Leading car hire company Enterprise Rent-A-Car has announced the successful renewal of its existing speech recognition contract.

The UK leader in providing business, personal and replacement car hire, Enterprise will continue to utilise the speech-enabled locator service from Eckoh, EckohLOCATE.

Using the specialist speech recognition software, customers with Enterprise can announce the name of any town and the EckohLOCATE will identify the closest Enterprise rental branch to within five miles of that destination. It will also offer the ability to connect directly to that branch, while providing opening hours, address and contact information.

Operating since 1994 in the UK, Enterprise currently employs over 3,000 staff at some 330 locations across the country. The use of the EckohLOCATE system will continue to allow its contact centre to focus on more complex customer calls, leaving the basic information available through the Eckoh service. According to Enterprise’s European IT Director, Parthi Cumarasamy, the Eckoh contract allows the company to provide fast, efficient and simple to operate branch location.

Chief Executive Officer at Eckoh, Nick Philpott, said the renewal of the long-standing relationship with Enterprise Rent-A-Car was welcomed by his group. Philpott added that enhancements to the installation and maintenance of EckohLOCATE have improved its simplicity and efficiency, and the Enterprise renewal was recognition of the consumer confidence in the product. Eckoh is the leading UK developer of speech recognition solutions for businesses and customer contact centres, with the new system capable of handling more than 650,000 calls per hour and up to 8,000 at the same time.