Dollar Thrifty Car Rental - STAY AWAY

Before I continue, I would like to make one thing clear. My association with Thrifty car rental dates to about, 2009. Up to 2019 I have had dealings with their Johannesburg and Durban branches. I can attest to the fact that my dealings with these branches were met with the utmost courtesy and professionalism. If ever there was an issue, it was dealt with efficiently and with expedience. What follows here is my irritation and frustration, which is directed solely at the Cape Town International Branch of Thrifty Car Rental South Africa.

Based on the above, I was very happy with the service and approached the Cape Town branch for a long-term rental. I now regret this decision dearly. It has been the worst consumer experience for me. So, this fiasco starts 01 March 2019 and ended yesterday 25 April 2020. 1. Sign up in March 2019, all smiles only to discover when my credit card statement arrives that it’s been debited twice (two amounts, differing by R4.00)…excluding the deposit. 2. It takes a month, numerous phone calls to completely different people who have no clue of what it is you are talking about in order to fix this. But hey, do not refund me the interest on the money you should not have had. 3. Charged for fuel, without even returning the car? Yes, I was refunded short on the deposit while still in possession of the car (that’s another story) . Upon investigation I am told it is a fuel charge. How? This took more than a month to fix, bearing in mind I had to provide arithmetic lessons to various Thrifty personnel to elucidate this problem. 4. Getting the monthly charges incorrect? Why? How? 5. The inability or failure of the Cape Town office to assist in an accident claim against a third party, which occurred in November 2019 last year and is still not resolved or even attended to by the looks of it. 6. Debiting my credit card for 1 full month rental and deposit without my permission or authorisation. 7. The staff at the branch then seem incapable or unwilling to fix or address issues and problems they themselves created? Why? 8. So yesterday, I returned the vehicle safe in the knowledge that I will not return.

I can only speculate that it may be poor internal communication, lack of appropriate staff training, poor management or just the mental deficiencies at this branch that have raised the levels of ineptitude to staggering heights. However, when complaining to various managers within the business their opinions are also that the Cape Town International branch is at the poor end of the customer satisfaction scale. Companies who refuse to understand that their staff’s pride in their brand is worth more than their entire marketing budget will fail dismally in today’s very competitive market. I would hazard a guess that this may be the case here. Thrifty’s staff do not care whether their customers are happy because no one cares whether they are. Pride shows. In an economic climate such as ours, facing a pandemic that has crippled the tourism and hospitality industry, Thrifty Car Rental can afford to throw away custom such as mine? A month to month rental for over a year? That is shocking. I wonder if their CEO has any idea… or maybe he does and does not care… he may at the end of the 5-level process our President has set for re-opening the economy. It falls in the one of the last sectors to open for business.

And yes, as of posting this review, I am still awaiting the magical keystroke that returns the unauthorised monthly charge back to my CC.

…alI can say is, it is a three-ring circus managed by people with hearing and vision impairments.