“The information learned while attending college is meaningless to employers; the college degree itself is the prize. It shows you were smart enough to figure out how to graduate.”
(My late brother, Gregg Furniss)
My wife and I were coming back from a weekend trip recently and stopped in for a “quick” bite to eat at a roadside Wendy’s. Oh, I was psyched to take down my chocolate Frosty.
We were waiting in line inside the restaurant and started to talk to some older gentlemen behind us. I had my UNC sweatshirt on and they were making some small talk about the upcoming basketball game that night. They were nice guys, probably retired, as they seemed to have no issue with the 20-minute wait.
Me, on the other hand… I tried to game the system and quicken things up. I popped out the Wendy’s app on my phone and ordered from there, hoping to just nod at the cashier and pick up our order when we eventually got to the front of the line. But, as it turned out, things didn’t pan out as expected…
Cashier: Welcome to Wendy’s! How can I help you?
Me (smartly): I ordered on the app (and picked up a free large French fry for doing so too) and already paid for it. It should be under “Brett”.
Cashier: Oh… mobile ordering hasn’t worked in weeks. Can I take your order?
Me: But I already paid…
Cashier: Oh? You’ll have to figure out how to cancel your order.
Me: It already ran my credit card. How does one cancel the order when the app says it’s already in my “order history”?
Cashier: Not sure.
Me: OK… I guess we’ll order and pay again (and forfeit the free fries for mobile ordering…)
And when we finally got the food, the order was wrong. From a customer perspective, it was a fail. However, anecdotally-speaking for current retail establishments, this seems to be par for the course due to COVID-related employment shortages.
I thought of those older guys behind me. They seemed to be smart (they’re UNC fans!) and unemployed. And I’d argue underutilized. I wanted to make a passionate plea- we need you guys!
When Boomer-bashing became in vogue recently, it was largely unfounded. These guys (and gals) helped build this country. They’ve got skills we’re sorely lacking right now (especially on the retail front)- they have a track record of getting things done! Every time I’m getting frustrated trying to buy stuff in person, I’m thinking I want to fill out an application and help the establishment do things right.
But as a Gen Xer, I’m in the thick of it. I’ve got a job, two young kids, and don’t have the time to take it on. But our country has millions of unemployed, well-enabled potential workers on the sidelines. We need you, retired Boomers! Help us! Your wisdom and leadership would make a world of difference. You’ve worked for years in different environments and persevered. You could help train up broken places of business and be helping co-workers and society in general. You got things done and we are in a place where we need people to do just that. And it could be fun!
Experience counts. And it counts with rental tenants too.
When looking at rental applications, there are a lot of schools of thought on what to look for to secure the best tenants. We look at credit scores, criminal background, income, employment, and landlord history. But as someone who has done this for a while, landlord history trumps everything. Do they show a pattern of paying on-time and staying around for a while?
For example, if a prospective tenant has rented somewhere for 6 years and has largely paid a comparable rental rate on time, my expectation would be that they would continue to do so in one of our rental homes. Unless there was something completely out of whack in the other screening checks, I’d take them in a heartbeat. Low credit score? If they’ve gotten the rent paid for 6 years straight, they’re probably a good bet.
Generally-speaking, most of our owner clients want tenants who are longer term, do small repairs on their own, maintain the property well, and pay regularly. These seasoned tenants typically have rented for years and know how to be good occupants. They ask for help when needed, but understand the game. They take care of their end and we take care of ours. Everyone wins.
As a society, we need good employees. As a property manager, we need good renters. People with a history of accomplishment are valuable.
Happy Landlording!
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