MilesBuzz! - Waiting and waiting and waiting at ALAMO

Found this little entry in my diary and finally remembered to pass it on..

Since we don't have a separate CAR RENTAL Forum and bulletin boards, I'll post this here.

My friends rented a car from ALAMO for the Vegas trip. We took the shuttle bus to the car rental pickup area then proceeded to wait
ONE HOUR to get a car. There were five agents on a sunday, 14 computer terminals and
things moved T...H...I..SSSS SSSLLLOOOWWW!
One guy was so jetlagged he fell asleep standing up!

The ALAMO agent took forever to process the
forms for the car saying "I just started two days ago and don't know this computer too well." When we finally got to the car, it was a bit dusty and the gas tank was nearly empty (I rarely rent but isn't the car
supposed to be filled before use?)

My friend said "I'm never going ALAMO again."

How were your experiences with ALAMO. If I have to rent, I got Hertz because of all the discount cards I get from the airlines.
CATMAN

Hay Catman, I bet that is why BA announced the end of their partnership with Alamo.

HAPPY BONFIRE DAY!
MF

i've used alamo at las vegas and honolulu. before i signed up for "quicksilver", the wait was anywhere from 20-45 minutes as CatMan reported. in the past year, though, my waits have never been more than 10 minutes from getting to the kiosk, entering my quicksilver card, and driving away. my experiences with hertz's #1 gold, and national's emerald club have been even more impressive since there's no need to go to a kiosk -- just get into a car & go. anyone who travels frequently and rents cars at their destinations should definitely look into at least one of these "bypass-the-counter" clubs.

I agree. I waited almost an hour at midnight in LA about a month ago at the Alamo counter. Normally I use AVIS Preferred or Hertz #1Gold or Budget Express (or whatever they call it now) and even Thrifty Blue Chip. Hertz and Avis are far better

one Alamo experience only (and this one 3 years ago) at LAX, with my whole family waiting more than 1 hour - never again (at that time Alamo was the only one offering a bus, for 6, without one-way-extra-charge in California and Nevada).

I am now pampered by Hertz#1 gold (always with "never-lost"-navigation-system for 4$/day-extra, but worth it in a foreigne country).

Sometimes, heading for the luxury (as in two weeks from now for Seattle-Vancouver-Whistler Mt and back), I take a Cadillac (and to get this I have to take AVIS Preferred: weekly rental, everything included (weekly-rate SFr 660 = US$460, prepaid 21-days in Switzerland: unlimited miles/km, all-personal-, 3 Mio liability- and theft/damage- insurances, extra-driver, gas-option, winter-equipped, taxes).

Catman, you should try Alamo at Orlando Airport! You get bused (along with hundreds of tourists) to this massive off- site facility. The line switch backs are often 10 deep and I've waited more almost an hour just to get to the front of the line (not counting the bus). Just like a ride at Disney World, but nowhere near the fun!

As long as you mention renting in Orlando....

Anyone know how National is there? I know they're on-airport, but that's all I know.

First week of December I'm taking my 2 and 4 year old to Disneyworld (their first airplane) ride. The plane will be rough enough, but If I have to wait another hour for the car, they (or their mother) will kill me.

Can't use my Emerald Aisle stuff 'cause I need to use an upgrade certificate....

Thanks
Dave

PS: Thank me. I didn't have the heart to upgrade all of us to First Class. That's all a First Class cabin needs is two scared kids.

I used to rent a lot with Alamo. They used to offer car rental points along with frequent flier miles and often had good promotions. Now the car rental points are gone and the frequent flier miles are much reduced :-(

My worst experience with them was also once in Las Vegas, almost identical to Catman's experience. SFO and LAX can also be bad. Now I always give my Quicksilver number and use the QuickSilver kiosk. Last time I was in Las Vegas there was no line for QuickSilver and I was done in a couple of minutes. Make sure to give your FF number also when making the reservation, I do not think that the quicksilver machines allow you to enter your FF number. Incidentally, the gas tank was half full when I was about to drive away. I reported this while checking out and the agent made a remark on my paperwork.

I have not been able to find good discounts with Hertz. I think that with the new program at Hertz, it is better to get points than airline miles (points can also be converted later to miles). As others have reported, their #1 Gold service is really good.

NJDavid: You can use Emerald Aisle with upgrades, etc., but you have to stop at the counter first. Sometimes you'll find a helpful attendant when you check in, but that's iffy. It's not usually a big hassle. I stopped using Alamo years ago for the same reasons expressed here. Hour-lpng waits and people who don't know from up.

I rented from Alamo in DEN this past week. I forgot my QuickSilver card at the office but it didn't matter as there were 3 agents and no other customers! I had my contract signed and keys in hand in less than 4 minutes.

The last time I rented in LAS (as this is where Catman's complaint originates) was last year from Hertz. No line, no wait, no problems.

The Alamo QuickSilver machines will also accept your credit card (the credit card associated with your QuickSilver account).

I rented from Alamo this past Feb at London Heathrow. It took forever including calling Diners Club to confirm indeed that they did provide insurance...additionally I have had problems getting my FF credited. Hertz # 1 Club has provided excellent service..but usually cost about 20%. Maybe you get what you pay for?

pgupta,

Thank you very much for that handy tip! Now I can eliminate one more piece of plastic from my travel wallet and leave the QuickSilver card at home.

Forget using Alamo. I used them about 10 times last year and had to mail in documentation to get my miles 6 out of the 10. This year I have used National since they gave me complimentry membership in their Emerald Club. I have been having trouble getting miles out of them also, but the no wait is nice.

I have used National, Dollar, and Alamo at Orlando. The only way to go is National They are on airport and you have to walk about 200 feet from baggage claim to get to your car. I will be using them in December when I am visiting DisneyWorld.

JayJ

JayJ

You can add DFW to your list of slow Alamo places. They have an offsite office and their own bus which takes FOREVER to pick you up. I waited 1/2 an hour one week ago. Then they were even SLOWER at the counter (5 people in line, 4 people at counter with 4 agents). The only reason I went with Alamo this time was their SUV promotion. I'll stick with Avis Preferred or try my new Hertz #1 Gold.

NJDavid, re your question about National at Orlando. Yes they are on site, although when I was there last month their up close parking area was under construction (as were all on-site companies). But it was still just a short hop across the street to the parking garage where they had set up temporary digs. Very good and quick service. I don't know if this is still the case but as the "Offical Car Rental Company of Walt Disney World" they used to have a special parking section for National renters at all the Disney parks. Up close and quite a benefit. You may want to give 'em a ring and check if they still have this.

I have used Alamo a lot over the past 5 to 10 years and found their rates to be very good; however, their have been many times with long waits. Having an Alamo Corporate Gold card allowed me to bypass many of the long lines, but I still had long waits at the airport terminal while waiting of the Alamo bus/van to take me to offsite locations. Memphis was really bad with the offsite ride frequency. I have also heard of long waits from many others. Other than the long waits, I have no complaint.

WOW!!! I set off a firestorm about Alamo, and feel better that my situation and my friend's situation with ALAMO. Is there a great car
rental service?

I'm hoping that FlyerTalk will create a car
rental forum and bulletin boards to handle
this situation.

And happy BONFIRE DAY to you too Merry Flyer!!! CATMAN

From my limited experience, it's pretty tough to beat Hertz with their Gold Club #1, it's pretty hard to beat compared to Avis and Budget, but we'll have to see how they do at the airports without the canopies.

having tried out "everthing" in the last 35 flyer-years (even wrecks) - I go now for the easiest/smothest/most comfortable way which includes, by priorities:

- no standing in-line at all,
- big fleet increasing chances to really get what I ordered (includes "never-lost"-navigation-system, ski/winter-equipment),
- canopies (and the bus - if I need one - stopping as near to my reserved car as possible: baggage/skis)
- many stations (many drop-off options on one-way-rentals)
- big company (high bus frequency, employees available also on off-hours)

= Hertz#1 Gold (some years ago, and for other reasons sure I regret, that this time is past, it was only price, price, price and that ment NOT Hertz then).

My friends call me "cheap" but if I can I
tend to try out the city's mass transit system (buses, subways... occassional taxi)
to avoid the rent a car mess if I can.

You get to meet some interesting people on
mass transit, which often is faster then driving the car.

I am also met by the people I need to see on
trips, because my first ever business trip
to Dallas I made a wrong turn, started driving and ended up going towards Houston instead of Fort Worth (It was a mess!!!)

I've Become a pro at navigating the buses, subways, shuttle buses, etc. And I get to avoid the ALAMO counter!!! CATMAN

Alamo LHR ... no, no, no, no, no .....oh sooooooooo slowwwwww. Get it? Never again, my wife and I waited for an hour ... 80 year old terminals and computer system .... they messed up our rate. On returning, waited 50 minutes in line and then was charged for an EXTRA DAY for being two minutes "late". They could not adjust the charge as it had already been "sent to the maninframe" ... I nearly died of laughter at that one. Still have not received credit from Alas er Alamo (charge incurred in July). I sometimes wonder if we the battle was named after the car rental company???

Alamo overcharged me on my credit card. I noticed the overcharge as I was walking away from the counter, so I went back and requested a credit. The agent cancelled the original charge and then made a new credit charge for the sum of the adjusted amount.

I get my statement and I see 2 charges from Alamo...the 1st charge was never cancelled. I called Alamo customer service and was told to wait 2 billing periods for the credit to appear...never appeared. Now my 60 days are up so I might have trouble disputing the charge.

Looks like I will have to write letters in order to get money back. All this for a $15 mistake. :(

Speaking of credit card charges ... I used Hertz #1 Gold service for the first time in Detroit a few months ago (during the NW strike) and everything went great ... except that it took Hertz a full month to send me a receipt (it was an early morning return) and charge my credit card!

Okay, I know I said positive things about Alamo in my previous post in this column but now I will add a negative.

Last week, I spent the weekend at a corporate function at the Hyatt in Beaver Creek, Colorado. The weather turned wet with mixed snow and rain on Sunday when I returned my rental Chevy Blazer to DEN while driving through Vail Pass (I-70) at 11,000 feet, the truck got covered with dirt (oh my!). The check-in guy told me that Alamo would charge me $35 for special cleaning because of the dirt. I told him that if he charged me the $35, I would contest the billing with Diners Club as I had no intention of paying $35 for Alamo to run the truck through their automated car wash. He said that it wasn't worth the hassle and decided not to add the $35. So, I got my way. Keep in mind that it wasn't like I was four-wheeling through back country dirt roads and coated the truck in mud; this was simply a 3 hour drive on the interstate!

I guess some people don't have to watch their expense accounts so closely and Alamo will gladly add some margin if they can.

I wonder if Alamo is reading these postings
and cares to makes a rebuttal. It seems
Alamo's getting a big "PAWS DOWN" from us!

Mileage Addict: Alamo is ridiciulous to try to charge you 35 dollars for cleaning when they should have known there was bad weather
and cars are not going to looking showroom
new. (Just try riding around NYC streets after a snowstorm!)

Speaking of Alamo... our company is leaning
towards making it our primary car rental firm. I told the folks to reconsider and if they doubt me, read these postings! CATMAN

Catman, if you are renting with Alamo get a QuickSilver card (or have your company get you one if they insist on your renting Alamo). This will really cut down on the long waits. Alamo is not bad in my experience, my main complaint with them is that they eliminated their True Blue program. At that time they even sent me a letter saying that while other airlines are cutting down on airline miles they are continuing to offer 500 miles. But soon after they too cut down on airline miles. Now my feeling is that car rental programs which offer points towards car rental (Hertz, Budget) are better.

Well, I guess Conde Naste Traveler magazine agrees with us. Hertz was rated the top car rental agency, Avis #2, National #3 and Alamo was #10.

Well, despite the mostly negative comments here, I've decided I'm going to give Alamo a shot? Why you ask?

Well, for Christmas my girlfriend and I are visiting my mother and family, who live in the mountains of Western NC, but to save a significant amount of money we're flying into Knoxville, TN and driving to her house. Needless to say, that's a lot of mountain driving in late December, so I decided a four wheel drive sport utility might not be such a bad idea. The problem is Budget wants $100/day and Avis and Hertz are sold out, so I just checked Alamo, and it's less than $140 for a three day rental, which is not too bad at all in my book.

So, I got out my Delta Gold Medallion coupon book and called and got my free QuickSilver membership.

For anyone else who may be renting from them, you can get a *FREE* Quicksilver membership it looks like just by signing up on Alamo's website, just go to:

http://www.goalamo.com/quicksilver/qs-agrmt.htm

I really liked Alamo the one time I used it in Knoxville. My experiences with Alamo have been pretty good in smaller cities (Knoxville, Nashville) when the choices are a corporate Alamo location versus a licensee Avis/Hertz/National location. Not so good in places like Chicago (reserved with a cancellation penalty a minivan on a Friday evening, the minivan was nowhere to be found. They finally were able to accommodate me at Dollar (which was a story in itself...) In a nutshell--Alamo fine in smaller cities, a challenge in bigger cities.

Jamiel ~ That's actually kind of what I figured, because in smaller cities, like Knoxville and Huntsville, AL for instance, all the agencies tend to be the same, all in airport and the cars right out side. My only worry is that when I get there they won't have the SUV I reserved ready, but maybe I'm just being paranoid. Well, hopefully the weather will be fine and if I don't get it no big deal ... we'll see!

Kevin's Car Rental Rules

1) Sign up for all the express clubs. Don't rent from anyone you don't have an express card with - it's just not worth it (ever see the lines at Denver?)
2) Shop the websites. Good deals to be found!
3) Use discount IDs: AAA usually shaves 10% off any rate. National's Emerald Club offers 15% off the QUOTED rate - can really be a savings on weekly rentals.
4) Forget miles these days, not worth the hassle for the small return. Hertz points are the way to go.
5) In terms of service, I usually go with Hertz then National. But National's Emerald Aisle always seems to have the "choice" of picking one of 50 of the same model of car.
6) STAY AWAY FROM ALAMO!!!!

That is all. Enjoy the road.

Thanks for the car rental tips, Ken. They
all are worthwhile.

Maybe what ALAMO needs to do is concentrate
on the smaller cities as something like "the
official car rental company of Knotsville."
And get some more staff and faster computers.

Good luck with your trip Beckles and let us
know how it goes. CATMAN

NJDavid: You realize that upgrade is worth about 2 bucks a day? Is that worth it?

Aubie: You don't call Alamo to dispute the charge. You call the credit card company. You get an immediate credit while the cerdit card company does the research for you. I've never had one of these turned down, but I think that's when you start talking to Alamo.

Just to report back to everyone, Alamo worked out great for my trip to Knoxville.

Check out took all of two minutes, including signing the Quicksilver agreement since it was my first rental, and the car I reserved was waiting for me, and was quite clean (not exactly detailed, but pretty darn clean as far as rental cars go). Return was just as quick and efficient ... overall about the best experience I've had from any agency!

Hey, it even had carpeted floor mats! I don't know about other car rental companies, but my usual agency, Avis, seems to be putting cheap black rubber floor mats in all of their cars these days ...

MJDavid: I rented from National about 2 weeks ago in Orlando. They just switched to a new computer system and I got a brand new agent--seems like many of them are around these days. Anyway, it was a one-hour ordeal. Hope you have better luck there. By the way, I would advise against Herts in Orlando unless you have the express card. It's off-site and all the foreign tourists seem to prefer Herts--they must have watched a lot of OJ's commercial. The line could be very long for babies. You may want to consider Budget, they are on site and seems to have short lines every time I could remember,

MJDavid: Sorry, just noticed that your posting was 11/3. Hope you did have a good experience with whoever you rented with. By the way, since we were on this Alamo topic,it's thumb down based on my experience.

Thanks for the info, but as you realized, I already had my bad National experience. Excerpt below - incase you didn't see it:

**************snip*******************

National car rental was just awful.

We arrived on time, our luggage came out first (CO Priority tags actually worked for both the flight out and the return!) I headed with cart, wife, 2 yr old and 4 yr old in tow to the National counter.

Months ago I had reserved an intermediate car and intended to use a double upgrade coupon as I desperately needed a 4 door for the kids. I confirmed multiple times, up to the night before, and added a child car seat request the day before, as we made a last minute decision not to take ours.

At the counter I'm told they "only have convertibles and minivans". What is the point of the reservation if they don't have any cars. I ask if one of the minivans is a Caravan (which I know has built-in child car seats). They do, so I agree to take it at the same price. All done, right?

WRONG. They have "new software" they are just getting used to. The minivan comes up at the
minivan price. 15 minutes later they figure out how to manually put in the agreed price, but don't know how to cancel the car seat. 20 minutes later, with my 2 yr old climbing the benches and screaming like a banshee, I finally tell them to charge me whatever the hell comes up and I'll just work it out with American Express and their corporate office. Then we begin the trek down the building, across the street, into the garage, up the elevator, and to the most unfriendly rental staff I have ever met. They toss me the keys and say "A5", as if I had lived in that garage all my life and would just know where it is.

Never, never, never again do I use anyone but Avis or Hertz. I never wait, the car I requested is always ready and you get what you pay for.

*********************snip*******************

It seems your experience was similar. THe official car of WDW is definitely a must to avoid - it's a Mickey Mouse operation.

Dave

How necessary is the car if your staying in the "Disney Villiage" (as opposed to a "Disney property")? Hilton says they have free shuttles to all the parks and a taxi from the airport is about $35 each way (best value for a family of four). I have assumed that a rental car would be a waste in my case...am I fooling myself?

PS- if you are one of those who detest seeing 4 and 5 year olds or adults with Goofy (as in the dog) hats (complete with ears and teeth) in 1st class, avoid this saturday's 5pm IAD-MCO flight!!!!!

How necessary? Well, I have a different question:

Q: What are the four most common words spoken by parents in Orlando?

A: "we have to wait" (usually preceeded by honey, dear or the childs name, as in "...now Johnny, I know you're hungry and all you want is a pretzel, but the line is very long and everybody takes a turn so we have to wait...")

A rental car means there's one less thing you have to wait for - you don't have to wait for the shuttle, you don't have to wait for transportation to and from Disney properties, you don't have to limit your dining and shopping choices, etc.

It was worth it for me.....

David

Alamo? No way! Add Houston Hobby to the list of rental car Bermuda Triangles. 40 minutes to process 2 customers -- that's four counter people and 3 computers. Apparently the job description includes a requirement to have NEVER touched or observed a computer in general, with no training provided for Alamo's software. I only booked it (took 3 tries, at that) to take advantage of extra credits offer on Southwest, but I won't make that mistake again.

Matt: If you plan on seeing anything other than the Disney World, and there are many others indeed to see, get a rental car. It also allows you to take a break during the day and eat at much cheaper places. For future references, I have been going to Orlando for the past decade at least 4 or 5 times a year, the week after Thanksgiving is definitely the week to go. NO LINES anywhere. Have a great vaction.

Matt, as one who flys to Disney World up to 4 times a month let me offer you a bit of advise. If you have patience and just want to go from your hotel to the Major Theme Parks (Magic Kingdom, Epcot, Disney-MGM, Animal Kingdom), the Village shuttle (operated by Mears) is fine. But you have to have patience as you have to wait for it and at peak times it often arrives already full! If you plan on hitting some of the secondary parks or the resort hotels for meals etc, a car rental is a must. Just try getting from say, the Grand Floridian to Dixie Landings...talk about connections! I estimate that a rental car would save you at least 2-3 hours a day. I'd say go for it.

2 things--

1. remember to value your time appropriately--vacation time has a time value and 1 hour to get a rental car to save 1 hour a day is a good deal

2. just saw something-I am a USAA member for insurance and they have some tie-in with Mears in Orlando--if you are too, you might want to check.

Ok, I'm convinced. I just renewed my Hertz #1 Club membership for work, so I guess I'll take advantage of that.

Thanks for the advice.

jamiel, I am a USAA member too - just got my auto insurance rebate! :) $50 on $300 of premiums. We should start a board for auto insurance/driving/renting...there"s a lot of tips to give. Maybe I can get a board going in my spare time, I will be unemployed after the 1st.

Aubie, I got appx $100 on $600 in premiums. A board might be good--worst case was when I rented in Montreal--one year later they asked if I knew about damage to the rental car !?!

jamiel, well, I have always considered that once the car is checked in and I am given a final receipt, unless the damage is noted...I consider the final receipt a release from any farther claims or charges, unless maybe the damage was concealed and undetectable from a visual inspection.

I had a very minor scrape on the wheel of my Eurpean rental car(in Europe they try to scam you for every minor dent and scratch) and was worried until I checked the car in...after that, I considered my receipt an acknowledgement that the car was returned in satisfactory condition. If they wait a year to tell me...I will raise h***!

Everyone...beware in Europe, when returning a car, they get down on their knees and eyeball the car for any little scratch or dent..I think it is a big scam to try to get normal wear and tear billed to customers. I wish the U.S. based car rental agencies would put and end to this! Their attitude...someone damaged the car so someone must be held responsible. So far I have been lucky and not had any of these scratch and dent claims.

aubie, you're right, but in this case silence was golden--the only thing they did was send letters to me. Even though I've got their express service, they never called or anything.

I don't think that there is as developed an auction market in Europe that buys cars from afar, like they have to dispose of the rental cars. The auction process pushes much of the rehabilitation cost of the off-rental cars to the dealer, I'd guess.

most of the (used) rented car are sold by the rental-car-companies to eastern Europe.

(some of them land there before they reached their pension-age .....).

It seems that most of us feel the best rental
car agencies are Hertz and Avis. I like Hertz, quick check in and out, courteous service, like the special coupons I get in the mail.

I will have a report on National Car Rental
shortly.

OMNI to Matt: As I said before... I will tip
my Red Green Show hat in salute to your Goofy
Hat. And my cat tie too. CATMAN