McKinnon is a family-owned lumber yard based in Hollister, California, that started in 1869. I joined about eight years ago while still in high school. At that time, I did handyman projects for neighbors who were McKinnon customers. When I was ready for my first official job, my classmate—John, the owner of McKinnon’s granddaughter—encouraged me to apply for a position here. When I applied, John said, "Why do you want to work here? You're too weak to work here!" Fortunately, John had a great sense of humor, was one of the kindest men I’ve ever met, and was more than happy to offer me a job.
After graduating from San Jose State last year with a B.A. in Mechanical Engineering, I began working full-time at McKinnon. My role is somewhat difficult to define, as I don’t have a formal title. Instead, I oversee a wide range of operations, ensuring everything runs smoothly. From 6:15 a.m. to 5:15 p.m. every day, I manage vendor relationships, yard activity, deliveries, accounting, day-to-day sales, and, more recently, the POS changeover.
Unlike many Rundoo clients, we didn’t have a previous POS system in place. Instead, we used manual tags, and our existing system was actually working quite well. However, we explored Rundoo out of necessity because our old system was going to be unsupported. We quickly realized that we needed to overhaul our system and explore new ways to run the business. I first heard about Rundoo through a conversation with our neighbors at Hollister Paint. They had been using Rundoo, spoke highly of the modern technology, and encouraged us to consider it as well.
Nick, the founder of Rundoo, traveled down to our yard to demonstrate the system and show me how it worked. The Rundoo team helped us get up and running when we needed to and supported our entire team through the transition, making it as smooth as possible. It was a great experience.
Now, a little over a month with Rundoo, and it’s been a fantastic experience so far. A few of the standout features for us include Rundoo’s inventory tracking and management capabilities as well as the mobile contractor app for our customers. We’ve received a lot of positive feedback, particularly from contractors who can quote jobs at 10:30 p.m. and check prices in real-time from their phones. The app is incredibly effective and tailored to the lumber market—no other yard has a similar POS app, so it’s been exciting to see the positive impact it’s had on our customers.
I believe McKinnon has had a unique experience with Rundoo, as we are a lumber client. However, the hands-on support and dedication to meeting our needs has me excited about the future of this partnership. I’m eager to see how we can continue to grow together and make each other successful.
