Green mobile checkout facility launched at CT International Airport

First Car Rental's corporate loyalty tier is called Show & Go as this is literally what their corporate customer's do - present their Show & Go loyalty card and go.

The hand-held mobile checkout device allows the company's corporate customers to check out in less than a minute without going into a branch, thereby ensuring no queues, no waiting and no paperwork. The entire transaction, from online booking to contract opening to vehicle movement logging to closing off the contract after the rental period has ended, is completely paperless.

Melissa Storey, executive head: strategy, development and marketing of First Car Rental, said: "We are very proud of this achievement as, ultimately, our business is incredibly customer-centric. Also, in this day and age, it is smart to simultaneously improve processes that are also 'green'. This mobile check-out facility is designed to save our corporate customers effort and time, which as we all know, when you travel a lot as this market sector does, is invaluable."

Ready to go in less than a minute

A booking is made online. The renter walks out of airport arrivals using the shortest pre-defined route to the First Car Rental Show & Go collection and termination zone where his car is parked, bypassing the branch completely. A staff member is waiting within this dedicated area with a mobile check-out device to check the renter out by tending to a simple verification process such as "does this photo look like the renter?". First Car Rental staff pre-prepares a check-sheet and walks around the vehicle with the renter to ensure that they agree on the vehicle's condition. The renter's Show & Go card is "snapped" by the device and the renter is voice-recorded agreeing with the check-sheet. There is no signature required. The renter is ready to go in less than a minute. At Cape Town International Airport, the total time taken from airport arrivals to check out is approximately three-and-a-half minutes. This could take longer should a customer query specifics of the vehicle.

When the renter returns the vehicle, he parks the car exactly where he picked it up from, which is the closest parking available to the airport and branch. Then he drops the keys into the Show & Go key drop safe and off they go back to the airport.

Coming to Durban and Joburg

Storey added: "We have timed it so that our renters don't have to. For business travellers, waiting around to be attended to is extremely frustrating, especially in peak periods. We want to remove this element completely from the car-rental experience and get them moving to their destination as quickly as possible, whilst simultaneously inspiring green processes."

First Car Rental Show & Go Mobile Checkout will also be available at King Shaka International and OR Tambo International from October, 2011.