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

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?

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 by
vehicle 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 the
National 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

http://safer.fmcsa.dot.gov/

Due Diligence

Safety Measurement System

Due Diligence

Licensing and Insurance

Insuring Your Interests -
Domestically

General Liability Coverage

Automobile Liability Coverage

Workers Compensation / Employer Liability
Coverage

Garage Liability

Excess Liability

Domestically

Internationally

General Liability Coverage

Automobile Liability Coverage

Workers Compensation / Employer Liability
Coverage

Garage Liability

Excess Liability

Internationally

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

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

Preserving the Brand &
Measuring Service Levels

Service Incidents
– What happens when we stub
our 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?


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.


Service Triage
Realize 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.


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.


Service Triage
Don't just file a support ticket. These are
the 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.


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.


Service Triage
Work close with your affiliate partner.
Make sure they understand in advance
your 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.


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.


Service Triage
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.


Service Triage
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.


Service Triage
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.


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!


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?


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%


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?

LAX - Terminal One; Southwest Airlines - Gates 3/5
July 23, 2013 – 1630 hours.

FRA – Domestic Arrivals
May 7, 2013 – 1035 hours.

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