Car rental firms uncovered

ATN reveals the findings from this month’s mystery shopper survey of car rental firms in Dubai.

Each month ATN and Ethos chooses four UAE-based travel-related companies to mystery shop and find out how satisfied your customers are. The purpose of this exercise is to find out the good, the bad and the ugly when it comes to customer service and sales execution performance.

What are the mystery shoppers looking for?

1 AGENCY/OUTLET APPEARANCE

• Outlet easy to find?
• Opening/closing hours displayed?
• Outlet clean and tidy?
• Brochures and related literature placed in a good orderly manner?
• Comfortable temperature?

2 TRAVEL ADVISOR

• Were the employees well groomed?
• Were employee name tags clearly visible?
• Enough employees available to serve?
• Did the advisor make eye contact to acknowledge your presence at the desk?
• Did the outlet you visited have a formal customer queuing system in place?
• How long did it take for you to be served?
• If you waited, did an employee apologise?
• How were you greeted by the agent?
• Did the agent provide relevant info?
• Was the agent friendly?
• Did they give you their full attention?
• Were they knowledgeable?
• Did the agent provide you with information in an easily-understood format?
• Were you satisfied with the information you received from the advisor?

3 THE OVERALL EXPERIENCE

• Overall, based on your experience at this outlet, would you recommend it to your family and friends?
• How satified were you with the outcome of your visit to this particular travel agency?

Scenarios

Scenario 1: You are visiting Dubai and arrived just a few days ago. You have planned a three-week holiday in Dubai and although you decided not to rent a car from the airport, you have since changed your mind and would like to find out more information about the types of vehicles you can choose from and how much they cost. Make sure you ask about insurance options and if there are any special promotions.

Scenario 2: Say that you are inquiring on behalf of your friends who will be visiting Dubai on a tourist visa. Say you would like to find out more information about the types of vehicles from which to choose and how much they cost. Make sure you ask about insurance options and if the company has any special promotions on offer.

Hertz
Summary: The counter was easy to find and well signposted. Opening/closing hours were clearly displayed and the premises were clean and tidy, but brochures were not clearly displayed.

Advisors were well groomed and wearing name tags and made good eye contact, were friendly and displayed a good standard of product knowledge. Both shoppers were given a business card and asked to return.

Advice: Customers notice if your brochures are not organised and easily accessible, even if your advisors provide a good service.

Budget
Summary: The counter was not easy to find and opening/closing hours were not clearly displayed, but the premises were clean and tidy and brochures were clearly displayed.

Advisors were well groomed, but not wearing nametags. Both advisors made good eye contact, were friendly and had good product knowledge.

Advice: Wear a name tag and apologise for keeping customers waiting. One shopper had to wait around 10 minutes and was not offered an apology. Make your location and opening hours clear.

Thrifty
Summary: The counter was not easy to find and opening/closing hours were not clearly displayed, but the premises were clean and tidy and brochures were neat. Advisors were well groomed, but not wearing name tags.

Both advisors made good eye contact, were friendly and had a good standard of product knowledge.

Advice: Always wear a name tag and apologise for keeping customers waiting. One shopper said a Thrifty staff member read a magazine all the way through his discussion with his colleague.

Avis
Summary: The counter was not easy to find and opening hours were not clearly displayed. The premises were clean and tidy and brochures were clearly displayed. Advisors were not present and no notice of a return time was given.

Advice: If no one is available to serve your customers, a sign must be erected apologising for the inconvenience and detailing the time when an attendant will be back, as well as a name and contact number. Leaving your customer with no information damages the reputation of your business.

Star advisor
Well done Vince from Hertz, Radisson Hotel, West Tower, Media City, who provided detailed, structured information to his customer leaving them completely satisfied.

Vince asked the right questions to establish his customer’s needs, provided a brochure including pricing, as well as promotion details. It was fantastic to see his name tag clearly visible and that he provided the shopper with his business card.

About Ethos Consultancy
Originating in the UK 1995, Ethos Consultancy relocated to Dubai in early 2003. The firm’s consultants have been handpicked from some of the most mature customer service markets in the world to ensure experience and best practice is built into the mystery shopping process.

Based on its years of expertise in the mystery shopping field, Ethos has developed a combination of products and services to help organisations of all shapes and sizes understand exactly how their business is performing through the eyes of both their customers and employees. Contact: +971 4 332 6315, visit www.ethos.ae or email info@ethos.ae