RENT THE RUNWAY
Rent the Runway relies on Worksmith to keep their stores clean and well-maintained so they can deliver the “Dream Closet” experience IRL.
INDUSTRY
Women’s Apparel & Accessories
NUMBER OF LOCATIONS
5
PRIMARY SERVICE LINES
Facilities Maintenance, Repairs, & Commercial Cleaning
Summary
With a mission of making women feel empowered and self-confident every single day, Rent the Runway (RTR) is an e-commerce brand that allows customers to rent designer apparel, accessories, and most recently, home goods.
In the past four years, the digitally-native brand has opened five physical retail locations to facilitate try ons, rentals, and returns. Worksmith helps keep the stores clean and well-maintained to reflect RTR’s brand values and create environments that inspire customers to feel their best.
Interview
As the Director of Visual Merchandising, Gary Anctil oversees all aspects of RTR’s store design and experience. Without a dedicated facilities department, he is also responsible for managing the cleaning, repairs, and maintenance of all five locations. Gary counts on Worksmith to keep his stores clean and running smoothly. Worksmith provides Gary peace of mind, consistent quality of service, and the same level of support as an onsite facilities manager.
Q. Why did you decide to work with Worksmith?
A. I was at the point where so much of my time was dedicated to facilities maintenance, and I’m actually the Director of Visual Merchandising, so it was getting really frustrating. I didn’t know how much a plumber should cost in Washington DC or Chicago, so portal sounded like a dream come true.
Q. What did your process look like before using Worksmith?
A. It was a joint effort by me and my store managers. Most of our store managers had worked at other retailers and had some contacts from those experiences. Other times, I would just have to browse Google and the internet. It would be really frustrating at times, but if the bathroom’s not working, it’s a customer service issue.
Q. Why did you decide to go with Worksmith?
A. There was no one else that I was aware of that was dealing with this problem. And there was a definite alignment in terms of RTR being a disruptor and Worksmith being a disruptor in its own way. There was a kindred spirit.
As a startup, Worksmith gave us access to a lot of direct support. One of the best things about the platform is knowing that an actual person will be reaching out to you. It’s never just a computer-generated message that leaves you feeling cold. Worksmith has high-quality people on the team who really help us solve problems.
Q. Are there other features that were/are important to you?
A. Having everything all in one place. Worksmith connects me with all of my store managers, and it was very easy to get everyone onto the platform.
Budgeting and expense tracking is also really helpful. Before Worksmith, I wouldn’t remember how much a repair cost us. And when a toilet is flooding in your store, you don’t have the luxury of asking, “Do we want to spend $500? Is that really what it costs?”. You don’t have time. With Worksmith, we can easily see what we’ve previously spent. This year we were able to use all of the numbers and spend from last year to create our annual budget.
Q. What did the rollout look like?
A. It was very seamless, actually. The online aspect makes things so easy to set up. Roll-out is not an ordeal — it just happens.
Q. How do you use the platform on a daily basis?
A. The store managers interact with it on a daily basis much more — I’m more of an overseer. I look at the bids that are coming through and stay aware of upcoming work that’s happening at the stores.
Q. What is the top benefit Worksmith has provided?
A. Feeling like I have a partner. Worksmith is a resource that I can rely on. It’s a great mix of technology and people who make sure things get done. It has saved us so much time, and I’m sure it has saved us money.
Worksmith eliminated an aspect of my job that took up a significant amount of my time and wasn’t part of my background. It’s almost like we have a facilities maintenance department here that’s overseeing everything and being really consistent.
We’ve been able to find great partners in each of our markets that do excellent work for us. We can just call them now and they’re there, immediately.
Q. Have you seen measurable benefits in terms of time or money savings?
A. There was a period of time where my team was considering hiring someone to manage facilities, and Worksmith assumed that role. That would be our biggest cost savings.
With respect to timing, Worksmith has a real sense of urgency. We had a flood in our New York store one morning. I called Ashley (RTR’s Worksmith Account Manager) at 10 or 11 am. By 11:30 am, people were downstairs getting water off the floor.
You can’t quantify that. The cleanup was an expense, but it would have been much more costly if our associates had to tread through water and if dresses were damaged. There was no damage because we were able to clean it up so quickly.
The urgency and the ability to get things done can’t be quantified.
Q. Do you have any other advice for other businesses considering our platform?
A. Everyone at Worksmith is very responsive to feedback. I enjoy having a partner that I can give feedback to knowing that they will improve their product to better serve my business needs. To be heard is priceless to me. That’s what I look for in people that I’m working with and companies that I’m working with. I want to be heard and I want results, and Worksmith gives me that.