Returning Late from Lunch

Date of Incident: Tues. Dec. 26, 2006 at 2:00p.
Place of Incident: Car Rental Return Facility at a Downtown Hotel in Houston, TX

On Tues. Dec. 26, 2006, I returned a car to a downtown location for this major car rental company chain. I arranged my schedule around the time they said they would be open. On their Web stite, they clearly state they are closed between 1p and 2p for lunch and reopen at 2:01p in their own words.

So I get there at 2:01p and they are closed! I waited until about 2:10p, then I called their reservations office to inquire if there was a problem. The very nice lady proceeded to call the desk at the hotel, although I told her that I was standing in front of the desk and there was no one there. It was a bit comical as I could hear the phone ring when she dialed it.

She then came back on the phone and said to me no one is answering, to which I calmly replied, of course not as there is no one at the desk; I was trying to tell you that!

She then put me on hold again and I hear the phone rings once more. She then comes back on the phone and says no one is answering. Aargh...

By now I am fuming as time is going by.

I then asked here to speak to her supervisor so I can record a compliant about the local office not being staffed at the time they indicated. She said that there was none available; I was now fuming even more...I then insisted to speak to a supervisor complaining how odd it was that there are no supervisors available and she said to hold. In the meantime, the guy showed up.

I then hung up and went over to counter and said hello to the guy who apologized for being late. At this point I was really angry, so angry that I just smiled and moved on.

I have still have not called to complain. I will give them another chance and see if it happens again.