Trucking Matters: Let’s Hear From You
By Ed Kuhn, Chairman, President & CEO, TravelCenters of America
One of the fundamental rules of good service is, simply, to listen to your customer. Little problems can fast become big ones if customers feel they are being ignored, or can’t find an effective way to communicate their concerns.
Compliments are wonderful to hear, but the real news about how a business is doing usually comes from complaints. We need to hear both. If you have a complaint but don’t tell us, we lose the opportunity to find a solution and improve our performance.
As a TravelCenters of America customer, you have a number of ways to talk to us. Our pledge to you is to address your concerns promptly and reach a satisfactory solution.
The first, of course, is to talk with an employee or manager at one of our locations. That’s where most customer concerns are resolved. Our people appreciate your compliments, of course. One of the highest compliments you give is when you ask for a specific employee to help you.
But if you’re not satisfied with the solution offered, or you’ve got a broader issue to discuss, you can call our toll-free customer hotline, (866) 264-2079. A customer service representative will take your information and contact not only the manager of the location you visited but also the appropriate person in our home office to try to solve the problem. It is our pledge to answer all of your concerns.
If you have questions about the RoadKing Driver’s Club™ or about your RKC account, you can call us toll-free at (866) 752-2582.
The Internet provides several more ways to reach us. You can e-mail us from our corporate site, tatravelcenters.com or from Road King magazine’s Web site, RoadKing.com.
There is also a Web site – www.tacares.com – where you can rate your experience at any of our locations. You’ll need a receipt from a purchase at one of our shops, restaurants or stores.
Each receipt has a unique validation number as well as the www.tacares.com Web address printed at the bottom. At the site, enter the validation code along with the location, date and time of your visit, then answer the questions.
Finally, you can write to me at Road King, 28 White Bridge Road, Suite 209, Nashville, TN, 37205, or send an e-mail to
Park at Ontario, Save $$
Newcomers at the Ontario TAs are sometimes confused about parking rules. Here’s how they work:
- Up to 4 hours free for everyone, no purchase required
- Up to 24 hours free with $25 service or merchandise purchase
- Four consecutive days free following the purchase of at least 50 gallons of fuel or at least $50 of non-fuel items.
- Otherwise, $12 for each 24-hour period.
Some drivers balk at California fuel prices and think they can get a better deal out of the state, Wicky said. But by buying at least 50 gallons of fuel at Ontario, they not only get up to four days free parking, they also get a free shower. That’s up to a $55 value (4 days at $12 a day plus a $7 shower) balanced against a few cents more per gallon of fuel.
Roanoke, Va., TA Rated #1 In Guest Service
The restaurant staff at the Roanoke, Va., TA has won the 2nd Annual TA Service Cup Contest. The contest ran from July 1 through Aug. 31, and asked guests to vote for the staff they thought provided the best service. Roanoke got the most votes and also had no customer complaints during the period of the contest. Also in the top 10 were, in order of finish: Brunswick, Ga.; Chicago North, Ill.; Las Cruces, N.M.; Porter, Ind.; Sparks, Nev.; Amarillo East, Texas; Cheyenne, Wyo.; Wheeling, W. Va.; Dallas, Texas.
Edinburg Travel Center Now a TA
The Edinburg Travel Center, 8301 N. Hwy 281, Edinburg, Texas, joined the TA network in January. Look for more information in a future Road King.
TripPak at TAs Makes Drivers’ Lives Easier
TripPak, the company that helps drivers and fleets quickly and securely move documents, has entered into an agreement with TA to expand drop box placements and add other services designed to make truckers’ lives a bit easier.
Most truckers are familiar with TripPak Express, which deploys those little yellow boxes at truckstops. TripPak Online is another division that provides electronic imaging and scanning services – in effect, helping reduce the volume of paper and improve accuracy and efficiency in handling your documents. Both of these divisions will be working with TA to expand services at all TA locations. For instance, fuel tickets for fleets that use TripPak Online services will be bar-coded to assure accurate image capture and reduce processing costs.
Presently, TripPak is available at all but four TAs (Ft. Bridger, Wyo., Santa Rosa, N.M., Mill City, Nev., and Boise, Idaho). For more about TripPak, visit the Web site at www.trippakonline.com.
