A Green Car Rental Company of Truly Purple People turns 10

Online, April 4, 2010 (Newswire.com) - JOHANNESBURG, GAUTENG, 4 April 2010 - First Car Rental, a member of the JSE listed CMH Group, is now one of the top 4 car rental companies in South Africa and a formidable player in the car rental industry. They proudly celebrate 10 years of service to customers worldwide and are proving their purple power with growth to 40 branches nationwide, over 6000 vehicles, 380 staff members and a string of ACCSA Feather Awards.

First Car Rental opened its doors in 2000 as National Alamo Car Rental. In 2008, as a result of the worldwide acquisition of the "National" and "Alamo" brands by Europcar, National Alamo South Africa underwent a rebranding exercise and launched First Car Rental.

A proven track record, independently owned systems for accounting, reservations and operations, and a loyal customer base ensured a smooth change and the rapid growth of First Car Rental.

First Car Rental has since become a driving force in the car rental industry with a string of "firsts" under their bonnet. Most impressive of these is their pioneering green technology in their commitment to the environment and to service excellence by creating a paperless customer service system, bringing them a step closer to their vision of a quick, efficient, paperless rental procedure.

Their commitment to relationship building, customer care and striving to treat all customers with outstanding service are central to the First Car Rental service charter. To reward customer loyalty, First Car Rental has launched First Club, where customers can earn purple points to exchange for free rental days, vehicle upgrades and much more.

First Club uses ground-breaking customer recognition software, another "first" in South Africa, allowing First Car Rental to capture and store electronic customer profiles with photographs and the relevant legal documentation. This allows staff to access customer's profiles quickly from a central database to complete the car rental process without any time-consuming repeat paperwork. This technology also does away with the old swipe card.

Says Melissa Storey, Executive Head: Strategy, Development & Marketing at First Car Rental, "Although we have the experience and infrastructure of 10 years in the car rental industry, the First Car Rental brand is new. But we are extremely pleased with its perfromance. This is the brand to watch as we streamline operational processes and re-invent our industry to improve on the customer experience. We truly are First in car hire, First in service"

To enhance the holiday car rental experience for children and their parents, First Car Rental is giving away limited edition "Family Favourite" foam puzzles for kids between the ages of three and eight. In addition to this, over the World Cup, anyone renting a vehicle from their newly upgraded multi-million Rand Cape Town International Airport branch will get free rental of a Tourism Radio device valued at approximately R60 per day.

Tourism Radio is a GPS driven information station for tourists. It tells you all about the area you are travelling through in real-time and draws your attention to prominent landmarks and highlights as you approach them so you don't miss anything that South Africa has to offer.