BMW of Sarasota Upscales Customer Service and Lowers Costs By Outsourcing Service Loaners

BMW of Sarasota caters to its customers with complimentary WiFi, a children’s play area, and a fleet of BMW service loaners outsourced through Enterprise Rent-A-Car, the largest rental car company in North America. 

According to Malcolm Cheek, Operations Manager for BMW of Sarasota, Enterprise’s ability to provide BMW service loaners was a major consideration.  “But customer satisfaction involves more than just having the right BMW model rental car with the right features,” said Cheek.  “It includes everything from making sure the vehicle is clean and properly fueled to knowing that our customers will be taken care of by well-trained, courteous rental car professionals who consistently lead the rental car industry in nationwide customer satisfaction rankings.”

For BMW of Sarasota, as for many dealerships, service department business is key to driving profitability.  With three other BMW dealerships less than an hour drive from Sarasota, Cheek believes the decision to outsource service loaners to Enterprise gives BMW of Sarasota a strong competitive advantage. 

The on-site Enterprise location at BMW of Sarasota works closely with the service department to schedule appointments, which involves providing an average of 40 rental cars per day, six days a week.  With Mondays traditionally being the busiest day of the week, this includes managing the process to have sufficient rental cars available when they are needed most.

“Outsourcing service loaners to Enterprise produces tangible results and creates a more efficient service center,” said Cheek.  “Our service advisors are not spending valuable time scrutinizing valid driver’s licenses, performing damage inspections and making sure cars are returned on time; our dealership is saving money by not paying to replace fuel in cars that are returned empty or assuming increased liability exposure.”

Cheek added that in addition to tracking all expenses and providing a detailed monthly report, which helps the dealership manage costs, Enterprise’s technology enables service advisors to track when rental cars are due to be returned, making it easier to schedule cars for other customers.

In the rental car business since 1957, Enterprise not only has the experience, resources and training to streamline the process and control costs for dealerships, it gives local branch offices the flexibility to tailor loaner programs to the individual needs of each dealership. For BMW of Sarasota, this means having a fleet of BMW rental vehicles available to customers for service loaners, an on-site location at the dealership and a team of experienced professionals focused on customer satisfaction.

About Enterprise Rent-A-Car
Founded in 1957, Enterprise Rent-A-Car is an internationally recognized brand with more than 6,000 neighborhood and airport locations in the United States , Canada , the U.K., Ireland and Germany.  Known for exceptionally low rates and outstanding customer service, Enterprise was named to BusinessWeek’s annual list of “Customer Service Champs” in 2007, 2008, 2009 and 2010. Enterprise has ranked highest in customer satisfaction among North American airport rentals in 11 of the past 12 years, according to J.D. Power and Associates Rental Car Satisfaction Study. In addition, Enterprise won Budget Travel magazine’s 2010 Readers’ Choice Award as their favorite rental car brand for customer service around the globe. Enterprise also received a 2010 Business Traveler Innovation Award – sponsored by the National Business Travel Association (NBTA) and The Wall Street Journal – for its outstanding and original environmental efforts in the travel industry. Enterprise of North America also is part of a global strategic alliance with Europcar, creating the world’s largest car rental network.
 
To further minimize the environmental impact of car rentals, Enterprise not only offers customers the opportunity to offset carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions, but also to rent a hybrid vehicle in more than 30 major markets. For more information about Enterprise ’s environmental stewardship and long-term commitment to the sustainability of its business, visit www.enterpriseholdings.com/sustainability. For more information about Enterprise , visit www.enterprise.com.

12/02/10