Military family moves are unlike traditional relocations, with active duty service members being shuttled between myriad U.S. bases. As a military-friendly company Penske Truck Rental has created a specialized military call center to ease the stress of a do-it-yourself move, which the Armed Services also refers to as a PCS (Permanent Change of Station) and PPM (Personally Procured Moves).
U.S. Army veteran Joe Dezotell (pictured right) comprehends how a dedicated call center can aid transplanted military families. He was stationed at Fort Campbell (Kentucky), Fort Stewart (Georgia) Fort Gordon (Georgia) and Hanscom Air Force Base (Massachusetts).
While stationed abroad, Dezotell logged time in Panama, Germany and South Korea, where he met his wife (they have one child). He also recruited for the Army, served in the military police and at one time had 100 soldiers under his command. Dezotell served on numerous deployments during his career including combat operations and peacekeeping missions.
Today he is a retired Sgt. 1st Class of 24 years (20 years active duty and four years active reserve) and a member of the team of customer service representatives receiving toll-free calls from 1-844-4TROOPS.
“We are able to help these families find the best way to spend their military move budget,” Dezotell explained. “We help them utilize the proper discounts.”
Each Penske associate manning this center possesses a military connection: they either have a family member who has or is currently in active or reserve duty, or are veterans themselves.
“Our military call center employees have been specially trained to aid military members and their families navigate the unique requirements for each branch,” said Penske’s Don Mikes, senior vice president of rental. “We want to ensure that each family’s transition to a new base is conducted as smoothly as possible.”
By visiting PenskeTruckRental.com/military, active military members and veterans can learn about Penske’s discounts, which can add up to 20 percent, and related services like a certified public scale locator. These locators are needed to fulfill military rules requiring that soldiers and their families certify the weight of their rental trucks when moving.
Penske promises to match any competitive offer on one on one-way truck rentals for active military personnel or veterans (see the website for specific parameters).
Click here to read more about Penske’s place as a military-friendly corporation: attending military themed career fairs to hire veterans and their spouses; committing to the 10,000 Jobs Challenge; earning regular placement on the G.I. Jobs magazine Top 100 Military-Friendly Employers® list; being recognized by the Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve (ESGR); fundraising for the Paralyzed Veterans of America (PVA); and working with Support Military Spouses.
By Alen Beljin
Each year, thousands of U.S. military families rent moving trucks for their PCS (Permanent Change of Station) moves, also commonly referred to as PPMs – (Personally Procured Moves) -- as the various branches of the military hand out new assignments to active personnel.
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