The renter then submits an online rental request to the customer service center. A customer service rep contacts the provider to confirm the car is available and that the rental parameters are acceptable. If so, Jolly Wheels creates a contract and e-mails it to the provider and renter, and arranges for a way for the renter to get the car (by pickup, local transit or even a car service). If not, the rep looks for other available cars in the area.
A unique aspect to the Jolly Wheels program is its 24-hour roadside assistance service. A renter with a mechanical problem contacts Jolly Wheels directly instead of the car owner. Maus says his team is better trained to diagnose car troubles with the customer and triage a repair strategy, first over the phone and then at the breakdown site.
This service relieves a big burden from two-man rental operations that can't be pulled away from a busy office for a breakdown, Maus says. The cost is built into Jolly Wheels' cut.
■ Insurance and Risk
For rentals fewer than 30 days, Jolly Wheels has contracted with two insurance carriers who provide temporary traveler's insurance. Longer rentals are set up through traditional coverage with mainstream companies such as Progressive, Allstate or Geico.
Maus says coverage through Jolly Wheels comes out cheaper than traditional CDW/LDW, though renters can provide proof of their own insurance to avoid paying it through the rental.
Jolly Wheels takes credit cards and debit cards. Maus has seen a preponderance of prepaid bank cards through Visa and MasterCard, but does not accept them, noting that experience has shown these cardholders to be higher risk. Maus also markets to 18- to 25-year-old drivers.
"The larger guys, they can afford to be picky because they have a big name," Maus says. "We have to get a little further down into the barrel as far as caliber of customers. But we have ways of finding out the high risk [renters]. If we know we can collect on them if something goes wrong, we'll still sign them for the rental."
■ Refining the Logistics
Maus says a primary goal is to automate the online rental process by pre-filtering rental requests and incorporating a way for providers to automatically say they're sold out. "It's happened where a customer makes a reservation a week in advance, we send out the e-mails and the provider forgets there's a drop-off that night and we get a phone call," Maus says.
Jolly Wheels remedies the immediate problem by connecting the renter with another vehicle and offering an extra day for free for the inconvenience. If there are too many problems with a provider, Jolly Wheels will cut them off. "I'm sure there's a better way to do it, but our limits right now are the technology," he says.
After an initial contact between provider and renter it is possible for Jolly Wheels to be cut out of the transaction. But Maus sees some of this as inevitable business growth. "We've pumped up [rental car providers] to a position where they're getting a nice influx of customers; they've learned the business well enough to go on their own," he says. "We have no problem doing that. We're pretty much just a middleman operation now, providing a service for all of the other entrepreneurs that want to get involved in the car rental business."