First Car Rental Pioneering Green Technology

(I-Newswire) February 23, 2010 - JOHANNESBURG, GAUTENG, 18 FEBRUARY 2010 - First Car Rental is a driving force pioneering first-class technology in their commitment to the environment and to service excellence, leading the car rental industry by integrating their software to become AARTO compliant whilst simultaneously launching their new First Club Loyalty programme pushing a fully paperless office and rental process.

Says Melissa Storey, First Car Rental executive head: strategy, development and marketing: “We will be the first car rental company to be AARTO-compliant because we can now seamlessly relay renter and vehicle movement information to authorities and append documentation proof - if applicable, and when the time comes.”

First Car Rental took the first step towards reducing its carbon footprint some six years ago by introducing electronic vouchers - less paper and less fuel in delivering vouchers to clients. Then the company launched an online invoice retrieval portal, eliminating the need to print invoices. The process of scanning all rental documents, while simultaneously streamlining operational procedures to eliminate unnecessary procedural documents followed soon after and today, all First Car Rental documentation is available online.

Surpassing world standards, First Car Rental’s customer service department boasts a successful resolution timeframe of 1.86 days as an average, which includes damage and 3rd party cases. Online communication is powered by Cristil software, making the entire Customer Services division a paperless environment.

Applying speed to the car rental experience, the latest addition to the First Car Rental paperless revolution is the customer recognition software rolled out at 40 branches nationwide. Designed to capture electronic customer profiles with photographs and the relevant legal documentation, this system allows staff to access customer profiles quickly from a central database to complete the car rental process without time-consuming repeat paperwork.

Storey says: “The new software dramatically speeds up the rental process for customers and forms part of a phased approach to a paperless rental agreement, fulfilling our vision of being the first car rental company in South Africa to offer a truly ‘green’ check-out procedure.”

The technology, coupled with First Car Rental’s new loyalty card programme, means that customers provide their personal details just once. Their photos and details are captured and saved on First Car Rental’s central and secure database, and in future, clients simply produce their loyalty card, speeding up the rental process while they earn loyalty points.

Storey explains that the software was initially developed to drive First Car Rental’s loyalty programme in order to identify and reward frequent customers. Over and above flagging frequent renters in the system for additional benefits, the loyalty software also records rental activity so that customers can view their rental history and rewards online.

Owing to its dynamic development, the system also allows First Car Rental to “flag and relay” or “retrieve information” on potentially-risky customers on a new central tourism industry database facilitated through ACCSSA (Active Customer Credibility Scan and Security Alerts). The accurate accumulation of renter information will then be passed electronically via our loyalty software to a partner called Cancom for automatic fine redirection and/or legal representation.

The loyalty programme software is now operating throughout all 40 First car Rental branches countrywide.
First Car Rental in Mauritius is taking a responsible approach by adopting a carbon reduction strategy with the help of impactChoice. This unit of greenhouse gas emission reduction, which is verified by impactChoice, will enable First Car Rental to achieve carbon neutral status over time.

First Car Rental Mauritius is the first car rental company on the island to reduce the emissions produced as a result of vehicle rental.

For more information visit http://www.firstcarrental.co.za

About First Car Rental:
First Car Rental has more than 6 000 vehicles in use in South Africa and has over 40 car rental branches, including branches at all major South African airports, business and tourist destinations.

Company Contact Information
First Car Rental
Vivienne Quann
106 Constantia Road, Pomona, Johannesburg
1619
Phone : 0861 178 227