BARSTalk winter 2012 - Bluebird Auto Rental Systems

Send us an E-mail:
info@barsnet.com
Visit our Web site:
www.barsnet.com
P R E S E N T S
BARSTalk
WINTER 2012
A QUARTERLY NEWSLETTER FOR THE AUTO RENTAL INDUSTRY
New Bluebird Blog
Contribute to the new Bluebird
blog! This is your chance to let us
know what you need, and to share
your thoughts with others. Read
more about it within this issue of
BARSTalk.
Car Rental Show
Are you attending the Car Rental
Show? Join us in Las Vegas on
March 12-13. We are hosting two
sessions: The International
Operators Seminar on Monday
morning and the Technology Panel
on Tuesday afternoon. We’ll also be
out in force during the Trade Show.
Be sure to drop by Booth 200 and
say hello!
More Training Videos
We are in the process of creating
training videos for Claims Manager
and How to Balance a DBR. If
there is a topic you would like to
see covered, please send an email
to support@barsnet.com.
We’re Going Mobile!
Now you can check in vehicles and email your customer a receipt, and take
physical inventory, from any mobile device with a standard web browser!
RentWorks Mobile allows you to:
• Close Contracts using the RA #, Unit #, Renter Last Name,VIN or License #.
• Take Physical Inventory of your Fleet.
• Check Status Lines to view the number of Reservations and Due Backs.
To see how it looks, just click here from your PC or your SmartPhone:
https://erez2.barsnet.com/scripts/demov4.wsc/web/mobile/login.html
If you have already purchased the handheld driver, you are already able to use
RentWorks Mobile! Note that it requires Version 4, B10. Please contact your
account manager for more information, or send an email to info@barsnet.com.
It’s System Back-Up
Time!
When’s the last time you backed up
your entire system? Remember to
replace back-up media about
every six months. And have you
changed your passwords lately? If
not, please do it as soon as
possible! Call us if you need
assistance.
Welcome, Francine Dunn!
Bluebird has a new Manager of Support. Francine Dunn started with us on
February 20, and she brings with her a wealth of car rental experience. Some of
you may even remember when she ran the Reservation Center for Budget of
Northern New Jersey (Looking Glass, Inc.). After that, she ran, and was part
owner of, an independent car rental company.
If you have any outstanding issues, or just want to introduce yourself, please call
her or send an email to Fran@barsnet.com.
❶

Letter from the President
Earlier this month, I had the pleasure of visiting one of our
more remote customers: DTAG South Africa.
It’s hard to put into words the burst of pride I felt as I
leaned over the rental counters in Johannesburg,
Nelspruit, and Cape Town to see the screens I know and
love so well!
You probably feel the same as you go about town and see
one of your rental vehicles – hopefully being driven
carefully or parked correctly!
Many of the managers and employees took advantage of
my visit to show me how they use the system, and I was
able to show them a few tricks. Since my visit, we also
entered several Software Action Requests to address their
needs.
I now invite you to tell us what you need by using our
new blog! We, in turn, will be posting our ideas and
thoughts as well.
And of course, if you plan to attend the Car Rental Show,
I’d like to see you. Don’t let the (typically large) crowds
around our booth scare you away. This year we’ll have an
unprecedented number of people staffing the booth so
that we can talk to ALL of you.
As always, if you have any problems, concerns or questions,
please contact me directly.
Consolidate Customer Records
In RentWorks version 3 (and soon in version 4), you have
the ability to manually consolidate Renter/Customer
records using the “utrntcon” utility.
First you are able to search for a renter by their name, ID
(as assigned by RentWorks), Home Phone, Drivers License
Number, Corporate ID, or VIP Number (as assigned by a
franchisor).
After you select the primary record to be used (preferably
the one with the most recent, complete and accurate data),
you can then select all of the existing duplicate records to
be associated with the primary record – and delete them.
Angela Margolit
President
Tel: 973.989.2423
Email: angela@barsnet.com
Need Barcode Labels?
Imprint Enterprises has been serving the product
identification and labeling industry for 22 years. They offer:
• 750 Stocked Labels & Ribbons for Zebra, Datamax, Sato,
Intermec, and virtually any other label printer
• Custom sized thermal labels
• Pre-printed labels
• Durable asset labels and facility labels
• On-site and depot printer service
For ordering or product questions, call 800-433-4512 or
visit http://www.imprint-e.com. For service or printer
technical support questions, please call 855-745-4468 or
visit http://service.imprint-e.com.
The reason you cannot simply delete duplicate records is
because the rental contract has to be linked to a renter/
customer record. Using this utility ensures that the correct
renter information is still associated with previous contracts.
Note: If a renter has changed his/her address, only the
most current address will be used, which may not necessarily
be the one used at the time of the rental.
❷

What Is a Billable Support Call?
Bluebird is one of the few software companies which
allows their customers with a support agreement to enter
as many support calls as they want. However, there are
still calls which may be billable, such as:
■ After hours/weekend support/upgrades/installations
(Emergency Beeper Service is available during this time.)
■ Media and shipping costs for New Releases and Service
Packs.
■ Duplicate Media and related shipping costs
■ Progress Software Upgrades and New Releases
■ Changes to Credit Card Processing profiles (such as
changing owners, banks, or processors)
■ Hardware support, such as diagnosing hardware failures
and re-loading print drivers
■ Network/LAN/VPN support
■ Diagnosing phone line or Internet problems
■ Accounting problems not related to the correct
functioning of the software
■ Reinstallation of software after system crash
■ Reloading of Progress
■ Migrating RentWorks and Progress to a new server
■ Training of new employees
■ Follow-up training
■ Print Program forms design or changes
Top Ten Ways to Lose Money in
Car Rentals
Courtesy of Frank Colonna, President of Triangle Rent A Car
10. Don’t keep records – they only confuse you.
9. Give away free loaners – you’ll make lots of friends.
8. Don’t keep your cars clean – they only get dirty again.
7. Any time there is a factory rebate program, add to
your fleet. If they are not selling now, they’ll be great
in a year.
6. Let everyone borrow your cars to run down the
street – customers will wait.
5. Don’t keep service records – after all, it’s a new car.
4. Don’t keep track of your Rental Agreements – no one
would pocket cash.
3. Never check on a rental customer’s credit or I.D. It
takes too long and will just annoy him – he’ll never lie
to you.
2. Don’t check your cars in and out – the customer will
never take the spare tire, battery, lighter, or switch
tires on you.
1. Always accept checks.
We Now Have a Blog
We often think of things which may be useful to add to
our product, but didn’t have a forum to allow for input
from our customers. Now we do! To check it out, simply
go to our Customer Support Site’s “Cool Stuff” link:
http://support.barsnet.com/cs.html and click on Bluebird
Blog.
■ Data Migration from another system to RentWorks
■ Data entry
■ Balancing Daily Business Reports
■ Research to find user data entry mistakes
■ Performance tuning and Progress database administration
services, such as Dump and Loads and repairing bad keys
in the database, truncating the bi file, and re-indexing
Note that you’ll first have to create an account (all it
needs is your name). Any contribution has to be approved
by us before it will be posted.
❸

Customer Spotlight
Thrifty Truck Rental of Louisville, Kentucky
DJ Leasing LLC dba. Thrifty Truck Rental of Louisville is
one of the longest tenured franchises in the Thrifty System
and one of Bluebird’s first customers, having installed their
initial system in 1984.
The Louisville operation has been owned by the Sternberg
family since 1967, and directed by Steve Sternberg since
1971. The business is now into the third generation, with
son, Brian, carrying on the family tradition.
Thrifty Truck Rental COO, Donnie Fultz has been with the
company since 1985. The Manager of the Rental Office,
Barbie Mattern has over 20 years with the company, and
most employees have over 10 years of experience. Even
their “rookie” employee has been with them since 2004.
Thrifty Truck Rental is heavily involved in the local
community with many charities and sponsorship of local
running events and festivals. They provide their 1947
antique stage truck for use at many of these events.
As times change, the Louisville operation has made the
transition to the latest software versions, from the original
Automate product to RentWorks, and are now preparing
to upgrade to RentWorks4.
Fultz commented, “Other companies have come and gone
and promised the moon, but we have always felt the
products that Bluebird has provided us with were the best
fit for our business and tops in the industry.”
To find out more about Thrifty Truck Rental of Louisville,
go to www.ThriftyTruckRental.com.
What’s Available to Assist You
1. Online Tutorials at http://support.barsnet.com are great
for brand new users.
2. Documentation: we have a Counter Operations Training
Manual for $40, a Reference Guide (which covers all of
the setup in detail) for $100, plus User Guides on every
module. They would have been sent to you upon
purchasing Bluebird software, but often get misplaced.
Please contact your account manager, or send an email
to info@barsnet.com
3. Phone Training on any topic you desire or scheduled
Webinars: www.barsnet.com/Webinars.pdf
4. Monthly Classes: a three day class is scheduled every
month in our home office in Dover, NJ. Check the
schedule: www.barsnet.com/Classes2012.pdf
5. Onsite Training: we will send a professional to you! The
cost is $650 per day (for an 8 hour day) plus expenses.
This is highly recommended for large installations.
6. Software Action Requests (SARs): this is how we track
bug fixes and requested enhancements to the system.
Simply send an email to info@barsnet.com to get the
process started.
7. Online Knowledge Base:
http://erez2.barsnet.com/scripts/kbase.wsc/web/
kbasesearch.html
8. Online Call Center: here is where you enter and track
your own support calls, plus you can track SARs. Please
call us to obtain your company’s login and password.
9. Email us at support@barsnet.com
Welcome New Customers!
Since our last issue of BARSTalk, the following customers
have joined us (4th Quarter 2011):
A Plus Auto Broker – Mt.Vernon, OH
Avis/Explore Car Rental – Oranjestad, Aruba
Bama Auto Rental – Anniston, AL
Discount Car Rentals Inc. – Williamsville, NY
Doral Rent A Car – Doral, FL
Economy Car Rental Inc. – Tewksbury, MA
Elite Rent A Car – Houston, TX
Long Island City Easy Ride – Long Island City, NY
Reliable Car and Truck Rental – Whitby, ON, Canada
Sensible Car Rental – Minot, ND
Sensible Car Rental – Muncy, PA
Titan Rentals – New Rochelle, NY
TSS – Teaneck, NJ
Value Car Rental – New Hyde Park, NY
Whitehorse Auto Sales – Avon, NY
❹

❺
2012 RENTWORKS
TRAINING CLASSES
March 6-8 June 5-7
April 3-5 July 10-12
May 8-10
Classes are held in Dover, NJ, USA and run from
8:30AM to 5:00PM on the dates indicated. The cost is
$500 per person per class. Attendees are responsible
for their own expenses including airfare, ground
transportation, hotel accommodations and meals. ALL
CLASSES ARE SUBJECT TO CANCELLATION IF
THERE ARE NOT AT LEAST FOUR CONFIRMED
ATTENDEES TWO WEEKS PRIOR TO CLASS DATE.
We will contact customers two weeks prior if class will
be cancelled.
UPCOMING INDUSTRY EVENTS
2012
March 12-13
May 8-11
May 16-18
Car Rental Show – Las Vegas Hilton – Las Vegas, NV
Budget Canada Convention – Whistler, BC
Budget Licensee Convention – Opryland Resort – Nashville, TN
200 Mineral Springs Drive, Dover, NJ 07801
Tel 973.989.2423 Fax 973.989.8536