Dealer Spotlight on Jean Poulin, Owner of Express Rental Purchase in Hammond, LA.
In the month of August, Louisiana saw historical rainfall. A weather system stalled over Baton Rouge, and in three days it had rained 40 inches. The effects of the storm were so severe that the Bayous (canals) began to flow backwards. There was monumental flooding in areas that had never seen flooding in the past. If you lived near water, your house and your streets were in peril.
Luckily, Jean Poulin’s Express Rental Purchase store did not experience any flooding, but he had to wait it out to see what happened to his customers since most roads were impassable. While his store was not flooded, Poulin was flooded with calls from customers after the rain had stopped. “We had customers calling to tell us they had to leave their homes due to the flooding, and we should pick up our merchandise that was on rent,” Poulin said.
“I was very glad we had the Customer Protection Program through Benefit Marketing Solutions,” said Poulin. “They stepped up to the plate to help both my customers and my store in this challenging time,” he added. “The customers know that when they get back on their feet they can initiate a new agreement and pick up where they left off, and BMS paid me $21,784 in claims checks,” Poulin explained.
Through the process, Poulin had just one word to describe BMS’ claims team and claims manager, Selda McMahan, “AWESOME, I cannot think of anything more to say than AWESOME.”
Poulin indicated, “The significant claims dollars paid helped me pay the ongoing bills of the store, which helped keep my doors open”. The turnaround time on the payment of claims was approximately one week. This was especially helpful since most, if not all, of his affected customers could not pay that month. “I deferred their payments for a month, and the claim dollars assisted in making up some of the income that did not come in,” Poulin said.
Another extra “kiss” in Poulin’s terms was that, “Many of my customers also had agreements with other dealers who did not provide replacement merchandise. They just waived the balance, and the customer had to begin from day one on the replacement merchandise. My customers liked the way Express treated them during this time of need, and they are showing it by opening additional agreements”.
This demonstrates how a membership program through BMS can make a difference to both a rental company and their customers. For more details contact BMS at (888) 322-6705.
About Benefit Marketing Solutions
Benefit Marketing Solutions was founded in 2002 as a provider of membership programs predominantly within the rent-to-own industry. In 2007 Benefit Marketing Solutions merged with Alliance Healthcard, Inc. (ALHC- OTC). In 2009 Alliance Healthcard merged with Access Plans, Inc. (APNC-OTC). The company that emerged offered its clients and their customers an expanded line of benefits and services. 
Mike Lewis
Mike Lewis is a Premier Rental Purchase franchisee with multiple stores and currently serves as Vice President of Operations. With 33 years of experience in the rent-to-own industry, he has spent the past 20 years working closely with franchisee owners and previously spent 12 years in Corporate RTO, gaining a strong foundation in the business.
For the past five years, Mike has been sharing his knowledge by teaching managers and franchisees at the company’s Training Center.
Outside of work, he enjoys time with his family, kids, and grandkids, and appreciates the simple things in life – especially riding his Harley Davidson with the sun on his face. If you know, you know!
