Rental Car

Yesterday I dropped off my car in order to have the rear bumper fixed.  I was hit from behind over a month ago and the insurance had finally been taken care of it.  I was going to need a rental car and the last thing I wanted was to get stuck in some small, crappy car.  In order to prevent this, I made sure the insurance agent I was dealing with requested a full size car for me.  I jokingly demanded a hybrid (I only drive hybrids!) but told him I really did need a decent car, because I do have other people ride with me quite often.

Well,  when the rental car employee showed up to give me the car, it was a small crappy car!  I could tell by his body language and his facial expression that he knew this wasn't the car I was supposed to have.  I had already done my best to notify the body shop I was coming and the rental company that I was headed to the body shop.  They said they were only 5 minutes away so they would be right over.  At this point, I had been waiting over 15 minutes.  Is that a long time?  Not too bad.  But if you tell me 5 minutes, and it takes 3 times as long, I'm going to be annoyed.  So you can imagine I wasn't happy go-lucky about this compact car with no power windows, stains all over the seats and it rattled like a tin can.  The employee told me they could swap the car out later but this was all they had.  I said, "What is the point of the reservation?".  No answer.

Not sure where to place the blame, I left in my tin can.  Maybe the insurance agent didn't do as he said.  But then I looked at the paperwork and there it was!  A black Impala (a full size sedan) was marked out in place of my Hyundai Accent.  OH!  So it was not the insurance agent at all, there was another car for me that the rental company gave to someone else.

No problem.  I just called them back and let them know I expected the car to be swapped out before the end of the day.  After getting to a manager, we had it arranged for a new car to be brought to me before the end of the day.  I will compliment them on doing the right thing and getting it taken care of quickly.  I felt a little bad about making them do it, but at the same time it is what I would have done for a customer in the same situation.  It was the right thing to do.

So for the next couple of days I am driving around in a new Malibu (it's even silver, my favorite color) and I am a much happier person!  By the way, I was very nice about the situation and thanked them profusely for getting me a different car.  I was not a rude person demanding that they fix it or else!  I find the best way to get what you want is to ask nicely and be persistent!