Focus on the Customer Experience

In his monthly column for Fleet Management Weekly, Jeofrey Bean poses the question: If the American Customer Satisfaction Index were to measure your business, competitors and alternatives, how would you do in an era of rising customer expectations and no middle ground?

Wendy Eichenbaum tells us in her monthly column, that by 2020, customer experience will overtake price and product as the key brand differentiator, and that the key to conversion and retention is to understand how easily and intuitively customers acquire, use and maintain your product or services.

And, finally, in an exclusive interview with Fleet Management Weekly, Laura Jozwiak, vice president of client relations at Wheels, gives us great insight into how Wheels – for the past 75 years, delivers the kind of customer experience that Jeofrey and Wendy are so passionate about.

Enjoy this issue. And make sure you check in with FleetManagementWeekly.com for daily updates.

Janice Sutton
Executive Editor

CEI Names Chris Villella Director of Account Management for Special Markets

The CEI Group, Inc. has promoted Chris Villella to director of account management for special markets.

Mr. Villella joined CEI in 1990, as a subrogation specialist before advancing to subrogation supervisor and eventually subrogation manager. He assumed the role of senior manager in loss recovery and insurance services in 2005, and has most recently served as senior manager of corporate accounts.

New Technology Could Put an End to Drunken Driving, Officials Say

A technological breakthrough that could virtually eliminate the drunken driving that kills 10,000 Americans each year was announced Thursday by federal officials, who said it could begin appearing in cars in five years.

The new equipment won’t require a driver to blow into a tube, like the interlock devices some states require after drunken-driving convictions. Instead, either a passive set of breath sensors or touch-sensitive contact points on a starter button or gear shift would immediately register the level of alcohol in the bloodstream.

Drivers who registered above the legal limit wouldn’t be able to start the car.

“The message today is not ‘Can we do this?’ but ‘How soon can we do this?’ ” said Mark Rosekind, administrator of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). “It is a huge step forward.”

Aluminum Repairs: Is Your Shop Qualified?

By Greg Neuman, Senior Manager, CEI Quality Control

With its introduction of the (nearly) all-aluminum 2015 F-150 pickup truck – one of the most popular fleet vehicles in America – Ford Motor Company may well be pointing to the preferred automotive material of the future. Why? Because aluminum is lighter than steel and auto makers are scrambling to shed vehicle weight to reach the daunting federal fuel efficiency standard of 54.5 MPG by 2025, which is less than 10 years away.

Meeting that challenge with aluminum, though, creates another challenge: it’s estimated that as few as 10% of America’s approximately 34,000 collision repair shops are qualified to do aluminum repairs. What’s more, the cost to add that capability is large -- $50,000 to $100,000 according to some industry observers – and not every shop is going to choose or be able to make that kind of investment.