Credit Relief: Much-needed help in a difficult time

Ontario restaurant cleaning company gets credit help and pays it forward

Businesses across Canada are reeling in the wake of COVID-19, and Ontario’s restaurant industry is no exception. As restaurants shutter their doors and temporarily lay off staff to help flatten the curve, businesses that maintain restaurant equipment are feeling a strong ripple effect.

CF Couture Family, a kitchen exhaust cleaning company from Kirkland, Ontario, lost 75 per cent of their usual income in March alone. This left Raymonde Couture — who runs the company with her husband Richard — in a tough spot.

Raymonde turned to CWB National Leasing, her equipment lender of nine years, for some help.

Business owner, Raymonde’s branded company truck 

“Applying for credit relief was very easy and fast,” said Raymonde. “They were very flexible. They really believed in us, trusted us and helped us when we needed it most.”

Credit relief from a trusted partner

CF Couture Family leases equipment like power washers and trucks so they can serve restaurants while managing their cashflow. A sudden loss of business meant bills would keep coming, despite the restaurant industry being at a stand-still.

Raymonde was feeling stressed when she called for credit relief. She wasn’t surprised, however, by how helpful and supportive her lender was—it’s how the relationship has always been.

“I’ll tell anyone who will listen, ‘if you want to work with a company that understands and believes in your business, work with CWB National Leasing,’” said Raymonde. “They believed in us when we started out, and they have been wonderful and supportive ever since.”

Raymonde said when she and her husband started CF Couture family in 2011, she sought financing for gear she needed to get the business off the ground. Big banks wouldn’t give her the time of day or extend credit to a brand-new business. Her equipment vendor recommended National Leasing, and she was quickly approved.

As her business scaled and needed a larger fleet, Raymonde’s CWB National Leasing Account Manager, Rebecca, became her go-to person for equipment financing.

Paying it Forward

Raymonde believes in “treating people like you want to be treated” in life and in business. With her client base of Ontario restaurant owners struggling to make ends meet, she’s meeting them in the middle and offering discounted cleaning.

“It’s the mom and pop shops that are struggling right now,” said Raymonde. “We want to help them through these tough times so they can eventually re-open and succeed.”

Raymonde says despite the stress of losing so much revenue in March, she and her company aren’t going anywhere. She’s looking forward to getting back to a normal work life and showing off her branded bucket truck — CF Couture Family is the only kitchen exhaust company in Ontario that has one, and it’s a real point of pride for her.

To learn more about how CWB National Leasing has your back, please visit our payment relief page here.