hi there. here's a situation that occurred to me twice at Sixt Bahrain International Airport (I'm a frequent renter from that airport branch) and this just happened yesterday morning:

It's unfortunate to say but this is the 2nd time i return the rented car at morning working hours (7 am) to find no service attendant available to receive the drop-off or even hand over the rental agreement final receipt. There's a note of "will be back" attached with a mobile number and upon calling, the duty attendant is usually out of the airport area. They usually instruct to leave the car keys on the reception desk (unattended) and they will follow on it.

This makes me feel unsafe leaving the car keys like that, and it also delays the process of drop-off if i have to wait for someone to pick it up, where i have to proceed in check-in with my airlines. Also, i don't get to have my final agreement papers due to this too.

Also, your sixt franchise according to your website accepts diners club card, whereas the BAH airport branch didn't. I'm wondering if there's any policy discrepancy on this? As a loyal sixt renter, I hope to hear from you soon

I have contacted both the MD for Panama and our International Franchise Manager concerning your experience.

Please accept both theirs and my personal apologies for the inconvenience we caused you.

You are right that the telephone number was not working which obviously made the situation worse. This is a clear failure in communication between Sixt and our Partner in Panama. I have requested that our I.T department make the necessary changes in our system.

I am pleased at least to confirm that the difference in hires has been refunded to you.

Please do not hesitate to contact me if you have any further questions, drop me an e-mail before your next rental and I will make sure that things go extra smooth for you.

Best regards
Gary

I am checking this with the operations manager in Bahrain, I will pass on the answer as soon as I receive it.

Hello there. I have already received an explanation to what was going on. It seemed as per their customer relations officer, that due to restricted working hours and number of assigned staff, they have installed two surveillance cameras in their tiny office just in case anyone attempts to take keys which are to be left by the customer in case no one is around. And as for the diners card, they apologized that their credit card reading machine provided by the local bank doesn't take diners card (although hertz and avis in the same place do!) and I did appreciate the long phone call I have received. I was truly thanked for my feedback and worry about their car safety. Thanks for your concern!

I am very happy that you received a call to discuss the issues you raised in your post.

Best regards
Gary

Hi Gary,

I rented a car from Barcelona airport and delivered it in Barcelona centre last week. It was inspected by the Sixt representative who confirmed that the car was not damaged, but who would not give me any sort of written confirmation. Today I have received an e-mail stating that "upon its return it has been noted that there has been damage sustained during your rental". I have three questions:

1. How can I get a written confirmation that the car is indeed not damaged when I return a rental in the future?
2. How should I deal with a situation where Sixt says something to me in person and the opposite in writing later?
3. What shall I write in an incident report when there was no incident to report?

Please forward the details of your hire to [email protected] including the correspondance if possible.

I will of course reply in more detail later.

E-mail sent.Thanks for looking into this. It was a very pleasant rental, until this unexpected and unpleasant message today.

I have received the below response from my colleagues in Spain.

"Generally the customer should fill out the form and fax it back, that the damage as explained was not from him. We offer all clients a return receipt upon wish on which it´s stated that there is no new damage. Because we do not want to block clients in a hurry this feature is upon request only."

There will of course be exceptions on general handling, I apologise for this and for the unnecessary concern caused to you when contacting you to request a statement in relation to damage. I can confirm the the damage file has been closed, so there is now no need for you to forward this on.

Apologies again for the inconvenience.

Best regards
Gary

Thank you Gary, Today I received a new e-mail from Sixt in Spain, which told me that the matter is settled. It also stated that

which is quite different from the original claim that

I do believe the Spanish claims office needs to polish their form letters.

Again, thank you for taking time to look into this. Your presence here on FT is very much appreciated and makes Sixt a more attractive option.

I can only second this and I hope that Sixt does honour your activities here on FT.

Hi,

I'm having a bit of trouble with the Sixt website. I'm trying to book a rental, but there is no place to enter my SPG number to receive the discount.

Also, a question about the different car classes...I would like to prepay to get the lower rate, but I also want to be able to upgrade to a higher rental car class when I get there, depending on the cars available. Is this possible?

Thanks!

Usually you can book using a link on your Airline website.

Dependant on your status with your airline you can receive a discount and airmiles.

http://www.sixt.com/further-informat...artner/partner
The above link will provide information on our Partners / Status and benefit.

http://www.sixt.com/rental-services/sixt-cards/
You could also apply for the Sixt Express card, if you e-mail your Express card number to me [email protected] I will check your profile has incorporated your SPG number which will then be automatically included on all future rentals.

Please drop me a line with your Express card number and airline status.

Regarding taking a larger vehicle. Book the car you want to drive, if you see a different car that you like then it is possible to request an up sell. This will be charged in addition to the pre-paid amount at the end of the rental. There of course remains the possibility that the branch will simply offer you an upgrade as a goodwill gesture.

Dependant on your Airline Status you may be entitled to a free upgrade.

For others reading this, I can also offer to match your status with your airline even when no formal partnership exists between Sixt and your airline. This will allow benefits such as discounted rates and free upgrades dependant on status. Please contact me [email protected] to arrange the status match.

Best regards
Gary

Hi Totti

We at Sixt support Gary very much in his efforts on Flyertalk and yes, Gary is asking me every week for a pay rise.
Flyertalk is extremely important to us and our choice is simple. Sixt can either do it the old fashioned way and wait for customers and discussions to come to us, or we actively engage with our customers in their favourite forums. Flyertalk is without doubt the biggest and most influential platform for high end business travellers and it would be foolish not to listen to you. Other members of our team look after other platforms i.e. Andy and Dave work very much on our blog https://www.sixtblog.co.uk and I love to tweet @sixtuk

And trust me, I read yours and Gary's Flyertalk comments every day.

Per

Gary, how long does it take to get my US miles from the rental I had in Tenerife last month? The car was returned 20 Sep but still no US miles. I had used the link from US website and put my DM number on the rental.