Fuming at B****t

[Testarossa]

Thursday, March 30 is moving day. Plan was to load a 24-foot rented truck and drive to Paonia, unloading the morning of March 31. Return the truck to Glenwood Springs on April 1. Almost everything is packed.

I reserved the truck with B****t on March 1. This morning, March 28, I got an email from B****t confirming the reservation. That reminded me that our four-man loading crew could use a second hand truck, so I phoned B****t to reserve one.

"No problem," said the telephone reservationist.  You're all set on the hand truck. Let me just check . . .   Uh, oh. I'd better transfer you."

Uh, oh.  They didn't have a 24' truck. They could offer two 16' trucks, which ought to do the job, but I didn't have a second driver.  Not another big truck available in the state. "We're overbooked," she said. When you're overbooked, shouldn't the prior reservation take precedence?

"There's nothing I can do," she said. "Sorry."

"I'm f*cked," I said. Now it became my fault, due to my incivility. She hung up on me. This call may be recorded for quality assurance.

When were they going to tell me this?  When I arrived to pick up the truck, with a loading crew already on the clock?

U-Haul had nothing, not at short notice.

I called the local Penske. They had a 26' truck available. Couldn't be nicer. Three times the price booked at B****t.  I'll take it.

Grumble.

I'm too naive to double-book when I need something important. I wonder how many of B****t's extra bookings will be no shows.

[twowings]

I don't blame you for being angry...one can argue all day long about what America needs to do better to compete in the world, but MY vote goes for better Customer Service...companies have outsourced personal service to wage slaves in call centers...

[fotoguzzi]

do you have records of the reservation? you might have a case where at least the BS company will have to pay you for the extra costs.. I'd try to go up the ladder at that place and really push.. you can threaten lawyers but an online attack might be more scary for them? bad feed back is something they should be worried about..
I would be blowing a fuse over that..

[Idontwantapickle]

Three times the price?

Looks like you blew the budget!

Scratch that........reverse it.

[Arizona Wayne]

Moved myself many times and have never had this happen to me.  Take BS to small claims court if you have to with all your documentation of pre-registration.

A few months ago I ordered a pizza by phone @ Little Caesars and when I got there it had already been sold to someone else instead of saved for me.  I went  livid!  I asked to see the supervisor and let her know I was NOT happy!   She gave me a free pizza. 

[RinkRat II]

If and when the need arose I've always used Penske if possible. They were one of my customers for for 15 years and the people I had to deal with at all the truck centers were great. Never a hassle and immediately paid by corporate credit card bang zoom. First class organization just like Roger .

     Paul B

[azguzzirep]

File a complaint with the BBB.

Also send to the B****t corporate office a copy of your bill for the other rental and explain to them that in your opinion THEY atw legally and MORALY responsible for it.

[Bill Hagan]

Before a Don (or Dona  ) Quixote sharpens lances, mounts charger, and jousts with legal windmills in any business dealing, including this one, I recommend stepping back, letting the red mist recede, and studying the relevant facts to see if the "wrong" really is worth the tilting tournament.

First, I read once -- before the days of PC -- that an old gypsy curse was: "God grant my enemy a lawsuit in which he is right."  The point being, of course, that even when one has the high legal and moral ground, "winning" for the principle of the thing can be expensive. 

This is, after all, a Guzzi forum, not a Fortune 500 CEO board, so money is not irrelevant.  As a lawyer who has paid (many) thousands of dollars over the past four years to law firms in pursuit of a goal that may not happen, I assure you that such does not come cheaply.

Moreover, even if the merits are on your side, and even if small-claims court is an available venue, such is not necessarily "free."  Most big corporations have house or retained counsel, and one may find that wrestling with a bear is unfun and costly.

Moreover, this is not, as we all know, the first time this or another similar company has mistreated a customer.  They likely "get by with that" because of some condition of the reservation process that gives them an "out" when overbooking happens. 

Again, I do not know the facts nor law at play in this instance, but to assume the company is (legally) "wrong" is a dangerou$ game.

"Morally" wrong?  Well, hard to disagree that it's a sorry way to run a railroad WRT to good will.

And, be careful with on-line bashing in a review somewhere.  Mighty fine if 100% factually correct.  And, even inaccurate shrill ones can be below the noise level of corporations.  Still, it would sure add pain to the already maddening situation to have to $ettle with a company for posting about their unfair-to-you actions.

And, had the OP -- whom we all know as a good guy from his long track record here -- not admittedly (and understandably) resorted to profanity, he might have found other options within the offending company above that CSR's level. We'll never know. 

BBB?  "It depends." If law is on vendor's side, they can do nothing.  If not, not sure they have any real clout.  Did the OP (or would any of us) go to the BBB website before renting a moving truck?

All of the foregoing notwithstanding, we have all BTDT in some context, and cannot help but be sympathetic to the OP's plight, and offended by the rental company's actions.  That has some value beyond the emoting, and few of us reading this would now call B****t first!

Best wishes on that move.

Bill

[swooshdave]

Oldie, but goodie:

https://youtu.be/4T2GmGSNvaM

So why would they constantly overbook rentals? The only plausible explanation is high cancelation rates. You can't keep inventory for every reservation if everyone constantly cancels. That is why you commonly see "upgrades" in the rental car market.

[Lannis]

Oldie, but goodie:

https://youtu.be/4T2GmGSNvaM

So why would they constantly overbook rentals? The only plausible explanation is high cancelation rates. You can't keep inventory for every reservation if everyone constantly cancels. That is why you commonly see "upgrades" in the rental car market.

It's also why you see a combination of "upgrades" and "getting bumped off a flight" on airlines.   The airlines LIVE by overbooking, and in the margins, it doesn't work out sometimes.   Their goal is to have every flight full to overflowing, and if a person or two or ten doesn't get on a flight despite booking 6 months ago, well, that's life; fly there your own self if'n you don't like it!

It's also why building contractors never seem to show up when they say they will.   They regularly overbook jobs, anticipating weather, material delays, etc but making sure that no matter what happens to ANYONE, that THEY will not miss a day's work because a customer didn't meet a commitment.   And if that means that ANOTHER customer doesn't get his schedule met, well, that's life; build your own house if'n you don't like it.

I guess we all just get used to it.   I can say that I try never to use anyone again who has done me like that, although there's not much you can do about an airline.   But truck rentals?   Yes, I'm the type that would write a letter to headquarters, cc: the BBB, and make them recognize that their attempt to maximize their income at MY personal expense has more cost associated with it than they thought it would.    Maybe over time, behavior might change?   Or maybe not.   We can but try.

Lannis

[sib]

File a complaint with the BBB.

....THEY are ... MORALY responsible for it.

Morally??  C'mon, this is America and it's 2017.

[Kent in Upstate NY]

Does this company have a face book page? Leave a comment on it. Review your experience on Yelp!. The big companies monitor these sites and usually respond.

[jcctx]

Pay attention to Mr. Hagan; he imparts GREAT wisdom!!!!!!!!

[Chuck in Indiana]

Well look at what just popped up on the bottom of this thread.. an ad for B****t. 

[Testarossa]

Bill Hagan, thanks for the advice. I'd already determined that all I can do is vent -- and I'm venting here instead of in a more public forum.

From the hang-up, I was resigned to swallow the additional cost as another tuition payment in the school of hard knocks. At this point, in a move that has involved three real-estate transactions, carpenters, cleaners, electricians, painters,  and hundreds of hours of my own hard work (paid only in good meals), another $1000 doesn't hurt that much. On the other hand, $1000 buys a lot of Guzzi parts.

As Marcus Brigstocke said, "I'd rather be happy than right."

[blackcat]

Not that it matters at this point, but the last time I moved we used U-Pack Moving or ABF Freight.

They drop a container, you pack it and they deliver to your destination. If you're not in a hurry to get your belongings, it is a good deal. When it's delivered, they give you X amount of days to unpack before they take the container. And the price is based on how much space you use in a container. Of course, if you don't know how to load and pack furniture, you might end up with a broken mess on arrival.

[Arizona Wayne]

Not that it matters at this point, but the last time I moved we used U-Pack Moving or ABF Freight.

They drop a container, you pack it and they deliver to your destination. If you're not in a hurry to get your belongings, it is a good deal. When it's delivered, they give you X amount of days to unpack before they take the container. And the price is based on how much space you use in a container. Of course, if you don't know how to load and pack furniture, you might end up with a broken mess on arrival.

We did that too (ABF) and it worked out splendidly 7.8 years ago with no hassles.      The fact I got a double hernia wasn't the moving company's fault. 

[charlie b]

Yep, B***t advert at bottom of page as I write this  :)

Never used them, now never will.  I've had so much good luck with UHaul that I'll not go anywhere else unless I can't get something from them.  Having said that, I've run into 'bad' UHaul dealers.  But, they were just kinda rude people.  I still got what I reserved.

[Lannis]

Yep, B***t advert at bottom of page as I write this  :)

"AdWare" advertising killer will take care of that.   I looked and didn't see one, wondered what people were talking about, then realized I don't get them any more .... !

Lannis

[BrianK]

Yeah, the ad's at the bottom of the page, and if you go to their Ts and Cs:

Terms & Conditions

...

All equipment selected in a reservation is subject to availability at time of pickup. If the equipment requested is not available, BTR reserves the right to substitute equipment at no additional charge to the customer.

[Air-Cooled]

Post complaint to B*****t site

[scra99tch]

This may be a little of topic about how companies can nickle and dime people.  Taking some quality control/ lean classes, I seemingly feel that I take a look at things a bit differently where cost comes into play.  One of these is a rental companies idea to require you to return the truck with the same amount of fuel that you left with.  Putting trucks fuel tanks at halfway is a win win for them as it requires you to estimate the proper amount of fuel to replace.  If you overfill they can extract some and resell in their other trucks, if you come back lower than you left they charge you above and beyond what the gas station down the street sells it for. 

Now I don't know if they really do go to the extent of pulling out extra fuel, which is time consuming not to mention dangerous.  But if this company would just fill the tanks to the top there is a known amount and everyone is happy. 

Chime in if I am way off mark.




 

[Lannis]

This may be a little of topic about how companies can nickle and dime people.  Taking some quality control/ lean classes, I seemingly feel that I take a look at things a bit differently where cost comes into play.  One of these is a rental companies idea to require you to return the truck with the same amount of fuel that you left with.  Putting trucks fuel tanks at halfway is a win win for them as it requires you to estimate the proper amount of fuel to replace.  If you overfill they can extract some and resell in their other trucks, if you come back lower than you left they charge you above and beyond what the gas station down the street sells it for. 

Now I don't know if they really do go to the extent of pulling out extra fuel, which is time consuming not to mention dangerous.  But if this company would just fill the tanks to the top there is a known amount and everyone is happy. 

Chime in if I am way off mark.

I'd be surprised if a company would nickel-and-dime you to the extent of playing games with the fuel level.   They'd lose every customer they "played" like that, seems to me.

All the rental car and truck places I've used always start with a "Full" tank; and if I'm coming in late and fill up 20 miles out, they don't charge me for more fuel as long as it's still pegged or near-pegged on "F".

BUT I can see the green-eyeshade types who are running many companies now doing that, same as they do when they tell their accounts-receivable people to demand immediate payment from customers, but tell their accounts-payable people to drag their suppliers' 30-day payment terms out to 60 or 90 days until they're getting threatening dunning letters, and don't pay till then.

Stupid MBA types.   It's why companies fail, while they blame "The Economy".

Lannis

[scra99tch]

It was U-Haul.  But because I needed the full width of the truck they conveniently attach the hand truck to the side and lock it in place with a breakable zip-tie and charge when that tie is broken.  But I will say after I explained the situation where I needed the full width the kid behind the counter did not charge me which was surprising.

[Muzz]

Well look at what just popped up on the bottom of this thread.. an ad for B****t. 

Ad blocker must work so I still don't know which firm B****t is. I do have Eds ad there though.

[BRIO]

B****t is a car/truck company who offers rentals to people on a budget.

[Lannis]

B****t is a car/truck company who offers rentals to people on a budget.

A unique business model.   Per Seth's experience, they only "offer" rentals to people.   They don't actually commit to supply them a truck.   Really saves on tires and wear and tear ....

Lannis

[PJPR01]

A unique business model.   Per Seth's experience, they only "offer" rentals to people.   They don't actually commit to supply them a truck.   Really saves on tires and wear and tear ....

Lannis

ROFL...that's damn funny!

[Texas Turnip]

Words do not mean much when you can call your business Discount, Bargain, Budget, etc. Grab your ankles and get set to squeal.

Tex

[Testarossa]

The move has been an adventure. Penske was great -- nearly brand new International Harvester truck, fast efficient helpful service, in and out in 10 minutes including a briefing on the diesel and air brakes. Loading crew showed up on time, worked quickly and very efficiently and got all the heavy stuff loaded up by 1 pm. I had hoped to hit the road at 2 pm but one of us had been less than forthcoming about the volume of 70s-era hippy wear and breakable kitchen heirlooms that had not yet been boxed.

So we pulled out at 10:30 pm and drove straight through to Paonia -- almost. On the descent from McClure Pass, Gail, following me in the Subaru, hit a rock in the road and blew the sidewall out of an expensive Michelin winter tire. No cell service in that region, so I'd been watching her lights in the rear-view and when she failed to emerge from a series of curves I carefully three-pointed the truck and headed back to find her. She was waiting calmly, the cat purring in her lap.

I changed the tire at 4am, excavating the spare from under the temperate rain forest in the back of the car -- Gail's horticultural pets. We arrived home at 5:30. Our unloading crew no-showed, but one of our new Paonia friends did heroic service pulling together four hard-working youngsters happy to sweat a bit for $25/hour. They arrived at noon and got all the furniture into the house before the rain, and will be back at 9 am to stack my ton of books in the garage.

So my faith in humanity, or at least kids in this farming community, is restored and we're settling in happily.