In 2009, my father was being treated for cancer, and his health was up and down. I had been planning for some time to take a day of vacation from work on Friday, November 6th, 2009, and stay the weekend. I had a flight booked on Jet Blue and a car reserved with Hertz.
On Monday, November 2nd, I got word that my father had taken a turn for the worse. The radiation treatment had caused swelling in his throat, and he was rushed to the hospital to insert a trach tube. After talking to my brother in Pittsburgh, I decided to change my plans. I would fly out as soon as possible so I could be with my brother, father, and step-mother.
I called Jet Blue first. No problem. It was a $50 fee to change the flight, but I could have the first plane out in the morning on Tuesday. That was pretty easy, and I was encouraged.
Then I called Hertz reservations through the 800 number. I'd booked with them because I had a good bit of experience with them. They were one of the preferred providers when I was at Sun, and I traveled a lot for work when I was there. The customer service folks couldn't change my previous reservation, but they did offer an alternative: they could book a second car from the 3rd to the 6th, so I had a car the whole time, and they told me that the reservations counter in Pittsburgh would be able to help when I got there. Nothing they could do by phone; it had to be done in person. That was less than ideal, but what do I know about their reservations system?
The next morning, I flew to Pittsburgh, and got to the reservations counter. They told me, no, they couldn't change the two contiguous reservations into one. They had no idea why the 800 people told me that. They told me I should call the 800 number again and ask for help.
So, I stepped out of line and into the waiting area, and called the 800 number again from my cell phone. No dice. They couldn't do anything for me and told me to talk to the people at the desk again. So, I got back in line and waited again at the desk. When I got up there, I asked if there was a manager I could talk to. The answer was just "no." They helpfully said that I should call the desk on Friday and ask to have it fixed before having to drive in. They assured me there was no way I'd have to return just to swap cars; that would be silly.
I took the keys and went off to visit my father. We had to make some really tough (and possibly wrong) decisions over the next few days. It was a difficult time, but I'm very glad I made the trip.
On Friday, I called the Hertz desk in Pittsburgh. I was told that, no, they could not help me. I could not extend the current reservation. I could not combine reservations. The only thing I could do would be to return the car as agreed on Friday and then take another one out. So, that night, I drove the 20 miles / 30 minutes to the airport, dropped off one ugly champagne colored Elantra, picked up a nearly identical champagne colored Elantra -- the only difference was that the XM radio worked in one and not in the other -- then drove back to my father's place.
That Sunday, November 8th, I dropped off the second car and returned to Boston. That's the last time I've ever done business with Hertz, and the last time I ever will.
This sort of thing, to me, reeks of a corporate culture problem. None of the customer service representatives had the remit to fix things. In a company that is serious about customer service, the employees are given the power to "make things right" -- even if this means breaking company policies. The service I got indicates the reverse. Nobody I dealt with had the power to fix anything.
The problem is not necessarily being treated like dirt by every single customer service representative I dealt with. The problem is having no prospect of things ever getting better, because it wasn't just one or two people having a bad day or not knowing how to make changes. In fact, the representatives were pleasant to deal with, but completely unhelpful. A systemic problem like that is something I can't put up with. So when I need ground transport, it's anyone but them.
