Pete hosts this episode solo while Danny vacations in Mexico, bringing on guest Teddy Kirvin — a 12-year rent-to-own veteran who started at Rent-A-Center in Goose Creek, South Carolina in 2010. Since then, the industry has taken Teddy across the country, through Buddy's Home Furnishings on both coasts of Florida and eventually to his current role as Regional Sales Manager for the Southeast at RTO National, where he oversees Georgia, Florida, and Alabama in the shed, carport, and steel structure space. Pete and Teddy go back nearly a decade, having worked together at Buddy's and Rent King before their paths diverged — and today they reunite to talk about one of the most important skills in rent-to-own: how to make a slow day count.
The core message of the episode is simple — there's no such thing as a slow day, only an unproductive one. When foot traffic dies down, the first move is to work your files. That means making the callback calls you've been putting off, checking in with customers 24–48 hours after delivery, and reaching out to references on file. As Teddy puts it, birds of a feather flock together, so don't overlook mom, dad, or a cousin who might need something too.
From there, Pete emphasizes taking a hard look at your showroom. Check your tagging, condition-based pricing, and the state of your pre-loved inventory. Refurbish what you can, put it back on the floor smelling clean and priced right, and move on from anything that's a lost cause — get the clearance items out the door before a customer walks in and judges your store by them. Speaking of movement, rearranging the showroom every 30 days works wonders. Teddy jokes that a couch a customer has walked past 17 times suddenly becomes irresistible when it appears in a new spot. And don't let your 90-day idle items sit quietly — spotlight them, move them to your hottest selling spot, and give your team a small incentive to move them.
Slow days are also the best training days. Walk your team through condition-based pricing, sit with them on reference calls, and let them do the work while you coach. Teddy makes the point that this "next man up" mentality applies to everyone — even a delivery driver can benefit from running through a route or doing inventory alongside you. And since younger employees are already glued to their phones, give them a purpose: put them in front of the camera for a Facebook Live or TikTok, let them showcase what's on sale, and hand them the keys to your social media. They know what's trending, and there's nothing like seeing yourself on camera to get someone engaged.
Pete also encourages using slow periods for business-to-business marketing. Visit nearby restaurants, car washes, or dry cleaners and build referral relationships — getting your name in front of people who would never walk into your store on their own is one of the most underrated growth moves in the business. And whatever you do, think twice before sending your team home early. The dollar saved on payroll rarely outweighs the tasks that pile up and derail a busy Friday or Saturday.
The episode closes with a broader conversation about where rent-to-own is heading. Both Pete and Teddy see technology reshaping the industry — RTO National already offers a self-checkout model where customers can browse inventory online and choose between cash, rent-to-own, or traditional financing. Pete believes rent-to-own will eventually live on an app, reaching a new generation of customers who buy everything from their phones. And as Rent King's 12-month same-as-cash option shows, the customer base is already shifting. Through all of it, though, both agree the most important thing stays the same: customers do business with people, not company names. Build relationships, know your customers, and the numbers will follow.
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