It was a very pleasant experience.
Dmitri initially served me, booking my car for me. The exact car I wanted, no questions asked.
Then Suzanne took over.
Suzanne was the manager and, like Dmitri, she was very pleasant.
The way they both treated me I felt I'd known them for some time. And I was very happy with the service.
Which is why I went back to Enterprise Rent-A-Car last week when I decided to go down to London.
And, much as I hate criticising companies in public, I was not very happy this time around.
You see, Dmitri and Suzanne are no longer there. Dmitri apparently left the company four months ago, and Suzanne has moved to a different branch.
So this time I was dealt with by a guy called Matt.
From the first moment I got on the phone to book a car, Matt only seemed interested in upgraded my booking to a more expensive model than I wanted.
I politely told him I wasn't interested.
This was a week before I was due to pick the car up.
On the day I picked up the car, April 1, Matt picked me up to take me to the branch.
On the way he yet again tried to persuade me to upgrade. I again politely declined.
Once we got to the shop, he tried again. This time he tried a different approach. Instead of asking if I wanted a different model, he asked if I'd like a bigger engine size.
It meant exactly the same thing to me.
Why?
Because it was exactly the same.
It was always upgrading to a more expensive model, but no insentive for me to do so.
Then, as we walked into the shop I heard him say to someone else (I assumed he was the manager) that he had tried to get me to upgrade, but no joy.
He did all the paper work and then we went outside to inspect the car for any existing damage.
And this is where he really began to get on my nerves.
He pointed out every little thing and tried to make out issues bigger than they were.
He started off small by pointing to all the little stone chips to the car and how they were not a problem as it happens.
Then he told me if a stone chipped the windscreen, they'd have to change the whole thing as the chip could lead to a full crack. For which I would be liable.
He then mentioned the stone chips again, mentioning they're no problem.
But, if there was something like a long scratch to the rear bumper, as an example, the whole bumper would need to be changed, and that would cost $250.00 plus £50.00 for loss of earnings while it was being repaired.
And for that I would again be liable.
But here's the clincher: He said I would be charged the full excess of £600.00 until the work was done, and then I would get back the difference.
However, if I did not want to be liable for the excess, all I needed to do was take out... wait for it... excess cover insurance at around £9.00 per day (it was a little more but I forget how much).
I declined.
So, like the true car salesman, he immediately said I could have eight days' cover for five days' premium. Meaning, all I had to do was pay for five days, and I would get cover for eight days.
So what if I agreed to the inital offer for eight days? He would have just taken my money.
By this stage I was already getting really pissed of at his hard-sell tactics, and that certainly did not make things any better.
But wait, I missed something.
Rewind to his offer of five days of insurance for eight days.
It didn't click at the time as he said it so matter-of-factly.
You see, I wanted the car from April 1 to April 8.
Lets count 1>2>3>4>5>6>7>8.
From 1 to 8 is... ta daaaa... 7 days (seven, just in case).
And he smoothly booked in eight days. Even before we went out to inspect the car.
Was that a mistake on his part?
As far as I'm concerned, I told him exactly how long I wanted the car for and when I was taking it back.
Anything extra costs me, not him.
How did I find out?
Two days before I was due to get back from London, I decided to stay another day. So I called up the office and asked another guy, Abdul, if he can extend my booking so I return it on Friday.
His reply was... surprise, surprise... it was already booked to come back on Friday, not Thursday.
Not happy.
I mean, I was glad I got it for another day, but I prefer that I get it because I wanted it. Not because the salesman decided to give me an extra day -- at my expense.
There's more.
Before I took the car, old Matty insisted that I use up any excess petrol that was already in the tank as it wasn't worth it to them -- Enterprise Rent-A-Car -- if I give it back with the same amount in there.
I couldn't see what that had to do with me. After all, I'm the customer and as far as I'm concerned, I want what's best for me. I'm the one who's paying them.
Anyway, he said I'd get a discounted rate for the petrol that was already in there. So I didn't argue too much. He said I'd be charged £8.00 as the tank was 1/8 full. I pointed out it was less than that.
So he said he'd make it £7.00.
I wasn't happy, but I was already late and was getting very fed up with his constant yapping.
(My kids asked me why it took so long when I got back. I told them the saleman couldn't stop talking.)
However, when I took the car to the filling station and filled it up, I realised that, not only was there a lot less than 1/8 in the tank, but the cost for that amount would be about £5.00 at the very most.
How did I know that?
Because the tank's capacity was less than £50.00.
I was getting really sore, but I just wanted to get going as we were already more than two hours late getting out.
Forward to today: The day I've come back home.
It is now coming up to 2am on April 9 in the UK.
We arrived back a few hours ago, and I decided to look through the contract again.
Guess what?
The guy charged me £153.41 for eight days. But the website says it should be £130.75.
What?
Okay, I'm asking the manager about this in the morning.
Another thing I'm asking the manager is this: Matt told me I'd get the remaining petrol at a discounted price.
Since last week, petrol hasn't been above £1.20 per litre... anywhere. In fact, I heard today that is a record increase.
However, on the contract it says: Fuel charge £1.39/Litre.
Would you say that's discounted?
Here's the marketing lesson from this story. But first a question - who is the easiest and most cost-effective person to sell to?
- An existing customer who is happy with your product or service? Or,
- Someone who's never heard of you, or has never bought from you?
If you're as intelligent as I think you are, you will surely have picked number one.
Rather than explain why that is through theory, let's go back to the beginning of my story.
Before I rented a car from them the first time around, Enterprise had to let me know they existed. They had to advertise.
And even then, it was not certain whether or not I'd go with them or another. And I did check out a few others. But I liked them better.
I liked their approach over the telephone better than any others I'd spoken to. And I certainly liked them better in person.
Do you see that? I didn't rent the car, I bought the people. Heck, I could have got the same car, at the same price, almost anywhere else. I felt like they were old friends.
And what's more, they were interested in what I wanted.
And I liked the service so much, they didn't even have to canvass me again. I chose to do business there this time around. I went to them without even bothering to look at any others.
Unfortunately for the new guys in Enterprise, it's even easier to lose a customer by behaving the way Matt has.
Whereas Suzanne and Dmitri saw me as a person, Matt only saw me as his meal ticket. His commission. At least that's the impression I got.
And, to be honest, it's difficult for me to believe he is in it alone. The guy above him is responsible for him. (I hope I'm wrong).
In the morning, when I take the car back, I'm going to show him this post and then they can decide whether or not to turn this around into something positive or leave it as it is.
Either way, their head office is going to see it.
It's up to them if they want their head office to see them in a good light or bad.
And, as you already know, there's you... and a few thousand other readers of this blog who will soon get to know one of the two sides of Enterprise Rent-A-Car in Blackburn, Lancashire.
Either way, I'll let you know soon.
(Update: See this post How To Win Back The Customer You (Nearly) Lost)
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