All Too Typical of American Service-Related Businesses
by vemartin - Written: Jun 07 '07
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I am traveling once again! I have come to loath traveling, a pastime I used to adore; the world political situation has made travel, even national travel, more of a hassle than it’s worth. Be that as it may I found myself once again needing to travel to the east coast recently for an important family function with a daughter in tow.
So I made reservations through Expedia.com (review still to come) for air transport, hotel, and car rental. I drive a 2005 Ford Freestyle, so I wanted to rent a car, a car, a nice roomy car with a lot of horses under the hood. But, I did want to pay more the $30.00 a day for the privilege, and even though I wanted power, I was ever mindful of the current gas prices.
I did some research and only Dollar Rent-a-Car met all of my requirements; Enterprise came close, but in the end I wanted to drive one of Dodge’s new Magnum’s or Charger’s. And Dollar has—or at least advertised—an all Dodge fleet, and the price was right ($24.22 a day; total: $67.08) so I made reservations through Expedia.com.
My Experience
My experience with Dollar was a mixed bag. On one hand the car I eventually rented for two days was what I wanted: a clear, powerful, but reasonably fuel efficient car that was fun the drive. But getting the car I wanted took some doing.
When I reserved my (full-sized) car on Expedia.com detailing that I wanted to rent a Dodge Charger or Magnum. The rental car garages at Baltimore Washington International/Thurgood Marshall Airport (BWI) are a fair distance from the terminals and so a shuttle was in order.
There were very few people in line at the Dollar counter when we arrived so I was waited on fairly quickly; so far so good. My sales person was a disaster; half the time I could not understand what he was saying because he was mumbling softly to himself, so I had to ask and re-ask key question several times. And he didn’t explain the in and outs of the very lengthy rental contract very well at all; it’s a good thing I have a lot of experience renting cars or I would have been completely lost vis-à-vis my options and added-on costs.
Once the paperwork was all complete, I asked about the car I would receive and I was told I would be driving a Ford Taurus (the rebadged Ford 500). Of course I stood in stunned silence for a spell, and then asked the question again and received the same answer, at which point I explained that I was guaranteed at the time of the reservation that I would be able to rend either a Dodge Magnum or Charger. At this point the little salesman became rude and tersely explained that the only full sized car they had at this location was a Ford Taurus.
Stuck—after all last minute car rentals are a royal pain—I accepted the paperwork and went out to get my car. Once at the checkout booth I was handed the keys to a very large, geriatric-set, fuel-guzzling Mercury Marquis. What, no Ford Taurus? I refused to drive it; even my daughter didn’t want to be seen in it. So I went back to the Dollar booth and demanded what I had reserved; a full sized car in the mold of a Dodge Magnum or Charger, several of which were on the lot. I got my Dodge Magnum, but not after some reluctance from the booth buddy why tried to put me in a Chrysler 300 for just a wee bit more cash.
The Gas Charges
With gas prices at an all-time historic high—even when the inflation of the 1980’s is factored in—it is not wonder that rent-a-car concerns want pass along the costs of keeping their fleets gassed up along to you and me. Dollar has taken a rather convoluted approach almost certainly designed to confuse the customer. Gone are the days when you could just bring the car back with half a tank, now days it has to be full and full within ten miles of the rental car return garage, or Dollar with charge you $3.25 a gallon to make it so.
Another alternative: Dollar will charge you $2.99 a gallon to fill the tank initially and you have to bring it back filled. Yet another alternative, take the car as is, and bring it back as it and Dollar with you $3.99 to fill the tank.
The prices were probably specific to the BWI area, and could be easily changed. I chose the $3.25 option knowing full well that I would fill the tank before returning the car.
Conclusion
All and all, my experience with Dollar Rent-a-Car was about what I expected it to be: short on customer service, laden with money traps (add-ons like insurance and upgrades), but necessary to my trip. The car was clean and well maintained and checking in the car was not nearly as dramatic as checking it out.
For the price, I reluctantly do business with Dollar again; I am unwilling to let just one experience sour me to the entire company. I am willing to let them try again, but no doubt they will fall on their swords again.
Recommended:
Yes
What product did you purchase or try to purchase? Car
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