Comments on: Unf*cking car rental

By: Super Cars

Super Cars — Fri, 12 Feb 2010 17:02:56 +0000

Thanks for thos article/story. I like the lead blog on this page well said. Good luck.

By: Jesse Jorstad

Jesse Jorstad — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 23:49:02 +0000

Bisexuality immediately doubles your chances for a date on Saturday night. – Woody Allen Born 1935

By: VroomVroomVroom Car Rental

VroomVroomVroom Car Rental — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 18:02:05 +0000

I feel your pain about the automated voice responses at car rental companies. They piss me off so bad that I want to throw the phone against a brick wall sometimes. In theroy they sound like they could be helpful. If I need to go to the trouble to phone a company, it’s because their website didn’t help me. Automated systems never help with unusual queries, so unfortunately, they are as helpful as the little paperclip dude in microsoft word.

I’d be interested in finding out how a VRM would help my car rental comparison website.

P.S. What is the biggest difference between CRM and VRM?

By: care seller

care seller — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 07:35:13 +0000

thanks for the interesting post, a good read, nice one.

By: Lifewave Digest for 1:01pm – lifewave.silverton.palo-alto.ca.us

Lifewave Digest for 1:01pm – lifewave.silverton.palo-alto.ca.us — Sat, 19 Sep 2009 10:58:36 +0000

[...] Shared Unf*cking car rental [...]

By: JohnE

JohnE — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 19:08:29 +0000

I like the lead blog on this page well said. But can;t agree on Budget.
Dealing with rental car companies can sometimes be a pleasant experience where you as the customer are dealt with correctly and honestly or you treated as an absolute imbecile.

On a recent trip to Vancouver, Canada I had booked a car with Hertz, no problem did the booking here in Australia before flying over, got the confirmations and price via email( its even better with a CDP number). The pickup was easy, a pleasant experince a newish car no problem, after 10 days had to change the drop off point from the city to the airport, no problem did it over the phone easy. Flew to the east coast was due back in a week but had to shorten the trip. Came back 4 days early ( had a car booked with hertz )
it was a saturday, hertz had no cars for an early pickup , someone suggested Budget, great they had a car, organised a price and the man behind the counter, Alan’ started off pleasant enough until I produced my NSW drivers licence and Visa card, hmm, this card is not valid he tells me, what card? the Visa is a debit, they are not accepted here in Canada he tells me, I had been on planes and moving for 15 hours so I kept a straight face and composure, he then proceeded to tell me I could not have the car. I tell him that I had used my debit card, with Hertz, Air Canada and a host of organisations while I had been in Canada, impossible he tells me , they were not a valid card.
Thanks Budget, a 45 min drive to Langley took me 5 hrs by bus and train and on foot.
My complaint to Budget Australia about the arrogance and lack of customer empathy from Alan, was a sheer waste of time, why because apparently the Budget rental office at Vancouver Airport does no accept Visa debit cards. Now if they were a single franchise maybe I would understand that. But the Budget Rent a car internal investigator from Australia must not have read the policy on cards accepted and Visa debit is one of them ( but have to admit thats the aussie site)
Budget is on my never use list and tell as many people as I can to not use them list as well.
Isnt it great, you travel to a foreign land and you get treated like you are a blight on the landscape, a leper and invader getting none of the welcome to my country how can I help you that tourist ads would make you believe actualy occurs.

By: Doc Searls

Doc Searls — Wed, 26 Aug 2009 18:38:58 +0000

Thanks, Brett. We were fairly stranded out at Concourse B, hoping to pick up any number of flights as they went out. DEN-SJC-SBA, DEN-SFO-SBA, DEN-LAX-SBA… We ended up with one we had reserved part-way into the ordeal, direct DEN-SBA, last flight out at the end of the day, delayed. Arrived in SBA well after midnight. Anyway, we had to sit there and hope for getting on standby earlier.

As for Priceline and Hotwire, I’ve often used them for hotels and sometimes for airline and car reservations. The problems show up with cancellations. It can be an ordeal. When I had to cancel trips to Munich and Copenhagen last year, it took months to sort out what would have gone much faster if we had booked directly, and we still lost money.

Oddly, I’ve often found the best deals through United’s connection. Not sure why, but it’s worked out that way.

But I’ll give Priceline another shot next time.

By: Brett Glass

Brett Glass — Wed, 26 Aug 2009 03:29:03 +0000

Doc, shame I didn’t know you were marooned in Denver. I was there picking up Internet gear and could have taken you for a good meal.

By the way, I’m surprised that you went with United/Budget rather than a liquidator like Priceline. Priceline is known for being able to get fantastic deals out of the major rental car companies for last minute rentals.

By: Patrick

Patrick — Tue, 25 Aug 2009 17:15:17 +0000

Where Doc was going, Zipcar is only on the UCSB campus- a short distance from the airport. He would still have to get there, and the rate for his week would have been $86 a day for a Honda Civic Hybrid. He would have the same proximity issue when leaving, as the Zipcar is supposed to be left where one picks it up.
So until Zipcar becomes a part of the larger Santa Barbara community than the campus, or a campus shuttle visits the airport at midnight AND Zipcar has competitive pricing, its a promising not there yet.
Access is the key here. Doc just wants the car when and where he lands. Why technology doesn’t enable a global rental car company to give Doc keyless access the way Zipcar does – eliminating office hour and human contact constraints seems like the question to answer.

By: Don Marti

Don Marti — Tue, 25 Aug 2009 14:50:33 +0000

Maybe the Zipcar people are one step ahead of you.

http://www.zipcar.com/sf/business/savings-compare-rental

If the legacy car rental companies don’t want to play VRM, how about a hotel that offers both an airport shuttle and plenty of Zipcar parking spots? If you come in at night, ride the shuttle to the hotel instead of picking up a car just to park it. Then reserve a car for the driving you need to do during your stay.