Download - Letsconnect
Let's Connect!
Daniel W. Krueger, Ph.D. Krueger & Associates, LLC.
Boston, Massachusetts© 2013
Finding the Right Partner What is a Partnership?
A relationship of two or more entities conducting business for mutual benefit.
Finding the Right Partner
Finding the Right Partner
Sourcing
– What does your company do to source potential affiliate partners in your own market?
– What does your company do to source potential affiliate partners in markets outside of your coverage area?
Finding the Right Partner
Due Diligence Term used for a number of concepts, involving
either an investigation of a business or person prior to signing a contract, or an act with a certain standard of care.
Create an application that asks all the questions you need answered to be certain your clients experience superior service
Due Diligence
General Company Information
Physical and mailing address Website URL Year founded CEO/President, CFO, CIO, Vice President(s),
Sale Director(s), General Manager(s), Safety Director, Operation Manager(s), Dispatch Manager(s)/Supervisor(s)
Accounts Payable and Accounts Receivable contacts
24 Hour emergency contact
Due Diligence General Service Questions
Is there a person available 24/7? If yes, is it a full time staff member
or an answering service? If it is an answering service, do they dispatch? How and where do you meet customers at the
airport? What amenities are in the vehicle (bottled water;
current reading material, etc.)? Does your fleet utilize have DriveCam or a
simliar system? Is your fleet equipped with GPS tracking?
Due Diligence Dispatch Policies
What kind of reservation software do you use?
Do you use flight tracking software such as RLM?
If not, how are flights tracked? Are outbound flights tracked as well? Do chauffeurs track flights as well? How do you communicate with chauffeurs?
Two-way Nextel? Cell Phone? Tablet? Other?
Due Diligence Chauffeur Training Policies
What is your chauffeur uniform policy?
If possible please submit a photo of a uniformed chauffeur.
Does chauffeur and driver training include a defensive driving course (e.g. Smith System)?
What is your drug testing policy? Describe your employee background check
process.
Due Diligence Billing Questions
What is your cancellation policy byvehicle type and service type (e.g. Transfer vs. Hourly Charter)?
If a flight is delayed or diverted what is your billing policy?
If a flight is canceled what is your billing policy? What is your billing policy for wait time on Transfer
reservations and how long is the grace period? How do you charge for stops - Time based or flat
fee? How are miscellaneous charges (tolls; regulatory
fees; fuel surcharges; local/state taxes) calculated and billed?
Due Diligence Additional Corporate information
Is the company a member of theNational Limousine Association(NLA)?
Is the company a member of the The Taxicab, Limousine & Paratransit Association (TLPA)?
List any local or state business associations the company is a member of.
Is the company Better Business Bureau (BBB) accredited?
List any awards your organization has won.
Due Diligence
As part of the application submission the potential partner should submit
IRS Form W-9 Certificate of Insurance listing your company
as additionally insured Copies of all business licenses and permits
required for operation (e.g. in New York - TLC Base Permit)
Due Diligence
Due Diligence http://safer.fmcsa.dot.gov/
Due Diligence http://safer.fmcsa.dot.gov/
Due Diligence http://safer.fmcsa.dot.gov/
Due Diligence http://safer.fmcsa.dot.gov/
Due Diligence http://safer.fmcsa.dot.gov/
Due Diligence Safety Measurement System
Due Diligence Safety Measurement System
Due Diligence Safety Measurement System
Due Diligence Safety Measurement System
Due Diligence Licensing and Insurance
Due Diligence
Insuring Your Interests - Domestically
General Liability Coverage Automobile Liability Coverage Workers Compensation / Employer Liability
Coverage Garage Liability Excess Liability
Insuring Your Interests - Domestically
Insuring Your Interests - Internationally
General Liability Coverage Automobile Liability Coverage Workers Compensation / Employer Liability
Coverage Garage Liability Excess Liability
Insuring Your Interests - Internationally
Insuring Your Interests - Internationally
Insuring Your Interests
The Price is Right
The Price is Right
The Price is Right
Penetration Pricing
The Price is Right
Loss Leading
The Price is Right
Market-Based
The Price is Right
Marginal Pricing
The Price is Right
Skimming
The Price Is Right
Inbound Pricing
– What your company charges for Farm-In reservations
Outbound Pricing
– What your company is charged for Farm-Out reservations
The Price Is Right
International Pricing
– Currency conversions
– Unique hourly rate structures
The Price Is Right
How do you establish new transfer rates in your market for an affiliate request where the service is usually hourly?
The Price Is Right
Margins
– Purchase Margin
– Contribution Margin
– IBITDA
The Price Is Right
Mindful Discounting
The Price Is Right
Accounts Receivable Discounting
The Price Is Right
Notification of Special Pricing / Special Market Events
The Price Is Right
New pricing trends
– Dynamic Pricing
The Price Is Right
Cross selling / up selling
– Assumptive sale
– Rates preloaded for major markets
The Price Is Right
Accurate quoting during the reservation process
– Domestic
– International
The Price is Right
Sealing the Deal
Sealing the Deal
Agreed upon rate card
Sealing the Deal
Clear communication paths
Sealing the Deal
Clear expression of expectations via a formal contract / agreement
Sealing the Deal
Preserving the Brand & Measuring Service Levels
Service Incidents
– What happens when we stubour toe and it impacts the client?
• Who owns the client contact outreach?
• What is the time frame for speaking with all parties involved to gather information and make a determination as to what will make the client whole?
Preserving the Brand & Measuring Service Levels
Service Triage
Let them tell you what is wrong. They want you to listen.
Do not be afraid to keep asking questions until you feel like you have pinpointed the problem, and convey that to your customer.
Connect the “features” of your service or product to the “benefits” that it can have on your customer’s lifestyle. Keep in mind the caller may not always be the passenger transported.
Preserving the Brand & Measuring Service Levels
Service TriageRealize the client's time is valuable. If you're
putting them on hold and transferring three different times, you are losing them. They are getting madder with each transfer. And that's what happens all too often.
As John Tschohl, author of Achieving Excellence Through Customer Service, puts it, solve my problem quickly, or find someone who can.
You can only do this if your employees all understand the chain of command and are empowered to solve problems. They should also know who to send problem customers to if it's beyond their scope.
Preserving the Brand & Measuring Service Levels
Service Triage
Actually care. Yes, you're staying calm. But if the client don't sense real empathy for their situation, your calmness is only making them crazier. It makes them feel you don't understand that they are in crisis here, and you need to make it better.
Go above and beyond. Once you've made a customer mad, you need to do something to fix the relationship. It's like a spat with your spouse. You need the customer-service equivalent of the nice card or the flowers.
Preserving the Brand & Measuring Service Levels
Service Triage
Don't just file a support ticket. These arethe Internet age's slow boats to China. You might get back to the client in a day,or a week, or never.
While tickets are fine for minor or non-critical problems, they won't work for emergencies.
You need another option -- live email chat, Twitter support or something else that moves faster and gives the Client more confidence that you understand the urgency of their situation.
Preserving the Brand & Measuring Service Levels
Service Triage
Fix the broken policies. You can avoid angry customers in the first place if you figure out what's wrong with your process.
This is an ongoing exercise as technologies evolve.
Preserving the Brand & Measuring Service Levels
Service Triage
Work close with your affiliate partner. Make sure they understand in advanceyour process of service issue resolution and are immediately responsive to inquiries.
Create a standard template form that can easily be emailed or faxed to the company that includes all the pertinent details of the reservation and the incident and your expected response time.
Using a standard communication form may seem a bit cold – but it actually benefits everyone. It makes it easier for the affiliate partner to respond and for your associate tasked with creating the resolution with seeing the response data in the same format each time.
Preserving the Brand & Measuring Service Levels
Service Triage
Three Tips to Deal with an Unhappy Customer.
You have to think. Before you apologize, before you say you're going to fix everything, press your lips together and think. When you realize you've made a customer mad, you must get to the root of the problem. By quietly observing and listening to your customer, you will be better able to determine exactly what went wrong.
Preserving the Brand & Measuring Service Levels
Service Triage
Three Tips to Deal with an Unhappy Customer.
Sincerity is like magic. Granted, sometimes the mistake is too big and the customer will fire you even after you say you're sorry. Most of the time, however; simply sincerely listening to the client's side of the story and genuinely apologizing will at least earn you the opportunity to try to make amends. Warning - don't be glib, argue, or make jokes during this conversation. Your customer is mad and doesn't want you to make light of the problem.
Preserving the Brand & Measuring Service Levels
Service Triage
Three Tips to Deal with an Unhappy Customer.
Make it right. This is a critical part of the process and one that people usually get wrong. Each customer's need is different, so best practice is to listen, get an idea for what the heart of the problem is, and then say, "I am so sorry that this happened. Your business and trust are important to me. What can I do to make this right?"
Then, stop talking. The customer is probably still mad, so they may need some time to think.
Preserving the Brand & Measuring Service Levels
Service Triage
Three Tips to Deal with an Unhappy Customer.
Make it right. Once the customer comes up with a remedy, give it a moment of thought. Consider the cost if you agree to the customer's suggestion, and the consequences if you don't. Warning - if you feel like the customer is so mad that they might ask for something unrealistic, suggest a specific remedy rather than letting them decide.
Preserving the Brand & Measuring Service Levels
Service Triage
What really happens with an Unhappy Customer.
Old statistics showed that an unhappy customer would tell an average of 24 people about the experience with your company.
Now, with the huge number of people using social media such as Facebook, Yelp, Twitter, and so many others, that number has grown to 3,000!
Preserving the Brand & Measuring Service Levels
What is a Service Level anyway?
– How they are calculated?
– What is your minimum acceptable level
– How do you communicate Service Level expectations and actual performance to your affiliate partners?
Preserving the Brand & Measuring Service Levels
Service Level Calculations
Goal is 99.25%
Month Service Issues Reservations SI Percentage Service Level
January 2013 3 100 3.00% 97.00%
February 2013 1 125 0.80% 99.20%
March 2013 0 165 0.00% 100.00%
1ST Quarter 4 390 1.03% 98.97%
Preserving the Brand & Measuring Service Levels
With Farm Outs and In-House reservations how do you know that your brand is represented professionally at all times?
– Secret Shopping?
– Spot Checks?
– Direct solicitation of client feedback?
– Other ways?
Preserving the Brand & Measuring Service Levels
LAX - Terminal One; Southwest Airlines - Gates 3/5 July 23, 2013 – 1630 hours.
Preserving the Brand & Measuring Service Levels
FRA – Domestic ArrivalsMay 7, 2013 – 1035 hours.
Preserving the Brand & Measuring Service Levels
Let's Connect!
Thank you!