ST. LOUIS, MO--(Marketwire - Nov 14, 2012) - For the first time, Enterprise Holdings, which owns and operates the Enterprise Rent-A-Car, National Car Rental and Alamo Rent A Car brands, captured the top three rankings in the J.D. Power and Associates 2012 North American Rental Car Satisfaction Study(SM).
The study, which surveyed leisure and business travelers who rented vehicles at North American airports, ranked Enterprise Rent-A-Car highest in customer satisfaction in the industry, followed in order by National Car Rental and Alamo Rent A Car. With the industry customer satisfaction scores at their highest in seven years, all three brands finished above the industry average and improved their scores from the prior year, with the Alamo brand showing the most improvement in ranking year-over-year.
Enterprise Rent-A-Car ranked highest for the eighth time in the past nine years and received the highest score in all six categories: costs and fees; pick-up process; rental car; return process; reservation process; and shuttle bus/van. Enterprise performed particularly well in the category of cost and fees -- scoring 26 points higher than any other brand -- reflecting the value offered by the brand. In addition, Enterprise and National ranked highest among business travelers, who tend to be more critical of their rental car experience than leisure travelers.
While the Enterprise Rent-A-Car brand has consistently ranked high on the J.D. Power and Associates study since it originated in 1995, National and Alamo have gradually moved up the rankings since Enterprise Holdings' 2007 acquisition of the two brands.
"Since acquiring the National and Alamo brands, we have focused on providing consistently exceptional service to customers across all of our brands, and set a goal to have all three ranked highest in the J.D. Power and Associates study," stated Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Andrew C. Taylor, whose family owns and operates Enterprise Holdings. "This unprecedented achievement is a tribute to all of our hard-working employees -- they truly deserve all the credit for this recognition."
Now, just five years after the largest acquisition in the history of the car rental industry, all three brands are ranked in the top three by the study, which surveyed more than 12,000 business and leisure customers. Since the company's founding, the Taylor family has made the Enterprise brand synonymous with customer service excellence. When Enterprise Holdings acquired National and Alamo, it began applying its proven method for measuring customer satisfaction across all three brands.
"While we've invested heavily in the Enterprise, National and Alamo brands to bring customers new technology, new vehicles and new loyalty programs to make the rental experience better, we know that things as simple as a smile, eye-contact and a positive, can-do attitude from our employees are what really differentiate us," added Taylor.
Enterprise Holdings' three brands collectively lead with approximately a third of the airport rental car business in the U.S. and Canada. Enterprise Holdings also owns and operates more than 1 million cars and trucks, making it the largest car rental company in the world measured by revenue, employees and fleet. In addition, the company's annual revenues make it one of the largest companies in the travel industry, exceeding many airlines, cruise lines, hotels, tour operators and online travel agencies.
About Enterprise Holdings
Founded in 1957, Enterprise Holdings is the most comprehensive service provider in the car rental industry, operating -- through its regional subsidiaries -- the Alamo Rent A Car and National Car Rental brands as well as its flagship Enterprise Rent-A-Car brand in North America. The company also operates the Enterprise Rent-A-Car brand in the UK, Germany and Ireland, and a franchise network that operates the National and Alamo brands throughout the Americas. Enterprise Holdings recently acquired Citer SA in France and Atesa in Spain, and made a strategic investment in China-based eHi Auto Services.
Enterprise Holdings' worldwide network includes more than 8,200 neighborhood and airport locations, with 6,000 offices located within 15 miles of 90 percent of the U.S. population -- and more than twice as many locations as Enterprise Holdings' nearest U.S. competitor. Ranked No. 15 on the Forbes list of America's Largest Private Companies, Enterprise Holdings is owned by the Taylor family and is the only investment-grade company in the U.S. car rental industry. This news release and other announcements are available at the Enterprise Holdings press room.
Contact Information:
For more information, contact:
Meghan Maguire
Enterprise Holdings