DCA this morning - what a crazy experience.
Mostly junk in PC, couple of F's (Altima, etc.), a big Ford SUV and a Mercedes GLC (SUV). I take the GLC, what the heck, it's new and has satellite radio.
Get to the booth, it's the same agent who has in the past made up rules like "you can't take pictures here, it's against the law and you will be fined" (umm, okay, but WestLaw says no). I see him periodically. It's fine, I try to stay out of his way. Today he says, "well I see you've upgraded yourself to a luxury SUV for the low price of $25 a day." I say, "no, it was in stall 117. it was in the PC aisle, no extra charge."
He proceeds to tell me it doesn't matter where it was parked; it's a luxury SUV so obviously it's a premium upgrade, and if I read the rules I would know better. "I've read the rules. I teach people how to read legalese for a living. There's no charge." Still no dice, he says "I don't have to tell you this, there's a sign that even says premium upgrades are $25 a day. What's the mileage."
I say 3118, he says "wow, it's brand spankin' new." So I decide to play the game, "yup. brand spankin' new. 3118, can't beat that. go on and charge me your $25, you win."
So he prints me a receipt. And there's no upcharge on it. But he doesn't say a word.
So...
-Did he mean to charge me but forget?
-Did he take the charge off?
-Did he wish he could charge me but realize that the computer indeed had the vehicle logged in as a PC vehicle? (my presumption)
-Something else?
It's always bizarro world with this guy. One time he was working at the gold booth and no one was checking in cars; he refused to give me a receipt and I was later charged $90++ for a 1/4 tank of gas (Hertz CS reversed it, obviously).
On a positive note, the GLC isn't a bad little SUV, and it maneuvered into a pretty small parallel spot in DC today.