LAX fail: Dec. 26, 2015
#1
A FlyerTalk Posting Legend
Original Poster
Join Date: Feb 2001
Location: Berkeley, CA USA
Programs: Piggly Wiggly "Shop the Pig!" Preferred Shopper
Posts: 57,075
LAX fail: Dec. 26, 2015
Not a good day today at LAX for Avis. Dozens of people lined up to pick up cars that were not there. As the Seinfeld episode went, anyone can take reservations -- the key is that you hold the reservations.
With no communication to everyone in line, and no reason to think we'd get out of there within a hour, I gave up and got an Uber.
I wonder if Avis will offer everyone some compensation. They messed with a lot of customers there today.
With no communication to everyone in line, and no reason to think we'd get out of there within a hour, I gave up and got an Uber.
I wonder if Avis will offer everyone some compensation. They messed with a lot of customers there today.
#2
Join Date: Dec 2007
Location: SYR
Programs: US/AA-Platinum, Hilton-Diamond, Marriott-Gold, AVIS-Presidents Club, National-Executive Elite
Posts: 2,755
They only real way to combat this is to lower or eliminate the number of no-shows they normally have. The only good way to do this is to involve cancellation fees, or minimum cancel times, much like hotels do. Marriott now has a 24hr cancellation period for all stays. You can be sure more people are now canceling their hotels 1 day prior than when it was a 6pm "day of" rule.
So - we can give up some flexibility for better availability. Or, a few times a year, you might have to wait for a car for a bit until people return them. Its a trade-off.
So - we can give up some flexibility for better availability. Or, a few times a year, you might have to wait for a car for a bit until people return them. Its a trade-off.
#3
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Original Poster
Join Date: Feb 2001
Location: Berkeley, CA USA
Programs: Piggly Wiggly "Shop the Pig!" Preferred Shopper
Posts: 57,075
What happened last Saturday was way more than fewer no-shows than projected. There were hardly any cars in that huge lot, and dozens of people waiting to pick up their reserved cars. I'm guessing this was some sort of IT failure.
#4
Join Date: Dec 2007
Location: SYR
Programs: US/AA-Platinum, Hilton-Diamond, Marriott-Gold, AVIS-Presidents Club, National-Executive Elite
Posts: 2,755
The "huge lot" is a small portion of the amount of cars they'll have available. Often times, its just a problem of them needing to refill the pickup lot from their auxiliary lots.
#5
Join Date: Jul 2010
Posts: 458
They only real way to combat this is to lower or eliminate the number of no-shows they normally have. The only good way to do this is to involve cancellation fees, or minimum cancel times, much like hotels do. Marriott now has a 24hr cancellation period for all stays. You can be sure more people are now canceling their hotels 1 day prior than when it was a 6pm "day of" rule.
So - we can give up some flexibility for better availability. Or, a few times a year, you might have to wait for a car for a bit until people return them. Its a trade-off.
So - we can give up some flexibility for better availability. Or, a few times a year, you might have to wait for a car for a bit until people return them. Its a trade-off.
Obviously everyone needs a bit of flex from time to time but perhaps flexibility should come at a slight premium with the advantage being you can rely on there always being a car.