<B>Avis, National Top Study</B>
By Lynn Woods
Avis Rent A Car, National Car Rental and Enterprise Rent-A-Car were the winners in the annual J.D. Power and Associates 2001 Domestic Airport Rental Car Customer Satisfaction Study. Avis and National tied for first place in the responses from business renters. With a mutual score of 101, the two firms slightly outpaced Alamo Rent a Car, which received a 100. The Hertz Corp. and Budget Rent a Car were just below the average score of 100.
Overall, Michael Taylor, director of travel services at J.D. Power, emphasizing the tight grouping among the competitors, said the car rental industry has "produced five straight years of increasing customer satisfaction." He attributed the higher scores of Avis and National to "a slight advantage in the critical passenger pick-up process."
The scores lagged behind last year's high of 108 for Avis, 104 for National and 103 for Hertz. For the first time, J.D. Power created separate ratings on the leisure rental side, with Enterprise emerging the winner with a score of 104, followed by National, Avis and Hertz. In the leisure category, Alamo, Budget, Dollar and Thrifty scored below average.
The survey of nearly 3,000 randomly selected rental car customers rated the companies' performance in five areas. Listed in order of importance for business renters, they are: the pick-up process--by far the most important category, accounting for 59 percent of customer satisfaction--followed by the return process (24 percent), the vehicle itself (19 percent), rates and value (17 percent), and reservations (5 percent).
Somewhat ironically, Avis and National outdid Hertz in the pick-up process due to the sheer popularity of Hertz's #1 Club Gold. Hertz's business has increased 7 percent to 8 percent during the past couple of years, and the demand for Gold service has filled airport shuttle buses to capacity and forced Gold members in some instances to walk 40 steps to the car instead of 10. Hertz is addressing the problem, but "it's very hard for the market share leader to get the highest rating because of the pressures put on it," said Taylor, adding that "Hertz has done a fantastic job over the past six years."
Avis beat out Hertz due to more staff in the return lot, although Hertz had increased its staffing significantly by the end of the year. Both companies have benefited from bar-scanning of vehicles, which cuts down on the time it takes customers to depart the lot. National's strength in the pick-up process derives from its innovative practice of letting Emerald Club customers choose their vehicles off the lot. Part of the appeal is the fact that the bus driver drops renters off right at the vehicle, said J.D. Power's Taylor.
On the return process, Alamo tied with Hertz for the highest score of 102, followed by Avis with a 101 and National with a 100. Alamo's service has benefited from its upgraded self-return kiosks, said Taylor, reducing or eliminating lines. On the customer service side, Enterprise was a standout, getting high marks for courtesy and helpfulness of staff. "They go out of their way to make you happy," even offering customers cold drinks on a hot day, said Taylor.
Compared with other travel categories, which J.D. Power also surveys, car rental falls second in traveler satisfaction, after hotels, followed by airlines and lastly airports. "The rental car industry has made a lot of progress and improvements applied to specific problems," Taylor said. "Renting a car for business purposes was never easier or more enjoyable.