As long as Michelle is selling Isuzu trucks, we are buying them from her!
Charles Smithgall, CEO, SEI Aarons

Listen to RTO Online's exclusive podcast interview with Charles Smithgall.

Charles Smithgall works in big numbers. He owns 65 Aarons franchises, the largest number in the company, with several under construction. And over the past 13 years since he opened his first store, he has bought nearly 200 Isuzu trucks, all of them from Michelle Dunning, who recently joined Nalley Motor Trucks as a Sales Professional.

"I went down to Atlanta and picked up my first truck from her and drove it up to Louisville, Ky.," says Smithgall. "Now we have her drop ship them. We started off with her, and we've done business with her since. She has done an unbelievable job, always gives us a competitive price, gets a fair price on my old trucks and delivers on time. We like the product she sells too! Every RTO dealer knows how important his truck is. We feel it better be a good one."

Smithgall opened his first Aarons store in Louisville and has since added seven more in Kentucky and Southern Indiana. Other stores are heavily concentrated in New York with more scattered around New England. RTO became his passion after his last career in radio broadcasting, where he owned one of the first CNN Radio News stations. That followed work in cable TV, a degree from Harvard Business School, a role within the construction industry and service in Viet Nam.

Smithgall formed SEI/Aarons in 1995 and has found his niche as an RTO franchisee. He enjoys the structure of Aarons in particular and attributes success partly from following their company program. That includes buying from preferred vendors, such as Dunning. Over the years he has changed back and forth, some years buying trucks, some years leasing them, depending on different state requirements. But it's always been Dunning's NPR Isuzu trucks.

"These are probably the best trucks on the road for what we do in RTO," he says. "That's why Aarons likes them. They are durable, have a number of features we can pick and choose as we like, and they hold their value when we sell them every couple of years to upgrade. We just keep coming back for more."

Dunning says, "Charles has been a wonderful customer. He's bought a lot of trucks. I enjoy working with him and have not only appreciated his business but also his business philosophy and way with people. He recognizes the value of good employees and wants to give them the best to work with. He knows that the truck is an essential operational tool and believes by supplying them with an Isuzu, he is giving them the best. I am happy to be part of his program and feel what I do and sell is appreciated by everyone in his network of Aarons franchise stores."

According to Dunning, her fundamental goal is to give all her customers the service they deserve and that will bring them back to her whenever they have a need. That has proven out. When Dunning joined Nalley Motor Trucks, loyal customers, like Smithgall, followed her with their business.

"We 'moved' with Michelle," says Smithgall. "We find people that are successful that we like to deal with. She delivers on time and does all the little things. She is somebody you can count on. As long as Michelle is selling Isuzu trucks, we are buying them from her!"

For more information, contact Michelle Dunning at 404.886.1793 (cell), 770.786.4468 (office)
or 404.622.1921 (Nalley corporate office).