DAMAGE iD has brought integrity to vehicle inspectionand rental… If only integrity in politics would be next!
This week, Paula Vercollone, president of DAMAGE iD, travelled to Washington D.C. for the American Car Rental Association (ACRA) DC Conference and Boot Camp Panel.
Paula Vercollone, president of DAMAGE iD, and colleagues from ACRA, in the congressional offices to lobby for the car rental industry.
During the instructional and educational training sessions on Monday, Paula sat the panel on “Damage Recovery”, and was asked a variety of questions on methods to capture. On the panel, Paula emphasized the importance of proof of damage – to make absolutely sure a digital capture of the vehicle condition is taken.
On Tuesday, she visited senators and representatives in DC to express the interests of the car rental industry to elected leaders.
Celebrating Massachusetts own Kennedy family! At the ACRA panel speakers presented on a variety of topics.
There were dinners on both nights and plenty of time for networking and catching up with colleagues.
2024 ACRA Boot Camp was a big success. And … perhaps DAMAGE iD has brought some integrity and honesty back to Washington DC!
DAMAGE ID attended the ACRA trade association “bootcamp” on October 23-25, 2023. It was an exciting and intense 3 days, filled with networking and advocacy for interests of the car rental industry via ACRAPAC, the political action committee, associated with ACRA.
ACRA represents 98% of America’s car rental industry, and is comprised of 300+ car rental companies including larger brands such as Alamo, Avis, Budget, Dollar and Enterprise. In addition, there were many smaller companies in attendance such as Edge Rental from New York and AMPM Rental from Los Angelos.
Charlie partner and software engineer from DAMAGE iD in front front of the US Capitol building, before meeting with senators.
The first day included “inside” industry learning, via panel discussions, held at the Westin in Arlington. Panel presentations included:
Fleet management
Legal Issues for Car Rental Industry
Third Party Fleet Services
Insurance Procurement
Damage Recovery and Fleet Financing
Electric Vehicle Transition
Charlie Dalsass, partner and software engineer from DAMAGE iD, presented on the panel on damage recovery. Mr. Dalsass emphasized the importance of digital “baseline” photo and video capture as a way to improve profitability when collecting for damage. Mr. Dalsass also discussed the state of DAMAGE iD’s AI-based damage detection as well as the advances and challenges in that area.
Day 2 and 3, were held at capitol hill in DC, meeting with senators and congress members to advocate for issues relevant to the car rental industry. Topics included:
Politics and Policy “Full Expensing” (Tax)
2023 FAA Bill and Airport Electrification
Vehicle Data access
Federal Cyber Security and Law enforcement issues
EV Perspectives
At the reception on Tuesday, Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (I-AZ) and Sen. Jacky Rosen (D-NV) gave speeches supporting the car rental industry.
Charlie with Ian from Empire Rent-a-Car (New York, New York)Carlos, Gregg, Charlie and Al in front of capitol building offices.Mike DeLorenzo, NP Franchise Group, in front of Sen Chuck Schumer’s (D-NY) office Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (I-AZ) speaking about the importance of the car rental service industry and tourism.Congressional reception at Sonoma Restaurant
The event was a great way to meet and work closely with customers, as well as learn about the political process. DAMAGE iD hopes to attend again in 2024… until then!
Imagine, if EVERY Car Rental Customer took his OWN digital inspection….Would we eliminate Customer Complaints Forever? How much time could we save? Employeesdon’t have to take photos and video.
DAMAGE iD has recently implemented a new feature that eliminates the uncertainty while accomplishing the rare win/win of better cost controls for the rental company and better customer service on the customer side.
DAMAGE iD’s new feature called, “Contactless Customer Inspection” or CCI, allows the rental company to send a weblink to the customer. This weblink allows the customer to do their own check out and check in via the web browser on their internet connected tablet or cell phone.
DAMAGE iD allows the rental company to customize the number of photos/videos the customer must take to successfully check out and check in their vehicle. Upon successful check out/check in by the customer, the time stamped photos/videos are uploaded to the rental company’s account.
“Contactless Customer Inspection” (CCI) is fun and super easy to use. See screenshots below.
This “Contactless Customer Inspection” does not require the customer to download the app on their phone and it has the potential to end almost all disputes over vehicle check in condition.
To start, choose Customer → Send Inspection Request.
The customer will receive a link which will guide them through the inspection. Once they click the link the inspection will open in their mobile browser.
Meet Wayne! Wayne will walk the customer through the inspection process in a fun and friendly way.
“Contactless Customer Inspection” is available for all customers – now -without additional charge.
Yesterday, we launched an important change to the DAMAGE iD Review Portal.
First, a little background.
DAMAGE iD stores “Before” and “After” photos and video in a “Case”. The Case brings the 2 sets photos together for easy comparison – before and after. The before-and-after comparison makes it super easy to find damage that occurred during a rental or between change in drivers. It’s really true:“Pictures Don’t Lie”.
The “Case List”, in the Review Portal is where the Cases are found. Cases can be searched by unit number, VIN, license plate, user etc.
BUT some customers, prefer not to take both “Before” and “After” photos. Rather, they choose to take only “Before” photos and video, and skip the “After” pictures.
And that’s fine!
Because we’ve just made DAMAGE iD easier for these customers.
In past versions of DAMAGE, any damage found during the “Going Out” (or “Before”) pictures would not appear within the search results of the Case List when “see something” was checked.
We’ve changed this.
Now you will see RED FLAGs for damage found in the “Going Out” (or “Before”) pictures as well as the return photos.
This feature is important for DSPs or Amazon Delivery Service Providers.
DSPs often choose to use DAMAGE iD by creating a new Case every time they take photo and video. These users, who only have “Before” pictures, can’t easily find damage from the Case List.
Now it is easy for them to find damage – either “Before” or “After”.
Hopefully rental customers will also benefit from this change as well!
The Review Portal is the web site where you view your photo and videos. Photos and video are taken on the app, and are then stored in the “Cloud”. This creates a PERMANENT DIGITAL ARCHIVE of your entire fleet. The photos and video can be reviewed in the Review Portal. The Case List in the Review Portal is where your photos and video are available for easy comparison. Search and sort by date, status, unit number, user etc. Now you will see red flags when damage is found in the Going Out (Before) as well as the After (Return). No more questions asked about when damage occurred! Photos and video can be used for insurance claims, proof of vehicle condition, or when selling the vehicle.
Recently some of our delivery customers have told us that some of their drivers are not entirely trusted. Delivery companies often switch drivers, and drivers should not be able to access all videos and photos taken by other drivers in the Review Portal. These delivery companies suggested that DAMAGE iD should include a limited access account.
Today, we just added a new type of user to the DAMAGE iD Review Portal. The role is called “App Only”.
Just like it sounds, this type of user only has access to the mobile app – they can’t log into the Review Portal. It is a restricted use account.
Here is a quick review of the different roles within DAMAGE iD.
Where to find the new “App Only” User
You can find the App Only user role in the pick-list you select when inviting a new user.
You will also find this user type when editing an existing user. Yes, existing users can be converted to “App Only” users at any time.
Todays update is a “backend” change – so both IOS/Apple and Android users will get this update. There is no reason to check the app store for an update. (e.g. We didn’t launch a corresponding app update with this update).
We hope you find this feature helpful. A big shout out to our friends at Reliance Delivery for suggesting this feature!
Are renters taking care of your daily rental or leased vehicles?
Have them sign off on the condition of the vehicle.
A signature ensures drivers are responsible for the vehicle condition when the vehicle leaves.
Today we released version 3.3 on Android. This version adds a new setting within the Review Portal. When you enable this setting, a Signature Pad will appear on DAMAGE iD. The signature appears when the vehicle is outgoing.
How to Enable
What You’ll See on the App
When you have finished your walk-around, customer will be prompted to accept vehicle condition. In the Review Portal, you will see the signature in the Case Info section.
Summary
Our new Signature Pad is a great way to get “sign off” from your drivers.
and… who knows, this could be the one thing that makes drivers change their bad habits!
For this feature – and suggestions, comments or support needs contact us at support@damageid.com.
Christmas Season … what a wonderful time to be in New York City!
On Thursday, Paula (president) and Jack (founder) met with the UNITED MileFleet team at the Classic Car Club in the Big Apple. The event promotes the DAMAGE iD products as well as offering steep discounts to members of the UNITED MileFleet Partner program.
Members of the program receive up to 20% discount on products for the rental and leasing industry, such as DAMAGE iD.
At the Classic Car Club, members network and share experiences relevant to rental and leasing companies. The venue was filled with classic vehicles, setting the perfect stage for networking, Christmas cheer, and also some serious marketing and promotion of DAMAGE iD.
Andy Wilson, president of UNITED MileFleet discussing the origins of the company. Paula at Grand Central Station.
Some very hot cars at the Classic Car Club in New York.
Today, we released our version 1.0 API for the DAMAGE iD API.
The release of the damage identification API is important because it opens up the functionality of DAMAGE iD to developers and IT integrators. Developers can use the API, or “application programming interface” to integrate more closely with DAMAGE iD – exposing it’s core services to software applications outside of the DAMAGE iD app and web portal. For example, the API could be used to pull damage tracking features into a conventional rental software application. Or the API could be used to bring Case statistics data into an analytics (reporting) package or database.
The documentation is a work-in-progress and will be updated as new features are added. The documentation can be found at https://www.damageid.com/api.
What is an API? According to Google, an API is a set of functions and procedures allowing the creation of applications that access the features or data of an operating system, application, or other service.
To gain access to the API, developers must have a typical username and password as well as an “API Key” which is available upon request at support@damageid.com.
If Your Customers are taking photos and Videos, shouldn’t YOU do the same??? All Rental companies for Cars, trucks, SUVs, Campers, golfcarts, snowmobiles, boats, airplanes, etc, should have a foolproof, digital documentation of their Fleet.
How to Sell CDW to Jack (the Risk Taker) – Emphasize the “Standard Procedure” – Jack may be thinking that if he damages the vehicle, he’ll get away before anyone notices. Jack is a BlackJack type of guy after all! Jack is thinking that chances are in his favor can rush out before anyone notices, either by creating “cover” or feigning urgency. For this type of personality, you’ll want to let Jack know that a complete & thorough review is built into the process. Emphasize that reviewing the previous photos is an important and built-in step of the rental process, and cannot be skipped. Let Jack know he won’t be able to leave before the vehicle is completely checked over, and hold some collateral (such as a credit card number or license) to let him know he can’t run off. If you are using DAMAGE iD, you can review the previous photos before taking new ones – right on the app. If the customer seems like they are in a big rush, visually inspect the vehicle, and use the photo review to compare with old photos. With DAMAGE iD, agents can always take photos after the customer leaves. – Show Empathy Jack may be a risk-taker, but he has a big heart. Let them know that vehicle damage is expensive – especially for smaller rental agencies or those with lower rates. Tell a story about an difficult situation where a customer got away without paying for damage, and emphasize how that hurts employees and customers in the long-run (due to higher rental charges). A story from VERC car rentals is Boston is a great example. A few years ago, a customer switched rims and tires on a rental car to hide damage that had occurred. They had replaced the rims and tires with a much less expensive version. Fortunately, VERC was using DAMAGE iD and had photographic proof of the fraudulent activity. How to Sell CDW to Paula (the Conservative) – Use Repetition Paula likes to play it safe. Emphasize the peace of mind Let Paula know that the best way to prevent unexpected expenses is to purchase CDW. But also let her know that the vehicle condition is carefully documented at time of checkout, and return. She won’t be charged for damage which isn’t hers, but any new damage will be charged to the customer unless CDW is purchased. – Show You are Concerned about the Details Point out minor nicks with your finger. Spend a little time on each spot. Show you are concerned about the vehicle condition at every level.
With patience, they may BOTH be happy with purchasing the CDW!!!
Car Rental agency owners know how difficult it can be to collect for damages incurred by customers. The car may be in a certain condition before the car was driven off the lot, but often comes back with damages that were never there before. Many times it can be tough to prove that such nicks, scratches and dents weren’t there before, especially when relying on old-fashioned and ineffective walk-arounds.
Car rental agencies often don’t make as much money on collision coverage as desired. Typically, customers are only asked once during the initial contract signing if they would like to purchase collision coverage, and often the answer is “no”.
Profits can be significantly boosted using an innovative new vehicle damage tracking software for Your Android or Apple device from DAMAGE iD. This software effectively eliminates traditional pencil and paper condition reports. More coverage can be successfully sold, and damage and fuel reimbursement can be increased.
Car rental agents can use a digital device – such as a smartphone or tablet, and follow the steps to take photos of vehicles and gas levels during checkout. Clients have a chance to review the images and are prompted a second time to accept Collision Damage Waiver. DAMAGE iD gives agents another opportunity to sell their collision insurance, and effectively boost profits.
When the vehicle is returned at the end of the rental term, agents have an opportunity to take new photos and flag for any damage incurred. Management reviews any flagged cases that are brought forth and gas levels are compared. At this point, management has a solid case to bring forth to the customers so they are able to show the damage and gas levels, rather than have to fight to prove their case. And customers will also appreciate the fact that they won’t be held accountable for any damage that they were not responsible for.
DAMAGE iD can be highly beneficial for both car rental agencies and customers alike.
