Emerald Aisle surprise

[Letsbgoofy]

I spoke with a reservationist at the EA number and was told that
1. even if you book a full sized car you are only guaranteed a mid-size car
2. they are taking the mini vans, luxury cars, SUV's, etc. off of the aisle (once in a while they may be available).

I made a reservation for a full size car and expected to get one. I was told that in order to guarantee a full size, I will need to check in at the counter.


Did I miss something here? This is not what I understood EA to be when I joined last fall.

[GAIL HAYDEN]

I believe you were misinformed re: full size guarantee. What you book is what you are guaranteed. As to the vehicles being removed, that I have no response to other than to say, if you want a SUV, mini van, etc. that is what you need to book. EA is for intermediates through full size, if you get something else, consider it a bonus, not a given.

[Letsbgoofy]

I realize that it is a bonus to get a larger car, I posted that information because there has been so much talk about what kind of cars are available at MCO. As to being misinformed...I spoke with 3 people and they all told me the same thing. When I got my confirmation it read "type of car requested"; this sounds to me like a way to cover themselves if there are no full size available. As you seem to be the expert, I suggest that you call and ask if a full size is guaranteed and let us know what you are told.

[Gillian]

I have found that some National agents are not well informed (just like Disney!), but 3 out of 3 is pretty good!

Thanks for posting. I have been planning to call anyway to ask about reserving a 4 door, because of our car seat. I'll ask about EA/full size/intermediate also. It seems to me that if you reserve a full size (like I did & that's what confirmation says) then you should get one, even if you choose EA as your level of service. I don't care about suvs or minivans so I's be happy changing to emerald choice (at the full size aisle), and still avoiding the line.

[idontknow]

I called to find out about the "new" gassing procedure for EA memebers in May. (just return the car and they will only charge you for what you've used instead of the entire tank) I was told unless I specified on my profile that I wanted them to gas the car, I would be charged the higher rate. ($4 a gal) From what I read with peoples first hand reports, that's not how it works. Needless to say, we still filled the tank ourselved before we returned it. I didn't want to be charged $4 a gal when we only had to put $2.50 in the tank. I'm too chicken to return the car without gassing after talking to EA cs. LOL

[GAIL HAYDEN]

Letsbgoofy,
I did call and they told me that I would receive a full size car and if not, I could go to the full size area and select one.
Expert, NO, however, before I respond to something I do check it out. My source, btw, was the Emerald Club hotline. The number is listed on your information package from the EC.
What was said is that it is an intermediate rate with an upgrade to full size on the aisle.
Since the confimations says : Full size car or your choice on the aisle, that is what we can expect to receive, at the least. This came from the gentleman I spoke with at the above referenced location.

BTW, your sarcasm was not necessary nor appreciated. This is a sharing place, not a war zone.

[briane]

Don't know if this helps or adds to more confusion but...

I requested a fax of my reservation because I did not get an e-mail confirmation. Apparently, the guy basically did a "print screen" from his computer becuase what I got looks very strange. Anyways, it says

Veh Req Full Size
Veh Chrgd Intermediate
Veh Inv Full Size

Across from the first line it says: cpn Y. Across from the third line it says Guar N.

No clue what any of this means but the big question is if Emerald Isle does not have a full size, what do you do? Looks like you are headed for the counter. Otherwise you are driving off with the car you picked.

[Gillian]

I emailed from the EC area on the website. I asked about being guarenteed a full size car and also about the availability of a 4 door, as we will need to install a car seat. My reservation says, "full size or your choice at the aisle"

This is the response I received:

Thank you for your inquiry.

With Emerald Aisle, you are not guaranteed a specific make or model.
You may choose from availability at the time of your renal between midsize
to fullsize cars. To be guaranteed a fullsize four door car, you will
need to change your reservation to a counter pick up and pay the fullsize rate.

Thank you,

Reservations Internet Response
National Car Rental

This doesn't make sense to me, as I thought I was reserving a full size. I am going to repond to the email & see what other answers I get. I am not sure we need a full size car with just 3 of us, but if we reserved it, they should have it. I may change our reservation to emerald choice. BTW, I do understand not guarenteeing a 4 door, but on National's web site it says the full size cars ARE 4 doors.

I'll post any updates!

[PoohNPiglet]

Just when I thought I understood how all this EA stuff worked, I read this post! My goodness it does seem to confuse things. Gillian, I would be interested in what you find out!

[lawgs]

so it looks like there needs to be more communication between the various "branches" of the National rental network.....


there seems to be some contradictory statements coming out of the representatives that various people have been contacting....

as far as MCO goes....if you have enough time and patience ...you usually are able to get something you like even if it means waiting til they bring more cars over from the "garage"....

.....

with regards to "specifying" full size when booking online at mco it does not come up with a "popup" which says "no emerald aisle service available for the class of car you have chosen" and then switch you to counter.....so if the "rule" is full size = counter, then the website has not been programmed correctly.... it might be that the "full size = counter" is a system wide "generality"...thus the reason for the "boiler plate" response from the email that was "received"...

all in all....Emerald aisle has been very good to us at MCO so far....

but always. keep print outs of confirmations and web site screens to back you up in the case of a discrepancy

[briane]

A little off the subject but a quick question:

Does time of day and day of week effect choices at the lot? I am renting on a Monday morning and thought that we be good with many folks heading back on Sunday.

[Lewisc]

Gillman--The reply makes no sense, if you are reserve a full size car (not through emerald club) you wind up picking any car from full size aisle. It sounds like National is tired of people trying to get upgrades to SUV's and minivans and is about to change EA so you will not be guaranteed a full size car at the intermediate rate. All the upgrade coupons from any car rental agency I've seen state: subject to availability at time of rental. I guess they are going to do the same thing with EA. If your reservation says full size I'm sure they'll allow you to pick from the full size aisle. I DON'T THINK THEY GUARANTEE A 4 door car (although normally they have them.)

[Letsbgoofy]

Gail Hayden,

I was not being sarcastic, it was a compliment. You do seem like the expert on National matters. After I posted the e-mail, I called National's Emerald Aisle service center yet again and was told the same information. You really need to press them to answer that a full size is GUARANTEED and then they will tell you that it isn't. Gillian a few posts ago was given the same information that I was. I suggested that you call and ask because you seem so familiar with their procedures. I'm sorry if I offended you; your posts regarding National last fall helped me to get the great rate that I have.

[Lewisc]

Letsbgoofy
If your reservation has the same wording we've been getting (full size or your choice from the aisle) I'd be comfortable taking a car from the full size aisle (no guarantee of 4 door) BUT it sure sounds like they are in the process of changing the program.

[sgtdisney]

When I made my reservation with National I selected Fullsize. On the confirmation it says Fullsize OR choice at aisle. I am wondering if the people at National that are saying the fullsize isn't confirmed are assuming people are selecting the Intermediate option and then going to the aisle expecting a fullsize. Based on all the paperwork I have in my hands, everywhere it says Fullsize reserved. I would not expect less.

From my experience with the National system, many of their employees really don't understand the system correctly. Or, it may be true that they are planning to change the structure of the Emerald Club, who knows. But if, when you made the reservation, you selected the Full size car option and that is what all the paperwork says, I would fully expect that you would be able to drive away in at least that car class. Now, if you selected intermediate and expected more, you may be sunk. I am not worried about this at all. I do have a feeling that National may be having issues with people who go to the aisle expecting something more that they reserved and expecting a free upgrade. Maybe they are having too many problems with this...

Oh well, if worst comes to worst when I go to pick up my fullsize car and if they give me a hard time, I will walk away and use my backup reservation through Dollar.... :p

[CarolA]

I am not sure about all of this. However, I do know that if you only reserve a midsize and the Aisle is completly empty then all they have to let you have is the midsize. However, I have used the EA program extensively thoroughout the US and very rarely is there not a full size four door car on the Aisle (I actually cannot remember a time when I did not see a full size)

As for the SUVs, Minvans, etc... they can get more for them renting them than by offering them on the Aisle so I am sure that National does not place lots of them on the Aisle unless the local manager is in a good mood!

[Gillian]

For anyone who was wondering, I selected full size, emerald aisle. Using disney club discount plus free day coupon.

I responded to the email I posted above and also called. The call was very interesting. It turned out that they had me bumped back to counter, although the online ressie still showed EA. First the reason was driver's license expiring before trip. got that fixed. Then it was the coupon, supposedly. argued about that (nicely). Then they said it was because they never got the fax of my signature declining the insurance. I will fax it later & see if it changes their system. Online says EA still.

And about the full size thing, she was quite clear that you are not guarenteed full size if there isn't one on the aisle. The person who posted about it being a free upgrade subject to availability seems to be correct. I am annoyed with this, because I did not realize this is what I was requesting. My confirmation says full size, and that is what I would like.

I tried to point this out in my return email & got this response, some of which seems to be boiler plate:


Thank you for your inquiry.

You received the midsize rate for Emerald Aisle. On our website
http://www.nationalcar.com, if you choose between midsize, standard or
fullsize cars, you will automatically receive Emerald Aisle at the
midsize rate if the location offers the service. You do have the option to
change your level of service to counter if you want to be guaranteed a
specific size.

With Emerald Aisle, you bypass the counter and head directly to the
Emerald Aisle lot. Emerald Aisle consists mostly with midsize to fullsize cars
and you'll choose when you arrive. Unfortunately, we cannot guarantee a
specific size when you use Emerald Aisle. Cars on Emerald Aisle are on
a first come first serve basis.

Thank you,

Reservations Internet Response
National Car Rental


My main problem with this is that I did not ask for midsize anywhere in making the reservation, and how would I know that I might not get full size unless I had asked?? Lesson learned - next time, don't ask!!! :)

[sgtdisney]

Very interesting development. Given my printed confirmation from National, if I were to get to the Emerald Aisle and were to not get a full size car, I would simply go to the fullsize aisle and take one from there. If they turned me away or tried to make me take an Intermediate which is not what I actually reserved, I would tell them to stuff it and walk away.

If all this is true, and I don't doubt what they are telling you, National is opening themselves up for some trouble based on what they are telling you and others here and what the reservation itself actually says. The reservation says Fullsize or choice at aisle. That to me, and many others shows that fullsize is what is reserved. There is nothing on the website that says you are not guaranteed a certain class. At least nothing I can find on my reservation. National better change their material and fast or they may be opening themselves up to some lawsuits here. This is one reason I always have a backup reservation no matter who I use. I was stuck a couple of times with Alamo and I vowed it would never happen again.

[GAIL HAYDEN]

Letsbgoofy,
I am sorry that I took your post the wrong way. That is the problem with communicating this way, no body language to read.
I do thank you for your compliment.
I have to credit lawgs and Pluto for a lot of what I have learned. They are really super on this subject.
You are right, pressing National for an answer is difficult, especially when there is a language barrier. I encountered this this am(wanted to ask the question, yet again). The CSR tried his best, and I tried mine, but, sometimes it can get the best of you. :)
What he said made sense booking at Intermediate rate and getting an upgrade to full size on the aisle. However, he did say that if we ask we should be allowed to go to full size for a vehicle if there are no full size on the aisle. Frankly, I am not worried, I have yet to hear or read of anyone not getting what they booked. I have heard of folks not getting a SUV or minivan or convert, etc.

[Beverly Lynn]

you can't get a staright answer form the rental cars just like the airlines! LOL but hey Gail remember when I asked you about my ressie for the beginning of this month? it was from aug 3rd 11 am till aug 6th 430p,. should have been 4 days right? well they only charged me 3 days it ended up costing me 70.62! instead of 100.62! it saved me money in the long run! go figure! I even called the ZL center to ask them to look at my online ressie and tell me which was correct...the 3 day charge or the 4 day charge and they said 4 days but when I returned the cruiser it was only 3 days! go figure!

[GAIL HAYDEN]

Bev,
Sure do remember and it worked out for you. :) Sometimes it makes you wonder. :)
I usually get straight answers out of the airlines, however.

[tinkandme]

Hi SGT.Disney,

In your earlier post you mentioned you would just use the Dollar reservaton instead
of going thru the trouble with national. My question, if everything went well with
national what happens with your ressie with dollar? Are you charged in any way
for not filling the ressie from Dollar? And then the reverse, If you used Dollar, what happens with the National ressie? This sounds like a great way to solve a bunch of problems. I too have had a disaster with Alamo, and had wished I had another ressie with someone else.

Thank You,
TinkandMe

[nluvwithdisney]

I know it's not Florida, however I used EA in Atlanta this past weekend. We arrived and there were many intermediate and economy size cars on the aisle. I told the attendant, and he said to wait or choose from the Full-size aisle. My reservation stated Full-size or your choice at the aisle. In the end, I was quite happy. I received a premium car (Pontiac Bonneville) fully loaded. I did have to race someone to get it.

On the return, I noticed a greater selection of vehicles including premium and luxury. I will be interested in seeing what happens in Florida in November.

National needs to honor our reservations. If we can choose intermediate or full-size for the same price then I deserve no less than full-size if that's what my confirmation says.

One more question, why does national put economy on Emerald Aisle? That seems pretty ridiculous if they are pushing midsize thru full size options on EA.

[Gillian]

I was told that the EA was sticked with midsize through full size cars. What economy cars did you see? There is no way I would take an economy car if my confirmation says full size, even if I was travelling by myself!

[nluvwithdisney]

Gillian,

I saw many Toyota Corrollas on the Aisle. I wasn't about to put one on the highways in Georgia & Alabama. I pretty sure that they aren't midsize cars.

[sgtdisney]

Originally posted by tinkandme
Hi SGT.Disney,

In your earlier post you mentioned you would just use the Dollar reservaton instead
of going thru the trouble with national. My question, if everything went well with
national what happens with your ressie with dollar? Are you charged in any way
for not filling the ressie from Dollar? And then the reverse, If you used Dollar, what happens with the National ressie? This sounds like a great way to solve a bunch of problems. I too have had a disaster with Alamo, and had wished I had another ressie with someone else.

Thank You,
TinkandMe

Dollar never charges or asks for your credit card when you hold a reservation with them. So, if the National reservation were to fall through, I would tell them to cancel that reservation and just go to Dollar. Going the other way, from Dollar to National is a little more complicated, as National has your credit card information, if you are using Emerald Club that is. In that case you would have to find some way to cancel your National reservation if you went with the Dollar reservation. Avis, and I think Budget don't take your credit card info to hold a reservation, so this would work with them as well.

[tinkandme]

sgtdisney,
I see, What a great idea, so you could lock in a good rate at dollar as well.
I was very tempted to leave the Alamo counter to go to another, but was afraid of the rate
that I would get, this way I can know ahead and use it if I need to. Thank you for explaining!

[JandD Mom]

To make things even more murky, there is the ambiguity on whether your spouse can drive the car you rented. The web site says they can't. The brochure with the contract for the EC says they can. I emailed National about it and they say any EC member can drive your car. So I signed by DH up for EC so we do not have to pay the extra fee. What's up with that? I think I would have a great argument that, if charged for an extra driver, the contract does say spouses could drive, and they never sent me an amendment.

Bottom line is, National customer service is just plain sloppy.

[briane]

JandD Mom,

I agree with you about sloppy. I called about a month ago and talked to Emerald Club about driving for free when the reservation is in my wife's name. He said "I'm pretty sure that is ok".

I'm "pretty sure" that I don't want a hassle so I made my own reservation.

How can any customer service person say "pretty sure" about anything other than the weather?

[GAIL HAYDEN]

JandD Mom,
Perhaps you are confusing authorized drivers and free authorized drivers.
According to my contract, " a member of my immediate family who permanently lives with me: or a business partner, employer or regular employee who drives the Vehicle for business purposes" are the only authorized drivers.
The national sites adds this: Authorized Drivers

Free (in the United States and Canada) – An Emerald Club member, business partner, employer, or fellow associate who drives the car for business purposes.
All other additional authorized driver situations are subject to a daily charge.

Additional Authorized Drivers

All additional drivers must meet ALL rental qualifications in regard to age, credit card, and driving record as well as all other standard rental qualifications.
Must appear at the rental counter with the primary renter.
Must present a valid driver's license.
Must sign the rental agreement.
Must present an acceptable credit card in his/her own name.

The way I read this is: They are free if they are part of the business or a relative with an emerald card. If the relative does not have a EC, they can drive, but, must pay.

I don't think you have much of an arguement as the contract says nothing about spouses or family members being free from an extra driver charge.

As to being sloppy, I must respectfully disagree.

As to being "pretty sure" from another post, some people in some areas of the country speak like this, it means yes, you can. If you want a more salient answer, call again. I did call, asked the same question and stated that the spouse was an EC member, they said no charge, I asked what would happen if the spouse was not an EC member, they said, there would be a charge. Why don't I have problems getting an answer?

[JandD Mom]

Sorry Gail, but I must respectfully disagree with you. I just so happened to have a copy of the EC contract in my office with me today (an unusual occurrance) so I reviewed the provision you made reference to. You are right, it does say an authorized driver is someone who lives with you etc. BUT, there is no reference to having to pay an additional fee for these drivers. The first, and only reference to there being something called a "free authorized driver" seems to be some language on the web site. This language has never been incorporated into the EC contract. IN fact, EC is still sending people the contracts with the original language (my DH just got one recently, with the same language I have in mine, and you have in yours). I do not know whether that web site language is supposed to be an amendment to the contract, a change to the contract, or some inartfully worded policy some web designer stuck on the web site. So if my spouse was not an EC member, and if EC tried to charge me for his driving a car I rented, I would certainly dispute it with National and my credit card company, with the contract language in hand. ANd I would bet I would be successful.

However, rather than go through that, I did get my DH an EC membership, so the point is moot. I do reiterate my opinion that National handled this issue in a sloppy fashion. I would recommend that people just get their spouse an EC membership to avoid the issue.

[GAIL HAYDEN]

JandD Mom,
Oh, I do enjoy respectful disagreements. However, the fact that it does not list the words " FREE" in our contract, one is disposed to presume that it is with a charge.
The fact that we utilitze "FAQ's" online is no subsitution to the original agreement, that, btw, we agreed to when we signed up for our cards.
Authorized and "free" are two different things. And.....you are totally correct, it is now a moot point.
Also, Alamo (sister company to National) does not have any provisions for free drivers with their QS program and the wording is almost identical. As is, Budgets, Dollars, Hertz's, etc.
I think we should get them all, what do you think?

[DonnaDavid]

I've had good experiences on the EA (no, I've never have gotten a minivan like I would like). However, I now have 3 kids and I'm worried about wedging them and all of our luggage in a full-size car. Therefore, at the moment I have a reservation for a Full-size car on the EA and a minivan at Dollar (National wants a mere $400+ for a minivan for the end of Sept.) I'm sure everyone has read the cancellation fee posts - for those of you who use two reservations as a back-up plan, how do you plan on getting around National's $50 cancellation fee? I could see justifying not using the EA reservation by saying you weren't happy with the way National fulfilled the terms of your reservation; however, it seems like arguing with them would be a lot of grief.

[DMRick]

In my welcoming email from National and EA, is the following sentence.:

In addition to these benefits you also receive automatic frequent flyer credit, no additional driver fees and online profile update anytime.

So, although my hubby and I are both members, this tells me, that an additional driver is feeless...anyone read this different (BTW, before I signed him up, I did call, and they told me spouses are always free)?

[beattyfamily]

The way I read it at their website (under "Benefits")....

Free (in the United States and Canada) – An Emerald Club members spouse, business partner, employer, or fellow associate who has an assigned corporate contract with National and drives the car for business purposes.

leads me to believe it should be read like this:

Free Authorized Drivers:

1. Spouse
2. Business partner, employer, or fellow associate who has an assigned corporate contract with National AND drives the car for business purposes.

I don't think the Spouse "has" to be a Emerald Club member the way it is worded. That last sentance is saying that the fellow associate has to have an assigned corporate contract with National AND is driving the car for business purposes. I don't think the spouse would be "driving the car for business purposes".

Unless, National is saying that the Emerald Club is just for business people and if your spouse is going to drive then she needs to be an employee of yours and an Emerald Club member???

This is just my opinion after reading the paragraph over and over again....

:D

[idontknow]

Wow! Where are the English majors when you need them? LOL I refuse to get in the middle of this with my oppinion of how it reads to me. What I do see with all of the quotes is terrible english on National's part. Adjective, adjective, adjective, noun. (sorry if I'm wrong, we just started school today and only gotten to homophones. ;))

[lady400]

I'm not getting into the argument about the wording. ;) However, on a recent visit (couple of weeks ago), I tried to give my EC card to the agent at the exit booth at avoid this charge (the rental was in my hubby's name, and under his EC number). She handed it back immediately, saying that she didn't need it, that spouses of EC members were automatically free.

So, no matter how it's written, that was my experience. :)