Enterprise Rent-A-Car Leads Customer Satisfaction

The car hire industry is getting the best ratings from customers since before the recession, according to JD Power and Associates’ 2010 North America Rental Car Satisfaction Study. This annual study is based on over 11,500 business and leisure travelers’ evaluation for about the last year. Airport rental locations are rated on fees and other costs, the process of reserving, picking up and returning a vehicle, and bus/van shuttle services.

Overall customer satisfaction during the past year has gotten back up to 750 points on a 1,000-point scale. This is the same level as 2007, before it took a dive in 2008 and 2009. Stuart Greif, the vice president and general manager of the Global and Hospitality Travel Practice at JD Power and Associates, said that customers are slightly more satisfied with costs and fees now than in 2007. Other satisfaction levels aren’t quite to the same levels as 2007, but the trend is moving positively, he added.

Something that hasn’t changed on the customer satisfaction front is the fact that Enterprise Rent-A-Car is still number 1 in the survey – for the 7th consecutive year – with a score of 786. Number 2 is National Car Rental with 767, and Hertz Car Rental with 762. All other car hire firms in the study had less than the 750 average, which includes Alamo Rent A Car, Avis Car Rentals, Budget Car Rentals, Dollar Rent A Car, Thrifty Car Rental and Advantage Rent a Car – all in the top 10.

Andrew Taylor, the chief executive of Enterprise Holdings, which owns the Enterprise, Alamo and National rental brands, says that he is grateful that 3 of their brands are in the top 4 of the survey. They are very pleased that the economy hasn’t distracted them from their longtime focus on customer service, he added, and they are very proud to be recognized by their customers.