HARRISBURG, Ill. --- After fourteen inches of water entered the Harrisburg, Illinois Rent One store, the Rent One team knew they had their work cut out for them.

“Because the water rose so quickly, nothing could be moved from the store. The team was able to move four out of five Rent One vehicles up to the sidewalk in front of the store, so only one was totaled by the flood,” Rent One Regional Manager Elvis Riley said. “Unfortunately, due to the fourteen inches of water in the store and the humidity that came with it, everything inside the store had to be replaced.”

Floodwaters filled the store on March 18 and didn’t recede until March 25. Once the water had left, Harrisburg store employees, Curt Wilson Contracting, and members of surrounding Rent One stores worked diligently to restore the Harrisburg location to its former state.

“It was important to everyone to get the store restocked and reopened as quickly as possible so that we could service our customers, who were also victims in this disaster,” Riley said.

Throughout the flood and remodel, customers were able to continue renting and making payments online at shoprentone.com. In addition, Rent One moved quickly to set up an extra workstation at its Marion location and had all calls routed there so their Harrisburg customers could continue to receive service until the Harrisburg location was reopened.

“We had the best group of people who worked hard to get the store ready to reopen,” Harrisburg Store Manager Jason Casteel said. “We also received huge support from coworkers at other southern Illinois locations, many of whom gave up days off to lend us a hand.”

After weeks of hard work, the final goal was realized, and the store was reopened on May 13 with a ribbon cutting attended by the Chamber of Commerce, customers, the Harrisburg staff, and other members of the Rent One team.

“It was important to everyone to get the store restocked and reopened as quickly as possible so that we could continue serving our Harrisburg customers, who were also victims in this disaster,” Riley said.

To celebrate the store’s recovery, Rent One held an open house, complete with free lunch and special promotions, including 50% the first month’s rent on new rental agreements.

“We wanted to thank the Harrisburg community for giving us their support and business during the flood and for the past 22 years,” Casteel said. “We look forward to providing our customers with access to quality name brand merchandise at rates they can afford for years to come.”

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