YVR Cockroach

Rented a Ranger at the $19.99/day rate at KOA. On the last night, I got in a saw brown things scurrying inside. Didn't have to think to know they were Asian cockroaches. I told the agent on return and she commented it was always a problem with trucks and not cars, and simply wrote "ROACHES" on the key tag. Worth writing to Budget head office to see what I can get?

Butcher Bird

I would write the Budget home office to inform them of the situation, and specifically indicate in the letter that you do not want any consideration. The issue would seem to be informing the corporate offices of the shortcomings of a specific rental site, not in getting something from Budget.

ejulber

From my personal experience with lodging a concern about a VERY substandard Budget rental, the main office could care less about customer satisfaction.

We rented a Budget vehicle that:

1) had holes in the floor that resulted in minor carbon monoxide poisoning to us

2) broke down due to lack of maintanence

3) two tires had slow leaks (each morning, the tires were nearly flat)

4) had no horn or brake lights

Upon returning the vehicle to the Budget rental location, they agreed to charge us "only" $50 per day (5 days) rather than the $95 per day on the contract. We later got our statement and the Budget office not only charged the $95 per day, but they charged us $150 extra for "damage" -- unspecified.

The main Budget office simply replied to our complaint by stating "claim denied." We could never get a straight answer from them and ended up contesting the charge with VISA (which worked).

Budget sucks.

HKG_Flyer

Awhile back, I rented a car from Budget that was missing its front license plate (required in the jurisdiction) and had a rear license plate from a different vehicle.

About 10:00 p.m., I was driving down a oneway street in Wash, D.C. when a sedan came racing towards me and blocked my path. Then, two sketchy guys jumped out with shotguns which they pointed at my chest while simultaneously a police cruiser raced up behind me.

After showing them my rental contract and a fair bit of talking on their radio, they let me go... didn't get any compensation or discount from Budget.

Captain Mike

I had the opposite experience. Mine was good. Had to fool around for part of three days getting the "check engine" light to stay off because the person who serviced the car in Seattle before I got it left the gas cap hanging loose. Budget location on Vancouver Island, Canada was very nice - gave me a replacement car while the original was being fixed. When I got home, I called Budget customer service and they sent $60.00 voucher, good on next rental.

I have yet to see AA miles post for this rental, but the service and compensation were good, I feel.

concal

The truth is all the rental companies I use (I am on the road 50 weeks a year) don't give a rat's a**. I started renting from whomever is cheapest, because even if I use the same company all year, I get no perks like upgrades or any discounts which make me feel special. Face it, there's no such thing as customer service for any of these companies.

Butcher Bird

While the auto rental Co programs provide very little in the way of comps, etc., they do provide some.

I am up to about 30-35 rentals per year from Budget. A coworker rents about 40-45 times per year. We do get comped up an auto, and can occasionally get an Expedition for the asking (still at the mid-size rate).

This is not to say that there is much in the way of recognition from the auto companies, but there is some. Also, I think that it is National that has different "tiers", much like the airline programs. If you really rent that often; I would bet that National's program would be of use to you. Just a suggestion.

rmccamy

Avis and Hertz both have what you could call "elite" programs. Different locations are free to do what they want regarding the benefits, so it's not consistent like airline levels. For example, Hertz top tier is usually good for a guaranteed upgrade, but somehow the news never made it to TPA.

Customer service also varies widely by location and company, but IMHO this is the #1 opportunity for improvement across the industry.