Originally Posted by
s0ssos
Very interesting.
Do you have any insight as to why outside of the US the rental car companies are much sleazier? Even though they have the same name, and supposedly are in countries with better service. Like in Europe, where there are more consumer-friendly regulations than the US, you have companies charging you for damages you never committed, etc. In the US it is sleazy but not down to that point usually.
For the US-based brands (Hertz, Avis, etc.), I would guess it's the result of independent ownership (separate franchises) or independent management (Avis Europe--owned by Avis but operated mostly independently). For the European-owned brands (Sixt, Europcar, etc.), I'd guess it's a corporate culture thing. The US has a very strong the-customer-is-always-right mentality (and companies compete for customers' business), whereas I've noticed that isn't quite as strong in Europe. Those are just guesses, though, but I totally know what you're saying, having experienced sleazy treatment overseas. In the US, that kind of sleazy treatment is generally only found at Payless...