Is business travel riding out the present economic downturn?

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Adam Coulter, interviewed by a colleague, gives his reasons for why TMCs are surviving the economic downturn.

Here is the orginal story from TTG Business.

When Avis says it will drop off your car at your door, would you say no?

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Even though my nearest Avis office is a five minute walk or so down the road, the idea of getting up, gathering together all my documentation and then going out first thing on a Saturday morning (fine at this time of year, hideous in winter), never excites me. I usually end up co-ordinating an elaborate plan with my girlfriend about what time she needs to get our son ready for when I return with the car – which always needs to be finely timed between his breakfast and the on-the-dot arrival of the traffic wardens at 0830 – whether we should grab coffees before or after we hit the road and what time we actually leave.

So, when Avis kindly offered for me to try out the home delivery service they have recently launched, I jumped at the chance. Being a cynic, I assumed that the promised 0800 drop off would likely be nearer half eight and I’d end up calling the location, so used to I am with pizza delivery men and mini-cab drivers not finding the flat not to mention various parcel companies claiming they have delivered when clearly they hadn’t.

I sat there at about quarter to thinking: “I bet I’ll end up having to wander down there,”, and started making the inevitable elaborate plans with my girlfriend…Anyway, there’s not a great deal to add at this point except: the car turned up on time, the two (not sure why that was necessary, but I felt very privileged), men could not have been more helpful and polite, I signed a couple of things, and that was it. I’d factored in at least an extra half an hour so I didn’t know what to do with myself! The return was even more smooth – and welcome – as I had to get off to work and my son had to be dropped off at the childminder. Again, the man (just one this time), turned up on the dot, I handed him the keys and that was it.

It was a great service. Beats getting up early on a Saturday morning that’s for sure.

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