Clear, Brief, Specific
My brother is getting married in just over six weeks.
I’m searching online trying to find a better car rental rate because I’m reserving a minivan to ferry people and wedding paraphenalia all over the place.
Dollar has lots of pretty graphics splashed over their homepage announcing a sale on minivan rentals. I click and enter my information only to get…
NO RATES QUALIFY WITH REQUESTED PARAMETERS
To me, this could mean many things, such as:
The dates you entered do not fall within the time of the promotion
This promotion is not available in this market
All cars available for this promotion have already been rented
There are no cars of that type available for rent at this location
This promotion is not available at the airport, but we will honor it at our rental office downtown
We put this promotion up to see how many people would click on the pretty graphics. SUCKER!
A click on help does me no good, as it states:
The following fields are required to check a rate:
Pick Up Location
Return Location
Pick Up Date and Time
Return Date and Time
Car Type
Once you have completed the form please select “Check Rates” to continue.
I have all that information entered! Why aren’t they more specific in their error messages? I also tried checking rates for a Jeep Wrangler, and got the error message, “Unable to retrieve rate at this time.” I suspect there aren’t any of those cars available for rent at that location, but the error message is incredibly vague and suggests that their rate retrieval system is down.
Somewhere during this surfing excursion, I notice there is a way to chat online with one of their representatives. I get mildly annoyed when I have to install two plug-ins in order to enter the chat, and the subsequent launched window is not resizeably-friendly. I explain my dilemma about the confusing message to the chat operator, and they explain that message means there are no cars available through that promotion, and I need to remove the promo code in order to get a regular rate.
WHY DIDN’T THEY JUST COME OUT AND SAY THAT IN THE ERROR MESSAGE? Why did I need to install two apps and talk with a customer service rep in order to get that information? If I need to remove the promo code in order to get a regular rate, a friendly note stating that would be optimal. Why not have a message stating, “We’re sorry, that rate is no longer available. Here are the regular rates for that market.”
No matter how pretty and snazzy their team made the site, there is no substitute for clearly communicating your message with specific details as needed.
Hey, I have a corporate rate # you can use with Avis. E-mail me.
Hey. Nice one. Linked it:
http://www.io.com/persist1/logs/1063124832.html
Have you tried expedia.com? I find that they usually have some good deals.
What poor online service that is. I hope Becky can help you out….Good luck at your brother’s wedding. I wish him the best!