more necessities have been, have been really well, especially appliances. The furniture has been, which is normally our biggest seller has been, has been lower, has been, which is normally our biggest seller has been lower.
Speaker 1:Now, the last time we did the podcast, if you guys remember, it was one store, one shot, great podcast. If you guys want to listen to that, jeremy was on that as well. Yeah, but as you've gone into the 2024 year, right, and now we have all these things, I've had a lot of people say, hey, it's going to be a rough year but we're going to get through it. But it always seems to coincide with that year of it's vote time. It's a political craziness right now, up down, left right, no matter who you want in home office or the office. It's just crazy, right.
Speaker 1:So in an election year, have you noticed that in election years are a little bit harder? They always have been. They always have been. Coming out of that is the January afterwards usually better. We already know who's going to take office. January 17th comes, or whatever day it is that they get sworn into office and then we move on. Do you feel like they believe the breath of fresh air Come New Year? They know who it is. They're coming out of Christmas. Is 2025 like the better year?
Speaker 2:I think it will be yes, and even the holidays will be, I think, once you get beyond November and just no one you know whichever going. But yes, traditionally at our store the election years have been a little bit slower, or fourth quarter anyway.
Speaker 1:Yes.
Speaker 2:Because people are scared. They don't know what you know. Should I, should I?
Speaker 1:I don't know, so I just won't. Well, you don't know where to put your investments. You don't know where to put your investments. You don't know how to do your 401k. You're holding back. You don't know if there are taxes coming, taxes going. You don't know if your state's in one crosshair or another. And then, finally, you get to take a deep breath and go good, bad or indifferent.
Speaker 1:I know what's going on, right, I know how to handle it, and then I get to move forward. Yeah, I've been kind of dealing and you're like, oh my God, that's crazy and I just want to get through it. Right. And it's power though. Yes, and I feel like a lot of people, especially in this situation and I don't lean left, I don't lean right, I'm just saying that in this situation, when you have two people who you thought were going to be there, now there's a switch out. Now you don't know how that switch out're trying to figure out are people going to back that person? Are they not going to back that person? Is anybody else going to step in to say, hey, I don't like that person and they're going to split the vote. Are they not going to split the vote? Assassination attempts? And you're like, oh my God, is it possible that somebody might not even make it to the election? You're just so lost in trying to figure out how it works that I think our customers and our clientele feel that, oh, absolutely. And then it transitions to how they come into the store.
Speaker 1:And here's another thing that I wanted to ask you about. So in 2024, it's been a little bit tough, and I think everybody can agree. 2024 has been tough, and so has summer. How you sell. Do you change your approach to how you sell to fit the year? Are you pushing solely core items versus packages? Is there something that you're selling more of? That's like when I say that like is a washer and dryer necessities on the forefront, or are you selling all the way around and maybe you're just doing great and I'm not as good as you like? I'm not doing a good job here.
Speaker 2:We've done more bigger sales, really Larger discounts, oh, I see, I see, okay, yeah, and the appliances, the necessities, they kind of come no matter what, right, but so we've actually done more on furniture, trying to move some of that stock.
Speaker 1:So here's your question then when you do the discount on furniture, is that something that you do more of a sale as upfront as in? Hey, I'm going to give you a week to get this account open and set up on your correct due date, or is it more? I'm going to knock the price down a little bit to fit this range. It might be extended out a little bit more, but I want to make sure that it fits your pocketbook a little better, Maybe from $24.99 a week to $19.99 a week. Is that more or is it more?
Speaker 2:upfront. We typically do more off the weekly. We have done it off the end of the contract, even though it's still two months less. They just don't seem to be as excited about that rather than going from $25.95 to $19.95. Everybody likes instant gratification.
Speaker 1:It is instant right, because they can see in their pocketbook. If I do it this way, I won't see it. Might be the same dollar amount, I won't see this for 16 months versus 18 months, but if I do it like this every single week, I'm saving this amount, and I think you're right. I think that is the way, because we've become a pay to play society. Right. Everything is on subscription. I want this, to get this, and it's immediate. I start my subscription to Prime I get it now. I start my subscription to Netflix I get it now. Hey, I'm walking in. I have a dollar problem. Can you help me? Well, let me give it to you now. Let me give it to you at $5 off per week. Okay, I'm going to take that versus. Maybe I might get it more on the back end if you give me that deal. But you know what? I'd rather take it just a little bit more upfront to fix the groceries. So that's what's happening up there as well. Yeah, I think it's happening. It's not just there.
Speaker 2:Right, and with Instagram too, can kind of work the other way too, when they want something specific and you have to order it, but then they have to wait and you can tell them whatever. But if you tell them it's going to take six weeks, in two weeks, they're calling one to know why they don't have their merchandise.
Speaker 1:So that's got to be hard. When you're a single store, because you've got to be minimalist and anybody who doesn't know this about the industry I mean, it's nice to go to Walmart and buy the one thing that you need. But when you're buying from vendors, when you're buying from a company especially if you're doing a wholesale account they're not going to ship you one washing machine just because They've got to get people to load in a truck. It's got to take up a certain amount of time, certain delivery space. If they can sell you six and still get the same, you're taking that delivery fee and kind of dividing it up. If you took that delivery fee and you stuck it on one specific item a sofa, a washing machine that thing would be outrageous. You wouldn't be able to sell it Right and sometimes it's hard to explain that to people. Yes, I definitely want you to get that.
Speaker 2:And, yes, I will order it for you, but I have to find three other reasons to make this work Exactly. Yeah, sometimes they just have to wait till we're getting a truck. I mean, we can't order just that chair or one recliner, and sometimes that works, sometimes it doesn't.
Speaker 1:Who's your biggest furniture vendor right now? American Wholesale? American Wholesale is it? Because I know a lot of people out here do a lot of ashes, but I hear that American Wholesale has got some really good prices as well. How do you feel the quality is with American Home Sale? Because I've had people love it, I've had people not love it.
Speaker 2:We've always had very good and rarely is anything backordered. We have another company we deal with Nationwide Furniture Distributors out of Chicago. That's the two we mainly use and most are not backordered. But we have a little bit harder time getting things repaired with them. But AWF has been great. You send it to them, they repair it, or send you another one, or send you the part.
Speaker 1:Yeah, how good are you guys at repairing? Pretty good. Pretty good, I'm going to say right now, because I can always say, especially if you have a single store and you're trying to make it happen and you are so careful with your product when it's hard to replace, when you have somebody who comes in and says I need that special order, you really think about that because you got to think I need other things to place when I place that order, but I also need to be able to repair it and when it comes back and I don't have those orders that I need to place, I've got to put product in my showroom regardless. So you get good at making sure it's 100%. You get good at fixing the zippers and making sure you get the real covers and the table legs back Right.
Speaker 2:And we've tried to eliminate anything that didn't meet our over the years that just we continually had problems with. We just stopped carrying it because we are a one man show, so to speak, and we only have six employees. We got to get behind your product, right. So we don't try to get higher quality that's going to last with a good warranty and if it doesn't, you know it's got a good warranty behind it, right? I?
Speaker 1:mean, I always find it so different when I talk to single store owners because there is such a difference, like, right now I've got seven stores. If somebody needed something and I have to order it, I don't have to worry about ordering six or seven because I know that other stores have needs. It's easy. If I have to order six washer and dryers, not a big deal because I can tell you all right, so I got three sets. You're taking a set for your special customer, so I can probably give you an extra set. What do I do with the other one? I can call six other stores. Hey, he needs a washer and dryer. I'm not going to get to the sixth store and somebody go. I just don't need it. Somebody's taking it right. Or you have six times more chances to go. I can call a customer because they were talking about that the other day. We didn't have it and now I can get it sold, right. But when you're one store, it's just like I really got to make it work. I got to make it fit to what we have, and that's why I love refurbishment. You know what I mean. You also got to shop those overs and make sure that they're either making payments or it's not sitting on the outside showroom and you get it in and take care. Those things I can tell you right now.
Speaker 1:2024 has been a year of remembering. I had to remember how to sell correctly. I had to remember how to do my collections correctly. I had to remember how to refurbish correctly. It kept on reminding me hey, go back to your fundamentals. If you're having a hard time, it's because your processes. Make sure you take care of your processes. Take care of your customer. It actually built some of the customer relations too. Because you're not so quick to it's done Right Now you've got to be like okay, let me work with this customer. I really want to build that relationship. Are you finding the same thing?
Speaker 2:Yes, yeah, I mean it would just. I mean it kind of goes back to still the trying to get the best quality we can, so we're not spending so much time repairing. We have time to sell or, you know, to do other things that need to be done. Yeah, I agree. Yeah, it's definitely been a tough year, but I'll get through it.
Speaker 1:I mean, you've been doing this for how many years? 20?.
Speaker 2:Well, it was my mother's business. I mean, I've worked there since I was in the 80s.
Speaker 1:So it's been longer than you owned it right.
Speaker 2:Oh yeah, she passed away suddenly in 2011. So I went from employee to owner overnight, but my first job was wrapping microwaves for Christmas, and that's when they were like the size of a car. Oh yeah, they were huge. That was the giant ones.
Speaker 1:I remember that. Yeah, so I remember you saying back when we had DidTalk, you had that one customer that had been with you for years. Is he still around? He is, is he really? How is?
Speaker 2:he doing. He's older now he doesn't get out a lot, but yeah, we have a lot of third generation families that sometimes all have accounts at the same time and we've lost quite a few, which is hard. Some of this like him. He's in his early 80s now, so but yeah, he's still hanging in there.
Speaker 1:That's awesome. I love to hear that. What are some of the unique challenges that 2024 has brought you and you guys as a single store?
Speaker 2:I think just that. Well, not necessarily just 2024, but just foot traffic in general. It goes through spells that it's good. But you know we're auto pay and you know people don't have to come in this store and I think it makes it harder to to sell people things when they're just they call in and make their payment or they've set it up on auto pay and that that's still a challenge.
Speaker 1:I know for a fact. I just saw this and I wanted to bring it to your attention because I just saw this and I thought it was a crazy unique thing and you guys were the first thing that came to my mind, because you guys are able to try whatever you want to do. It was like I don't know what I'm trying to think of. It was from Capital Concierges, but they have like this it almost looks like an ATM, an area or a cash register. So if you can imagine a large, large cash register with a screen and like they can basically almost open a bank account right there. So for customers who have those challenges or need a card to make payments or whatever, you can actually connect them to it. Get it started, give them a card, take a picture of them and it goes on the card and you can give them the card right there to make payments. I'm telling you it's the craziest thing, but it's something new that I haven't seen before.
Speaker 1:The idea was to help eliminate some of the cash. You know, as they do the cash loans and stuff like that. It was kind of help in competition with that. It might bring more people to the store. Of course, there's always a commitment and I don't know that commitment, so I'm not going to say but it was just something different. I just I like coming to these shows and going. Okay, what can I get that my competition isn't doing Right? And is this going to help me? Right? Because, I agree, walking traffic has changed, all traffic has changed. It seems like every time I go outside there are the same amount of cars, but when I go to places there aren't the same amount of people, and that really that's so crazy to me. Like, if you guys aren't going anywhere, why is it taking this long to get anywhere? And then when I get there, the malls are empty, stores are empty and I said, where is everybody? They're all on their phone.
Speaker 2:Yeah. So, have you seen in the last few months? Have you seen a greater uptick in your online, more on Facebook now and Instagram, and that has helped, Right? I mean that does bring in some foot traffic or you know comments to it or something that doesn't always bring them in, but we get a lot more from that than we used to.
Speaker 1:Yeah, it's one of those things where you've got to be so willing to. You don't want to leave the core, but you always have to be able to willing to move with the tide. Where is it going? How do I get the most out of the situation? Because if they're not walking in the door, I've got to find a way to keep that business going, especially when you have one store, because you can't just let it die out. You've got to be able to find it and attack it. And I remember I was looking at that, I was going. I wonder if she's seen this yet, didn't? It's the craziest thing. And they're here. They're here.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I'll actually show you the booth and just to give you guys an idea of what we're looking at right now, we are actually outside of the event hall right now, where there's vendors all around us left and right, and we're doing these interviews with a lot of owners and people who have done this for years and years and years. And that's why we come to these things. Number one, it's for ideas. These things Number one is for ideas. Number two is to find great products at a great price and then to find those gems, those diamonds in the rough that you could take back and make sure works for you and, of course, at the end of the day, it's for the customers, right? We want to give our clients the best possible service that we can of course beneficial to them and profitable to us, because we're in business for that. But we always think about the customer satisfaction in that Probably one of the craziest things I've seen.
Speaker 1:I haven't seen anything like that in a long time. I was like really I've got to take a look at that. So how is Jeremy doing and how's the family?
Speaker 2:It's good. He's disappointed he couldn't be here. He told me he was in Daytona. Yeah, we passed on Saturday. They were coming back Sunday. The timing just didn't work out. Sunday, the timing just didn't work out. He'd been gone almost two weeks if he had came. But yeah, so then his timing didn't work out. I was heading here on Sunday and they were heading home.
Speaker 1:Are you guys going to make it to 2025? Omaha?
Speaker 2:I don't know, I'm just seeing where that was at. We'll try and see.
Speaker 1:It's a little closer to home right, yeah, it's actually a little further, is it really? Oh man, well, I would love to see you guys there.
Speaker 2:I looked it up. I think it's about 14 hours, but this was 12. Should have been 12. Should have been 12. Should have been 12, yeah.
Speaker 1:Well, I would love to see you there because you're a great help with the show and I love what you guys do. I love the fact that you have all these one-offs and your spices and anything else that you do that you bring to the table, because that's something that a lot of rental home companies when I say a lot, we're talking about like 99% don't have. You have that, I can do whatever I want. Well, we're corporate, so we can change that, right. So, yeah, you can introduce things and offer your customers so many benefits that we just don't have, and, as a matter of fact, we're talking about benefits of benefit market solutions. We just did that.
Speaker 1:Are you actually with BMS? We were not any longer. We're not. So it's okay, I won't hold it against you, it's all right. But you know, it's one of those things I'm always trying to think of, like, what is it that we can have that we can benefit the customer with? That might not be right around the corner, you know, right, and that's always the thing, isn't it? I mean, we're always trying to figure out that thing. I've got a whole bag of things to take home and show them.
Speaker 2:I'm going shopping in a minute. I've got to get these.
Speaker 1:But I'm so glad, jennifer, that you stopped by. I'm glad that you're doing good. It's great that I'm going to be meeting you.
Speaker 2:Tell Jeremy, we said hello, yeah, absolutely yeah, listen.
Speaker 1:Hopefully next time he can make it, yes, crazy, rto World 25. But coming at you from RTO World 24 in Orlando, it's the RTO Show. I'm your host, pete Hsiao, with Jennifer Harrod, and we'll talk to you later, thank you.
