Keep those visitors coming back

By KRISTI ALBERTSON

Treating customers as friends is one sure way for repeat tourist business

The Daily Inter Lake

For some people, summer is a time to float the river, barbecue in the back yard and find other ways to relax and rejuvenate themselves. Many find that relaxation by coming to the Flathead Valley.

And when those visitors arrive, it means the end of vacation for many local businesses.

Dollar Rent a Car is one of these. The bulk of Dollar's business comes between June 15 and Sept. 15, according to manager Bruce Haller.

Because they rely so heavily on tourists as customers, Dollar employees have to demonstrate great customer service to keep business going, Haller said.

While this is true of any car-rental company, Haller said it's even more important for Dollar. Dollar Rent a Car is located about 3 miles north of Glacier Park International Airport; to compete with car rental companies at the airport, Dollar's customer service has to be impressive.

Haller thinks they're doing well so far.

"The biggest reason people come back is they're just blown away by our customer service," he said. "It's pretty simple, nothing special. We just try to be nice to people."

It's something Dollar takes seriously.

The company sent five employees to last Thursday's Montana Superhost seminar - customer service training sponsored by the Department of Commerce. There were a total of 15 people at the training.

Customer service plays a vital role in maintaining a thriving tourism industry, according to Lisa Jones, Superhost trainer.

"There's a bumper sticker, 'Attitude is everything,' and I think that's true," she said.

Tourism is the second-largest industry in the state, Jones said, second only to agriculture. Montana had a record-high 10 million out-of-state visitors in 2005, a 4.5 percent increase from the year before. Of those, 59 percent came during the summer and 75 percent were repeat visitors.

According to a survey conducted by the Institute for Tourism and Recreational Research at the University of Montana, most of them returned for one of two reasons: They made a spiritual connection with Montana and/or they were impressed by the friendliness and hospitality of the people they met there.

"It's the people who make an impact," Jones said.

One of the top vacation destinations in Montana is Glacier National Park, which gives businesses in the Flathead Valley the opportunity to make a big impression.

"We've already got them in our back pocket because they're coming to Glacier first," Jones said.

And it's car rental employees who often make the first impression, Haller said.

"In the car rental industry as a whole, we're the first people tourists come in contact with," he said.

For Dollar employees, that contact typically begins with a phone call. They answer the phone with a smile, knowing a smile will translate into tone of voice.

Tone is important on the phone, Jones said - more important than what a person actually says. Only 15 percent of a telephone conversation has to do with what was said, she said. The rest is all about how it was said.

That's part of the reason Tommie Schleinger, Dollar's assistant manager, sounds so engaging when talking with customers. She wants them to know she's eager to help.

"I'm just friendly with them on the phone," she said.

Her goal is to draw customers out, to get them to talk about why they're coming to the valley and what they're going to do here. Then she tells them some of her favorite things to do to make sure they hit the highlights.

Schleinger's approach works well, Haller said. She brings in a lot of their repeat business because of the personal interest she takes in customers. She recognizes many of them by face and name.

"She's one of the reasons people come back," he said.

Getting repeat customers isn't difficult, Schleinger insisted. The key, she said, is "letting them feel like they were wanted, like they were invited to the valley."

This is a hallmark of great customer service, Jones said.

"You really have to care," she said. "There's got to be something there."

Part of caring is getting to know customers as individuals.

"Let me understand what they want done so I can do it for them," Jones said.

Deanna Hamilton, who manages Dollar's Outlaw Inn office, says this is what they strive for.

"It's not just a business relationship; it's a friend relationship," she said. "We go the extra mile for people. It feels good at the end of the day."

And sometimes, customers go the extra mile for them.

One New York couple has given Schleinger perfume and flowers, and a few nights ago they took her to dinner.

A woman from Florida was so pleased with the service that she sent the rental-car workers a box of grapefruits and oranges fresh off the vine.

A man from Chicago brought them real, frozen Chicago pizzas.

Customers get to know them, too, Hamilton said.

Richard Brown drives the shuttle to take customers from the airport to the Dollar office. They love chatting with the friendly man behind the wheel, and repeat customers ask about him when they call.

"They ask, 'Are you going to send Richard to pick me up?'" Hamilton said, smiling. "Well, of course we are!"

That rapport with the customers is what she and Schleinger strive for. It requires more energy, Hamilton said, especially when the office gets chaotic. On a busy summer day, they might handle as many as 50 reservations.

"That's the exhilaration. I love it," Hamilton said. "I'm in bed by 8:30 at night. I have to be."

"You're drained," Schleinger agreed, "but you feel like you've made a friend at the end of the day."

Reporter Kristi Albertson may be reached at 758-4438 or by e-mail at kalbertson@dailyinterlake.com.