Bad situation with Alamo

[blessedby3]

I just thought I would post what happened to my friend who is in FL right now. I had helped her rent a minivan from Oct 1- Oct 7 and we got a great rate of $176. Well, she thought the van was supposed to go back on Oct 8 and missed taking it on the 7th. When she got there on the 8th (she picked up in Orlando and was returning in Boca Raton) the lot was closed and so she looked at her paperwork and saw that it was supposed to be the 7th instead. She left the car there and put the keys in the drop box and went back to her sisters house and called Alamo. They told her that the one day extra would be $151 !!!!!! This after renting for 7 days for $176!!!!! Well, after speaking to MANY different people at Alamo in various states- they kept giving her different places to call- she ended up talking to a person at Corporate Headquarters and informed them that she encountered many rude employees and particularly one office that would not return her phone calls. The employee at CH said that she could believe that because that particular office wouldnt return her calls most of the time also. She offered to give my friend the same daily rate that she had been given (about $26 plus fees) and apologized. My friend said that this took up about 3 hours of her vacation time with her family and was a great big headache! I am glad that things turned out well for my friend. I felt so bad since I had helped her with booking the van. I just couldnt believe that a company would charge a person the same amount of money for one day that they had just charged them for 7 days. Just wanted to vent and let everyone know to doublecheck their paperwork. Im sure this wont happen to most people because they are flying out, but she was spending a second week with her sister and her family and didnt need the rental car once she got there. What a headache!!

 

[yooperfan]

I'm sorry it took her so long to get satisfaction, however, it was her mistake and not the companies. If the car had been returned according to the contract, all would have gone well. Please do not get me wrong, what they wanted to charge her was a crime.

 

[CarolA]

Your friend is LUCKY! Alamo was entitled by the contract your friend signed to charge the WALK up rate which probably is close to $100 a day.

I would not expect most "late" returns to work out this way. I think your friends "lost 3 hours" were cheap.

 

[beattyfamily]

Oh that stinks that they did that. SO glad to hear she got it worked out though.

I had a rental through National (Alamo's sister company) in 2003 and got stuck in Florida an extra day due to a snow storm back home and flights being canceled and so I had to keep my rental for an extra day.

When I dropped it off, they charged me for another day but it was the rate I was quoted months before when I first booked it, not the current going rate. That is what I thought they'd do and that is what they did, thankfully.

Thank you OP for the reminder and warning to check our paperwork carefully. Vent away if you need to.

 

[safetymom]

I agree with CarolA. Your friend was lucky.

 

[debden]

Oh that stinks that they did that.

What did Alamo do that stinks?? Follow their contract rules? It was the OP's friend that made the mistake.Not Alamo. They were well within their rights to charge her a 'walkup' charge.

But 'all's well that ends well'....Your friend is lucky all she lost is 3 hours of her time.
Debbie

 

[beattyfamily]

Oh that stinks that they did that.

What did Alamo do that stinks?? Follow their contract rules? It was the OP's friend that made the mistake.Not Alamo. They were well within their rights to charge her a 'walkup' charge.

But 'all's well that ends well'....Your friend is lucky all she lost is 3 hours of her time.
Debbie

I didn't say the OP's friend didn't make a mistake. I didn't say Alamo made a mistake. I didn't say they weren't well within their rights but I can and did say it stinks for her friend if I'd like to. What do you care? It's called an opinion on the situation. Just because they were well within their rights doesn't mean it doesn't stink, IMHO.

Lucky for me in 2003, National only charged me MY rate I was quoted months before and not the "walkup" rate and I didn't even ask them to do that. I was a lucky one I guess.

Her friend made a mistake and it ended up well in the end. I'm glad for her.

 

[wee-haggis]

Sorry this is another situation where people will not take responsibility for their own actions. The friend was in the wrong and needed to handle the consequences. The situation would not put me off dealing with Alamo, as stated before had she returned the van at the right time the transaction would have been great.

 

[bicker]

I'm the first one to condemn Alamo, after my bad experiences with them. However, this case isn't really a good example of Alamo doing wrong. As others have pointed out, Alamo was complying with the agreement made with their customer in charging the $151 for the extra time. (In my experience, they would have also charged a surcharge for returning the vehicle late.) The fact they eventually lowered that to just $26 is remarkably generous, especially for Alamo.

Please know that all car rental companies charge very high rates for the first few hours of a rental, and then charge a pittance for additional time through a full week. They then charge a high rate for the beginning of another week of rental. This is completely normal and proper in that industry. Eight day rentals are especially poor values.

Regardless, Alamo's low prices are balanced by their comparatively low level of customer service. This story is, however, an example of Alamo exceeding the expectations that a customer should have for them, based on the terms and conditions and their reputation.

 

[Lewisc]

It was due the 7th, it was returned after the close of business on the 8th so it was really returned on the 9th. Once you go over 2 hours you're charged for an extra day.

The location isn't a 24 hour location so its probably not at an airport. What stinks is the customer that might not have gotten the mini-van they reserved because your friend returned it 2 days late without calling.

Alamo was more than fair.

 

[DebbieB]

Keep in mind too that the mistake may have caused problems for the next customer who had the van reserved.

 

[blessedby3]

I was never saying that my friend was not at fault in this situation. She was at fault, but it was an HONEST mistake. She is a very busy lady running an autism school that she started because her middle child has autism, and I was trying to help her out by booking. The day we did that she was in the middle of 100 things and she was giving me dates fast. I put in what she said, but she must have thought that was a Sat. to Sat. rental and it actually went to Friday. She did bring it back after closing, but we had put 5pm in for the time ( they closed at 6pm on Friday) but they closed at 4pm on Sat. She made an honest mistake and I felt like they were taking advantage of her by charging her the same amount she had rented for for the other 7 days. She had to deal with MANY rude Alamo employees before finally speaking with a voice of reason at the Corporate Headquarters. I am glad that she got things worked out. Big companies can do what they want for customer service and I think they finally did the right thing, but it could have been handled differently earlier in the process. This is just my opinion.

 

[wee-haggis]

All that was required was for an Alamo employee to politely point out your friends mistake and explain why she was being charged. The error was the customers and Alamo was generous, they did not need to do anymore as they were not at fault in any way shape or form.
Maybe your friend learned something from this experience, to be more attentive to details and to take responsibilty for her decisions.

 

[bicker]

She had to deal with MANY rude Alamo employees before finally speaking with a voice of reason at the Corporate Headquarters.

It would be unfortunate, though, if you and your friend interpret the actions of the folks at Corporate Headquarters as anything other than generosity. They gave back money that was, by all rights, theirs, in order to try to satisfy a customer who's dissatisfaction was with they company's representatives just doing what they were supposed to, what your friend had agreed to. (I know you mentioned that you felt there was some rudeness, but my experience is I'm pretty typical and I know that when I'm unhappy with what I'm getting as a customer I tend to feel that the company's representative are being rude, until I step back and put myself in their place, and realize that that it was often my biased perspective. )

 

[CarolA]

Regardless, Alamo's low prices are balanced by their comparatively low level of customer service. This story is, however, an example of Alamo exceeding the expectations that a customer should have for them, based on the terms and conditions and their reputation.

I am with you... expecting service from Alamo is just a waste of time. I rented from them ONCE (well let's make that ATTEMPTED to rent) ONE HOUR after I got my contract I returned the contract and took a cab! Wait for cars was hours!!! RUDE staff etc....

 

[Tigger_Magic]

I am with you... expecting service from Alamo is just a waste of time. I rented from them ONCE (well let's make that ATTEMPTED to rent) ONE HOUR after I got my contract I returned the contract and took a cab! Wait for cars was hours!!! RUDE staff etc....

I avoid Alamo like the plague. After a number of bad experiences with them, I came to realize that they selected a rather appropriate corporate name as their customer service, like the real Alamo, is indefensible.

This situation occurred because the customer didn't review the contract with Alamo. It should be a lesson learned, not a slam against Alamo (which has more faults than one can shake a stick at). In this case, as others have pointed out, the error lies solely with the customer, not Alamo. Just about any rental car company would do the same thing (and some might not be so ready to reduce the charges either). This person was very lucky.

 

[tlbwriter]

I was never saying that my friend was not at fault in this situation. She was at fault, but it was an HONEST mistake.

So, your friend made a mistake, and Alamo generously did not penalize her for it (though they were well within their rights to do so). And you're calling this a "bad situation?" I'd be singing Alamo's praises, not complaining about them!!!

 

[Tigger_Magic]

I'd be singing Alamo's praises, not complaining about them!!!

I wouldn't go as far as singing Alamo's praises... they've not got a lot to praise. I'd be thankful that I didn't have to pay the full $151 plus taxes/fees and chalk it up to experience. Usually it takes an experience like this to make people realize they need to read everything they sign before they sign it.

 

[blessedby3]

Thanks Tigger Magic for your post. Thats exactly what I am saying. I am so thankful that she didnt have to pay the $151. It is a learning experience for her and thats one of the reasons I posted. Make sure to check your papers carefully. I just think that they can do things to make the customer happy (which they finally did). They can make things right so that a customer will want to use them again. Again, it was her fault, but not an intentional one and its a HUGE chunk of change for her and a drop in the bucket for Alamo. Some car rentals are sooo expensive that it is crazy. They are making plenty of money. She didnt have a problem paying for another day, but I think $151 is out of line.

 

[tlbwriter]

I wouldn't go as far as singing Alamo's praises... they've not got a lot to praise. I'd be thankful that I didn't have to pay the full $151 plus taxes/fees and chalk it up to experience.

All right, singing their praises is a bit strong. But I sure as heck wouldn't be complaining about a "bad situation!" Instead, I'd be happy that Alamo had done something good for a change.