Today we’d like to introduce you to Rebekah Eskridge.
Thanks for sharing your story with us Rebekah. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
Ten years ago one of our family members was in a car accident that left him paralyzed. Before this event, we had never needed wheelchair accessible transportation, so it never crossed our mind how someone in a wheelchair would get from place to place. We discovered that purchasing a wheelchair accessible van was rather expensive.
Depending on public transportation was sometimes inconvenient and unreliable. My husband was transferring Arron from his wheelchair to the car, but we were worried that would eventually hurt one or both of them. We thought that if we were having these issues, surely there were other people in the DFW area that had the same problems. So we decided to take a risk, buy a few vans and start Premier Accessible Van Rental. We began renting vans to customers who needed to take a loved one to the doctor, go to a family reunion, etc. We’ve been growing and renting vans ever since!
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
I would say our biggest struggle is raising awareness that we are here and an option for people who are in a wheelchair or scooter. I come across many people who tell me they did not realize you can rent a wheelchair accessible van. Enterprise, Hertz, Avis, the normal car rental companies, do not offer wheelchair accessible vans for rent, so some people just make due with what they have. We work hard to spread the word and educate the public that renting a wheelchair accessible van is an option!
Alright – so let’s talk business. Tell us about Premier Accessible Van Rental – what should we know?
First and foremost, all we do is rental. That is 100% of our business and our focus. We don’t sell vans, parts, service, etc. All of our competitors have rental as a small fraction of their business. We try to stand out from our competition by offering customer service that is above and beyond. We try to treat every customer as if they are our only customer! We put our heart and soul into each rental – from answering the call and taking the reservation (trying to offer as much help as possible to the customer and make it a simple process), to cleaning the van for pick up or delivery (hand washing, vacuuming, wiping the interior, shining the wheels and tires, adding fragrance – making it look and smell new!) and even meeting customers after hours if necessary to make it work for them. We realize that anyone can rent a van to a customer, but not everyone will put in the time and effort to make the process easy and enjoyable for the customer. We treat them as we would want to be treated! Secondly, we offer delivery and pickup. Some companies in the area do not offer that service. There is an additional charge for this, but people are willing to pay a reasonable rate to have the van delivered for many reasons (it’s not physically possible for them to pick up the van or their schedule is too busy to fit in time to come pick it up).
Is there a characteristic or quality that you feel is essential to success?
I think 2 qualities contribute most to our success – hard work and compassion. We definitely work hard for each and every customer. We aim to get the customer and then keep them! We work hard to provide customer service that is above and beyond. We also work to keep all of our vans well maintained and clean. We have compassion because we have experienced the need for a wheelchair accessible van firsthand. We know where our customers are coming from, and we want to do everything we can to help them.
Pricing:
- Daily rental rate is $99/day and includes 100 miles/day.
- Weekend specials are available from Friday noon to Monday 9 am for $185 and includes 300 miles.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.premiervanrental.com
- Phone: 866-755-8267
- Email: reskridge@premiervanrental.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/premieraccessiblevanrental/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/premiervanrental/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/premier_rental
- Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/premier-accessible-van-rental-forney
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