“Would you rent from us again?” is the question you ask on your customer survey, but can you confidently predict your customers’ response?

Repeat customers are the lifeblood of your business. And keeping them coming back depends on consistent and exceptional customer service. In fact, your business depends on your ability to deliver a positive customer experience at every opportunity.

Are you delivering it?

Welcome to the 2012 Auto Rental Summit

This October, put yourself among an elite group of experts and individuals dedicated to achieving the goal of customer service excellence. Auto Rental News proudly brings you Auto Rental Summit, a gold-standard two-day training and education conference designed to improve customer service and to enhance revenue of car rental operations.

Auto rental managers, executives and employees from corporate, franchised and independent companies from North America and overseas are invited to attend.

Taking place at the Hollywood Beach Marriott in Hollywood, Fla. on Oct. 29-30, the inaugural Auto Rental Summit is jam-packed with opportunities to gain inspiration, network and learn alongside like-minded car rental industry professionals focused on striving to “Achieve Excellence.”

Barton to Kick Off Summit

Bob Barton, president of the American Car Rental Association, will kick off the Auto Rental Summit on Monday afternoon with a call to action on customer service.

In his opening address, Barton will educate attendees on the key ways your staff and your marketing can make a difference in your service and the perception the consumer has of you and your brand.

Idea Lab - A New Roundtable Format

After Barton’s address, experience roundtable discussions in a unique new format. Participants will be divided into working groups based on discussion topic. Each working group will have a problem to solve together, and then be able to present their answers to all attendees. This “idea lab” format is sure to generate real-world solutions to take back to your business!

Gold-Standard Seminars and Instructors

Tuesday begins with breakfast and continues with a full day of seminars.

In “Utilizing the Key Metrics of Customer Satisfaction,” Stuart Greif of J.D. Power and Associates will take attendees inside JDPA’s powerful metrics-based analyses to understand the critical components of customer satisfaction. Greif, who oversees JDPA’s annual North America Rental Car Satisfaction Study, will help attendees to better identify the strengths and weaknesses in their company’s performance, gain the tools to measure and track their customers’ satisfaction and hone in on the customer service differentiators to break free of the competition.

You can either lose a customer during that initial counter interaction or win one for life. In “Seven Deadly Mistakes at the Counter — and How to Avoid Them,” veteran industry trainer Jim Schalberg will show attendees the mistakes that cost money, and then break down the gold-standard front counter techniques that will generate more customer satisfaction and more profit.

The “Understanding Credit Card Insurance Coverage” seminar provides just that — an in-depth analysis of the policies of the major credit card companies’ rental car coverage. Moderated by Leslie Saunders of Leslie Saunders: Insurance, Benefits and Training; representatives from the major car rental companies will communicate their cards’ limits and exclusions and answer attendees’ questions.[PAGEBREAK]

Ken Stellon, managing partner of the Frontline Performance Group, will help attendees answer the question, “What Do Local Market Customers Really Want?” Using an exclusive new survey of more than 500 local market customers, this seminar will provide Summit attendees insights into the mindset of local market customers, their demographic makeup and their buying patterns to more effectively engage this customer base.

Finally, Auto Rental Summit presents Christopher Elliott, the reader advocate for National Geographic Traveler, a syndicated columnist, co-founder of the Consumer Travel Alliance and a recent book author. Elliott is ready to lead a frank, unvarnished conversation on the car rental experience based on his hundreds of customer interactions and mediations. In “What the Angry Customer Won’t Tell You,” Elliott will reveal insights into what really makes car rental customers mad — and how he believes you can win them back.

Professional of the Year Awards

During the luncheon on Tuesday, the winners of the inaugural Auto Rental News Professional of the Year Awards will be announced. Sponsored by American Express, the awards honors associates from auto rental companies worldwide who demonstrate and promote outstanding customer satisfaction within the car rental process. One Professional of the Year Award will be given to three associates, one each from a corporate, franchise and independent location, from any auto rental company around the world.

In addition to the outstanding conference agenda, the Professional of the Year Awards provides an exciting opportunity to rub elbows with and learn from the industry’s customer service champions.

10 Reasons to Attend the Summit

1. Networking. The Summit offers an intimate setting to gain new resources from your peers through our new roundtable format, cocktail reception, meal breaks and more.

2. Exclusive Content. The seminars and agenda are designed specifically for Auto Rental Summit; you will not find them in any other presentation or venue.

3. World-class Instructors. Gain knowledge from the top industry consultants with years of experience in the car rental field.

4. New Products. You’ll get one-on-one access to industry suppliers with the latest in product and service offerings to boost your bottom line.

5. Competitive Advantage. With the latest techniques and strategies, this is your primary opportunity to differentiate your company from your competitors.

6. Inspiration. Leave Florida with new skills, creativity and energy, ready to inspire your company’s leaders and associates toward achieving excellence.

7. Time Optimization. In two intense days, you’ll gain knowledge, contacts and skills that could take a year to acquire elsewhere.

8. Conference Extras. We are preparing a take-home package of resources for your business, free with registration, which would cost more than $100 as a standalone product.

9. Value. Gain tangible ROI on real-world solutions to real-world problems that car rental companies face every day.

10. Florida! With an average late-October temperature of about 75 degrees, the Summit presents an opportunity to stay an extra day and enjoy the beach.

Find out more about the event at www.autorentalsummit.com. 

You can also see additional articles from the September/October magazine issue here.