Even though it's almost been a month since the Auto Rental Summit in Hollywood, FL, the air is still abuzz with excitement over Car Rental Express' Renter Rated Program. As the short article in Auto Rental News explains,
Express Internet Technologies (EIT) — the parent company of CarRentalExpress.com — has announced that its Renter Rated program is now available to the general car rental market, not just CarRentalExpress.com members...No matter the rental or reservation system used on an agency's website, EIT can install the Renter Rated program, which allows renters to review and rate their rentals in nine categories using 1 to 5 stars.
We at Car Rental Express are super excited about this program and are even more excited that we are now able to offer it to all indepedently-owned car rental agencies. This program has been in existence at Car Rental Express for quite a few years and during this time, we have managed to tweak and perfect it so that it suits each and every agency.
How it works is as follows:
- Agencies sign up for the Renter Rated Program (done through the Express ITech Shopping Cart)
- The program is installed on agency websites
- At the completion of the rental, renters are sent an email asking them to complete a short survey. They are asked to rate the agency on various criteria pertaining to their rental experience (i.e. was the rate quote honored, was the staff knowledgeable, etc.). Each category is rated on a scale of 1 - 5 (the latter being the highest rating) stars.
- The renter is also given the opportunity to add a short, written review of their rental experience - be it good, bad or just plain satisfactory.
- The renter's name is added to a pool of names from which one will be drawn each month - the winner is sent a brand new iPad Mini
- As agencies get more reviews, their total star rating becomes more reliable - the more reviews the larger the statistical pool from which to base the overall rating.
For agencies, this is a fantastic tool - it gives them insight into where they are doing well and conversely, where they need to make improvement. And for renters, this is a great way for them to communicate their rental experience with future renters. All in all everyone benefits.
So, the next timei you are looking to rent a cheap car, a mini van or luxury vehicle make sure to check out agency reviews before committing to the rental.