In the wake of COVID-19, Penske witnessed unpredictable demand spikes in truck reservations, which continued even as the economy opened up. Hiring and training new talent wasn’t easy in a remote working environment, with estimated cost and time doubling against the norm. Penske faced a unique set of challenges as lack of trained agents and lower productivity in the remote environment meant customers were on hold for long periods, and once connected, overwhelmed agents’ handle times on calls started doubling. Penske used Avaamo Voice AI technology to deploy a voice-based assistant in the contact center to field calls and streamline reservation and rescheduling without human intervention.

Since its implementation, the Contact Center AI assistant reduced resolution time dramatically and ensured zero waiting period for incoming calls. With a faster and easier reservation process and personalized service, customer satisfaction has improved for Penske. “We are impressed by the simplified phone experience the conversational AI system delivers for our rental customers,” said Mike Krut, Senior Vice President of Information Technology at Penske Truck Leasing. “We are also seeing positive improvements related to the call center’s overall performance.”