Rent-to-own News - Customer Expectations: Third installment in book review series

Editors Note: APRO is proud to present the third in a semi-regular series of articles by George M. Schorsten Jr., Operations Manager CEO of Blue Ribbon Rentals, reviewing the book, "Exceeding Customers  Expectations, What Enterprise, America’s #1 Car Rental Company Can Teach you about Creating Lifetime Customers", by Kirk Kazanjian.

George Schorsten and Blue Ribbon Rentals owner, Bill Wendell, began sending these commentaries out to store managers as a professional development tool this year. Schorsten would now like to share his findings with the APRO community.

Schorsten presents key material from the book followed by his own analysis in italics.

Exceeding Customer Expectations, Parts Four and Five
By George Schorsten Jr.

Author Kirk Kazanjian reports the Enterprise (rent-a-car) way of doing business. I don’t think that I can improve upon it at all!
 
The Enterprise Way - Customer Expectations Part #4
 
1. Concentrate foremost on taking the best possible care of your employees and customers.  Profitability will naturally follow.

2. Don’t just endeavor to make customers satisfied.  Treat them so well they’ll be totally satisfied.

3. Rather than fancy decorations, set up your place of business with customer convenience in mind.

4. It’s the basic niceties—shaking hands and greeting people by name—that turn first-time renters (or shoppers or clients) into lifetime loyal customers.

5. Repeat business is crucial, because it costs between five and six times more to gain new customers than to keep current ones.

6. View your customers as the most important people who will ever walk through your doors.

7. A total commitment to customer service must begin at the highest level of the organization.

8. Never compromise your integrity.

9. Abhor practices that are unfair to your customs, even if they are considered commonplace in your industry.  While crossing the line might increase profits in the short term, such actions will prevent people from wanting to do business with you again.

10. Avoid charging customer for small services that cost you little or nothing to perform, especially with customers who do business with you on a regular basis.

11. Uncover opportunities that will serve you well over the long haul.

12. Go the extra mile to make good first impressions.

13. Surround your business with like-minded, entrepreneurial people and listen to what they have to say.

14. Be ready to act and stand tall in times of crisis, even if it means taking a temporary hit to the bottom line in order to do what is right.
 
Pricing -  Customer Expectations Part #5
 

• Pricing – “People aren’t dumb.  They can tell when you are trying to gouge them, so while you might increase profits in the short term, you will eventually lose customers and wish you were doing business the right way”.
• Cost of customer service ….”(Enterprise) employees find other ways to make transactions more pleasant without going after each nickel and dime.”

What free or low cost services can we offer to our customers that will endear them to us and/or be of “value” to them?  Do you invite them to enjoy a free cup of coffee or soda pop? Do you have coffee or pop available if they ask, but don’t offer it to them? Do you not even have these items available?

If you just follow the “Golden Rule” of “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you”, you might find some very valuable services that cost very little to provide to your customer.

APRO welcomes all contributions of this nature that assist the professional development of dealers, employees, vendors and the rent-to-own community at large. "Exceeding Customers  Expectations, What Enterprise, America’s #1 Car Rental Company Can Teach you about Creating Lifetime Customers", by Kirk Kazanjian, can be found in local and chain bookstores and through amazon.com.
 

mevans@rtohq.org