Drives to meeting. Parks in empty lot. Has meeting. Walks through empty lot and gets back into car.
Drives back to airport and drops off car. Does not even stop for frozen custard which seems like a pity because when in Rome. Although in Rome it would probably be gelato or sticks of dripping fruit. But here, it's frozen custard. Which he doesn't stop for.
Gets call from rental agency.
Car has ding on left side near bumper.
Uh-huh.
And we blame you.
It wasn't me. I drove to meeting, parked in empty lot and drove back to airport. To be honest, I didn't even stop for frozen custard.
Well there is no note on the file that there was a ding on left side near bumper. It is not displayed on the pre-rental inspection sheet.
Uh-huh.
And we blame you. You owe us $1500.
It wasn't me. I will not be paying for damage I didn't do. I understand that this wasn't caught on pre-rental inspection. Guess someone screwed up. I didn't ding the car.
(Six months of emails, phone calls and repetitive conversations).
Hi, this is the Collections Department of the Car Rental. You owe $1500.
No I don't.
Yes. You rented car on such and such date. Car was returned. Ding was discovered on left side near bumper. It says here you didn't even stop for a frozen custard.
I understand all of that. However. I did not ding car and I will not be paying $1500.
But the car was returned with a ding. And you were the last person to drive it.
J has an idea. He says to Collections: How about if you check who had the car before me? Maybe their pre-rental inspection was more thorough and the ding was caught.
Good idea. Collections verifies pre-person's pre-rental and calls back. No luck. The ding did not appear on the previous person's rental. However, the record does show that they stopped for a cone of butter brickle.
J has another idea. Look. He says to Collections. I travel a lot for business. For the past 14 years I have exclusively used your car rental company. If you look in my past records, you will see that three years ago I was in an accident with your car and I took responsibility and paid what I owed. In this case I owe nothing.
In fact. Why don't you look up how much I have spent with your company? You will see what a loyal customer I am. You will see that I rent cars from you all the time. I go directly to my destination and then back to the airport. I am very straightforward. If you continue to harass me about this $1500 that I don't owe, I will never rent from you again.
Thirty minutes later, Collections calls back.
Hi Mr. J. It's Collections we have decided to waive the fee thank you for your business goodbye.
What J Thinks the Key Complaint Lesson Is
1. J thinks that the main point is that he changed the conversation. What was initially an argument over $1500 in damages that are probably paid for by Car Rental Insurance, became a conversation about $6000 or more in annual revenue generated by J's business travel.
What I Think the Key Complaint Lesson(s) Is (Are)
1. If you are a loyal customer, mention it during your negotiation it will give you leverage.
2. If you are really willing to stop doing business with the company, mention it during your negotiation, it will give you leverage.
3. J knew his limits and what he was willing to pay so he held strong during all the back and forth.
4. Sometimes if you refuse to pay an unfair charge, the issue will get escalated on their end until the person who calls you is authorized to negotiate or in this case waive the fee entirely.
5. Frozen custard while definitely worth the detour can be a distraction from the greater issues.
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