Question

In: Operations Management

Renting a car at the airport has, for many, become an unpleasant experience. After a long...

Renting a car at the airport has, for many, become an unpleasant experience. After a long day (or night) of navigating airports and flight delays, the weary traveler must trudge or take a bus to a rental counter, wait in a line, and finally be greeted with a selection of choices: which type of car, what insurance options, prepaid fuel or refill on the way back to the airport, which navigation aids, and so on. Frequent travelers can make this process less burdensome by selecting choices in advance, but the likelihood that a chosen car model will be unavailable is still high. Although car-sharing services, such as Zipcar, and chauffeur services, such as Lyft and Uber, have used Internet technologies as a key element from their beginnings, most car rental companies have made limited use of those technologies as an add-on to their core airport- based operations. In 2012, the launch of Silvercar airport rental cars was intended to change that. From its original operation in Austin, Silvercar had grown to 10 airport locations by 2015 with plans to add a new location every few months. Billing itself as the “first hassle-free car rental company,” Silvercar designed its workflow to minimize the time customers would spend dealing with the airport car rental experience. Silvercar customers must download the company’s mobile app to their phones or tablet devices to make a reservation. The reservation includes insurance options, but there is no need to select a car type or option since all Silvercar vehicles are identically equipped Audi A4 sedans that are painted silver, of course. Once they arrive at the airport, customers receive a text that directs them to either pick up their car at the curb, delivered by a Silvercar employee, or to a nearby lot. The app includes a scan code that unlocks the car. The app reminds the customer when it is time to return the vehicle and provides directions through the app and on the car’s built-in GPS system. If the customer is unable to return the car with a full fuel tank, Silvercar will fill it at the prevailing local price plus a $5 refueling charge. The company has established rental rates that are competitive in each location with other companies’ rates for midsize sedans. The rentals include additional drivers and roadside assistance. The equipment included with each car includes GPS, Wi-Fi, satellite radio, and a toll-tracking system that charges the customer automatically for the exact amount of tolls incurred (most rental car companies charge a daily rental fee for a toll transponder in addition to the toll amounts).

3. Many rental car companies in the past have promoted their services by highlighting the
helpfulness and friendliness of their employees. In about 100 words, assess the role and
importance of employee characteristics such as helpfulness in Silvercar’s business process
design.

Solutions

Expert Solution

Answer: While helping customers/clients with their requirements it is essential to have a supportive disposition at work. The primary objective of the silver car's business procedure configuration is to decrease the hold-up time and serve the clients in a split second when they show up at the air terminal. The silver car has made the car rental strategy a lot simpler to the clients contrasted with other rental organizations. After the client downloads the application and reserves a spot, he will go with Starting from the air terminal until he/she restores the car. Administrations like, Directing the client to the car get area upon the appearance, clients can open car with the sweep code from the application, reminding the arrival time and area to the client, charging precise measure of costs brought about, which no other rental car organizations have ever done before. These are the principle add on points of interest to the silver car business.

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