If the person and/or persons that read this statement are anything at all like the people that run the Enterprise office in Minden, Louisiana than I can be certain that there will not be any concern at all.
Complaint, is not the word I would choose – it goes way beyond that.
Angry, might come closer – but, it goes even further. Never, have I, or my wife, been so humiliated or disgusted with anyone or any place as we were whenever we went to get a rental car at the Enterprise facility in Minden, Louisiana.
So, let me start from the beginning and explain exactly what occurred that led us to such an outrage. I had gone online to Enterprise customer service and set up a rental car for my wife. I did this more than a week in advance. The rental period was to be from 11/23/2016 through 11/28/2016. Proper information was given and the rental was in her name.
We received confirmation and we were instructed online that the car would be available at 12:00 p.m. on 11/23/2016 and was to be returned no later than 12:00 p.m. on 11/28/2016. The purpose of the rental (not that it really matters) was so that my wife and three of our grandchildren could go to see her mother in Oklahoma for Thanksgiving. Her mother is 84 years old and suffers from poor health.
I deemed it important enough for her to go in spite of the fact that I had to work straight through from 11/19/2016 to 12/2/2016 on the night shift for a co/worker that was on vacation, and I felt that she should see her mother whenever she could. Also, present were her siblings, several of which she has not seen in more than seven years. Getting all of them together under one roof is nearly impossible.
On the evening of 11/22/2016, just before close of business, my wife received a voicemail on her cell phone from the Enterprise office in Minden. The call was nearly indistinguishable, but as nearly as we could tell the caller’s name was Kelly.
This was a man that called. He spoke so quietly and mumbled his words so badly that my wife had to listen to the message five times, and I listened to it four times before we could discern what the caller was saying. This was the most unprofessional call I have ever heard.
The caller had asked that my wife return his call the following morning. I was right beside my wife the following morning when she tried, three times, to return the call from the previous night. Nobody ever answered her calls.
I went to sleep for a short while (because I had just worked all night and had to work again that night) and got up in time to take my wife to Minden to pick up the rental car. We arrived promptly at 11:55 a.m. with five minutes to spare. This was when the proverbial wheel fell of the wagon.
The woman behind the counter, her name was Autumn, told my wife that she would need to present her with two current utility bills before she could complete the paperwork and allow her to pick up the rental car.
Perhaps if the unprofessional phone caller from the previous night would have answered his phone that morning my wife might have been instructed of this requirement. My wife was prepared to return home to retrieve these documents and asked Autumn how much time she had to do so.
Autumn replied that we had only 30 minutes to be back or that we would be put on the bottom of the list for a car and that she could not guarantee that a car would be available at all.
We explained that we drove 40 minutes to get there and that it would take longer than 30 minutes to go back home, get the necessary utility bills, and return. This was of no concern to the woman behind the counter. She said that 30 minutes would be all the time allowed.
My wife responded that she had her insurance forms and her driver’s license with her to establish and/or verify her identity and address. Autumn replied that only the utility bills would be acceptable. She said that they were necessary because it was not all that she would be looking for, and that she needed to see if there was any outstanding balance due on the utility bills.
She would then determine whether or not we would qualify to obtain the rental car. This seemed ludicrous in light of the fact that she had both of our social security numbers and if it was a question of credibility than a credit check could have been performed. Indeed it could have been performed whenever we went online to reserve the car.
It was very apparent that this woman, Autumn, had no intention of working out an amicable solution. I am certain that provisions could have been made. It is my opinion that this woman and the unprofessional phone caller have no business dealing with the public, and if I never see, speak, or hear from either one of them again it will serve me well.
Consequently, my wife went home on that day and called her mother and cancelled her trip. It saddens my heart to think that the opportunity for her to be together with her mother and her siblings, under one roof, may never come again.
Whenever we received confirmation online from Enterprise and my wife was issued a membership number, we were under the impression that all was taken care of and that things were set up for a smooth transition. We were so wrong.
The only consolation I have is that, if I cannot receive some sort of satisfactory response to this outcry, I can always share this letter with the social media which will reach from shore to shore and beyond. It is at least a consideration.
