Budget vs. Alamo

[SnackyStacky]

I'm a pretty loyal Budget customer, and have been happy with them.

But Alamo's rates are pretty enticing.

I'm not concerned with aggressive and sneaky insurance techniques...I can deal with that, my main concern is getting in and out of the airport. I'm a Budget Fastbreak member, so I know I'll get in and out fast with them.

I'm also a member of Alamo Quicksilver, but it's my understanding that there's no Quicksilver service at MCO.

I'll be arriving probably about 11:00 or so on a Monday morning in September. How are the lines? Should I save myself the trouble, and a nasty case of the "shouldas", or should I book with Alamo?

HELP!

 

[GAIL HAYDEN]

They don't have a QS kiosk, but, they do have a QS counter.

 

[SnackyStacky]

Gail,

Does the QS counter help with the time you have to wait in line?

 

[inkkognito]

I don't know about during the day, but this weekend we used Alamo at MCO and arrived late on Fri. night. Usually our waits haven't been too bad because there are either not a lot of people or else they have enough staff. But on this night, the line was HUGE, and although there were three people working the counter when we got in line, two of them left within 5 minutes! I guess their quitting time was midnight, so literally there was only one person working to handle a line of almost a dozen parties. We waited 45 minutes, which is the most it's ever been. Meanwhile, a Quicksilver person came up. Next to the regular queue, there is a sign to wait there for Quicksilver. She stood there while the single counterperson waited on two or three parties without acknowledging her at all. Finally, she walked up to the counter and interrupted the current customer, getting major death stares from the other people in line (I don't know if they didn't realize she was Quicksilver or didn't care at that point). The counter woman said she would take care of her next. So if there is only one counter person and you are QS, it will definitely help with time but you have to be assertive.
This was the second time in a low that we've had a major wait. I think they need to up their late night staffing!
Barb
Visit the Platinum Castaway Club at: www.castawayclub.com

 

[GAIL HAYDEN]

Originally posted by SnackyStacky
Gail,

Does the QS counter help with the time you have to wait in line?

I really cannot answer that. Sorry. But, I have been told they are supposed to get a kiosk soon. I also cannot define "soon" and neither could the agent I spoke with.

 

[SnackyStacky]

Originally posted by GAIL HAYDEN
I really cannot answer that. Sorry. But, I have been told they are supposed to get a kiosk soon. I also cannot define "soon" and neither could the agent I spoke with.

Thanks anyway. When were you told that they'd soon have a kiosk? I'm not going until September of next year, so it's quite a ways away.

 

[GAIL HAYDEN]

Originally posted by inkkognito
I don't know about during the day, but this weekend we used Alamo at MCO and arrived late on Fri. night. Usually our waits haven't been too bad because there are either not a lot of people or else they have enough staff. But on this night, the line was HUGE, and although there were three people working the counter when we got in line, two of them left within 5 minutes! I guess their quitting time was midnight, so literally there was only one person working to handle a line of almost a dozen parties. We waited 45 minutes, which is the most it's ever been. Meanwhile, a Quicksilver person came up. Next to the regular queue, there is a sign to wait there for Quicksilver. She stood there while the single counterperson waited on two or three parties without acknowledging her at all. Finally, she walked up to the counter and interrupted the current customer, getting major death stares from the other people in line (I don't know if they didn't realize she was Quicksilver or didn't care at that point). The counter woman said she would take care of her next. So if there is only one counter person and you are QS, it will definitely help with time but you have to be assertive.
This was the second time in a low that we've had a major wait. I think they need to up their late night staffing!
Barb
Visit the Platinum Castaway Club at: www.castawayclub.com

Barb,
While I understand that they have a QS window, common sense should have told that customer that if it was not attended she should have waited with the others. What she did, IMHO, was rude and inconsiderate to the others waiting in line and a perfect example of entitlement mentality.
As to beefing up their late night staff, I do agree, but, first you have to find the people that want to work for peanuts late at night. I cannot even imagine leaving a fellow worker with a line "to Rhode Island" alone (I would have stayed and helped), but, I can only imagine they are tight with overtime.

 

[SnackyStacky]

bump for any other experiences with Alamo, please???

 

[nuthut]

Lousy attitudes, long lines, careless employees, rotten managers, poor service, overcharging customers, insurance rippoffs, and on and on. Say no to Alamo and join the Say No to Alamo Club......Thanks to my Discover card Alamo was unable to rip me off to the tune of $400.....

 

[GAIL HAYDEN]

Originally posted by SnackyStacky
Thanks anyway. When were you told that they'd soon have a kiosk? I'm not going until September of next year, so it's quite a ways away.

I was told this a month or so ago.

I have had wonderful service with them and the ONE and only problem I had with them was fixed within hours of the occurance.
I have only encountered a rude employee once (that was part of the previously mentioned problem), most of the time they are very friendly and helpful. Warning: if they ask if you want just the basic insurance be sure to say you don't want any insurance at all and then read anything and everything before you initial anything. Make sure your total matches what your online quote says and bring a copy of your online quote with you. BTW, I say this for any rental car company, they all have various ways of getting you to buy the insurance.
Rent the car for the length of time you plan to use it. If you plan on a car for 4 days don't think it will be ok to rent it at a weekly rate and then return it at 4 days, they will charge you big time for that and then you will have to say bad things about the rental car company like others on this board do.
Hope this helps.

 

[GAIL HAYDEN]

Originally posted by nuthut
Lousy attitudes, long lines, careless employees, rotten managers, poor service, overcharging customers, insurance rippoffs, and on and on. Say no to Alamo and join the Say No to Alamo Club......Thanks to my Discover card Alamo was unable to rip me off to the tune of $400.....

I have yet to encounter what you state. If memory serves you returned your car before the end of the stated rental period and were charged a daily rate, right?

 

[SnackyStacky]

Originally posted by GAIL HAYDEN
I was told this a month or so ago.

I have had wonderful service with them and the ONE and only problem I had with them was fixed within hours of the occurance.
I have only encountered a rude employee once (that was part of the previously mentioned problem), most of the time they are very friendly and helpful. Warning: if they ask if you want just the basic insurance be sure to say you don't want any insurance at all and then read anything and everything before you initial anything. Make sure your total matches what your online quote says and bring a copy of your online quote with you. BTW, I say this for any rental car company, they all have various ways of getting you to buy the insurance.
Rent the car for the length of time you plan to use it. If you plan on a car for 4 days don't think it will be ok to rent it at a weekly rate and then return it at 4 days, they will charge you big time for that and then you will have to say bad things about the rental car company like others on this board do.
Hope this helps.

Thanks Gail for the wealth of information.

I've rented cars before, and have had instances without rental cars where signing before reading was not a good idea.

I'm going to keep both my Budget and Alamo reservation. If I can get Budget to workout cheaper I'll go with them. If Alamo stays the cheapest, I'll stick with them.

Thank you so much again!

 

[GAIL HAYDEN]

Originally posted by SnackyStacky
Thanks Gail for the wealth of information.

I've rented cars before, and have had instances without rental cars where signing before reading was not a good idea.

I'm going to keep both my Budget and Alamo reservation. If I can get Budget to workout cheaper I'll go with them. If Alamo stays the cheapest, I'll stick with them.

Thank you so much again!

Dan,
Very happy to help.

 

[SnackyStacky]

One last thing Gail....

I LOVE your photos! But in the current rotation, the top one on the right hand side is showing a broken image. Is it my machine? Would love to see it!

 

[inkkognito]

Gail is right...beware of the "Do you want the deluxe coverage or just the basic insurance" pitch! There is only one Alamo employee I've encountered this with, but she has been the same person working the last two nights we've rented from them (same night, around the same time, so that's obviously her shift). I thought I was going to burst out laughing on the rental this past weekend because after she waited on us, she said, "I know everyone in that line is going to kill me, but I have to pee!" and then she went in the back! She didn't say anything, so I can't even imagine what the rest of the people waiting were thinking! Hubby and I just hightailed it out of there, glad to be done!
But overall, we like Alamo...maybe they're just having trouble with late-night staffing right now, because this never used to be a problem. And we've gotten a couple of nice free upgrades from them. Next time we do a quickie Orlando weekend, we're going to try the B side and see if the line is shorter.
Barb
Visit the Platinum Castaway Club at: www.castawayclub.com

 

[GAIL HAYDEN]

Originally posted by SnackyStacky
One last thing Gail....

I LOVE your photos! But in the current rotation, the top one on the right hand side is showing a broken image. Is it my machine? Would love to see it!

Thank you, I was playing with the camera and got them. I have to fix the link to the top one, it is not your computer.

 

[drogerstn]

While I understand that they have a QS window, common sense should have told that customer that if it was not attended she should have waited with the others. What she did, IMHO, was rude and inconsiderate to the others waiting in line and a perfect example of entitlement mentality.

According to inkkognito's post, "Next to the regular queue, there is a sign to wait there for Quicksilver." Appears to me that the person was following Alamo's directions. Many businesses have separate queues with a single server with some type of priority given to one queue over the other. An example I've seen quite often is with business and first class lines at an airline's ticket counter; the same attendants serve all of the lines waiting, but give priority to the business or first class line.

 

[ricke]

I'll go for L&M, cheap rate ($7x per week), brand new car (under 1k miles), no need to show any insurance proof and never push me to buy extra insurance, no line at all (at the same time >20 people waiting for alamo), what can you expect more?

 

[GAIL HAYDEN]

Originally posted by drogerstn
According to inkkognito's post, "Next to the regular queue, there is a sign to wait there for Quicksilver." Appears to me that the person was following Alamo's directions. Many businesses have separate queues with a single server with some type of priority given to one queue over the other. An example I've seen quite often is with business and first class lines at an airline's ticket counter; the same attendants serve all of the lines waiting, but give priority to the business or first class line.

I understand the concept of the line and know there is one, and understand the directions. My thoughts were that there was one person tending the line and felt that it was very inconsiderate to "pull rank" and jump ahead and insist (by interupting) they be waited on. Common courtesy to others( who no doubt were as excited to get to WDW also) would have have been my motto (I am, btw, a QS member and love it) and I would have waited in line with the rest of the travelers. IMHO, this was a perfect example of "entitlement mentality" or "to he** with everyone else, I am the only one that counts". Sorry, but, that does not wash for me.