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“Poor employee training”

written by Losiglow on 11/06/2016

This is my 2nd time being let down by Budget. Guess I didn't learn my first time. The first time, they wanted to charge me an extra day because I showed up an hour early to pick up the car. So I just waited the hour then picked it up. I could see the car I was renting through the window the whole time so it's not as if anyone else had it. They just didn't want me to have it an hour early without paying an extra day I guess. That was in Miami, Florida. I was later contaced by a Budget rep after responding to their post-rental satisfaction survey, apologizing for the inconvenience and explaining that the agent was incorrect, and that I would have just had to pay for an extra hour, but thats about it. Just words. This time, in St. Louis, they offered me two insurance options (pickup in Kansas City). They informed me of the two options; one for full bumper to bumper coverage and a lesser option that would require your auto insurance to pay in the case of an accident but would cover your deductable. I have pretty good auto insurance so decided on the less expensive option. This was after the initial check out of the car however, so I didn't get a receipt. I was a little concerned since if I got in an accident or something I wouldn't have proof of insurance other than claiming some lady at the booth added it at the last moment. But she assured me she added it so I (foolishly) trusted in that and took off. Well, I never got in an accident or had any trouble but I figured it was money well spent since my auto deductable is $1000 and this was obviously much less. When I dropped off the car however, I looked on the receipt to see that full insurance had been charged rather than The less expensive option. The clerk checking out the car said he couldn't do anything and to talk to someone inside. I talked to a counter agent inside and got the same treatment. He simply said there was nothing they could do. No recourse, no options, just "sorry!".

I give two stars because the cars are great and the prices reasonable. I've used Sixt and Enterprise in the past and never had these problems though. Sixt doesn't have quite as good of a selection of cars as Budget. And Enterprise is a bit more expensive. But I've encountered stellar customer service from both, even when minor problems or misunderstandings have occured. Maybe they just train their people better than Budget. With the multiple options out there though, this is the last time I make this mistake.