TWO leasing companies have been identified as offering the best customer service in a new survey which asks the opinion of hundreds of UK fleet managers.

Alphabet and ING Car Lease won the 2005 Landmark Pre and Post-Sale Customer Satisfaction Index Survey carried out by automotive research and development consultancy APD.

It is the first time either company has achieved the accolade in the survey’s eight-year history and comes in a year that saw major improvements by contract hire and leasing companies in both categories.

Last week, Fleet NewsNet revealed that standards were being forced up in the industry by increasingly demanding fleet managers, working with more responsive suppliers.

The quarterly pre-sale survey measures how businesses handle prospective customers, such as first contact, response and follow-up, communications and products. Post-sale covers issues including telephone response, frequency and professionalism of general communication, expertise and skills levels of key sales contacts, vehicle ordering and delivery, billing, contracts and invoicing and end-of-contract procedures.

Richard Schooling, commercial director of Alphabet, which topped the pre-sale survey, said: ‘The success in the 2005 survey was the culmination of three years of work, including significant investment in a far larger and restructured sales team. We have invested in their training and development and expanded our product portfolio to offer a vehicle solution for all businesses.’

And Greg Taylor, commercial director of post-sale winners ING Car Lease, said: ‘While all leasing companies are looking for new business, customer retention is key, so we must retain a major focus on our existing customer base and continuously meet all their requirements.’

The survey has also highlighted ALD Automotive as the company with the highest customer satisfaction index rating within the contract hire industry over the past eight years, according to fleet operator responses.