3 ms·

Can't agree more about (b). Last september around a long weekend here on the east coast of US, I had "booked" an SUV since I was planning a road trip with my ex

Can't agree more about (b). Last september around a long weekend here on the east coast of US, I had "booked" an SUV since I was planning a road trip with my extended family. In addition to booking it online, I had also called up the office a few days in advance to let them know that I will be picking up the car at 4 pm after my workday is done. When I reached there, I was offered a pickup truck and was told "cars are never guaranteed". I agreed to take any car that can take 5 people and even after that it took then 3 hours to arrange a mid-size sedan for me. What is the point of taking reservations if you cannot honor them? The model is seriously broken and in need of disruption.

fwdpropaganda 9y ago
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4T2GmGSNvaM https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4T2GmGSNvaM
- 0xcafecafe 9y ago
  :) Almost 30 years later they still don't know how to "hold" a reservation
ghaff 9y ago
If a car company guaranteed a specific vehicle, they'd probably have to charge a premium and have stricter cancellation policies (which most don't have at all now). With SUVs in particular, I find pricing is all over the map if you try to reserve one in advance and, as you say, it's not guaranteed. I find that I have the most luck just using National's Emerald Aisle which lets me pick the car I want when I get to the airport. But it's still not guaranteed--though I've always been able to get an SUV when I've wanted one.
- 0xcafecafe 9y ago
  I get the people cancel all the time and hence they need to account for it. But in this case I had specifically called them in advance that I will be there to pick up my car and they had confirmed with me that my reservation is good. They still couldn't come through after that. I don't mind they holding on to my credit card when I make the reservation if by doing that they can guarantee a better quality of service.
  - ghaff 9y ago
    It's fair to say that the majors (which are pretty much the only ones renting at airport locations) are optimized for the 95% use case. They work fine most of the time but, in my experience, are pretty much incapable of dealing with anything outside of the usual "system." In addition to not being able to guarantee a specific vehicle--even with a deposit--I had an issue with Avis a few years back where they were utterly unable to extend a rental to bridge it to another reservation I had already made, i.e. they couldn't take two one week reservations with a week in between and turn it into a 3-week reservation.
  - notyourday 9y ago
    Zipcar and Maven manage to do it just fine.

fwdpropaganda 9y ago

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4T2GmGSNvaM https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4T2GmGSNvaM

0xcafecafe 9y ago
:) Almost 30 years later they still don't know how to "hold" a reservation

ghaff 9y ago

If a car company guaranteed a specific vehicle, they'd probably have to charge a premium and have stricter cancellation policies (which most don't have at all now). With SUVs in particular, I find pricing is all over the map if you try to reserve one in advance and, as you say, it's not guaranteed. I find that I have the most luck just using National's Emerald Aisle which lets me pick the car I want when I get to the airport. But it's still not guaranteed--though I've always been able to get an SUV when I've wanted one.

0xcafecafe 9y ago
I get the people cancel all the time and hence they need to account for it. But in this case I had specifically called them in advance that I will be there to pick up my car and they had confirmed with me that my reservation is good. They still couldn't come through after that. I don't mind they holding on to my credit card when I make the reservation if by doing that they can guarantee a better quality of service.
- ghaff 9y ago
  It's fair to say that the majors (which are pretty much the only ones renting at airport locations) are optimized for the 95% use case. They work fine most of the time but, in my experience, are pretty much incapable of dealing with anything outside of the usual "system." In addition to not being able to guarantee a specific vehicle--even with a deposit--I had an issue with Avis a few years back where they were utterly unable to extend a rental to bridge it to another reservation I had already made, i.e. they couldn't take two one week reservations with a week in between and turn it into a 3-week reservation.
- notyourday 9y ago
  Zipcar and Maven manage to do it just fine.