Of lemons-->lemonade, acts of kindness by rental car clerks and the PCH

Dueller · 05:18 AM

As you may know my stepkids' father died in a motorcycle crash earlier this week near Ventura. My wife made arrangements to fly out with the kids to be with them. I booked a rental car for her when making the reservations. The booking agent quoted me a price for the midsize car at $121 for 3 days. I thought that sounded low but they assured me that was the rate. Hey...its been years since I rented a car.

When wifey went to the rental car counter she discovered that that was the daily rate not the cost for 3 days. No problem...she had to have a car. Apparently in the course of completing the paperwork the clerk realized wife and twins were not on vacation but were there to bury their father.

Clerk then says to my wife..."Oh, I just remembered...we have a special on Sebring convertibles. Wouldn't you and dtrs like to switch? $49/day. And you can pick your color."

It may sound trite and superficial given the reason they are there. I know its a cliche to drive around so-Cal in a rental Chrysler convertible. It may look like country comes to town. But for a moment the girls had a chance to be excited about going up the PCH with the top down on a beautiful summer afternoon. And mom made sure the trek was a celebration of their fathers' love of open air motoring. They picked silver...their dad's favorite car color.

Oh Haha · 06-12-2009, 05:28 AM

very cool

If it were me, I would find out who the agent was and give them a call and express your gratitude. I'm sure that person would appreciate the call.

widgeon13 · 06-12-2009, 05:37 AM

Isn't it refreshing to see and hear that there are people in this world who can do the right thing at a time like that and not have to worry about the repercussions.

Not at all trite, it was the right thing to do and the person deserves recognition if that is possible.

Dueller · 06-12-2009, 06:59 AM

Yeah...I do need to thank clerk. But would hate to get her in trouble with corporate HQ for upgrading car and cutting price.

rammstein · 06-12-2009, 07:07 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dueller

Yeah...I do need to thank clerk. But would hate to get her in trouble with corporate HQ for upgrading car and cutting price.

If corporate has a problem with that it is seriously messed up.

When we went to my wife's grandfather's funeral, we had to rent a car. I rented the cheapest thing they had- as always. The lady asked why we were in town, and I told her. She said she was sorry it that it was for a funeral. When she gve us the keys, it was to a big Ford 500 with navigation. I think they are allowed to be humans about things- refreshing.

Corporate should praise her.

Pazuzu · 06-12-2009, 07:13 AM

I think that most every high-expense service company has a "discretionary" discount hidden behind the counter somewhere. I once got a $1200 plane ticket for $250, because I was in line trying to turn in vouchers, and it turns out I didn't have enough for the trip. So, instead of going home to see family, I was going to have to walk out of the airport and go home. The guy behind the counter gave me the Super Secret Squirrel Special price. Oh, I was also standing in the first class line, holding up people who had actually paid the $2000 or whatever for that same flight.

911boost · 911boost's Garage

I have called and recognized someone that has helped me at both Avis and United Airlines. Who knows if it went anywhere, but I felt it was the right thing to do.

I have seen the other thread, and an sorry to hear about your children's father.

Bill

speeder · speeder's Garage

I always rent from Enterprise and the agents seem to have quite a bit of latitude regarding upgrades/discounts/etc. It's nice that they did that but I have to say that $121/day is an outrageous rate in L.A. for any normal car. The standard rate for the Sebring, for instance, is probably $65/day w/ special rates for weekends or week-long rentals. The best deals are usually weekend rates. I recently rented a full-size PU truck from Enterprise for $120 for 3 days, (Fri/Sat/Sun), w/ unlimited miles. They threw-in a 4th day at the same rate when I wanted to keep it another day. It all depends on how busy they are, it's one of the most elastic supply/demand businesses out there and can change in a heartbeat when a convention comes to town or something.

Glad they had that experience, funerals should ideally not be 100% dreary. If nothing else, I always appreciate that I'm still alive that day.

Oh Haha · 06-12-2009, 11:32 AM

Not to make too much of this but I would see if you could contact the person who helped them and not the boss or supervisor.