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The Engine of Growth

Your cover story on the growth and success of Zipcar ["How Fast Can This Thing Go, Anyway?" March] was fascinating and timely. I recently signed up for the service, and I've been struck by how little Zipcar has been covered by the media, even as it totally rewrites the rules for car rentals. What hasn't been written about Zipcar is how easy it makes things for its customers. When I recently rented a Zipcar for a two-hour errand, I realized minutes before my window was closing that I would be late. Using my cell phone, I extended my rental by 30 minutes, which bought me some breathing room. The whole transaction was done while I waited at a traffic signal. All customer service should be this effortless.

Vincent Morris
Communications Director
Information Technology Industry Council
Washington, D.C.

You didn't tell the human side of the story of Zipcar's merger with Flexcar. I'm a former Flexcar member who was rolled into a Zipcar membership when the two companies consolidated in the Washington, D.C., area. I was an enthusiastic Flexcar user. I drove a Flexcar in a local parade, got T-shirts and swag, and even was asked by Flexcar to talk the company up on the local news a few years back. Now, with Zipcar, the exact same car that I rented for $5 per hour before the merger costs me $9 per hour weekdays and $9.75 an hour weekends, an 80 to nearly 100 percent increase in my outlay. Instead of receiving a thank-you for taking my car for a wash and filling it up with gas before returning it, now I receive an e-mail from Zipcar asking me not to wash my car before returning it because the crews they hire won't have anything to do if the car is already clean. Is this how CEO Scott Griffith hopes to keep customers? If so, it's failed in our case. We're going to buy a second car. Zipcar is no longer a rewarding option for us.

Sandra Alboum
President and CEO
Alboum & Associates Language Services
Arlington, Virginia

Your cover promises to describe how Scott Griffith built Zipcar into "a $100 million success." When I came to the end of the story, however, it stated, "While some of Zipcar's cities are profitable, the company as a whole is not." Can you really call this company a $100 million success? Maybe that's the difference between a privately held and a publicly held company. Public companies have to equate success with bottom-line performance. If the company lost money at $2 million in revenue and is still losing money at $100 million in revenue, something has to be wrong with the business model. We have to remember that bigger is not always better. I would rather have a $50 million company that made money than a $100 million company that did not.

Howard Rynberk
President and CEO
Valley View Industries
Crestwood, Illinois

Signs of the Times

Your article on digital billboards ["Bright Lights, Big Impact," March] was disappointingly one-sided. The implication that digital signs are widely accepted and are inevitable fixtures on American roadways is incorrect and misleading. Along with aesthetic concerns about allowing giant glowing television sets to dominate the visual environment of city centers and highways, the safety issues are far from settled. The story correctly points out that distraction exceeding two seconds poses significant dangers, but it does not acknowledge that digital billboards routinely attract glances far beyond that limit. Right now, the Federal Highway Administration, the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials, and the Transportation Research Board of the National Academies are all examining the safety implications of digital signage.

The article's headline is accurate: The lights are bright, and they do have a big impact. Unfortunately, that impact extends beyond the bottom line of sign companies and includes the aesthetic quality of communities and the safety of the American public.

Kevin E. Fry
President
Scenic America
Washington, D.C.

The Business of War

With regard to Inc.'s interview of Charles Ferguson [Leadership Lessons," March] and his film No End in Sight, I would suggest that it is unwise to analyze the government in the same the way one might review the management of a business. The cultures, personalities, risks, benefits, and strategies in these organization types are fantastically different. If you want to write an article mixing business with government, it would be more fitting to cover someone like New York City Mayor Mike Bloomberg, who has implemented his business strategies in his government office.

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