...I'm Still In NY!
Picked up a cargo van at my local Enterprise yesterday. I had been promised a Chevy Express cargo van, they offered me a Dodge Ram van and it was filthy in driver/passenger area. Guy tells me it is all they have, I say I can live with that. It has 3/4 tank of gas or so the manager tells me when I am initialing rental forms. Actually was somewhat under 3/4 a tank. Okay, I will still take it. Go out, put key in ignition, start it up and the dash says check tires - low pressure! They say they will fix it. About 10 minutes later they say it has been taken care of. I drive it home.
It then took about 6 hours to load with 75% of my stuff. Because there was no cage between driver area and cargo area, I decide not to pack the boxes and other things height than about 1/3 of available height. I only had a tarp to throw over everything, which I then secured with tie downs. Better than nothing but they did not have cargo nets available. After getting that done, I had to return to Enterprise to modify something in my agreement. When I started it up again, the low tire pressure light came on; I guessed they had not either fixed or changed the leaking tire earlier in the day.
When I got back to Enterprise, I told the manager I wanted them to fix the leaking tire. He had a guy add air. I watched that guy walk around van, look at & feel the tires, then add air to one of them all without using a tire gauge. When I asked what good would that do since the tire is leaking and that I wanted them to-actually change or repair it, the manager tells me to bring it across the street to an auto repair shop to have the tire fixed at my expense as I understood. I called that place, they were closing in 2 minutes and all his repair guys were already gone for the day.
I told the manager I'd see him in the morning when I would return the van. I went home and called Enterprise Customer Service and filed a complaint. They said they could do nothing since I still had the van but would send my complaint to the Escalation Department and someone would call me back bu they did not know when or what they could do to appease me. Then I offloaded the van which only took an hour or maybe a bit more. Left all my stuff including ammo cans locked in my garage with the exception of my guns. I was not about to bring all those things back down into the basement, then back upstairs, whenever I got another rental van. All the ammo cans were darned heavy.
This morning, I brought the van back. Of course they charged me for it. Then the manager asks me what he can do to make it up to me and I said nothing, I would not rent from them again. Then he offered 15% off my next rental. If I again rented one for a week (that was supposed to be rental on the one I just returned) 15% would not even come close to the 1 days rental I just had paid. He asked what else he could do to make it better. I said give me free mileage. Mileage down to AR and back would be right around $400. That with 15% off made it sound good so I said okay and told him I'd be back in a week or two. He gave me his business card with a note on back as to the discount he'd be giving me. my luck, he will resign or be fired before I go back. Time will tell.
Anyway, when I do go back, or maybe before then, I will call him about being charged for the one they they charged me and ask for a full refund or for 25% off the next rental instead of 15%. He seemingly was very concerned that, when I am contacted by Enterprise Customer Service, I tell them he made me a satisfactory order with which I am 100% satisfied. I think he will go for it - too bad I did not think of it right then.
Thus, as it stands, I am stuck here in NY. Had Arthur I. Tis not visited me causing my back and hips to be bothering me all night last night, maybe I would have tried again today but I figured it best to take a rest before loading another van. I also want to get a cargo net and stronger tie downs to secure the stuff and to be able to load everything I have and also a bunch of my son's things - not just 75% of my things. I learned a bit trying to load it that first time. I don't really know how to secure it properly with a cargo net but will find out before I do it; I don't want an ammo can full of 45 ACP hitting me in the head should I have to stand on the breaks.
The separation/divorce/move saga continues - ain't it just swell!
Now to find a cargo net and decent tie downs.
All the best,
Glenn B
