Wheels Inc. — A Success Story Built On Personal Attention

By Phil Russo, NAFA Executive Director

I recently had the pleasure of spending a day with Jim Frank and his talented team at Wheels, Inc. in Des Plaines, Illinois, just minutes away from O'Hare Airport. I now know firsthand how this company, formed in 1939 as the first leasing and management company in the United States, has been able to survive and thrive over the span of eight decades.

My experience began before I even arrived in Chicago, when Frank, the company's President and CEO, offered to personally drive me from my hotel to Wheels' headquarters. How often do you get the leader of a multi-billion dollar company offering to be your chauffeur? Very impressive. But that's the culture Wheels is built upon: hands-on, top-shelf customer service. Frank walks the walk.

Upon arriving at Wheels' headquarters I was even more impressed when I learned Frank would also be hosting a major auto sales rep later that day, and that a dozen or so of his clients were on hand for their quarterly Client Advisory Council meeting.

Wheels started in 1939 when Zollie Frank, Jim's father, and Armund Schoen decided there was a business opportunity in supplying cars and support services to businesses. Seventy years and some $3 billion in annual sales later, they've more than been proven correct.

Wheels has based its success on a simple premise: stay focused on the fact that its core business is to serve the needs of their clients. Their Client Advisory Council is just one way Wheels stays in tune with its client base. The council provides feedback on existing services, but more importantly is the source of many of Wheels' innovative ideas.

"Our goal is to develop at least one ‘game changer' every year," said Wheels Senior Director of Account Management Joe McDonald, while showing me around the Wheels complex. "Of course we're always fine-tuning our services and making enhancements, but our real value to our clients is to develop new, creative, innovative services that solve real problems and make our clients more efficient. Those are the game-changers that set us apart and make us valuable business partners, not just service providers."

Every Wheels client has a team of at least four points of contact in the company, ranging from account executives to account managers and all the way up to Frank himself. (Yes, Frank and his executive team are assigned to clients and make regular visits and phone calls to each of them. Frank talks the talk.) Along with those major points of contact, each client is supported by a staff of more than 600 employees. To support their "game-changers" mentality, Wheels has more than 150 staffers in its IT department alone.

With the personal attention so easily and naturally lavished upon me during my visit, it is easy to see why Wheels' clients continually give the company high marks (4.5 out of 5) in customer service. As Frank said, "With us, the client doesn't come first; they are the only one in line."

Leggett & Platt Commercial Vehicle Products

NAFA Fleet Management Association
125 Village Blvd., Suite 200
Princeton, NJ 08540

Telephone: 609.720.0882 Fax: 609.452.8004