A reviews section giving users the ability to post their experiences has been introduced by Affordable Car Hire.
Claimed as a first for the sector, it enables clients booking directly or through agents to see how other consumers rate the car hire firm they are thinking of selecting.
Affordable Car Hire said it was committed to ensuring all comments – good and bad – can be represented on the site.
It will feed back any poor reviews to suppliers to help them address service issues.
Chief executive Angela Day said the new feature will not only help and inform agents during the sales process, but can be used as a customer relationship management tool.
“Agents can look at reviews when making the booking and highlight any USPs of the product, and it should also help with client retention if they then make contact with customers after the holiday and ask them to go online and rate the car hire experience,” she said.
The review feature enables clients to rate the overall service on a scale of 1 to 5, taking into account all aspects of the experience, including efficiency at collection and vehicle cleanliness and condition. Customers can also post a short comment which is uploaded immediately.
“There are numerous rating sites for hotels and resorts, but to our knowledge this is the first time a car hire firm has given customers the opportunity to post their experience online,” said Day.
“Over time, as well as rating the car hire supplier on areas such as customer service and vehicle cleanliness and presentation, we could expand the review facility so customers can share other motoring experiences such as the best scenic driving routes across worldwide holiday destinations.”