 APRO: The Official Voice of the Rent to Own Industry
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 Rent-to-own News
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Rent-to-own News - Childers named ColorTyme's 2011 Franchisee of the Year
Rent-to-own franchisor, ColorTyme, honored its top performers and recognized exceptional owner accomplishments yesterday at the 2012 National Convention.
Mark and Tracy Childers received ColorTyme’s Franchisee of the Year Eagle Award, the highest honor bestowed by the company.
“This is all I’ve ever done and all I ever plan to do,” said Childers. “I think this is one of the best times to be in the industry. It’s really positive. If you have one store, don’t sit on it. Open your second store. I feel great about our new president, Cathy, and her growth plan – nothing but positive. Let’s go out there and open more stores.” Watch video interview with Mark Childers here. The Childers own and operate six ColorTyme stores in the Pacific Northwest and have been with the chain since 1985. The Childers exemplify ColorTyme's hometown spirit and ideals by being an active part of their community, said Cathy Skula, ColorTyme CEO. “The Childers are engaged with their customers, with ColorTyme and with APRO in the most proactive of ways,” said Skula. “This is what brings great success in this business, and I’m proud to give this award to Mark and Tracy Childers.” New store awards, five-year anniversaries, “Big 5” members and the Top 10 franchisees were also announced. Dan Eichelberger and Pat Gartland received the New Franchisee of the Year award. Having just joined ColorTyme as franchisees in the Summer of 2010, the partners were no strangers to the business. The duo brought their passion for the rent-to-own business with them to the venture as well as a combined 32 years of experience gained through executive careers with Rent-A-Center.
“Our customers are told ‘no’ a lot, and we try hard to always make it happen and say yes. They go and tell their friends. It helps us grow the business, said Gartland in response to a question regarding the partners’ success. "Receiving the award was pretty exciting and unexpected.” Watch interview with Pat Gartland, ColorTyme's 2011 New Franchisee of the Year. ColorTyme Vice President of Operations Albert Kohut introduced the company’s new field consultant, Travis John, who will add additional operational support for the franchisees at the store level. Keynote speaker, Nancy Friedman, then delighted the audience with a laughter-filled presentation on customer service. The convention was concluded with a panel discussion by rent-to-own industry experts and the President’s Forum, a question and answer session with ColorTyme’s new CEO Cathy Skula. A cocktail hour and Cajun dinner at the Embassy Suites capped the evening.
Watch interview with Cathy Skula, ColorTyme President CEO
“What a positive experience,” said Skula. “I feel we are all going away recharged and recommitted. Together, we will make our collective vision of growth possible.” See photo gallery of ColorTyme's 2012 National Convention in Frisco, Texas.
See new videos from the ColorTyme Convention:
Louie Hall, ColorTyme Franchisee
Watch other videos from the convention on RTOHQ's Youtube Channel:
Mark Childers, ColorTyme Franchisee
Eric Malone, ColorTyme Franchisee
Shawn DiLeo, ColorTyme Franchisee
Scott McHale, ColorTyme Franchisee
Gary Hughs, ColorTyme Franchisee
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2012 APRO Convention and Trade Show July 24-26, Memphis, TN
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RTOHQ: The Magazine
RTOHQ: The Magazine is the Association of Progressive Rental Organizations' award-winning rent-to-own industry magazine, and it's available here. | |||
 CLICK HERE FOR OUR DIGITAL RTOHQ: THE MAGAZINE
RTOHQ: The Magazine’s upgraded digital format APRO's new, mobile-ready magazine is now available in addition to our print edition. The digital format provides the same informative content as our printed magazine, but also offers tools to make the reading experience more enriching. Access the table of contents page with one click or tap. Get additional information from advertisers by clicking on the links in their ads. The interface is easy to navigate and requires no special app—read our magazine on your computer, digital table or smartphone. Click here to access the digital version of RTOHQ: The Magazine March-April 2012.
A New Rent-to-Own Experience by Neil Ferguson Here’s the lowdown on APRO’s 2012 Convention and Trade Show, July 24-26 in Memphis. The RTO industry’s big event will offer many valuable experiences, including insights on how to turn your stores into “experiences”–the good kind for consumers
Who Is Your Competition? by Bill Keese In order to expand your customer base, you can learn a lot by observing your competitors. But first, you need to figure out just who they are. If you think your only competition is the rent-to-own store down the street, you’re not considering the bigger picture. APRO’s executive director offers a big-picture perspective.
A Review of Online Customer Complaints by Ed Winn III While rent-to-own companies have not cornered the market on negative reviews posted on consumer complaint websites, it’s no surprise that there are cyberspace beefs against RTO. APRO’s general counsel reviews some of them in search of a pattern and he considers appropriate response to online complaints.
Rent-to-Own Families, Part VIII by Kristen Card Our series of family-run rent-to-own businesses continues with profiles of the Homeiers in Kansas and two Texas-based sets of kindred colleagues, the Spangles and the Weisblatts.
Future issues of APRO's magazine will be available in this same new format. Click here to access past issues that are not yet archived in the new interface.
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Association of Progressive Rental Organizations 1504 Robin Hood Trail Austin, Texas 78703 800/204-2776, ext. 103 Fax 512/794-0097 |