Originally Posted by
rasheed
My issue is ABG just can't operate Payless worse than its flagships. If they do high pressure and can't do kiosk or easier checkouts, then it brings down the whole brand. Older cars are okay, but service can't be negotiable.
In many local airports, I see fleet operations are shared even though the counter is elsewhere.
I think EHI has figured it out with keeping the brands separate, but polite service across the brands. You can even use the kiosk to avoid the upsells.
Rasheed
They should. They don't. I was optimistic they'd clean up Payless's act. They haven't. I haven't been able to figure out whether Payless is too profitable and they don't want to screw up the revenue stream or the C suite has their heads in the sand and don't even realize just how bad Payless is.
Either way, I think one of the keys is for everyone to keep the pressure on ABG and make sure that it is known far and wide that Payless is owned by ABG and make sure that Payless's poor service reflects poorly on the ABG brand. Maybe when that shiny red Avis "We Try Harder" branding sparkles a little less due to its connection with the Payless brand, they'll finally take some action.
Originally Posted by
sdsearch
The issue with Anchorage is that even though it's in the USA, even at the airport, at least some (I don't know if all) of the "major" players are non-corporate locations (that's certainly the case with Avis), meaning they don't have to give miles/points/whatever, honor central reservation coupons and policies, etc. Usually you only find that halfway around the world (at least if you're sticking to airport locations) and usually you don't find it in the USA (at airport locations).
In ANC, only Enterprise and Hertz are corporate.
From what I've heard, Hertz has toyed with the idea of franchising the ANC location. EHI, OTOH, has been attempting to repurchase the National/Alamo franchise, but the current owner (Alaska Sales & Service, the local GM dealer) doesn't want to sell (or is holding out for a higher price).
National/Alamo in Fairbanks is operated corporately by EHI.
I've had fine experiences with Hertz ANC (certainly on par with Hertz elsewhere). The only thing is that the garage wasn't built in a configuration that allows each agency to easily gate off its own area, so Hertz can't leave keys in cars as the garage is open-exit. Without that, they can't offer true Gold Canopy or Ultimate Choice service. Without Gold Canopy and with a "meh" fleet selection (they don't bother to send up some of the nicer sedans that Hertz elsewhere often sees, probably because they don't sell well in Alaska and it costs money to ship cars down to auction in the Lower 48, so they try to order a mix of cars that will sell well in the local market), it's a mediocre rental location, but I've never had any actual problems with the staff or service itself (unlike, say, half the HLEs in the Lower 48 that can't seem to understand what reservations mean).