The APRO Code of Ethics was created alongside the association in 1980, written by the first APRO members to establish a set of guidelines consistent with what they felt should be ingrained in the industry’s values, priorities, and ethical standards.
Today, this 14-point Code of Ethics endures as the defining guidance that APRO members agree upon in order to maintain a healthy business environment for the rent-to-own industry. As our Code of Ethics continues to be not just relevant but essential to our association and our membership four decades later, we offer this series of newsletter articles to recap and reconfirm each of these ethical standards with you.
CODE VI
Members shall provide opportunities for the interchange of experiences, opinions, and knowledge through meetings, discussions, and publications, for the improvement of the industry, and for the benefit of customers, suppliers, and the community.
The sixth article of the APRO Code of Ethics highlights the importance of open, educational information-sharing among and about the rent-to-own industry – with each other as peers, with vendors as colleagues, and with our customers and our communities as caring business leaders.
RTO has historically been well-known for its familial feel and healthy competitive nature. Rental dealers naturally compete against each other for business, but are known for their openness and helpfulness with their peers and colleagues. Not only is this attitude super-supportive for individual owners, operators, and suppliers, but it also strengthens the industry as a whole, as APRO members share best practices, solutions to common problems, and their specific skills and areas of expertise.
APRO and state associations promote this code by providing many opportunities for members to participate as attendees or presenters in information-sharing events and activities – such as RTO World, the APRO Legislative Conference, webinars, and meetups – as well as in industry publications, such as the APRO Today newsletter and biannual issues of RTOHQ: The Magazine.
Whether APRO members share rent-to-own information and education one-on-one or via an organization like APRO, when it happens, it’s consistently beneficial: educating each other improves us all; educating the public gains new customers; and educating community leaders wins industry support.
