 Hertz
Rent-a-Car in San Francisco
I
wanted to make a three-day car reservation for a visit
to San Francisco.
I called Hertz Rent-a-Car, where I am a member of the
‘Hertz Number One Club’ for frequent travelers.
I planned to use an award coupon for one free-day rental
from American Airlines and additional award coupons
for two more free days from United Airlines.
The telephone reservations officer provided impeccable
service. She greeted me pleasantly, acknowledged me
as a member of the Hertz Number One Club, confirmed
my dates, flights, pick-up location and choice of automobile.
Then she asked me what time I would be returning the
car after the first day of rental. ‘I want the
car for all three days,’ I replied.
‘You can’t keep the same car for all three
days,’ she asserted. ‘After the first day
you have to bring the car back and pick up a different
car for the next two days. The first day is paid for
with your American Airlines coupon, but the next two
days are paid for with your United coupons.’
‘So what’s the difference?’, I responded.
‘I am the same person, with the same Hertz Number
One Club member. I am the rightful owner of both the
award coupons, and I want a Hertz automobile for three
consecutive days. Surely you will let me keep the same
car, so I don’t have to come back to the airport
in the middle of my Bay Area vacation.’
‘That’s not the way our system works here,
Mr. Kaufman,’ she replied.
‘But it should work that way, don’t
you agree?’, I asked, appealing to her sense of
elementary logic, simple concern and practical customer
care.
‘I don’t make the rules here, Mr. Kaufman.
I just follow them. What time will you be returning
the car after the first day?’
Somewhere within the heart of Hertz, a group of senior
rule-makers live comfortably with their precise policy
of ‘one airline, one coupon, one car, no exceptions’.
But somewhere close to this customer’s heart lies
frustration, inconvenience and incredible disbelief.
I’m not the type of customer who gives up in these
situations. When my first ‘one-day’ reservation
began, I had a long chat with the most senior Hertz
rental manager I could find. He let me keep the same
car for all three days.
Someone at Hertz Rent-A-Car was listening.
Key Learning Point
Elementary
logic and practical customer care are the best rules to
use in many situations. At Nordstroms clothing store,
famous for excellent service, they simply tell the staff:
`The rule is to use your common sense. There are no other
rules.'
Action Steps
If
your rules and regulations don't make sense to your customers,
they need to be rewritten. If you can see logic where
your customers cannot, it's not your customers' sight
that needs refocusing.
Next Article in Customer Service Toolset >>
You Can't Have Juice With a Special Broiler Meal
First Article in Customer Service Value Dimensions >>
In Customers We Trust
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Ron Kaufman is an internationally acclaimed customer service training educator for quality service.
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