Review of Hired Maui Campervan (SOZ 409)

2-BERTH SPIRIT 2TS

From Perth to Brisbane:  2 April to 30 June 20

Response of Maui Motorhome Hire

After waiting over a month for a reply, we sent repeat copies of our letter outlining the problems we had found with the hire vehicle. At the beginning of August we received the following two replies by email:

Dear Barry and Margaret Williamson,

RE: Maui Campervan Rentals 6138626

Thank you for sending us a letter outlining your Maui campervan rental experience in Australia.  We do appreciate the time you have taken to inform us of your impressions.  Our customer feedback is a valuable way for us to learn and improve on the service we provide and the product we deliver.  We are grateful that you have given us an opportunity to investigate and respond to these issues.

It is disappointing that you were not satisfied with the maintenance and quality control of the vehicle you were provided with. Our vehicles are serviced, detailed and quality control checked before each hire but given your comments, I have taken full detail of the list of items that you found unsatisfactory and these will be discussed and reviewed with the appropriate staff members. In addition, the motor home will be thoroughly inspected to ensure it is of the high standard that we expect of all vehicles on our fleet.  I have copied in our Perth Branch Manager so that they are aware of the concerns you have had on this vehicle.  It is very important that customers contact us immediately if they are unhappy in anyway with the vehicle. If we do not know of their concerns, we cannot rectify the matter.

I can assure you that the company staff, management and its Directors take the issue of maintenance and quality control as a matter of primary importance.  We have very stringent systems in place that are continually reviewed through a rigorous set of key performance indicator monitors. Whilst these are preventative in nature, you will appreciate that we also need to have reactive processes in place where incidents do occur.

Certainly we acknowledge that there has been a failure in some of our systems with regard to your recent experience and I can assure you that the matter is being taken seriously and reviewed to minimize the occurrence happening again. This process will run through fleet detailing and maintenance, operating procedures and of course, service quality. Both internal and external teams will be involved in the process.

Please be advised that it does state in our terms and conditions of the Rental Agreement that was signed for under "Roadside Assistance - Any problems associated with the vehicle, including equipment failure, must be reported to THL as soon as possible, and within 24 hours in order to give THL the opportunity to rectify the problem during the rental.  Failure to do so will compromise any claims for compensation.  We do not accept liability for any claims submitted after this period.  Please contact us on Britz 1800 331 454 or Maui 1300 363 800". Had we known you were not happy with some of the aspects of the van, a changeover vehicle could have been taken to your location immediately or a solution put forward to ensure the vehicle was meeting your expectations. Please be advised that problems can occur on vehicles at anytime, even with the highest levels of maintenance and servicing. If these issues are not brought to our attention immediately, then we have no way of rectifying problems and ensuring our customers are happy.

Your comments on the design of the vehicle and the equipment supplied are very much appreciated and will be reviewed and considered for all future build programs, including equipment reviews and updates. It is unfortunate to hear that you were not satisfied with several aspects of the vehicle. We do advertise the interior of the vehicle and what is supplied in each vehicle on the Maui website and in our brochures.  We appreciate all of your feedback in this area as it is a valuable way for us to learn and live up to client's expectations. I have forwarded your comments regarding the design of the vehicle and the vehicle equipment to our Build Development Team and Marketing Department, as well as to various other Senior Managers so this information can be further investigated and reviewed, in addition to being used prior to future design changes.

Your comments on the level of customer service you received by some of our staff has been further reviewed and followed up with the National Operations Manager. All our staff are provided with bi-yearly training on all areas of customer service. In addition, we set high standards on our service levels that are required to be maintained and exceeded by all employees. Like all service businesses, some transactions go more smoothly than others. While we strive to make each customers experience an outstanding one, occasionally we fail to meet customers expectations, which is a disappointment and cause for efforts at on-going improvement across the business. Your comments will assist in making further improvements and changes, which will be beneficial to both our staff and our customers.

The company policy to bank the bond of $5000 when no additional excess reduction package is purchased has been in place for many years. Our terms and conditions are based on industry standards and a survey of our competitors shows that they have the same policy regarding the bond.

The reason we do bank the bond is that we are releasing a very valuable item, which is costly for us to insure and also to repair in the unfortunate event of an accident. When clients do not wish to take our additional insurance to lower the excess, we need to have a secured bond to be able to cover our costs. With some banks an authorization will only last 7 to 10 days and many rentals go over this number of days. There is also the chance that a client can cancel their credit card once they have an accident. Unfortunately, we do have to allow for these circumstances. This information is outlined in our brochures, on our website and in our Terms and Conditions of the rental agreement, which every customer is given prior to their rental commencing.

As per our Terms and Conditions, a vehicle may not be driven on an unsealed road (being a road not sealed with a hard material, such as tar, bitumen or concrete). Off road conditions include, but are not limited to, fire trails, beaches, sand, dirt tracks, fields or paddocks. The only exception to this is reasonable use of access roads. If one encounters road works or is being overtaken or is meeting oncoming traffic which requires them to use the unsealed portion of the road, we ask the customer to use these roads responsibly. We do understand at times this is necessary and as long as the vehicle is driven with care and caution, then no penalty applies or would need to apply.

We understand that you purchased a few items to make your holiday more accommodating for your needs. We would be more then happy to refund you for these additional items. If you could please fax us or email us a copy of the receipts for these items, we can arrange a refund to your credit card for these charges. Our fax number in Melbourne, Australia is 61-3-9687-4844. Please ensure this is put to my attention.

We very much appreciate the time you have taken to write to us with your comments and suggestions and for this valuable information, which will be used to better our products and services.

Our industry is enormously competitive.  Feedback like yours, while far from desired, keeps us honest and offers internal “check and balances” to our own perceptions of how well we are doing.  Your experience has received a lot of air-ply within THL and will serve to illustrate the effects failing to deliver on our customer commitments can have on clients.

I hope this letter helps to explain the commitment and targeted intend we place on customer service and the maintenance, quality control and design of our vehicles.

Kind Regards,

Tammy Ellis

Service Quality Manager

Tourism Holdings

Dear Barry and Margaret,

I received the repeat copy of your letter today, originally dated June 30, 2005.  A copy also went to our Factory Manager and National Operations Manager.

When I went down to Service Quality, they noted they had indeed received the first one I sent them (time stamped July 7, 2005) but had, as yet, not been able to reply.

I assure you it is most unusual for a complaint of this nature to remain unanswered for so long.  Tammy Ellis, our Service Quality manager has about 7 "open" files, and I placed this one on top.

I suggest you will receive your awaited reply shortly and I apologise for the unwarranted delay.

Regards,

Chris

Mr Chris Rusden

Chief Operating Officer

THL Rentals, Central West Business Park, Building 1/9 Ashley Street, BRAYBROOK VIC 3019, Australia, Tel: 61 (3) 8379 8805 , Fax: 61 (3) 9687 2793, Mobile: 0403 348 947