Enterprise Rent-A-Car Named One of BusinessWeek’s "Customer Service Champs" for Fourth Straight Year
Enterprise is only car rental brand on this year’s list; More than 5,000 Enterprise airport and neighborhood locations located within 15 miles of 90 percent of the U.S. population
February 19, 2010 (St. Louis, Mo.) - Enterprise Rent-A-Car has once again been named to BusinessWeek magazine's list of "Customer Service Champs" - an annual roster that also includes such leading brands as Jaguar, The Ritz-Carlton, Nordstrom and Apple. Yesterday's announcement marks Enterprise's fourth straight year as one of the top 20 brands featured on the list, and it is the only car rental brand included this year.
Enterprise Rent-A-Car is part of the Enterprise Holdings portfolio, which also includes Alamo Rent A Car and National Car Rental - two car rental brands acquired in 2007. Enterprise Holdings, through its regional subsidiaries, owns and operates more than 1 million cars and trucks, the largest fleet of passenger vehicles in the world, under the Alamo, Enterprise and National brands. Enterprise Holdings is the most comprehensive service provider and only investment-grade company in the industry today.
BusinessWeek's "Customer Service Champs" ranking is based in part on customer satisfaction data from J.D. Power and Associates. A few months ago, Alamo, Enterprise and National captured three of the top four spots in the 2009 J.D. Power and Associates Rental Car Satisfaction Study of leisure and business travelers in North America. In the study, J.D. Power and Associates surveyed almost 13,000 individuals who rented vehicles at North American airports and focused on six categories of service: reservation process, pick-up process, rental car, shuttle bus/van service, return process, and costs and fees.
A level of service that exceeds our customers' expectations has always been at the heart of the Enterprise brand, and this recognition is one more indication of our team's intense focus on delivering that outstanding level of service," said Matt Darrah, Enterprise Holdings' executive vice president, North American Operations.
"This recognition also reflects another strength that sets the Enterprise Rent-A-Car brand apart - our unique network of airport and neighborhood locations that offers a level of convenience no other provider can match," Darrah stated.
There are more than 5,000 Enterprise airport and neighborhood locations within 15 miles of 90 percent of the U.S. population, and local customers are picked up by nearby branch offices at no extra cost.
Furthermore, Enterprise's longtime culture of customer service has been the subject of numerous books and articles, including the Harvard Business Review. A core element of that disciplined approach is how customer satisfaction is measured and managed through the Enterprise Service Quality index (ESQi).
Each month, hundreds of thousands of customers are surveyed, with each location earning a ranking based on the percentage who say they were "completely satisfied" with their last rental experience.
"We have documented that this simple but effective approach helps drive complete satisfaction and builds long-term loyalty," said Darrah.
Enterprise Holdings has been researching and exchanging best practices across its three distinct car rental brands for almost three years. For example, Enterprise Rent-A-Car now conducts Brand Integrity Audits that require assessors to visit locations and evaluate customer service; bus service and condition; counter, return and exit booth service; brand image; facilities and wait times; and perhaps most importantly, vehicle cleanliness and condition. Alamo and National employees introduced this program to the Enterprise team shortly after the 2007 acquisition was completed. In the same vein, the National and Alamo brands now include a Service Quality index (SQi), based on Enterprise's well-known ESQi program, to ensure that employees make a positive impression on each customer.
In 2007, Enterprise Rent-A-Car also piloted car-sharing as a natural extension of its business rental program and longtime focus on customized local service. And in 2008, Enterprise launched WeCar to deliver car-sharing technology's speed, efficiency and economy to businesses, universities and government offices nationwide. Today, convenient and cost-effective WeCar vehicles are accessible round-the-clock and complemented by Enterprise's extensive network of neighborhood locations.
About Enterprise Rent-A-Car
Founded in 1957 and headquartered in St. Louis, Enterprise Rent-A-Car is an internationally recognized brand with more than 6,000 neighborhood and airport locations in the United States, Canada, the U.K., Ireland, and Germany. In addition, Enterprise of North America is part of a global strategic alliance with Europcar, creating the world's largest car rental network. Known for exceptionally low rates and outstanding customer service, Enterprise has ranked highest in customer satisfaction among airport rentals in 10 of the past 11 years, according to J.D. Power and Associates Rental Car Satisfaction Study. To minimize the environmental impact of car rentals, Enterprise not only offers customers the opportunity to offset carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions, but also to rent a hybrid vehicle in more than 30 major markets. For more information about Enterprise, visit http://www.enterprise.com/.