Title: Chairman and CEO, Enterprise
Rent-A-Car
Age: 58
Personal: Married with three grown
children
My father, Jack Taylor,
started this company in 1957 based on the core philosophy, "Take
care of your customers and employees first, and success will
follow."
Growing up, I saw
the way customers responded when he gave them that extra bit of
personal attention.
I saw how employees
reacted when he took the time to sit down with them and show a real
interest in how they were doing.
Today, his
philosophy is a vital part of our company's success because it gets
at the heart of what our business is really about -- connecting
with and taking care of people.
When I was 16, I
started out in the family business by spending my summer and
holiday vacations washing cars, answering phones and helping
customers at a local Enterprise Rent-A-Car branch.
That experience
taught me the skills that are necessary for success in this
business -- customer service, dedication, integrity,
entrepreneurship and initiative.
Most of all, it
helped me clarify my own goals for the future. I got to experience
the terrific team that was making Enterprise so successful, and I
thought how great it would be to be part of that.
In the more than 30
years I've worked for the company, I've never forgotten a lesson I
learned back at the beginning: Success lies in a willingness to
pitch in and do whatever needs to be done, combined with a
commitment to getting the little things right.
No task is
insignificant if it contributes to a satisfied customer who comes
back again and again.
Our goal is to have
a work environment where people really want to come to work, where
they enjoy their jobs and the company of their colleagues. We are
known for our enthusiasm, high energy and team spirit, and this
helps keep our work force upbeat and motivated. We love to compete
and win together as a team.
There are more than
58,000 Enterprise employees, and our mission is to support their
development and provide opportunities for personal growth. I tell
my branch managers, "It's my job to remove barriers so that you and
your branch and your team of people can be successful." Keeping
that promise to them is one of the things that makes my job a lot
of fun for me.
As for the future,
we will continue to grow our presence at airports and in
neighborhoods. We serve all of the top 100 airports, but we became
the industry leader over the years by serving customers in their
neighborhoods.
We have built our
success on providing unmatched, personal service and convenience to
customers right where they live and work.
A commitment to
customer service was the foundation of the Enterprise brand. That
same commitment also is the key to our future for our company,
whether we're serving customers at the airport or at a local
branch.
In fact, we take
customer service so seriously, our managers' compensation and
advancement are tied to how well they deliver it.
There's no question
that our industry will continue to be very competitive. But we
welcome that competition. It just makes us better. --
Edited by Jorge Sidron
To contact
reporter Jorge Sidron, send e-mail to [email protected].