This a letter regarding our recent car rental experience with Payless Car Rental.
I called for a shuttle to pick us (my wife, 2 yr old daughter, and me) up at the airport at about 8:20pm on June 27th. I was told one would be there within 15 minutes. After approximately ½ hour, I called again and see how long we would have to wait. I was told they were delayed, but would be there shortly. Another 15 minutes, another call. I was told the van had “a flat tire”, but another was on the way. Another 15 minutes, another call. I was told the driver had been, picked up some people, and left. No “Payless” shuttle had come by us, we were in the correct pick-up spot- we were being lied to.
I kept the dispatch person on the line until a van came to us. More than an hour and a half had passed since we first called. My daughter was becoming dehydrated (we had just come off a 6 hour cross-country flight and hadn’t yet eaten), and at nearly 10pm, it was obviously past her bedtime, and we still didn’t have our vehicle.
When the driver arrived, he verbally abused us and accused us of standing in the wrong spot. Angry words were exchanged (wouldn’t you be angry?), and then he said “load your own bags, I don’t need this ‘abuse’”. When I accused him of being less than professional, he threatened to leave us in the roadway and drive away. He would not wait for me to install a child seat in the van, which is illegal, and he did not assist my wife (holding our child) to get in. We drove to the rental area. After a wait, we were given a minivan, which was then driven away to be fueled!
It was almost 10:30pm before we had a vehicle and were on tour way to our hotel.
The van, by the way, was dirty and had brake problems (the ABS light was illuminated on the dash which, according to the manual, requires ‘service as soon as possible’).
After our trip, I contacted ‘customer service’ per the directions of the agent, and was offered a $10 discount for our inconvenience. It was an insulting offer, and only deepened our resolve to get some sort of satisfaction.
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