The airlines hold top honors as the "glamour" part of the travel industry. And hoteliers are in the business of providing life's necessities, food, and shelter. What, then, does the car rental field offer?
It offers to its customers, service, convenience and independence and to its employees, a fast-paced, ever-changing, exciting workplace. And to new graduates the opportunity to immediately join front-line management.
Getting Started in the Field
A recent college graduate would begin his or her career in the rent a car operations group on the "field" as a shift manager at one of the company's larger locations. The main function of the shift manager is to insure that the rental operation runs smoothly and that equipment, vehicles, and personnel are all in position to deliver world-class customer service.
The shift manager's other duties and responsibilities include customer service (answering customer complaints, comments, and concerns), employee discipline, increasing the overall operational quality of the vehicles and buses, ensuring efficient and professional counter sales techniques, solving problems unique to each location and, ultimately, renting as many cars as possible and producing a profit.
As a shift manager masters the rental operation, he or she may take on added responsibilities such as payroll preparation, car accountability reports, hiring of non-management personnel, conducting training exercises, and accountability for gas and supplies.
Promotions generally involve a change of location-managers move frequently between large, medium, and small facilities.
A Shift Manager's Typical Day
Long hours and a varied schedule are the "order of the day" for shift managers. Many airport locations are open 24 hours per day, 365 days per year, so shift managers may be required to work midnight, weekend, and/or holiday hours. Larger locations tend to rotate managers' schedules to give everyone an equal proportion of desirable and less than desirable shifts.
A typical day at a busy airport location will find the shift manager performing these duties:
" 7 AM: Ensure all employees have reported to work and the work force is large enough to handle the day's business. Gather the reports and information necessary to determine the actual amount of business anticipated.
" 8 AM: Vehicles must be accounted for and ready to rent, plus necessary supplies (i.e., gas, fluids, towels, etc.) available to clean additional vehicles as the day progresses.
" 9 AM: Prepare and reconcile receipts from the previous day: coupons received, vouchers used, cash received, checks written and charge cards used.
" 10 AM: Reconcile car accountability reports (cars out for repairs, missing, sold, overdue or moved to other locations).
" 11 AM: Continue monitoring the ongoing operation and respond to customer comments, complaints or concerns.
" 1 PM: Allow time for customer service functions-phone calls to customers, mailed responses, billing problems and errors, lost and found items, and mini-lease agreement updates.
" 2 PM: Prepare for afternoon work force, ensure employees arrive to work and information is gathered to determine afternoon business demands.
" 3 PM: (when customers begin to return vehicles) The shift manager will organize the return parking lot to ensure maximum number of vehicles with the least amount of confusion for the customer, try to reduce customers wait-in-line time as much as possible, and prepare for the evening rental business (which begins late in the afternoon).
" 4 PM: At this point of the day, a shift manager with an interest and ability in operations management will face all facets of the rental car operation simultaneously. There are never two days in a row exactly alike. This is a fast-paced, always changing, exciting field of management.
" 5 PM: The afternoon management shift arrives to continue the day's activities in much the same manner as the morning manager.
Compensation
The starting salary for a shift manager will vary based on experience, education, and the city in which the job opening occurs. Where the cost of living and taxes are high, salaries tend to be higher. Likewise, salaries tend to be lower in cities with a lower cost of living. Starting salaries can range from $20,000 to $25,000; the compensation package, however, may also include a performance bonus and the use of a company car (and, at Avis, an annual Employee Stock Ownership Plan stock allocation).
Every year, each manager's performance is appraised by his or her supervisor, pay raises are based on the individual's merit reviews.
A manager who leaves the car rental industry would likely find a welcome in any industry that serves the public. And because of the operational aspects of the job, a shift manager moving to a manufacturing or production environment will benefit from the management and scheduling expertise he or she will develop in a car rental firm.
The Ideal Entry-Level Candidate should be:
- Self-motivated, with a high energy level
- Oriented towards working with people, both customers and subordinates
- Willing to work long hours if necessary
- Quick-witted and able to make decisions independently
The most useful college majors are those in the business field (as opposed to liberal arts, education, the sciences, etc.). Human resources management, personnel, operations management, even marketing is useful majors. Knowledge of finance and accounting will help to increase one's later "promote-ability."
Internship positions are not available in the operations area, though part-time, non-management positions often are. These function in much the same way as an internship, exposing you to many facets of the industry and giving you a "foot in the door" for potential future management employment Part-time jobs are available as rental sales agents, service agents, bus drivers and car shudders. The rental sales agent position offers the greatest learning opportunity.
Opportunities at the Reservation Center
Avis employs a large staff of reservation agents and managers at its Worldwide Reservation Center in Tulsa, Oklahoma. These employees have the very complex task of matching the needs of customers to the products and services offered by Avis throughout the world. All managers have had specialized training and experience recent college graduates probably lack.
While no direct entry-level positions into management exist at the Reservation Center, a recent college graduate who is willing to work six months to a year as a reservation sales agent can gain the training and experience necessary to enter reservation management Entry-level managers are selected by a process known as the Avis Reservation Management Assessment Program. Successful candidates become first- line supervisors with career paths available in Telecommunications, Finance, Human Resources, and Training, as well as management positions in more specialized reservation departments.
Opportunities at Headquarters
Headquarter staff positions run the gamut from attorneys, bankers, and controllers to worldwide implementation analysts. Entry-level positions for new college graduates include junior accountants, computer programmer trainees, and customer service representatives.
Finance and Accounting
A junior accountant will learn that several career paths exist within the finance and accounting areas. Car rental companies have departments devoted to internal auditing, vehicle accounting, customer accounting, finance, treasury, corporate accounting, and tax matters.
Information Services
The large car rental companies are heavily automated. Computers process reservations, rentals and invoices, and produce reports on everything from a day's rental transactions to how many seconds were spent on each telephone reservation. Avis hires the best and brightest computer science graduates into an IMS Computer Trainee Program. Individualized training generally lasts 18 to 24 months after which trainees are assigned to associate programmer positions.
Administration
The people who run the company are the top executives from each of the staff departments and the senior executives of the field operations group. These are definitely not entry-level positions. They are the jobs you will work towards. Getting there (or even near there) will take most of your career.
Communications
This area is responsible for both internal communications to employees and external public relations. The training, management development, and quality control functions are also represented. This is not an area of opportunity for new graduates as heavy car rental business experience is necessary for all jobs in this department. This area does, however, represent opportunities for field operations employees who may decide to pursue careers in staff functions.
Support Functions
Rent a car companies employ people from a variety of professional disciplines including attorneys, architects, engineers, insurance specialists, security managers, and buyers of automotive and other products. The Human Resources area is involved in employee relations, benefits, compensation, administration, labor relations, and employment issues. Management entry-level positions for college graduates in these areas are generally limited to employment interviewers and junior compensation analysts.
Opportunities in Sales and Marketing
Sales
This department straddles Headquarters staff and Field operations. Employees across the country sell Avis' services to other travel industry companies such as airlines, wholesale and retail tour operations, travel agents, and hotels, as well as large national commercial accounts, associations, and governments. Avis hires people with sales experience and provides extensive classroom and on-the-job training for its sales staff.
Marketing
The Marketing department has two missions: to develop and communicate an image for the company and to develop and implement marketing programs and communication plans to create demand for Avis in its major markets. The organization is structured by function such as Market Research, Product Development, Program Management, Advertising, and Direct Marketing.
Is the Car Rental Business for You?
If you:
- Are self-motivated, have a high energy level and love interaction with other people
- Are willing to work really hard, often at odd hours like an exciting, fast-paced, never the same day twice sort of career
- Are not afraid to assume responsibility and make decisions
- Have a talent for solving problems under pressure
CAROL RILEY is responsible for the equal opportunity and affirmative action programs for the entire company, as well as for recruiting and hiring staff employees at the headquarters office in Garden City, New York. She joined Avis in 1976 and held positions as a secretary, paralegal, EEO coordinator, and EEO manager before assuming her present duties two years ago. She is a business management/communications graduate of Adelphi University, New York. Carol wishes to acknowledge the contributions to this article of two of her colleagues at Avis-Michael Emery and David Olson. Michael Emery was hired by Avis directly out of school to be a shift manager at Chicago's O'Hare Airport. He has worked in the same capacity at Midway Airport and is currently a yield analyst for the Great Lakes Zone. David Olson started his 20-year Avis career as a service agent in Washington. He has been a station manager and fleet manager in Seattle, WA, a city manager in Boise, ID, and Maui, HI; a district manager in San Jose, CA and is currently a yield analyst for the West Coast Zone.
