Imagine this scenario: you finally have some time off. You are ready to enjoy your well-deserved holiday. Your flight is booked, and a nice rental car at your destination is waiting for you to pick it up. Everything for the time off is organised. You have your flight details, you arrive at the airport with your well-packed luggage. And here comes the first barrier: your flight is an hour delayed. It wouldn’t be a problem if the car rental place at your destination didn’t close before you arrive there. While taking your flight, you have your partner try to reach the rental company. Reaching an employee to help out turns to be more challenging than the whole organisation of your trip in total. You arrive at the airport, you are ready to pick up your car. Then comes the next challenge: the employees won’t take your driver’s license because your dog chewed on it. And they won’t give you any assistance.
It sounds as if this car rental story was made up. Cheryl Texiera probably wishes she invented her story when she uploaded it on TikTok in May last year. It was a competition of who is faster – Cheryl on her six-hour flight to JFK Airport, New York or her family trying to reach someone from the car rental place. In the end, Cheryl won because she arrived 15 minutes before the place closed. Still, the disappointment in her voice can’t be disregarded. It was more than just a stressful situation, she manages to show up at the right time and then the employees were anything but helpful. If you want to know the details and how the story ended for Cheryl, you can listen to it on the TikTok linked above.
Cheryl’s experience with the employees at JFK Airport is only one of many examples where customers complained about the way they were treated at car rental places. Renting a car is popular among tourists who want to see the countryside of Ireland. Jody Halsted writes about the advantages of discovering Ireland by car in her blog, while she is comparing different rental companies as well as seasonal rental prices. According to the Car Rental Council of Ireland, at least ten different companies offer cars on a daily basis.
While people are struggling to understand car rental policies, insurance coverage or extra fees, another major concern is the communication with employees. There are several reasons why customers complain about how they were treated by employees. On the one hand, it can be difficult to reach someone to support with issues arising after the rental. The Twitter post by Bojan Tunguz is a recent example of frustration among customers. Tunguz and his family needed help from Hertz employees because their car broke down on their way to the airport. Sadly, support was the last thing they would receive from the company.
On the other hand, issues can arise right at the counter when picking up the car. Employees are in direct contact with the customers and it is natural that they need to explain certain details of the rental process. Just as Cheryl’s story portrays, the staff members often do not take the time to take care of the customer’s concerns and try to put them off with excuses, e.g. that the license is not acceptable.
As amazing as rental cars can be by giving the renters independence, the more frustrating the contact with the staff of the companies can be. More and more stories are shared online, therefore Autosplash published some guidelines on how to make a proper complaint. Whether it’s formal or via social media, the most important is to keep all the documents, including bills, receipts as well as proofs of payments.
Even though people have shocking stories to tell, car rental is popular among tourists in Ireland. Experts project the estimated revenue of car rental companies for 2023 to be more than 162 million US dollars with numbers raising in the future. Renting a car gives tourists the opportunity to see places they would not be able to visit when taking a bus or train. It gives independence, often saves time and sometimes it is cheaper to travel by car as a group. If you want to know how to save money for your next car rental, check out the following video by The Deal Guy:
Car rentals tend to lead to a lot of stories for sure, whether they are positive because of all the great places people see or because of difficult situations with the employees. If you have an exciting or shocking story to share, let us know in the comments! We would also be interested to hear about positive stories about employees.
One Response
What an annoying experience, thank you for sharing her story!