Tweet

Company: Wheels, Inc., Des Plaines, IL
Company Description: Founded in 1939, Wheels, Inc. pioneered the concept of automotive fleet leasing and management. Wheels provides a full range of specialized services to help organizations manage their vehicle fleets. Wheels manages more than 315,000 vehicles for nearly 500 clients, and has a strong record of delivering premier customer service, organizational stability and credit ratings.
Nomination Category: Customer Service & Call Center Awards Team Categories
Nomination Sub Category: Front-Line Customer Service Team of the Year

Nomination Title: Wheels Account Management Team

Tell the story about what this nominated team achieved since the beginning of July 2010 (up to 500 words). Focus on specific accomplishments, and relate these accomplishments to past performance or industry norms. Be sure to mention obstacles overcome, innovations or discoveries made, and outcomes:

Wheels views account management as both a process and a philosophy, and our
foundation-level focus on strategic, front-line account management and customer
service is among the strongest in the automotive fleet management industry. In
fact, more than 99% of Wheels clients surveyed this year said they would
recommend Wheels to an associate!

We’ve found that successful account management involves different categories of
needs that are each best served by a unique skill set. Therefore, we
have developed a “multi-layer” Account Management structure, through
which each client is provided with a “team” of individuals to directly engage
their fleet office, rather than a limited single contact. Each client’s
assigned Account Management Team includes the following positions:

Account Manager and Client Relations Manager:
Wheels Account Managers (AMs) partner with clients strategically, to plan
initiatives and program rollouts that will help clients achieve their fleet
goals. AMs identify trends, provide analysis and communicate performance
results and potential opportunities for improving each client’s fleet. Client
Relations Managers (CRMs) support clients at the corporate level, serving as a
liaison between clients and Wheels’ upper management. Their responsibilities
include contract negotiations, strategic oversight and executive-level
accountability for performance. Together, our AMs and CRMs achieved the
following results over the past year:

• Delivered nearly $250 million in documented strategic cost savings for our
clients
• Achieved top-two box client satisfaction rates from 94% of clients surveyed
(rated both AM performance and communication/counsel)
• Completed more than 500 client site visits, entailing over 2,300 separate
customized reports and projects to quantify millions of dollars in fleet
savings
• Average nearly 10 years of experience at Wheels, with extensive account
management experience and ongoing training/certification

Account Executive:
Wheels Account Executives (AEs) deliver day-to-day fleet office support. AEs
provide phone and e-mail assistance throughout the workday, and are backed by a
Client Services team for contingency coverage. That means there is always an
AE available who is familiar with each client’s unique needs even when their
designated AE is not immediately available. More specifically, our AEs:

• Achieved top-two box client satisfaction rates of 95% for responsiveness and
attentiveness to client needs in the past year
• Average nine years of experience at Wheels (half of our AEs have worked at
Wheels their entire career), with an average per-client service time of seven
years
• Possess versatile resolution skills, with capabilities in up to 421 different
tasks in 38 different areas
• Receive dozens of hours of training annually, including mandatory Premier
Service Training, Systems Training and Vehicle Lifecycle Training, along with
additional focused training on job skill elements. Our Quality Service Coaches
conduct live monitoring of AE calls and e-mails, providing immediate and
ongoing performance feedback.

In the current economic climate, finding cost savings opportunities and process
efficiencies is more important than ever. With the support of our numerous
service departments – including Acquisitions, Licensing and Titling,
Maintenance, Driver Services, IT and Remarketing – our Account Management Teams
keep our clients’ fleets productive and cost-efficient.

List hyperlinks to any online news stories, press releases, or other documents that support the claims made in the section above. IMPORTANT: Begin each link with http://, and enclose each link in square brackets; for example, [http://www.youraddress.com]:

General information about Wheels, including links to press releases and other
news stories, can be found at http://www.wheels.com

Provide a brief (up to 100 words) biography about the leader(s) of the nominated team:

Christine Steinberg is Wheels’ VP of Customer Service Operations, and oversees
our Account Executives. Christine has more than 20 years of diverse experience
in customer service, operations and finance. She is responsible for leading the
Wheels front-line customer/driver contact departments in upholding the Wheels
legacy for premier customer service.

Norman Din is Wheels’ VP of Client Relations, and oversees our Account Managers
and Client Relations Managers. With more than 25 years of global experience in
the outsourcing of end-to-end business processes such as procurement, finance,
human resources and technology, Norman offers expertise in strategy, research,
client communications and business development.