Unacceptable Service

I had recently hired a vehicle from Thrifty Car Rental in Randburg, The Braamfischer branch to be exact. It was clearly communicated when I picked up the return of the vehicle would be Saturday evening and this was acceptable to the extent that the staff at the car rental even showed us the box where I should drop off the keys was located. The staff clearly mentioned that there would be a security guard who would open the gate when returning the vehicle.

Upon returning the vehicle, 19:50 to be exact on Saturday evening, the security guard refused to open the gate, stating that the branch manager by the name of Max instructed him that no vehicles are allowed after 19:30. At this stage I has already had my pick up vehicle waiting to take me back home. I called the call center to explain the situation there was no help, asked the security guard to provide me with the branch managers details, he didn't have it. The call center agent, Raymond still had the audacity to tell me that I need to come back tomorrow and if the day goes over I need to pay for the extra day.

This was a major inconvenience after 13 hours being on the road, this is not the kind of service one expects. How is it possible that the staff communicate that it is okay to return the vehicle and yet when you get there its disallowed. How does a manager make such a decision and then not be available to contact him.

At the end I had to go back and return the vehicle the next morning, this is not acceptable and unfair service at the customer end. Sorry Thrifty may have competitive rates for extra mileage etc but the customer service is a disaster.