I want to work for a company that does pie parties!

By Oretta Croushore, Assistant Property Manager for Home Rental Services, talking about the recent client appreciation event where we gave away tons of pies!

My family takes an annual trip to Branson for Thanksgiving. We rent a condo so we can balance eating out and cooking at home. We spend at least one evening at Silver Dollar City, but also balance that with some down time.

Last year, I was working a job where the stress was high and the appreciation was low. I was looking forward to decompressing on our Thanksgiving trip even more than normal. I spent the long weekend thinking about how it was time to take the bull by the horns and make the changes I needed to make. I came back from the trip feeling refreshed.

I woke up Monday morning with a feeling of dread. I knew all this released tension would come flooding back as soon as I walked into the office. I stayed in bed a little longer and glanced at my emails. There was an email about a job posting at Home Rental Services. I started to read through the description and started to get excited. I read over the qualifications and realized this was written just for me! I sent my resume in right then and there.

In a few days, I received an email telling me my resume had been opened four times. “This is a good sign” the email robot said. A good sign you say? Maybe I should check these people out a little closer. Surely, there’s a catch.

I started some good old fashioned Google stalking. “Ok Google, tell me about these folks at Home Rental Services. Are they some fly-by-night company? Do they beat their employees? Do they use baby seals for rugs?” The answer was a resounding NO on all accounts. A woman-owned company who has been around a long time is what I first discovered.

I stalked over several days, wanting to know more. Then, I found a blog post about a pie party they had just thrown for their owners. The post was written wonderfully. I could tell the person who wrote it was not beaten at all. In fact, I could tell she was proud to work for Home Rental Services. Proud! I almost cried because I knew that this is where I needed to be. “I want to work for a company that does pie parties!”

I found another blog about their trip to shop for KVC kids. The whole team seemed to be there. They even had pictures and everyone was smiling. I think they might even like each other. “I wish they would call already,” I thought to myself.

Well, call they did. Though the waiting was hard, I felt even stronger in my hunches about HRS. They were taking their time to find the right fit. When the call came, Kandy asked “Would you like to come work for Home Rental?” I tried to cover the lump in my throat when I blurted “More than you know!” I applied between Thanksgiving and Christmas and started the last day of February in 2017.

Fast forward a year. I was mingling with owners and handing out pies at the 2017 client appreciation pie party… just like the one I had read about. A little voice in my head giggled as it said, “you’re working for a company who has a pie party!”

I’m truly thankful for this door which opened, the people I’ve met, the things I’m learning, and the pies we get to share with our clients.