Too Much Focus on “Upselling”? A Cautionary Tale

I had a negative experience last week with a car rental firm that I have dealt with faithfully for many years. If not resolved, this experience will cost the company my business. The issues arose because I believe the company in question has too much focus on upselling by their front line personnel at the expense of serving the interests of the customer. This is a cautionary tale for all service providers who engage their field service teams in business development.

I rented a car at the airport in Denver. As the clerk processed my rental, she advised me that she had a Chevy Cruze available. There was no mention that there would be an extra charge for the vehicle and I initialled and signed the various parts of the form as I have done so many times before.

When I returned the vehicle three days later, the total was higher than I had expected it to be. (The confirmation I receive when reserving the vehicle gives the estimated total costs.) When I looked closely, the receipt indicated that I had paid an additional “upgrade fee”. It wasn’t a lot of money in the scheme of things but there was a principle at stake.

I called the company’s customer service line when I returned from my trip to discuss the situation. It was explained to me that I should have brought up any concerns about the upgrade before signing the contract and, since I had signed it, I was responsible. Fair enough, however there was no consideration for the fact that the clerk at the airport did not explain that the car she offered was an upgrade or that there would be extra charges. It did not seem to matter that a small adjustment on a $320 invoice would allow me to feel fairly served and make me a happy (and returning) customer. And, there was no chance for a second hearing because the clerk refused to escalate that matter so that I could speak to her supervisor. In fact, she hung up on me when I said that I would be willing to wait until she could find someone for me to speak to.

I have since written an email to the firm to explain the situation. How they respond will determine whether we will do business again. There are lots of car rental companies and the rates are competitively priced so switching to one of their competitors will be easy to do. But that is not the point of this blog. The point is that the clerk at the car rental office acted improperly by not explaining that she was upgrading me. Because she did not advise me, I didn’t know I was agreeing to the upgrade and signed the papers because of my misplaced trust in her.

I suspect that she acted this way because she has been trained to. No doubt she has been sent on a course on how to upsell the customer whenever possible. Whether it is to buy additional insurance coverage, rent a GPS or upgrade to a larger model of vehicle, this person likely gets a commission for each upgrade sold. It appears however that the rental company neglected to explain to their staff that the reason for offering the upgrade is to enhance the customer experience, not for the purpose of earning a commission. Unfortunately for this rental company, this clerk appears to have lost sight of her role. Apparently she no longer sees the customer as someone to serve, but rather an opportunity to increase her compensation.

This is a cautionary tale for service providers. If you encourage your field service personnel to promote your services, ensure that your team realizes that the intention is not to sell services for the sale of services sake, but to promote those services because it is in the interest of the customer. And, ensure that your team realizes that the customer deserves to be treated with respect and should only be asked to make a decision when they have all the information, including what it is all going to cost. To do otherwise might win an easy commission for your field service rep, but lose a customer for your company.

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Jim Baston

“Every company’s greatest assets are its customers,
because without customers there is no company.?”

– Michael LeBoeuf