Rental Car Lesson

[ivinsfan]

In the good old days of customer service, you'd be right..But in todays world run by computers and such not so much...I consider myself lucky if I get a decent car without waiting when I show up on time. Like my DH says a car rental "reservation" is just a serving suggestion!

[bmcgonig]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bamaman Sixt is not even a car rental company. They are a consolidator--wholesale ourchaser of rentals at wholesale. I hate to see you had such a problem. If you check with your personal insurance company, they often cover you in Europe outside of Italy and Northern Ireland. Even if you used credit card coverage, it would be secondary to your home policy. Rental car optional coverage is a big profit department for them. It is also secondary coverage to your home primary policy. And what is so bad is rental companies are self insured and don't even carry any insurance except liability coverage.

I don't think they're a consolidator Bama. They have offices throughout Ireland with cars on the lots. At the airport they have booths and car lots just like the rest of them.

Also my CC insurance is primary when I travel abroad.

[Meadbh]

Quote:

Originally Posted by bmcgonig I don't think they're a consolidator Bama. They have offices throughout Ireland with cars on the lots. At the airport they have booths and car lots just like the rest of them. Also my CC insurance is primary when I travel abroad.

I’ve seen Sixt offices in Mexico too.

[kaneohe]

Quote:

Originally Posted by marko Well that's the thing. I'd write the CEO if I cared enough. But they ticked me off enough that I'd rather let them stew in their ignorance. Further, considering the experience, I'd likely get the same BS from the CEO as well. "Naming names" would be hard as almost everyone I spoke to 1) didn't speak very clearly 2) didn't speak very good English and I couldn't hear their name 3) were nice and trying to be helpful but just had no authority. So, at this point I'm really not interesting in taking time from my day to help them. Screw 'em!

If you let them stew in their ignorance , they won't even know they screwed up. Seems better if you rubbed their nose in it and let them know. If you get the same BS from CEO ,then you have learned something too. Naming names perhaps might not be so relevant if it is a process problem that company has. It would be good for the world if you got them to do a process improvement since the next victims might be one of us.

[RobbieB]

The last time I rented I went with Hertz. Always used Budget before and when planning a trip the cost seemed really high. So I looked up Hertz and it was much less.

Go figure. Gotta keep em honest -

[Texas Proud]

Quote:

Originally Posted by kaneohe If you let them stew in their ignorance , they won't even know they screwed up. Seems better if you rubbed their nose in it and let them know. If you get the same BS from CEO ,then you have learned something too. Naming names perhaps might not be so relevant if it is a process problem that company has. It would be good for the world if you got them to do a process improvement since the next victims might be one of us.

+1.... I just did not want to write it

[mpeirce]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Meadbh I’ve seen Sixt offices in Mexico too.

Here too. I’ve rented from them a bunch of times in south Florida. I like them because they rent European sedans at a good price.

[bmcgonig]

Quote:

Originally Posted by RobbieB The last time I rented I went with Hertz. Always used Budget before and when planning a trip the cost seemed really high. So I looked up Hertz and it was much less. Go figure. Gotta keep em honest -

Go to kayak.com and they seem to dig up the best rate from them all.

[PoorOldCountryBoy]

Quote:

Originally Posted by marko This may not be news to some here but it was to me; thought I'd pass it along. Back in August I reserved a three month car rental starting this week. Being six months out, I got an excellent price. Because of the snowstorm here in New England my flight has been delayed by a day. I called the rental car company (won't name names; but one of the majors) and was told that regardless of reason, if I don't show up on the date specified, I lose that price/reservation and now must pay the current rate which for three months is $600 more. The extra $200/month won't break me, but I found it hard to believe that showing up a day late would completely erase my reservation, especially if I called them and told them so. I just wanted to modify the reservation by one day. Yes, I went up the chain of command and also called the local rental location directly. Nada. So, I don't know if this is standard for all rental outfits or if there was some fine print I missed but thought I'd pass it on. Next time, I'll plan for pick-up a day or two after my planned arrival or better yet, make two reservations on different dates!

Congrats on the solution.

I have found huge differences in car rental over the years, especially if renting from an airport location. I routinely rent away from airports and save 60%. I have Phoenix rental for 350 that would have cost 700+ at PHX. Orlando is the same way. It pays to shop around!

[marko]

Quote:

Originally Posted by kaneohe If you let them stew in their ignorance , they won't even know they screwed up. Seems better if you rubbed their nose in it and let them know. If you get the same BS from CEO ,then you have learned something too. Naming names perhaps might not be so relevant if it is a process problem that company has. It would be good for the world if you got them to do a process improvement since the next victims might be one of us.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Texas Proud +1.... I just did not want to write it

Ok, ok...I'm a sucker for peer pressure!! I'll let you know what transpires.

[Bamaman]

I am a member of Hertz' old Gold Club plus I get a fleet discount from my old Megacorp asks fleet user. I always compare the Hertz rate to the Autoeurope rate.

Often you can join a rental company's frequent center program for free and get rate discounts--even internationally.

[marko]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bamaman I am a member of Hertz' old Gold Club plus I get a fleet discount from my old Megacorp asks fleet user. I always compare the Hertz rate to the Autoeurope rate. Often you can join a rental company's frequent center program for free and get rate discounts--even internationally.

I'm also a member of Hertz gold. In this case, my Hertz Gold membership offered me a price much higher than what I got from Hertz with a AAA discount. They never even asked for my AAA number on check in.

Not sure why that happened but AAA got me an extra $200 month less (for 3 months) vs the Gold price. Go figure.

[marko]

Update:
As I posted on January 4th, in frustration I asked to speak to a supervisor at Budget Rent a Car. I was informed that "...there are no supervisors available right now but give us a contact number and supervisor will call when one becomes available...".

They must have some very, very, very busy supervisors because lo and behold, 25 days later I got a call. I politely told him that I wasn't able to talk because I was driving in my Hertz rental right now. Then I hung up on him. I'm sure he didn't care.

I know I sound like an old man but "What a way to run a company!"