Progressive Rentals September-October 2003

It's All in the Family: An APROfile of Lyn Leach by Kristen Card

All in a Day’s Work: APRO’s 2003 Employee and Customer of the Year by Julie Sherrier

Employee Crime and Employer Punishment by Ed Winn III

The 2003 APRO in Reno Review by Julie Sherrier

IT'S IN THE FAMILY

A conversation with Lyn Leach is, generally speaking, a talk with a measured Midwesterner. This Nebraska native’s answers tend to be straightforward yet thoughtful, at times even deliberative. Yet ask Leach to pinpoint his single greatest professional achievement and he doesn’t miss a beat.

“Easy,” he says, without a hint of hesitation. “In 2001, I was given the industry’s highest honor when APRO named me Rental Dealer of the Year. “There’s no question that was my proudest moment in the industry,” says Leach. “It’s recognition from your peers that you’re making a difference in the industry. It demonstrates you’re doing business right, you’re doing the right things for your clients and fellow workers, and it acknowledges your involvement in the big picture. To get an award like that from an industry as great as this one is, frankly, humbling and a little overwhelming.”

For Leach, it was a moment rooted in family. It was a family member who introduced him to the rental-purchase industry and now it was his extended RTO family who were applauding him as the best among them.

FAMILY IS A CONCEPT THAT SEEMS to be reflected in every facet of Leach’s life, both personally and professionally. Leach was just a teenager when he began working with his father, a furniture and appliance retailer, performing a vast variety of tasks, from deliverytruck driving to store management. But when Leach graduated from the University of Nebraska and began seriously considering his future career path, his father surprised him by directing him away from the family business—sort of.

“He could see the writing on the wall,” says Leach.“He was watching his competitors close down and knew the independent furniture and appliance retailer was going the way of the dinosaur, becoming extinct. He told me, ‘The wave of the future is rent-toown. If you want to be involved in furniture, appliances and electronics, the way to do it is to go into the rentalpurchase industry, so you don’t have to compete against the retail giants.’”

Together, the duo decided to attend APRO’s second annual convention in 1982 to see what the rental-purchase industry was all about.What they discovered was a welcoming group of entrepreneurs, eager to share their enthusiasm and best practices. RTO Inc. owner Barry Gambini and brothers Dave and Ron Happe went so far as to invite Leach out to California to learn the ropes first-hand through their business; Leach accepted. When he returned home to Nebraska, Leach was well-prepared to launch his own business. In 1982, he opened up the first Ace Rent- To-Own in Lincoln. And again, family played a vital role.

“My father provided financial help for that first store,” Leach says. “He’s retired now, but he stayed with me through the opening of several more stores. If it weren’t for him and his foresight and his financial support, this company would not be where it is today.”

A slow, steady growth plan TODAY, THERE ARE NINE Ace Rent-To- Own stores throughout Nebraska and Iowa—three are managed by Lyn’s younger brother, Jeff, and the remaining six stores are owned and run by Lyn; his seventh location is scheduled to open this fall.

Describing the chain’s past growth as “slow and steady,”Leach intends to continue that pattern with a long-term plan of opening one new store a year over the next decade.He credits his ability to continue such consistent expansion, despite mounting competition and a sagging economy, to a single factor.

“We have absolutely zero borrowed money,” Leach says. “We’ve grown on capital and on capital only, and we’ve not grown until we could afford to do so.”

Leach says the company’s lack of loans also provides a competitive advantage. “Because we don’t have the overhead of borrowed money, we’re able to turn a profit on a lower price and pass that savings on to our customers.” Another unique feature and distinct advantage of Ace over competitors is its “Good News Exchange Program.” The policy provides a 100-percent lifetime exchange guarantee, which lets Ace customers who change their minds about a product transfer the payments they’ve made to anything else in the store. If they choose to close their account, then they can reactivate it later, using their past paid rent toward paying for a new item. “Our company philosophy is real simple: we offer the absolute best customer service in the industry,” says Leach. “Seventy-one percent of our business every day is repeat customers.

They can see our money’s where our mouth is. The ‘Good News’ is, our clients don’t lose what they’ve paid.We go out of our way to make sure in the end they have something to show for their money.”

Doing right by employees and customers

TAKING CARE OF CUSTOMERS IS, of course, only half of the equation. Not surprisingly, Leach adopts an extremely personal, hands-on approach to keeping his staff of about 40 “fellow workers” content. He interviews and hires every employee, conducts reviews, grants raises and promotions and copes with all personnel issues himself.He spends time weekly in each of his stores observing day-to-day activity and occasionally waiting on customers or accepting payments. “We try to foster a family work environment,” Leach says. “My employees don’t work for me; they work with me. They deserve to be treated with respect and dignity. I consider them my second family.”

Leach works to offer Ace “family members” plenty of opportunities for friendly competition amongst themselves. From Las Vegas jaunts to Caribbean cruises, Leach provides a continuous stream of lavish incentives, but clearly views them as additions to a strong compensatory base.

“You should pay employees as much as you can possibly afford to—more than you think you can afford to,” says Leach. “Whenever I’ve done that, it has paid dividends. People stay with the company. It makes me feel good about the company and what it’s about. I sleep well at night because I’m not profiting at someone else’s expense; I’m profiting along with them. They’re family. They’re being taken care of along with the corporation.”

That carefully fashioned familial feeling is enhanced by the presence of Leach’s real family. His wife, Natalie, serves as the company’s vice president, managing the home office and the firm’s bookkeeping. Leach’s two children, Mindy, 15, and Ben, 13, also help with the business as needed, from filing to unpacking lamps to helping orchestrate grand openings.

The Leaches’ free time is spent together as well, involved in common interests. With an ancestry rich in ranching, the Leach family spends many weekends training, riding and showing horses; Leach himself frequently competes in team roping events at regional rodeos. The family also raises Longhorn cattle, which they use for roping practice and, eventually, for dinner; in fact, Leach offers his fellow workers quarters of beef at cost.

No stranger to politics

LEACH’S FAMILY-STYLE way of doing business might come across as a modern- day, heartland-of-America fairytale, the moral of which goes something like, nice guys do finish first. But don’t mistake Leach’s solid principles and upbeat outlook for naiveté.He has a firm grip on the issues and challenges facing the RTO industry, as well as a plan for dealing with them—and it begins on Capitol Hill.

“This is a very, very important time for our industry,” Leach says. “We’re edging ever-closer to having a federal law protecting rental-purchase dealers and customers [HR 996/S 884, the Consumer Rental-Purchase Agreement Act], and I think it’s going to change the landscape of this industry. Our industry isn’t safe until we have that legislation.We live with an ever-present fear that somebody could walk into Nebraska or any other dealers’ state, change their state law and put them out of business. We can’t let that happen. This bill is the first order of business.”

Leach is no newcomer to the political side of the industry. He is a former member of APRO’s government relations committee, past chairman of the legislative conference committee and personally has gathered six congressional and two senatorial co-sponsorships for HR 996/S 884.

Leach also chaired the membership committee and served as co-chair of the APRO political action committee with colleague Mamie Harper. Their joint objective is to persuade every member and as many of their workers as possible to contribute to the APRO PAC, a first step toward strengthening the industry through political participation.

“Developing political relationships is critical,” says Leach. “My relationships with my elected officials has given me such a perspective on the industry and it’s paid me tenfold rewards in my pride of this industry. It’s been amazing to me how willing politicians are to help when they see it’s the right thing to do. And when they become our allies, it’s important for us to become allies of theirs. If you love the industry, then you should take care of it. And this is taking care of it at the highest possible level.”

APRO leadership is preparing to develop a new five-year plan and, beyond approval of the Consumer Rental-Purchase Agreement Act, Leach wants to see the RTO industry make significant progress in the areas of public image, state association revitalization and further support for the customers who support APRO dealers.

As past chairman of APRO’s ethics committee and a former member of the public relations committee, Leach wants to see the rental-purchase industry’s image continue to improve; he believes it begins with each dealer and his or her own personal integrity.

“The best piece of advice I’ve gotten from my dad is to always conduct myself in a way that I and the rest of the family would be proud of, both personally and professionally,” Leach says. “We’re all going to make mistakes and if you tell the truth about them and make decisions based upon the best interests of everybody, then you can never get too far off-course.”

Leach also would like to advance APRO board member “Tiger” John Cleek’s efforts to breathe new life into dormant state associations, with the ultimate goal of establishing a hearty, dynamic industry presence and organization within every state where rentalpurchase dealers live and work.

“Most store-level personnel can’t be involved in the industry at a national level,” says Leach.“But they can be very active at the state level. And the greater involvement they can have in the industry, the greater pride and ownership they’ll have, the better they’ll run their stores and the better the industry will become.”

Additionally, Leach wants to explore ways to give back to the RTO industry’s faithful customers. He favors fellow board member Shannon Strunk’s idea for an APRO scholarship program.

“I think education and bettering people in their position, giving them an opportunity to apply for a college scholarship that would give them a leg up that they didn’t have before is a program I’d like to see initiated and watch rental-purchase customers benefit from,” Leach says.

Looking ahead

AT THE END OF THE PROVERBIAL DAY, Leach can’t help but return to his family- centered beliefs and values. The legacy he’d most like to leave as APRO president is a broadening of the circle— a commitment to shaping APRO into an association of inclusion.

“I’d like to see APRO grow and include even more people to create even more opportunities for involvement,” says Leach. “What I know about people in this industry is that they’re willing to help.All you have to do is ask and they’ll put aside whatever they’re doing—even at their own expense—to help do whatever is necessary. As president, I’d like to ask more. I want to include more people and ask more of them to make our industry an even better one.”

So dealers who’d rather reap the rewards of APRO membership passively or anonymously, beware: You’re part of the family and Lyn Leach is about to do a little good old-fashioned bar-raising.And with Leach’s pumpedup, hunkered-down, give-and-you’llreceive mentality—along with his sheer exuberance for his profession— he just might lift you over.

“For me, the rental-purchase industry is not just a job, it’s not just a career. It’s a life,” Leach says. “The truth is, I get up every day and throw my hands in the air and say, ‘Yes! I’m proud to be in this, I’m fortunate to be in this. I just love what I do.’”

Kristin Card is a free-lance writer.

All in A Day's Work

For the past four years, APRO has held an annual nationwide contest searching for a rental-purchase employee and customer who clearly stand apart from their peers in their work ethic and through community involvement. Entry forms are sent out in the spring asking for nominations and by early July, a panel of judges culled through the most compelling stories to select two individuals who serve as examples to their peers, friends and families.

Each winner deserves this special recognition for not only what they contribute to the industry, but also for their humanitarian deeds that have nothing to do with rent-to-own. These individuals truly characterize the many different types of people who work within the industry and the wide variety of compassionate customers we serve.åAPRO presents a choice of a travel package for two to the annual convention or its equivalent to each winner.Awards are presented during the Association’s annual convention, which was held August 12–15 in Reno this year.åHere are the year’s winners and the runners-up:

When people refer to single parenthood, the image that comes to mind is usually that of a working mom. Anthony Robinson, 36, of Lakewood, CO, presents a sharp contrast as he is a single parent of four girls and a boy. Robinson is a busy account manager at a Rent-A-Center store who makes his customers—and his kids—feel that they are his first priority. Of course, his children are the ones who really come first, but don’t tell his customers that. “As an account manager, I have my own set of customers who know they can call on me personally when they need me. I am on a first-name basis with my customers and am dedicated to giving the best customer service I can,” says Robinson.

When asked how he manages to balance his long hours at the store and managing the lives of his children, Robinson is quick to respond. “I drop them all off at school in the morning and take a late lunch break to pick them up when school is out to bring them home and get them started on their homework. I buy lots of frozen foods in case I’m not home from work at dinnertime to cook for them,” he says.

Robinson’s daughters are T’shinae, 11, and Jacorrie, 5. He adopted his sister’s daughters, Mary, 17, and Champagne, 14, who were left without a home after their mother died from cancer two years ago.

Robinson’s son’s primary residence is with his mother. “I had to step up and be responsible rather quickly,” says Robinson. “My choices became pretty easy to make. I could have gone the route of gangs and drugs, but I knew I wasn’t going to let my kids go down that path with me.”

Robinson made a choice early on when he took part in Street Beat in Denver, a program for at-risk or troubled youth. “We had a dance troupe and used to perform all over Denver,” he says. “I went there as an opportunity after high school and became a member and then an instructor.”

While his responsibilities as a primary provider grew, Robinson continued to work with troubled youth at Street Beat. His mentoring role often followed him home as he counseled children and parents over the phone. “I wish I was still in that business, but the funding was cut,” he says.

Today, Robinson works at the Lakewood Rent-A-Center and recently moved his family to a better home in nearby Aurora, CO. His dream is to one day open a small restaurant.

“My focus is the kids because they need somebody,” says Robinson. “That’s my drive to keep going. I don’t have that ‘quit’ in my system.”

EMPLOYEE OF THE YEAR FINALISTS

Kent Hoffman,
Full-O-Pep Appliances, Martinsville, IN

Fast thinking is what helped quite a handful of Martinsville, IN, townspeople after a tornado ripped through the town in September 2002 and left many homeless. Full-O-Pep Appliances’ Ken Hoffman spent countless hours organizing, promoting and finding products from Full-O-Pep’s 33 store locations throughout the state to hold a benefit auction for the tornado victims. The auction raised $11,000 of which 100 percent was donated to the local chapter of the Red Cross and to the Martinsville Tornado Relief Fund.

Hundreds of people showed up for the auction and were extremely relieved to be able to replace their furnishings at such good prices. “We heard a thousand thank you’s that day and many of the people said they would never forget that Kent and the staff were there for them. Full-O-Pep and the rent-to-own industry are grateful to Kent for his hard work, kindness and his 20 years of service to the industry,” says Full-OPep General Manager David P. David.

Hoffman and his wife, Peggy, are also supporters of hospice and have been known to make anonymous contributions to families in need and to help out their own neighbors and families during hard times.

Tracy Lewis, Kelly Rentals, Danville, LA

Tracy Lewis, district manager at Kelly Rentals in Danville, LA, is one of the company’s only employees who regularly attends the annual APRO Legislative Conference in Washington, D.C., in order to promote the industry’s federal legislative agenda. He has been instrumental in generating co-sponsorships for both HR 1701 and HR 996 from Congressmen from Virginia and North Carolina.

Lewis was the second person hired at Kelly Rentals in 1984. He has moved up the ranks from account manager to district manager. The store values Lewis’ 19 years of service to the company and credits its success to Lewis’ positive attitude and solid work ethic. His honesty, patience and respect for others are virtues contributing to the fact that he has never received a customer complaint.

Lewis and his wife, Diana, also are affiliated with a local chapter of Domestic Violence Emergency Services. Lewis recently participated in DOVE’s annual fund-raising event to help support its efforts in the community.

Danny Williams, Baber’s, Columbus, MS

Known affectionately by employees in his district as the “Tasmanian Devil,” Danny Williams sweeps into his stores like the whirling cartoon character in his zeal to improve the store’s performance.Williams was hired at Baber’s in 1991 in an under-performing store. Under his leadership, that store became one of the most profitable and Williams developed a reputation as a manager who took care of his customers and developed a loyal customer base.

Due to his excellent leadership skills,Williams was promoted to district manager and earned the honor of “District Manager of the Year” two years in a row. Not only is Williams a corporate leader, but he is also a compassionate and caring community and church leader. He is a deacon of his church, a choir member and a Sunday school teacher. He has gone on mission trips to Maryland and West Virginia to help build a new church and to assist the needy.

Williams also has lent a hand helping his neighbors in Columbus in the aftermath of two devastating storms by working endless hours sawing and removing trees off houses and helping with repairs. He participated in the industry’s Habitat For Humanity Austin build several years ago, braving 90-degree heat to construct “The House that APRO Built.” And, last but not least, Williams helped a fellow employee by replacing household items anonymously when that employee lost his home to a fire.

Baber’s customer Donna Brown firmly believes that she survived a very difficult childhood in order to share her story with others. “God left me here to tell my story,” says Brown. “I want to help other people because I’ve been helped.” A minister and evangelist, Brown was raised by an alcoholic mother who was unable to hold down a job and, eventually, a home. “I had to overcome a lot of anger from my childhood,” she says. “Just because you’re a minister doesn’t mean you have it all together. We all have to overcome things.”

Brown is a frequent, longtime customer at Baber’s in Tupelo. “She’s a great customer,” says store manager Edith Mills.“She is friendly, smiling and always pleasant to be around,” says Mills. Over the years, Brown has rented to own a washer, two dryers, living room furniture, a home entertainment system, electronics and jewelry.“ The people at Baber’s are honest and treat me with respect,” says Brown. “Because of Baber’s, I now have something to leave behind for my children,” she says.

Brown also works at a local Red Lobster restaurant, but her true calling is helping others in need. It is not unusual for her to get a call to come to the hospital to visit someone who is ill. She is a regular visitor to nursing homes to cheer up the elderly. She exudes a calm, warm presence and offers comforting prayers to those in need of healing. Brown has spent a great deal of time counseling a young mother struggling with drug addiction and has even taken on the responsibility of helping to raise this woman’s child.

Through her generosity, insight and caring, Donna Brown is truly a shining star in her community.

CUSTOMER OF THE YEAR FINALISTS

Melinda Lawson, American Rentals, Columbus, IN

Melinda Lawson was the first customer at the American Rentals store in Columbus when it opened in 1982. Lawson is proud that her entire home is furnished with products from the store. Four years later, Lawson receiving devastating news that she had cancer and may not have long to live. Preparing for the worst, she recorded audio messages for her only son for the special events in his life such as high school graduation and marriage in the event that she would not be there.

While fighting and surviving cancer, Lawson has raised her son and helped to care for her ailing father, grandmother and other family members as well. She currently awaits the birth of her third grandchild. She is quick to credit her faith and God for helping her get through the tough times. “None of this would have happened without God on my side,” she says.

Johnnie Davis, Baber’s, Natchez, MS

Johnnie Davis is a single mother and a frequent, longtime Baber’s customer who is very dedicated to her raising her children. She never complains and always has a smile, reports the staff at the Baber’s store in Natchez, MS. Davis is always looking out for someone else. For example, she works for the Stew Pot, a local charity, to make sure that no one goes without a hot meal. While she is scheduled to leave at 2 p.m. every day, she stays to start the next day’s meal. She truly exemplifies a generous community spirit.

Hursey Willingham, Baber’s, Tupelo, MS

Hursey Willingham has been a dedicated customer at Baber’s for many years. He says he likes doing business with the staff at Baber’s because he knows he can get exactly what he wants when he wants it. Almost everything in his home has been acquired through the Tupelo store. Willingham and his wife, Gracie, have been married for 26 years and have three children and three grandchildren. Willingham has worked at Cooper Tire for 15 years and is a lead supervisor. He also is a deacon at his church.

As you can tell, choosing a winner from this exemplary group of contestants presented a tough challenge. All of the entries do show us the wonderful variety of people associated with this industry. With employees and customers like them, the industry has more than enough reason to celebrate and honor those who bring just that little bit of extra care and concern to their communities.

 

CRIME AND PUNISHMENT

Negligent hiring lawsuits are on the rise. For example, an employee commits some heinous crime against a customer, another employee or some random third party and the company gets sued by the injured party because the company did not use proper care when hiring this employee in the first place.

The plaintiff will argue that the company should have uncovered the employee’s troubled past, which would have revealed that he was dangerous and likely to inflict harm in the future. These lawsuits attempt to hold employers liable for the criminal conduct of employees. Plaintiffs make the argument that the employer acted negligently when hiring the employee who committed the wrongful act and therefore must pay for what the employee did even when the act was not directly related to the job.

In the rental context, if a customer or a customer’s property is injured during a collection effort by a company employee, the rental company can expect, among other claims, one for negligent hiring. These kinds of lawsuits are on the rise due to an increased concern over workplace safety, generally after 9/11, and repeated stories of employees “going postal” during the 1990s and, lately, corporate scandals involving whitecollar criminals that have crumbled empires.

The law does not yet require that employers guarantee that its employees will always act properly, but it does require employers to act reasonably when hiring employees. Today that includes conducting criminal background checks on certain job candidates.

The Texas Legislature recently passed a new statute in this area with implications for rental dealers everywhere. The new statute requires Texas rental dealers and all other merchants who send employees out to deliver, install or repair items in a person’s residence to obtain a criminal background report from the Department of Public Safety on all such employees. The criminal background checks are required to go back 20 years for felony convictions and 10 years for misdemeanor convictions.

If the company conducts the search and it comes back clean, the law then provides that in the case of a lawsuit for negligent hiring brought against the company, a rebuttable presumption arises that the company did not act negligently when hiring the employee. There are various recordkeeping requirements concerning the information collected by the employer. There are no penalties in the statute for failing or refusing to conduct such background checks other than the loss of the presumption in a lawsuit.

At least one other state, Florida, has had a similar statute in place since 1999. In Florida, for the presumption to arise, the employer must do four things: 1) obtain a criminal background check on the employee; 2) make a reasonable attempt to contact “references and former employers”; 3) require the employee to complete a job application that includes questions concerning convictions of a crime; and 4) obtain a driver’s license check if such check is relevant to the work to be performed. This Florida statute applies to all employees in the state.

Similar statutes have been on the books around the country in selected industries that deal with employees who work with especially vulnerable people—children, the aged and the infirm. Specific industries are also covered—e.g. the nuclear power industry, various licensed industries, certain airline personnel and other sensitive industries.

The broad scope of the Texas and Florida statutes portend similar statutes in other states in recognition of the rise in negligent hiring lawsuits. The issue of whether a company is liable for the acts of its employees can be a tricky one. The legal standard—the question a jury will get in a case against the company—is whether the employee, when the injury was inflicted, was acting “within the course and scope of the employment,” in which case the company must pay for the damage, or whether the employee was “was off on a frolic of his own,” in which case the company is not ordinarily liable.

However, an injured plaintiff may still be able to tag the company, where the money is in such a case, if the plaintiff can prove that the company was negligent when it hired the employee. In the negligent hiring lawsuit, the employee’s conduct is less at issue than the company’s conduct when it hired the employee. If the company hires an ax murderer and knew or should have known of the employee’s past when it hired him and then sends him out to chop wood, it becomes foreseeable that trouble will ensue.

The negligence standard against which hiring practices are measured changes over time. In the pre-Internet era, criminal background checks were expensive and time-consuming. In those days, companies probably had to have some knowledge of a suspected criminal past before the duty to explore further would arise.

Today, criminal background checks at every level are relatively inexpensive and can be done in a matter of hours. There are still competing privacy issues at work, but privacy rights are rapidly giving way to societal concerns over security and that is clearly where the law is heading.

States compile and keep information on criminal convictions different ways. Some have centralized databases kept by law enforcement agencies; others keep the information at the county level, court by court. Some maintain records at both levels. Statewide databases have timeliness and accuracy issues and the most complete and accurate information can usually be found at the county level. Of course, county by county searches cost more and take more time.

Rental dealers should be aware that while their rights to run criminal background checks on job applicants are unfettered in most states, there are restrictions in several states, the details of which are beyond the scope of this article. By way of quick example, California employers cannot inquire about marijuana convictions more than two years old. Dealers in the following states will have to consult their state statutes for limits on their ability to conduct criminal background checks: Alaska, California, Georgia, Massachusetts, Missouri, New Hampshire, New Jersey, Ohio, Rhode Island, South Dakota and Utah.

Playing by the rules

If rental dealers understand the advantages of conducting criminal background checks at least on employees who will be going into customers’ homes, then there are some rules by which they must play. It is primarily the Federal Fair Credit Reporting Act that will apply, assuming that the rental company uses a third party to conduct the checks instead of going to the state registries or county courthouses using its own employees, in which case the FCRA does not apply. The definition of a “credit check” under this federal law includes a criminal background check. (For a partial list of companies offering criminal background check services for employers, see the sidebar.)

In a nutshell, the FCRA requires that dealers get a job applicant’s consent to run a check. The dealer must make a clear and conspicuous disclosure that a credit report may be procured. The disclosure must be separate from other information in the application packet. The dealer must notify the applicant separately within three days of making the requestfor the information if the dealer does run a report. In addition, before taking any adverse action based in whole or in part on information received, the dealer must give the applicant a copy of the report and a copy of the applicant’s rights under the FCRA in the form prescribed in the law. The notice the applicant gets must include the name, address and phone number of the company furnishing the report to the dealer.

Failure to comply with the requirements for conducting criminal background checks can result in liability for the company.

Here are some tips for conducting criminal background checks properly.

• Get complete information on the job applicant. This will include the full legal name and any other names the applicant has used, date of birth, social security number, driver’s license number and times and places of previous employment. Get this information in writing and have the applicant verify that it is accurate. Get the applicant’s consent to run a criminal background check and make that consent continuing so that additional checks can be run in the future, if the need arises.

When researching criminal records, dealers want to make sure that the information received does, indeed, apply to the applicant. And the information does not always match up perfectly. The more information about the applicant that the dealer can provide, the better the check will be and the better the opportunity for the dealer to investigate discrepancies between the information provided by the employee and the information contained in the background check

• Be sure that the application asks about criminal conviction history, both misdemeanor and felony, and state on the form that the criminal history information provided by the applicant will be reviewed for its relation to the position and length of time since any convictions. Dealers can use this information to gauge the honesty of the applicant.

It may not be a good idea to inquire only about felony convictions. Often fairly serious criminal charges can be pled down to misdemeanor charges by aggressive defense lawyers, so that violent behavior of the type rental dealers need to screen for carefully may end up as a misdemeanor conviction, especially the first time.

• Be cautious asking about arrest records. The EEOC has determined that an employer’s use of arrest records, distinct from records of criminal convictions, has a discriminatory effect on minorities (more people of color are arrested than are white people). Therefore, the employer may be risking claims of discrimination if he is making employment decisions based on the arrest records of job applicants.

• Allow a job applicant the opportunity to explain the results of the criminal background check and any discrepancies between the report and the application. In this information age, not all of the information collected and stored on individuals is completely accurate. Rental dealers will not want to act on inaccurate information and should be willing to investigate further when the background check shows something different from what the applicant has provided. The applicant may be lying, which will eventually be uncovered, or there may be bad information in the system, which needs to be corrected.

• Be reasonable in assessing information in the criminal background report. There may be information in a report that will make an employee too risky to trust with a delivery position, but a conviction for a hot check written seven years ago may not rise to that level.

• Have a written policy within the company concerning criminal background checks and ensure that the policy is applied consistently. If the staff in charge of hiring can pick and choose upon whom they run criminal background checks—for example, only when something does not “add up” or “feels suspicious”—the company will be open to charges of discrimination.

Rental dealers add to the safety of their employees and customers by taking what has become a fairly inexpensive step in the hiring process by running criminal background checks on employees who will be going into customers’ homes. There will still be judgment calls that need to be made. There are good employees out there with checkered pasts and it is not suggested that anyone with a criminal past should forever be barred from working in a rental company. We have trouble enough finding good employees without invoking such a strict rule. Running the checks, however, will give dealers additional valuable information with which to build a reliable workforce.

Ed Winn is APRO’s general counsel. His e-mail address is edwinn@e-bylaw.com.

A look back at APRO’s 2003 Convention and Trade Show

APRO 2003: Ridin’ High in Reno, the Association of Progressive Rental Organizations’ annual convention and trade show, welcomed about 950 rental dealers and vendors to John Ascuaga’s Nugget hotel in Reno in August. Here are some of the highlights of this year’s show:

• 2003–04 APRO President Lyn Leach took over the helm from Gary Romine, who served as president for the 2002-03 year.
• There were 205 booths in the exhibit hall representing 110 companies. “This year’s trade show was a sell-out, packed with exhibitors from previous years along with a sprinkling of new exhibitors displaying products that attendees were happy to see. The show provides a great opportunity for the dealers to see what is new in products and services,” says APRO Marketing Director Cindy Ferguson.
• The Lifetime Achievement Award was presented posthumously to former Rent-A-Center CEO Ernie Talley. The President’s Award of Excellence was presented to APRO’s Government Relations Director Ron Waters. The Rental Dealer of the Year award was received by Shannon and Cynthia Strunk of Baber’s, based in Pascagoula, MS. The Vendor of the Year award went to John Foster of Alliance Computing Technologies, based in Tampa, FL, and the 2003 State Association of the Year was awarded to the Ohio Rental Dealers Association.
• Keynote speaker Frank Maguire shared his wisdom with attendees, saying that how employers treat their employees is exactly how their employees are going to treat their customers.
• The 2003 Rental-Purchase Employee of the Year was awarded to Anthony Robinson, an account manager with Rent-A-Center in Lakewood, CO. See page 34 for details.

2003 Buddy Award

WINNERS

The APRO “Buddy” awards are presented every year to those outstanding individuals and organizations that have raised the level of what can be done to better the industry for everyone. At the annual APRO Awards Banquet, held August 15 at John Ascuaga’s Nugget in Reno during the 2003 APRO Convention and Trade Show, the recipients of the Lifetime Achievement Award, the President’s Award of Excellence, the Rental Dealer of the Year and the Norm Smith Vendor of the Year were named.

The 2003 Lifetime Achievement Award was presented posthumously to former Rent-A-Center CEO Ernie Talley. One of the industry’s founding fathers, Talley passed away on Saturday, June 21, after being admitted to the hospital for a stroke. Talley had been battling cancer for a few years.

Talley was laid to rest on June 24, 2003, in the small Michael Talley accepts Ernie Talley’s Lifetime Achievement Award on behalf of his father. community of Pilot Point, TX, north of Dallas. This farming and ranching community seems to have carried Talley full circle from his early days in Yardelle, AR. Yet along the way, this unassuming man made his mark in this world, changing the lives of many.

It’s been said that all roads lead to Rome. In rent-toown, it seems all roads lead back to Ernie Talley. Talley began building the first chain of RTO stores in the 1960s, sold them and got out of business by the mid-1970s and re-entered RTO in the 1990s with what was Renters Choice and later became Rent-A-Center. Nearly every major dealer who has contributed to furthering the RTO industry sprang forth from Talley’s employ, including Tom Devlin, Chuck Sims and Bud Holladay.

With his reintroduction to the industry, he led the effort to bring rent-to-own into the public-trading arena—another very significant milestone for the industry. His success with running a publicly traded company has turned heads from Wall Street to Congress. His company grew (twice) from a multi-store chain to a leader in the industry. He embodied the history of RTO and his company represented the future and commitment to APRO and the industry.

Talley received the APRO President’s Award of Excellence in 1998 and retired as CEO from Rent- A-Center in October 2001. He is survived by his wife, Mary Ann, sons Michael,Mark and Matt, sister Barbara Cole, daughter- in-law Kathy and grandchildren Benjamin, Regan and Madison.

President’s Award of Excellence: Ron Waters,APRO

One of the highest honors an APRO member can achieve is the President’s Award of Excellence. This is presented to the person who exemplifies the best in the industry through involvement and support of industry goals. This award can go to anyone who represents what the industry strives to be as a whole.

This year, the award was presented not to a rental dealer, but to APRO’s Government Affairs Director Ron Waters.Waters has tirelessly promoted the industry’s legislative agenda not only in Washington, D.C., but also throughout the country. One of his more remarkable political achievements on behalf of this industry was his work with Rep. Charlie Gonzalez, a Democrat from San Antonio. Gonzalez’s father, the late Henry B. Gonzalez was easily the most outspoken critic the industry has ever confronted. When Charlie Gonzalez ran and secured the seat left behind by his father,Waters worked hard on educating the younger Gonzalez on RTO issues. Today, Gonzalez is a co-sponsor on the industry- supported bills in the past two Congresses.

Waters has logged more than 100,000 miles a year in travel since he has been with APRO. He has attended more fund-raising dinners and parties than any individual rental dealer. He has shown great patience with politicians and rental dealers alike as he has worked hard to keep rent-to-own businesses safe since he began working for APRO in 1989.

Rental Dealer of the Year: Shannon Strunk and Cynthia Baber-Strunk, Baber’s

The Rental Dealer of the Year was awarded—for the first time—to a husband- and-wife team: Cynthia Baber-Strunk and Shannon Strunk, owner/operators of the 45-store Baber’s rentalpurchase chain based in Pascagoula, MS.

Cynthia currently serves as president of TRIB—The Rental Industry Buying Group—and has been very active civically. She is a past president of the Pascagoula Area Chamber of Commerce, Kiwanis Club, Civic League and the local PTA. Cynthia is the former Cynthia Littlepage, a native of Butler, AL.

Shannon Strunk rose through the ranks of Baber’s to become its president. He is currently president of the Alabama-Mississippi Rental Dealers Association, having recently reorganized his state and Alabama into a strong two-state association. He is currently serving his third term on the APRO Board of Directors. He was instrumental in pushing through Mississippi’s rental-purchase legislation and is chairman of the APRO public relations committee. He most recently founded the APRO Charitable Foundation and the APRO Scholarship Fund.

Together in June of 2000, Shannon and Cynthia bought the rest of the company from other family members and continue to run the familyowned business. This husband- and-wife team joins an elite group of rent-to-own owners/operators who exemplify the dedication to furthering the interests of the industry, superior customer relations and ethical business practices.


Vendor of the Year: John Foster, Alliance Computing Technologies

The Norm Smith Vendor of the Year Award is given to an outstanding associate member who has supported the Association and its activities. This year, John Foster, owner of Alliance Computing Technologies, received this award. Foster has been an active member of APRO since joining in 1994 and has served on the APRO Vendor Advisory Committee for four years.

Alliance Computing Technologies is going into its sixth year as an exclusive technology supplier to the rent-to-own industry. Providing hardware solutions with high-end products such as Hewlett-Packard, Compaq and Dell, along with 24/7 toll-free customer service support, Foster has created a successful company with a great reputation.

In addition to supplying the industry with cuttingedge technology, Foster has gone the extra mile every year by providing the registration computers and support for the APRO staff during the Association’s annual convention and trade show. He and his wife have also made the annual trek to Washington, D.C., to attend the industry’s annual legislative conference to lobby for federal legislation.

Last but not least, for the past four years ACT has been the sole sponsor and supplier of the now invaluable Internet Café in the exhibit hall during the APRO Convention and Trade Show. Foster and his associates arrive early for the show every year to set up a bank of computers for attendees to surf the Web and/or check their e-mail.

It is this kind of support and involvement that John Foster was honored with the 2003 Vendor of the Year award.