Enterprise and Hertz Tie as Leaders in Car Rental Customer Satisfaction
23 March 1999
J.D. Power and Associates Reports: Enterprise and Hertz Tie as Leaders in Car Rental Customer Satisfaction AGOURA HILLS, Calif., March 23 -- In a tie with Hertz,
Enterprise ranks highest in car rental customer satisfaction, according to the
J.D. Power and Associates 1999 Domestic Rental Car Customer Satisfaction
Study(SM). In recent years, Enterprise, a dominant player in the car rental
replacement and personal-use segments, has expanded into the at/near airport
segment, which is the focus of the study. Avis and National are also notable
performers in this year's study, ranking above industry average.
"Enterprise's strong showing its first year in the study is based on
superior performance in the pick-up process and in car rental rates and
value," said Steve Cohen, research manager at J.D. Power and Associates.
"This is the third year in a row Hertz has received or shared top honors.
Hertz delivers a strong performance in most aspects of the rental car
experience, especially in the return process and in the rental car itself."
Speed, ease and convenience are critical to customer satisfaction in the
car rental industry. The study indicates the average wait time to be picked
up by a shuttle bus enroute to the rental car counter is only 9 minutes, and
the average time returning the rental car is only 7 minutes. However, car
rental companies that can decrease the wait time for the shuttle bus to just
over 6 minutes or the car return time to just over 4 minutes, will drive
overall satisfaction to its highest levels. Customer satisfaction with the
overall car rental experience and loyalty to a car rental company drops
significantly when customers wait 20 minutes or more to either pick-up or
return a vehicle. The pick-up and return processes represent nearly
60 percent of customer satisfaction with a car rental experience.
"Quick, convenient and hassle-free -- these are the elements necessary to
satisfy customers choosing a car rental company today," Cohen said. "In just
the past year, car rental companies have responded to customer needs by
reducing the time required to both rent and return a vehicle. With the
growing demand for more immediate services, those car rental companies
providing the highest levels of customer satisfaction in these areas are
better aligned to differentiate themselves from the competition and gain
market share. Our study shows that consumers will switch car rental companies
if they are forced to wait too long."
According to respondents, satisfaction with the pick-up process continues
to be the single most important factor contributing to overall satisfaction at
34 percent, followed by satisfaction with the return process at 25 percent,
rental car rates/value at 15 percent, rental car at 14 percent and reservation
process at 12 percent.
The J.D. Power and Associates 1999 Domestic Rental Car Study is based on
7,500 evaluations received from a random sample of pre-identified rental car
customers. The study includes rental cars picked up or returned to locations
at or near airports from the following eight major domestic rental car
companies, in alphabetical order: Alamo, Avis, Budget, Dollar, Enterprise,
Hertz, National and Thrifty.
Headquartered in Agoura Hills, Calif., J.D. Power and Associates is a
global marketing information services firm operating in key business sectors
including market research, forecasting and customer satisfaction. The firm's
quality and satisfaction measurements are based on actual customer responses
from more than one million consumers annually. J.D. Power and Associates can
be accessed through the World Wide Web at http://www.jdpower.com. Media e-mail
contact: john.pepitone@jdpower.com. This press release is provided for
editorial use only.
No advertising or other promotional use can be made of the information in
this release or J.D. Power and Associates survey results without the express
prior written consent of J.D. Power and Associates.
