Rent-to-own News - Kennett delivery techs win Rent One's 2011 'DT Rodeo'

Rent One 2011 DT Rodeo winners Chad and Randy Howard (center) surrounded by company personnel.

For the second year, Rent One owner Larry Carrico, let his employees strut their stuff in a friendly competition he calls the "Delivery Technician Rodeo" --  a company tournament of RTO delivery skills he hopes will catch on industry wide.

Some 150 delivery technicians from 54 stores and six states matched skills in local and regional tournaments over the past two months concluding yesterday, with the "Rent One DT Championship" in Mt. Vernon, Illinois, where brothers Chad and Randy Howard from Rent One's Region 5 Kennett store emerged as grand champions.

The competition took place in a warehouse converted into a makeshift home and consisted of more than 12 categories including dryer installation, installing anti-tip brackets, electronics hook-ups, dollying and lifting techniques and delivery truck maneuvering to name a few. Participating delivery techs received a rundown on the events and scoring criteria prior to each competition.

Training and performance evaluation was based on manufacturers installation standards and safety procedures. Carrico believes the competition is a "fun" way to set, train and reinforce delivery standards, decreasing general liability and worker's compensation claims, and throw positive recognition at team members who don't always get a lot of it.

Carrico also envisions a similar competition -- multi-state and eventually national -- that could help create national RTO standards for delivery and installation. Cost savings aside, the delivery tech often has the final say on customer satisfaction.

"The bottom line is you can answer questions on a test all day long, but you don't really know how good you are until you have to actually set up the goods," Carrico said. "What people tend to remember is the delivery and pick up. It doesn't matter what happens in between a lot of times, that's what customers base their whole impression about your company on. "These guys are the ones who are on the front lines today. They're kind of the champions of our industry."

All winning teams receive trophies and "Bravo Bucks" which allow them to purchase items in Rent One stores.

The Howard brothers also receive a paid trip to the APRO Convention this July in Memphis.

Jerry Knoche, store manager of the Rent One where the Howard brothers work, said he was not surprised at Chad and Randy Howard's win, given their work ethic.

"They take a lot of pride in their work and, being brothers, they just know how to really work well together," Knoche said. "They know the business and are a big part of our success here in Kennett. They are the face of our company."

Second and third place in Rent One's DT Rodeo Championship went to teams who placed first in their regional competitions.

Second place went to  Matt Hoggard and Anthony Barker -- Region 7 – (Paris) Store 131; third place went to Nathan Tolbert and Wayne Wicker – Region 6 – (Trumann) Store 48.

Join APRO on Facebook and tell us if an industry-wide "Delivery Technician Rodeo" is something you would like to see.