Earlier this month, Moriah Eberhart, APRO Membership Engagement and Development Manager, visited 20-year APRO member Hometown Rental Purchase in Houston, Texas. Eberhart had the opportunity to meet with Lupita Lopez, store manager of Hometown Rental Purchase, to learn more about the dedication the store has to provide topnotch customer service with Google customer reviews that speak for themselves.
Lopez shared that Hometown’s focus was to treat customers with the utmost respect. “It is simply our way of life,” states Lopez. “When our customers make a purchase, we send them mail to congratulate them and also visit them personally to deliver a basket to show our sincere gratitude for becoming a part of our family.” This specialized interaction is what keeps their customers coming back over and over even through generations.
The personalized onboarding approach goes hand-in-hand with what Lopez calls her “old-school” marketing views. She often walks through various neighborhoods, visiting customers to talk about their options and how they relate to living a life of comfort. Lopez’s loyalty to rent-to-own also extends to her family, “they just love it and are customers too!”
While Hometown Rental Purchase in Houston has done well with their personalized touch, they also credit APRO for industry education and ideas to ensure best RTO practices and how to apply technological improvements. “Facebook has been great and while I do not want to lose our personal touch that our customers love, I am open to adding social media improvements and learning new techniques,” says Lopez.
A few years ago, due to the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey in 2017, Hometown Rental Purchase faced some unexpected challenges that made Lopez doubt her managing abilities. She found comfort and reassurance through the disaster relief articles APRO released that profiled several members who were also affected in the area. “APRO gave me hope and helped restore my faith in the love I have for the RTO industry,” shares Lopez.
Visiting an APRO member store gave Eberhart a firsthand look at the RTO culture at its finest. “I had a wonderful time!” shares Eberhart. “It was great to see how customer-focused Hometown Rental Purchase is and what we strive to see in the industry and in all of our members.”
