The equipment rental industry moves at lightening speed, experiences high call volumes and needs quick, responsive service to avoid unnecessary downtime. Yet many utility vehicle (UTV) manufacturers don’t have systems in place to make that happen.

“Club Car has resolved that problem by forming the industry’s only UTV Technical Support Team dedicated exclusively to rental customers,” says Resorts and Rentals Marketing Leader Mary A. Sicard. A 23-year veteran Club Car technician leads the team and serves as a liaison between rental customers, engineering, product development, aftermarket and other divisions of the company.

The team operates regional and on-site classroom and hands-on training for mechanics, who work with actual Club Car vehicles on their sites. This allows them to train both book and visual learners.

They also troubleshoot issues with clients remotely and on site, speed parts delivery and serve as a single point of contact for Club Car, all at no charge.

The team is unique in the UTV industry. “Other manufacturers often offer rental support through a variety of technicians with expertise in various areas, but it can be difficult to access. Our dedicated team members are available by cell phone and are fluent in all aspects of our products, especially the automatic all-wheel drive Carryall^® utility vehicles commonly used in rental markets,” Sicard says.

In addition, Club Car is positioning dedicated technicians to serve rental customers in specific markets.

Teaching customers … and learning from them

The team’s feedback from the field has led to recent evolutions of Club Car’s all-wheel drive vehicles.

When Club Car learned that renters were driving through the park brake, damaging it and the service brakes as well, the company moved the park brake from the main brake to the transmission on 2015 Carryall utility vehicles to lock out the drive shaft. They are also creating a retrofit kit with a flashing dash light and alarm to warn drivers when the park brake is engaged.

“While other manufacturers are designing vehicles for weekend fun, we are engineering them for down-and-dirty rental applications,” Sicard says.