2005jun19. Mail.
Re your Jun 14 post about Enterprise car rental ... I rent cars all the time, and actually Enterprise is the best one, which isn’t saying much- depending on who is at the counter, the rate you booked for on the Internets is between 10 and 30 dollars less than what it is when you pick it up. But Budget was 10 times worse- I showed up having booked the cheapest economy car, and here’s what happened:
Agent: One moment please (turns
to his right and in a normal tone of voice) Hey Frida. Are we completely
out of economy cars?
Frida: Yes.
Agent: So what should
I do?
Frida: You have to try and sell the upgrade.
Agent:
(Turning to me) Yes Ma'am would you like to upgrade to a Pontiac for only
five dollars more a day?
Me: No, I would like the car and price
I reserved.
Agent: Well I have to be honest with you. We don’t
have that car.
Me: So, you are saying I have to pay an additional
five dollars a day whether I like it or not?
Agent: No, we have
to give you this car regardless.
Me: So my options are to pay
you an additional five dollars a day or not pay more and I get exactly
the same car?
Agent: That’s right.
Me: I think I will
go with Not.
*scene*
Unreal. I don’t trust any of
them.
Yes. Enterprise has been the best company for you. But what I’ve found through painful experimentation is that large companies like this have little branch fiefdoms and within these fiefdoms a certain number of official corporate policies are ignored or twisted to bring in a little more cash – it’s not one big company where all the offices are playing by the same rulebook. Speaking of which, one of my friends reminded me of another common U-Haul scam that I almost got nailed for, but unfortunately he did: the ole’ turn the gas gauge upside-down trick. In 99.99999% of cars and trucks, the gas gauge design goes from ”Empty” on the left to “Full” on the right, or “Empty” on the bottom to ”Full” on the top. The latter is very logical, because when you fill a container with a liquid, it’s physically the same. Duh. With U-Haul trucks, the gas gauge goes from “Full” on the bottom to “Empty” on the top. Seriously. So what they do is give you a truck that’s 1/4th full, and mark it on the paper as 3/4ths full. I caught the error before leaving the lot and the guy was all “oh, sorry about that.” Such bullshit. Take digital photos of everything – the fuel tank, the smallest little dings in the vehicle – if you ever have to rent a moving truck or car. Then print them out, take them to a notary public, bring them back to the rental office, give them the photos, and burn the office down. If we all follow common-sense procedures like this, we go from being super suckers to Super Pyromaniacs For Street Justice.