TravelCenters of America Launches New Customer Experience Management Program

WESTLAKE, Ohio — TravelCenters of America Inc. (TA) teamed up with Service Management Group (SMG) to build its new customer experience management program. 

TA selected SMG, an enterprise customer and employee experience management partner to more than 500 brands, for its ability to capture feedback across the customer journey, industry-leading benchmarks and outcomes-driven approach, according to SMG.

The travel center network needed a customer experience program with a robust survey engine, multiple feedback channels and a reporting platform that uncovers insights across its business.

"Our mission is to return every traveler to the road better than they came, and we are focused on delivering a highly satisfying experience for every guest," said TravelCenters of America Vice President of Marketing Sue Smolenski. "SMG allows us to capture the voice of the customer across every location, measure guest satisfaction across each touchpoint and act on insights that help us improve guest satisfaction and increase loyalty."

To measure the customer experience across its growing network of travel centers, TA is capturing and measuring location-level customer feedback through multiple channels. The feedback data is available in the smg360 platform in real time, providing program leaders with key customer experience metrics and prescriptive insights and role-based reporting while the mobile reporting app will ultimately give the field visibility to real-time customer feedback, strategic areas for focus and a host of key location-level metrics.

In combination with SMG's hands-on professional services, TA expects the program's capabilities will help advance its customer experience and drive business outcomes. 

The customer experience program launch is part of TA's ongoing transformation plans for 2022, in which, the company is focused on elevating the guest experience and growing its network, among other key initiatives. Those initiatives include opening new travel centers and upgrading technology, as reported by Convenience Store News.

As CEO Jonathan Pertchik explained during TA's first-quarter 2022 earnings call last month, site refreshes "will provide an upgraded experience to our existing customers and likely attract new customers and guests to TA."

Kansas City, Mo.-based SMG helps organizations generate new revenue, grow existing revenue, reduce churn and detractors, and drive operational efficiencies. Its unique software with a service (SwaS) model puts a dual focus on platform technology and professional services, making it easy for brands to activate insights based on customer, patient  and employee feedback. 

Westlake-based TA has more than 276 locations in 44 states and Canada, principally under the TA, Petro Stopping Centers and TA Express brands. The company is committed to sustainability, with its specialized business unit, eTA, focused on sustainable energy options for professional drivers and motorists, while leveraging alternative energy to support its own operations. TA operates more than 600 full-service and quick-service restaurants and nine proprietary brands, including Iron Skillet and Country Pride.