Good Bye Thirfty!!
 

I have been a loyal Thrifty customer but recently had a horrible rental experience. On July 21st, I picked up a car at the Tampa airport and could not believe what happened. As a Blue Chip member, I am accustomed to quickly picking up my rental agreement and being on my way. However, “Jose,” an extremely cold and incredibly rude employee, made sure that would not happen. (Jose is definitely NOT a people person, and I am surprised he is a “front line” employee.)

Jose informed me of Thrifty’s new policy of thoroughly scrutinizing any Florida resident who wishes to rent a car. He demanded to see my “return” plane ticket as proof that I was coming back to the airport and not planning on stealing the car. In addition, Jose had to “phone in” my drivers license number just to make sure there were no warrants out for my arrest. I have been renting cars for over thirty years. Never, has anyone at Avis, Alamo, National or Hertz ever asked for my “return” plane ticket nor had to call the state to find out if I was a “wanted” criminal. Jose wasted even more of my time by pressing me to spend $10.00 to upgrade to a car I neither requested nor wanted. He proceeded to use scare tactics to sell me insurance, even though my profile clearly shows I always decline. In all, I was at the counter for almost ½ hour. As I was leaving, I told Jose, (very politely,) that Thrifty just lost me forever. He replied by saying, “Sir, don’t forget your map.”

But what really pisses me off is what happened afterwards. Within an hour of the incident, I called “customer service” and told “Sharri” the whole story. She promised I would receive a response from Thrifty in the mail. But over one month later and I still have not heard anything. So I called again two days ago. This time, I spoke with “Tanya,” who could not find any record of me ever calling or filing a complaint!!! Furthermore, she had no record of an email complaint, which I sent via the Thrifty web site. So this time, I sent a letter by “snail mail,” along with my “cut up” Blue Chip card and sent it directly to the CEO.

I resent being treated as a “security risk” rather than as a customer. My busy schedule does not allow time for me to show “return” plane tickets, proof of my local hotel reservations, social security cards, insurance cards, credit cards, license background checks and to listen to sales pitches for insurance, upgrades and gasoline. I always thought the idea behind Blue Chip was to eliminate this rigmarole. I’ve noticed before, that Thrifty’s employees seem to lack the professionalism of the bigger companies such as Avis and National. From now on, I’m going to stick with one of them.


[This message has been edited by Neal (edited 08-27-2003).]

This is unfortunate, as Blue Chip members have a satisfaction guarantee when renting a car. Something should have been done in your case, especially considering this quote from the Thrifty website:

"Your Reputation Precedes You
Let your Personal Preference Profile tell us what you want and what you need, every time. Never again must you recite your personal history or labor through a list of auto and coverage options to complete your rental agreement."

These are tough times for everyone, and I would consider it a minor distraction. Perhaps Jose is just a poor judge of character or didn't want to make another mistake costing his job. If he was a Mensa member, he wouldn't be working a thankless job!

An unfortunate incident - seems like the opposite from BNA 3 weeks ago, where the contract was ready, got a Full-->Minivan just for asking, and because the car was dirty (and I invoked their first day free guarantee), and combined with Sam's club discount/coupon, I paid less than $110 for a week, base.

Everyone I interacted with was great, and hopefully, Jose was just a bad apple in what seems to be a good bushel.

[This message has been edited by a330300 (edited 09-01-2003).]

My Blue Chip experiences have all been quick, but I would agree that their personnel seem a bit less polished than the bigger companies.

In spite of all my phone calls, emails and snail mail letters, I still have not heard a thing from Thrifty.

But on the plus side, I did call customer service again and received some news that made me feel better. Apparently, they have mailed me a letter along with a refund check for the rental plus coupons for future rentals. They also contacted the owner of the Tampa franchise regarding my complaints.

Sometimes the mail to South Florida can be a bit slow so I'll cut them a little slack. It will be interesting to see what they say. Hopefully, it will not be a form letter. I'll post a follow-up once I hear from Thrifty.

Well, I take back most of what I said in the above post. Here it is, just under two months since the July 21st incident. To date, all I have received is an envelope with a check for $36.00 as reimbursement for the rental. But there was no letter of apology, no coupons or anything else in the envelope as was promised. Furthermore, the postmark was just three days earlier. This really angers me since I was told weeks ago, that the check, along with a letter and coupons had already been mailed.

Since I quit using Thrifty, I've been renting from Avis. They are so much more professional. Even the employees who drive the shuttle buses are so courteous and helpful. I guess it really is "Goodbye Thrifty" for good.

Remember "AVIS - We try Harder". I actually prefer renting from them myself... glad you enjoy the service!

Actually, I've had only one experience with Avis - when they declined to rent me a car (they typed in the wrong corporate number on the phone and consequently thought that it allowed me to rent when under 25. Showed up with the correct card - it was a no go - TOTAL waste of time). The Avis driver was very curteous driving me over to thrifty @ LAX!