This past weekend I attended the Hertz Hackathon at NextGSV in Redwood City. On Friday night, there was a large number of people brainstorming ideas of what they wanted to build. As always, meeting new people with a variety of backgrounds was a great networking event.

Wasting no time after the official program finished, our team of five got to work fleshing out our idea. What happens when two vehicles bump? Simple problem, but lots of headaches. We realized the problem of being stranded when your vehicle no longer works could waste valuable vacation time, prevent you from getting to a critical business meeting to close a sales deal, or leave you feeling helpless and alone. There’s nothing good about it. Then the aftermath of repairs, insurance, and stress just compounds the situation.

We took concepts from the new Hertz NeverLost unit, a large screen and camera hardware, and started hacking it to solve this problem. The unit can communicate with Hertz via the AT&T cell network. They already use this connection to download trip data that customers have previously planned using the NeverLost website.

So why couldn’t we take this connection and establish a video call between the customer and a Hertz assistant. I learned an interesting fact of customer service this weekend. A customer is less likely to start yelling at an agent over the phone if they have a visual of who they are talking to. Seeing the person you’re talking to creates an emotional connection that changes several dynamics of the experience and ultimate (successful) outcome.

Once we had a visual connection, we wanted to remove the hassles in the process of getting a replacement car. First, we use vehicle sensors to alert the Hertz assistant of the problem. One of the most frustrating things I repeatedly experience with customer service is the fact I have to tell them who I am, what happened, and what I want. It almost gets to the point of telling them how to do their job. But trained Hertz assistants will have the customer information, know how long the customer has been with Hertz (for customer loyalty), vehicle information, and options to resolve the issue on a screen in front of them. The assistant will begin with the customers name and add “We appreciate you being a gold member since 2010.”

Mentioning the length of time a loyal customer has been with your company is awesome! On multiple calls to customer service, I’ve heard that line and it reminds me that I’ve been using their services for some time and that they know it! It starts the call off positively when I’m probably about to release a load of emotions onto whoever takes my call. In our situation, the customer will already begin to feel better knowing someone is on their side.

Next, the Hertz assistant can evaluate whether the customer is healthy. Because the system is automatically activated in an accident, the Hertz assistant can determine if the occupants are responsive. If they are unresponsive, they can dispatch emergency services and monitor the video feed until help arrives.

Here’s where Peace of Mind really comes in handy. If it’s a mechanical issue that makes the car non-operational, a new vehicle will be dispatched immediately to the location of the customer. No need for the customer to limp their way to the closest location or call for a tow truck. A Hertz driver will arrive with the replacement vehicle, hand the customer the keys, help transfer belongings into the replacement vehicle, and send the customer on their way. If we know there’s a family in the vehicle, the driver will offer a complimentary toy, stuffed animal, juice and snacks to comfort a potentially traumatic event for young children.

Now that the customer is on their way, the Hertz driver will take over, fill out any paperwork, deal with the insurance of the other party, and return the disabled vehicle to be repaired. There’s no followup with the customer and the customer doesn’t have to do anything more. This is important because when you return home from your vacation, we want you to remember the good parts of your trip, not that you have to call your insurance company, make calls to Hertz, and spend hours of frustration making sure documents are sent and received. When it wasn’t your fault, we have your back!

This service doesn’t have to be activated only in the event of a vehicle sensor detecting a problem. Any customer service issue can be resolved with a video call. No need to find the phone number, find your reservation number, find your cellphone, pay for roaming minutes, etc. Since we can validate the vehicle information automatically, the customer doesn’t need that information available.

We also believe this can be expanded to personal vehicles. When your vehicle has a problem, Hertz will send a replacement vehicle and a tow truck to your location. The tow truck will take your vehicle to a location you specify, while you use the Hertz rental to get around. We’ll even take you back to your car when repairs are finished and return the Hertz car for you. You’re never without wheels and you only have one car to deal with at a time.

There are some logistics that Hertz will have to take over and handle. But the value to the customer will be tremendous. Word of mouth, brand loyalty, and an exceptional experience will increase sales and marketing for Hertz. Hertz NeverLost is not just another GPS unit, it will be an exceptional customer service experience that is available with a no hassle guarantee. As for privacy, the customer can be given an option to disable the automatic detection of an accident. But we believe the value of the service will outweigh the privacy concerns.

We want to thank Hertz, all the great people that supported the hackathon and took time to talk to us, and NestGSV for the great venue and food. We look forward to the next hackathon.