I rent from Thrifty all the time and am a member of the Blue Chip program. Last week I rented a car at Boston Logan for a week. On my 3rd day, as I was driving on I-495, a 3" steel rod came flying at my car (I am not kidding) and while I tried my best to avoid a "head on" collision, it managed to strike the passenger side rear view mirror and knocked the mirror out. I am assuming that some vehicle ahead of me was dropping debris, but I was too shocked to stop to investigate. Miraculously, there was no other damage to my car.

Since it is dangerous and illegal to drive a car without a rear view mirror, I decided to exchange the car. First, I called the Thrifty toll free customer svc number to understand the procedure. The CSR told me that I would be allowed to exchange the car only if I could provide a claim number from my credit card, AMEX (since I had declined comp and collision coverage from Thrifty).

I reported the loss to AMEX, and got a claim number. Then I proceeded back to the airport to exchange the car. Once I got to the counter, i was met with a very rude woman who said that "under no circumstances does Thrifty allow exchange cars when a damaged car is returned". I asked to speak with a manager and he also flatly refused. His words were "ABSOLUTELY NOT" (spoken loudly in order to have the maximum embarassment effect in a room full of other customers). When I asked why, he had the nerve to say something to the effect that "there are customers who purposely damage a car in order to exchange it for another one" (Again, I'm not making this up. He really said that).

I told him what the CSR had told me and also pointed out that I had asked her to make a notation in my record to indicate that I was going to bring the car back for an exchange. He went into my record and said (again, loudly), "it says here that the records indicate that the CSR advised you that Thrifty's policy is to not allow exchanges". I couldn't believe what I was hearing. This guy was insulting me loudly in front of other people. Either the CSR lied to me or this guy was lying to me.

At this point, I was getting ready to give up, when I just asked - do they show any special consideration to Blue Chip members. And all of a sudden this guy's attitude changed. He asked me to fill out a damage report form and while I was filling it out, a new car was quickly made available to me.

Even though things worked out that day, I am still seething at Thrifty. What should I do? Has anyone else run into this type of thing?

You should e-mail or write customer service and provide as much documentation as possible. If you have the names of agents be sure to include this information. At a minimum you should receive a letter of apology and perhaps discounts on your next rental to maintain your business. Good luck.

Another case of Rogue Franchisee Syndrome. Corporate can't control the way they treat customers. It's why I never, never, never rent from Thrifty and its low-rent ilk anymore. :td:

You should also watch out for Thrifty billing you for several days' worth of loss of use charges for the broken mirror...some franchisees are known to do this to bilk the consumer since AmEx does not cover loss of use.

Next time, if I were you, I'd use National, Hertz, or Avis (almost all locations of these "Big Three" are corporate-owned so fewer surprises and bad business practices) and pay with Diners Club or Visa---both of which pay for loss of use charges in the event of a claim.

Thrifty can be used, but very carefully. You must have some experience or references on each franchisee. It might be productive to have a thread describing experiences positive or negative at each location so FTers will have a point of reference when considering Thrifty.
Also, nowhereman's experience points out some of the pitfalls of anybody without a Blue Chip card doing any business at all with them.

An update:
I got a form letter of apology from Thrifty and a $25 coupon good for a future rental and a promise that "they have reported the incident to the station manager and that corrective action will be taken".