Project Report: IMPROVEMENT OF CUSTOMER SERVICES QUALITY AND SALES

APPENDIX I (Cover Page)

A PROJECT REPORT ON

IMPROVEMENT OF CUSTOMER SERVICES QUALITY AND SALES

For

ENTERPRISE RENT-A-CAR

BRIDGEPORT BRANCH, at RICHMOND, BC, CANADA

By

CHARLES Z.A.WANG

MANAGER ASSISTANT OF BRIDGEPORT BRANCH,

ENTERPRISE RENT-A-CAR, BC GROUP

EDUCATION BACKGROUND

MASTER OF MANAGEMENT

BACHELOR OF SCIENCE

(Date: June 25 2011)

Abstract and Background:

This is an honourable opportunity for me to take charge of the branch’s customer service and sales improvement in Dec. 2010.  I made a goal to improve the branch Enterprise Service Quality Index (ESQI) from around 70% to the group goal and excess it.  To achieve this goal, I initiated this project in Dec. 2010 and planned to evaluate its performance in half-year.

With collective efforts of the branch, the project turns out exceptional customer services quality improvement and proved that the solution described in the next section is useful and beneficial to improve customer service quality. 

The branch ESQI index improved from around 70% in Dec. 2010 to above 80% in March and was kept above the group goal till the end of May 2011.  Correlating to increased service quality, the B2C sales and B2B sales generates greater revenue in the same period. 

The project successfully proves a generally accepted idea that good customer service brings in increased business revenue.  The solution in this project can be applicable to all types of service industry. 

Method and Rational:

Satisfaction = Perception – Expectation

Customer’s satisfaction is the result of customers’ higher perception of received service and realistic expectation. 

1.      Customers’ perception is built on their subjective experience in the branch, i.e. how they feel, what they see, who they deal with.  There are four main factors that augment customers’ perception.  They are:

Ultimate Hospitality,

Reasonable Exception,

Impressive Consultation by placing ourselves in customer’s position, and

Exceptional Safekeeping.

2.      Customers’ expectation is controllable.  With in-depth observation and analysis, I classify renters’ expectation into four categories:

a.      Fast Order-taking,

b.      Clear and Comprehensive Information regarding to liability and rental process,

c.      Easy and Flexible Payment,

d.      Reasonable and Transparent Billing Process.

It is important to measure the quality of customer services with different methods and collect feedbacks from customers on a timely manner.

Moreover, the employees of the branch provide service to customers.  Their loyalty and satisfaction at workplace determine customers’ satisfaction and loyalty to the branch and matter to branch growth and profitability.

Process:

Customer services quality can be enhanced and facilitated by eight elements.

Enhancing Customer Services Value and Appeal

1.     Key points to ultimate hospitality:

a.     Appearing professional with smile all the time;

b.     Focusing on customers’ requests and responding in a timely manner;

c.      Filling up gaps of conversation during rental process with small-talks:  most customers are impatient to wait and small-talk is a good ice-breaking tool to pull closer the psychological distance between customers and representatives;

d.      Be cool and impressive to customers and communicated in the manner and language they are comfortable with; 

2.      Thinking in customers’ shoes will allow representatives give out value-add consultation and advice.  For example, “If I am in your position, I will do it.”  During the project, it has been tested that more than a half of customers heard representatives’ suggestion carefully and accepted an official recommendation.  And most of these customers became repeat customers;

3.      Giving customers reasonable exception to make them feel that they are exclusively welcomed in this branch;

4.      Keeping customers safe in their trip is also an important factor to enhance customer service.  By providing resolution to issues like flat-tire, missing keys or others, the ERAC representatives provide additional values to the customer service plan.  In the past six month, those customers who followed our safety instruction or received our help were highly satisfied. 

Facilitating the best use of rental services

1.      Customers from different market sections have different expectation of rental services: 

a.      Insurance customers have learned about using rental cars from car repair shops or insurance adjusters.  Their expectation is mainly getting a rental car as quick as possible.  To add values to service, a representative must complete order-taking process as fast as possible.

b.      Retail customers are usually looking for more information, e.g.: insurance liability, where to return the vehicle, what will happen after returning the car, if there is pick-up services, etc. Usually it requires a representative be more patient to answering all customers’ questions, while still pushing the process to the end quickly, without rushing customers. 

2.      Moreover, customers expect flexible payment.  As Loss of Control purpose, all customers have to provide their credit cards to rent a car.  However, we are flexible to allow them pay with cash or debit card at the end of rental.

3.      Most importantly, billing process has to be clear and transparent.  Bills that customers don’t expect are going to cause bad customer satisfaction and decrease overall services quality.  Therefore, it is important to make every customer be acknowledged of all charges before they leaving the branch.  

Arousal amplifies: the basic effect of pleasure on behaviour

One happy employee can turn 15 customers enjoy their rental experience in the branch.  Vice versa, an unhappy employee will deliver negative information to many customers.  So, employee training and motivation play very important role to improve service quality. 

The branch doesn’t have a practical training plan.  New staffs are trained base on experiential staff’s experience and by verbal.  It requires new staffs’ self-learning skills and self-start motivation.  The good thing is most team members are pleased to answer new people’s questions and share with their know-how.

It is critical to the branch to create and implement a scientific and reproducible training plan. 

Collect the Credits of Good Customer Service

The branch develops a few ways to evaluate the customer service quality in both quantitative and quality methods. 

Quantitative Method:

Enterprise Holding Ltd Canada is the mother company of BC Enterprise rent-A-Car and provides timely survey to selected customers.  The sample size is about 10%-15% of total closed rental tickets in a month.  The surveyed customers’ responses are evaluated on number figures and being categorized into different groups, Completely Satisfied, Somewhat Satisfied, Somewhat not-Satisfied and Completely not-Satisfied.  The percentage of the customers in each group are used to score the branch’s customer service quality.  The result of the past six month, from Dec 2010 to May 2011 can be found in the next section.

Quality Method:

The most easy way is to ask ultimate questions when customers return vehicles.  For example, “How do you feel about our services?” or making follow-up phone call to customers to thank them for using our services and ask for their feedbacks.  By doing so, customers would have a chance to share their perception and expectation of our services.  Their feedbacks are important for the branch to adjust its customer service plan.

Results in the Past Six Month

After implemented the project of improvement of customer service in December 2010, The ESQI score has greatly improved above the group goal since December 2010. As shown in the figure1, the sharp projectile upward curve started in December 2010 and quickly passed the group goal within a week.  Because the branch continuously implemented this project, the branch kept its service quality above the group goal. Also, from comparison with the other two lines behind the branch curve, it can be found that the branch ESQI score excessed the Area and Group scores around the end of January. 

As the result of this index is based on customers’ subjective feedback and perception, the index indicates that the project helped increased customers’ perception, controlled their expectation and improved the branch customer service quality.

Figure 1   Customer service quality index number indicated that there is a great improvement of the branch’s customer satisfaction after December 2010.

Table 1: 10 month ESQI Score (Confidential)

	Aug-10	Sep-10	Oct-10	Nov-10	Dec-10	Jan-11	Feb-11	Mar-11	Apr-11	May-11
Group	Deleted	Deleted	Deleted	Deleted	Deleted	Deleted	Deleted	Deleted	Deleted	Deleted
Area	Deleted	Deleted	Deleted	Deleted	Deleted	Deleted	Deleted	Deleted	Deleted	Deleted
BgPt Branch	Deleted	Deleted	Deleted	Deleted	Deleted	Deleted	Deleted	Deleted	Deleted	Deleted

**As the data are confidential, the data in all tables are deleted or not present at all in this copy of the report.

Moreover, the B2C result has been increased since December 2010, as the result of improved customer service quality.  As shown in the Figure 2, the difference between Fiscal year 2010 and 2011 has dramatic increase after December 2010.  The result reveals that branch generated greater revenue from B2C sales after implemented this project.  Improved customer service quality increases B2C sales result.

As shown in the Figure 3 and 4, the B2B sales and Total Revenue per car of the branch increased as well after improved customer service quality. 

Figure 2 B2C sales result has great increase as the result of improved customer service results

Figure 3    B2B Sales result has great increase as the result of improved customer service quality.

Figure 4   Total Revenue per car has dramatic increase as the result of improved customer service quality.

Note: All data tables are deleted as confidential reason.