The recent announcement of Wayne Harris as Point-of-Rental™ Systems’ new president and CEO came as a surprise to some, but those who know the story behind the man agree that this move is a natural progression for the company. Bob Shaffer, Steve Husbands, and Wayne Harris shared ownership of Point-of-Rental™ Systems’ parent company, Overland Rentals, Inc., since 2005. Shaffer and Husbands positioned themselves for future retirement by putting management changes in place early on. For the past several years, Harris has served as Vice President and Chief Technical Officer, overseeing many administrative duties including the daily operations of the business.
Harris joined the company in 1993 as senior programmer, but his ties go much further back. “My rental career began at age 11 when I started working at my grandparents and parents’ rental store in Ada, Oklahoma,” Harris said. “Through the years, I did most of the job functions available at a rental store. I mowed the grass, serviced the items, painted the equipment, worked as a loader, delivery driver, counter person, IT guy, accounting clerk, and of course the dreaded annual inventory taker.”
In 1984, Harris, then a lanky teenager, met Bob Shaffer and Steve Husbands when Ada Sales and Rental became the thirteenth store installed with a Point-of-Rental™ System. “At that point, I owned a TRS-80 computer which I first started programming on,” Harris recalls. “So I thought it was Christmas to have real server to play with. I quickly established myself as my parents’ tech help and was in communication with Bob and Steve if there were ever any issues I couldn’t resolve. Of course, I usually didn’t make the call until I had made a real mess of things,” he laughs, “like when I deleted all of the data files off the server.” But that fueled his interest in computers which eventually sent him to Massachusetts Institute of Technology for college.
Harris credits his mother with allowing him to get his foot in the door with Point-of-Rental. “My mom loves to brag on her kids, so she kept Bob and Steve informed about my education and eventual graduation with a Computer Science degree.” When Point-of-Rental™ Systems’ original programmer, Byron White, decided to retire, Bob Shaffer knew who to call for an interview.
“From the moment I received that call, I knew that Point-of-Rental would be an ideal fit for me,” Harris said. “It combined my love of the complexity and creativity of computer programming with my working knowledge of the rental industry. Through years of using Point-of-Rental™ Systems, I knew the support was excellent and the product was bulletproof. I was excited about working for a company that had such a great product.”
Harris insists he could not have designed a better career for himself. “The rental business is deeply entrenched in my family, and I inherited that same entrepreneurial spirit that led my grandparents to buy their rental store,” he said. “To have the privilege of running what I believe is the best rental management software business in the industry is truly a dream come true.”
Point-of-Rental™ Systems is the leading provider of Microsoft Windows® server based rental management software in North America. Nearly 1400 stores are using Point-of-Rental™ for their equipment rental software, party rental software or general rental software throughout the United States, as well as in Canada, the Caribbean, Guam and South Africa. More information may be obtained at www.point-of-rental.com or (800)944-7368.
