I’m going off-road this week for a tale of customer experience with an acceptable, but not great, ending. My purpose is not to whine and complain, but to help readers learn about empowerment and putting the customer/client first. It is critical to the success of energy efficiency and load management.
The Rental Car Trap Is Set
A friend and I took a weekend trip to Napa for wine tasting and to relax for a few days. We booked a Hertz rental through Delta Vacations. I’m a platinum Delta customer and trust them with great customer service. I hate renting cars, and this trip made that clear. For the road miles we needed to cover, a rental seemed to make sense.
My reservation through Delta Vacations was as follows:
- Midsize SUV, Nissan Rogue or similar, pick-up at Marriott Downtown Oakland, CA
- Pick-Up – July 3, 10:30 A.M., 1001 Broadway, Oakland, California, 94607
- Drop-Off – July 6, 3:00 P.M., 1001 Broadway, Oakland, California, 94607
- Due at pick-up: $270.16,
- Base Price: $228.68
- Taxes and Fees: $41.48
An Upgrade I Didn’t Request
Upon picking up the car around 11:00 A.M., Hertz didn’t have the car, or a similar car, as I ordered. All they had was an “upgrade” to a Buick Enclave – a tank. My options were to accept the “upgrade” charge of $40/day and get on with the trip to wine country, or sit there in a tiny Hertz lobby hoping somebody would arrive with a smaller car I wanted. I took option A, using Delta to claw back my money from Hertz.
After swallowing the upcharge for nothing, the vehicle wasn’t ready. We waited an hour and a half for them to clean it. We rolled out of the hotel garage at 12:38 P.M., over two hours late with an overcharged, oversized vehicle. As we made our way north, we discovered Cheetos, prescription medications, and an earbud on the floor of the freshly cleaned tank. Nice. So far, so good. 🙄
The Accountability Runaround
During our drive north, we called customer service to start the claw-back process. Our attendant, Alejandro, was kind and responded with urgency. He said that although responses typically take 72 hours, I would hear back via email in two hours. 2
We did not hear from customer service within two hours. We called back the next day. Nothing had moved.
Monday, July 6, I received this statement via email from Delta support: “We would like to give an update that we are still working on your request with Hertz. Rest assured we will update you as soon as possible on this matter.”
After attaching all the documentation, including the original booking, pick-up documentation, and receipt, I shot back with this summary of events:
- Original book reservation: pick-up 10:30 A.M. Friday; drop-off 3:00 P.M. Monday.
- Actual pick-up 12:38 P.M., Friday, and drop-off 2:50 P.M., Monday.
- An “upgrade” of $40/day for four days, even though the base rental was for three days and two hours.
- Extra charge for “late” drop-off of $20.46 for two hours.
- Filthy car.
And you might have thought electricity tariffs were complicated. Pick apart a Hertz bill. There are plenty of poxes hidden within.
On Wednesday, July 8th, I received the following love letter via email:
“Unfortunately, the agency has declined the request and will not issue a refund for this booking, and we so sorry with that, you can contact Hertz directly to have a compensation from them, and we apologize for you that we could not help you.
“We understand this may be disappointing. Agencies [I’ll come back to this] often have specific policies and requirements regarding refund requests, and we have exhausted the available options on your behalf.”
Never Outsource Customer Experience
Along the way, we learned that Delta outsources its customer support to Expedia. Relentlessly, we pursued a just resolution again on Saturday, July 11. Our call was escalated to an unpleasant manager who put the onus on us. He said we should have called customer support before accepting the new terms. Are you kidding me, sir?
The guy had no empathy whatsoever. Imagine the scenario at the Hertz counter. I was standing in front of a disempowered or misguided human being, face-to-face. Why in the world would I want to get on a call with someone halfway around the planet, while wasting my vacation time doing so? I’d rather be sipping wine or sitting in a dentist’s chair with my mouth numb, waiting for a molar extraction.
Crescendo and Resolution
The manager was cutting us off and talking over us until he slipped up. We asked to escalate the issue above him, and he said we were at the end of the road except for other agencies. Remember that word, italicized above? Ooops, bad move, rude manager. What other agencies do you mean? Delta Airlines, your boss. He walked into his own trap. Suddenly, he found religion. He issued the difference with the original contract, plus $100, for a total refund of $265.86. For the pain and hassle, the right thing to do would be to reimburse the entire thing, but I was done. I got my bone.
I will not use Hertz again. If their people behind the desk are not empowered to make things right for their customers, or worse, are directed to use market power and a lack of options to gouge customers, they will not get my business. I will not walk into another trap with one terrible option and a worse second option.
I am also a direct customer of Expedia, the subcontracted customer service agency working for Delta to keep Hertz under control. This experience was a poor one for me as well, bordering on arrogant, until the manager slipped up.
The Lesson for Utility Customer Experience
Both poor and excellent customer service and experience are universal. I never want our clients (utilities) or their customers to be treated as I was treated by Hertz and Expedia.
At Michaels, our guarantee reads, “We stand behind our work to ensure it is right for our clients.” For example, if we estimate 500,000 kWh in savings for a customer who pays us to do a retro-commissioning study, and we find only 10,000 kWh, we won’t charge for the study. That’s on us. We’re the experts, and if we can’t read the building’s fingerprints better than that before spending the customer’s time and resources, we’re not charging for that. It’s the least we can do, and it’s the right way to do business.
