Rent~A~Center
*Through "Our" Years!*
My husband and I wed and started our family at the youngages of eighteen and nineteen. And at that age, the best job you can usuallyhave right out of High School is usually a Restaurant job, which is what weboth had when we first started out. And in the beginning, we were living withhis Parents, and saving to buy our very first home; which we did. Yes at theages of eighteen and nineteen and with our very first Child, we became homeowners our first Christmas together.
We also became pregnant again, and didn’t have a baby sittereither. My husbands’ Parents both worked, and his siblings as well as my ownsiblings; were still kids in School. My Father worked, and my Mother was a stayat home Mom, but my Father was a stickler who believed that “if you bore yourChildren, it is you who should watch them, and no one else!” Therefore myMother was not permitted to babysit, therefore I too became a stay at home Mom.
To get things, we usually went to yard sales, but that didn’talways work out. Not very often could you actually find every little thing youneeded from a sale. We only had one baby shower, and that was with our firstChild. We never had a house warming party, to help us get the things we neededfor our home either. Our Wedding, was top secret, so the gifts there neverreally happened either except from a select few. So we truly needed a lot ofthings when it came to our first home.
Luckily for us, Rent~A~Center moved in up in what was oftenreferenced as the “Monkey Wards Plaza.” The only thing left in that Plazaactive anymore, basically was the Theatre, where my Mother~in~law worked. Forthe life of me, but don’t quote me on this, I can’t even remember if MontgomeryWards was still there at the time. That is the reason in the name of: “MonkeyWards Plaza” it was a nickname. (This to those of you whom don't know, is in Akron, Ohio)
We went there, and as they advertised, it was instantapproval. Why they say or claim not to run your credit baffles me, because theydo look you up, and call your references. I know, they called everyone welisted, they told us, and my credit report told me when we looked it up. But atthat time, we didn’t care. We were in desperate need of a washer and dryer, andthe laundry was piling up rapidly. That was truly all that mattered to us! Andthe payments were affordable, because we could not afford three hundred dollarsa machine at the moment! We had no choice, their small payment verses the bigchunk that we didn’t have, really worked out for the best, even though, as theyexplained and shown us in black and white, it was eleven ninety nine a week orso and so a month, totally a figure of something like seven hundred and fiftydollars, (yes I know~ double the price of one machine, but you also need tothink of it like this: convenience!) Just like the gas station charges almostfive dollars for a gallon of milk, verses Wal-Mart’s three something. The gasstation is charging you more, because it’s right there, next door. You didn’thave to go get dressed, or you just picked it up while you fueled your tank:convenience. You understand now right? Anyway, early pay off, or to pay it offin a ninety day period, something like that was like three hundred thirty ninedollars. Again, we had no choice. Especially when you’re a Mother who usesCloth diapers because your Children are allergic to the Pampers and otherbrands.
At income tax time, we usually paid off what we wererenting, if we managed to get money back from our taxes. And in the beginning,we were having my Mother do my taxes, and she didn’t know what she was doing,and we were only getting like eighty dollars back her way. Once myFather~in~law taught me, it was then that he had shown me the Child tax credit(or something?!), and we managed to receive monies back. Sometimes we wouldmanage to out and out buy things Rent~A~Center was clearing out that people hadalmost paid off and returned for low prices with our taxes, and sometimes wewould rent to own them for half the time. Regardless, we rented to own up untilwe moved to Florida, in 1998. Now mind, you we started out with Rent~A~Centerin like 1986 or 87. So we were faithful and loyal customers, and helped to makethem rich, if anything.
So we moved to Florida, and ended up moving in with myhusbands’ Parents again. Once we ended up out on our own and went our separate ways,we didn’t know anyone, let alone where we were! Fortunately though, my husbanddid land an excellent paying job with plenty of overtime. And on top of that,we landed a home almost next door to his employment. As you can tell, we boughtthe home I’m speaking about. The Chapter thirteen that we had paid off beforeleaving Ohio, we had overpaid, and they sent us a refund. So we had that bulkmonies to put down on a home, and get supplies.
We enrolled the kids in School, started unpacking andcleaning the home, and building and repairing the kitchen and rebuilding thehome. It was quite time consuming, but we were managing.
The person who sold us the home came over and told us, if wedidn’t get a refrigerator and stove in the home in the next day, she was goingto call the authorities on us and get our Children taken away. We didn’t haveany, and the woman that sold the home to us without the appliances, and madesure to put a clause in it that the home came without them.
Once again, the only choice I had was to find aRent~A~Center, and again, they saved our lives. This time it is the Titusville, Florida store.
We sold that home after four years or so, and moved to abigger thirteen room home in Rockledge, Florida and transferred our Rent~A~Centeraccount. Several of the employees, as odd as this may sound, transferred to theRockledge Store as well, including the Manager. The Manager had went a fewMonths prior to our move though.
The Rockledge store was a wonderful place. We were loyal tothis store in particular for a good four years! It was upsetting when theManager that we followed, Ryan: had to transfer to Melbourne I think it was?Where he lived, and it was closer for him. He was the heart and soul of thatstore. Shaun Davis was also an asset to that store, and knew exactly what he was doing.He too had come from the Titusville store. The environment in this Rent~A~Centerwas family oriented and top notch. We even met the District Manager on several occasionsand told him as such. They worked with us, if and when we ever needed them to,they had great sales and events, the store was always clean and friendly, andgreat customer service to everyone and the employees always treated each otherwith respect and like they cared for one another!
Once the store was closed down and moved to Cocoa in Byrdplaza and they gave the store to the current Manager, it has gone completely downhill.The current Manager not only abuses his employees publicly while customers arethere, but does the same thing to his customers. He has a very foul mouth, and threatenshis customers with physical violence. He chased my husband out of the storephysically one day, with a knife! And I know this has to be on video becauseRent~A~Center videos their whole area inside and out. When the store calls you,they are even rude and hateful. When you call and make payment arrangements,they personally do not keep them, or even log them in their system. And they donot believe any customer is ever right. Customer service is no longer their toppriority.
So we called the District Manager, and I spoke with him onseveral occasions. First he made the Manager call me and apologize. He beggedme not to close my accounts with them. So I gave them another chance. Withinthe very same week, the Manager had started on me again. I called the DM again,and this time, not only did he call and apologize, but he asked me my favoriteplace to shop. I told him Wal-Mart. He sent one of the employees over with atwenty five dollar gift card. As his employee pulled up, the Manager himselfcalled, and I put him on speaker, for the employee herself to hear. He told meoff for tattling on him. He said not to worry I am not getting him in trouble, andthat he would not lose his job no matter what I said. I said, as the girl stoodthere, with the card in hand. “It's ok…” and I reached out and took the cardfrom her, this way I had it first. “I am going to have your girl here take thefridge we have of yours. I don’t need it anyway, or your hassles. You have anice day. And do not ever call me again, and put me on your do not call list.And oh by the way, you were on speaker, and your employee heard what you said, didn’tyou?” She responded with “Yes sir.” He screamed and I hung up the phone. Andyes, we had her take the refrigerator, and we even helped her load it into thetruck and have never dealt with Rent~A~Center since.
Over twenty years of faithful Customers they threw away,because they wanted to keep a Manager with Anger Management issues.
I guess “our”monies weren’t good enough for them after all! Rent~A~Center had never everreceived a bad rating or reference from us ever until the Cocoa Store in ByrdPlaza. Check your records. We have sent many of referrals, were loyal all thoseyears prior. Think this through before pointing the finger at us. Why would wesuddenly jump ship on something we have believed in and been loyal to all of these years?! Obviously wehave just cause…..
We still do not deal with Rent~A~Center and never will again. They do not have their priorities straight.
I do not necessarily believe that the Customer is always right, I do however know for a fact that I am not the only person who has complained about the Manager in the Cocoa, Florida location!
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