It's just too bad there's such a stratification between statuses.
Context in a nutshell: I'm a CHM, and while returning the car, the assistant manager gave me some severe attitude... being extremely condescending and rude, speaking to me like I was a 6 year old. I would like to think (and I hope others who have met me can attest) that I was even-toned and rational during this whole encounter. After a week of cooling down (because I was pretty steamed inside), I called the CHM desk to file a formal complaint. I don't do this lightly because I know the effect it can have. This was last week.
Today, I received a written letter in the mail:
"Dear Mr. Trojan,
"We appreciate your concern about your recent rental in XXX. At AVIS we strive to maintain a high level of excellence in service to you. We particularly value reports of customer issues that do not meet our high quality standards.
"We sincerely apologize for the rudeness you experienced from the assistant manager upon return of the rental vehicle. The manner in which he spoke to you was inexcusable and rest assured a reprimand will be made. We understand that such occurrences are disappointing and we sincerely apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused.
"In an effort to promote positive customer relations we have enclosed two AVIS Free Day Certificates for your use on a future AVIS Rental.... [snip]
Sincerely,
Signed, Very Important Person
AVIS"
(I obviously took out some identifying information. The certs are good for any rental, any day, any class).
If AVIS would treat the regular customer with half this service, I think it would fare much better against Hertz, which seems to have consistency across the board.
"
We Try Harder... just not with everyone... and not with our frequent renter programs"