Hertz Abandons Customer

On 25 Mar 2019, I went to collect my car at the Hertz outlet at Cape Town International Airport. I have been a loyal customer for about 10 years. Never once have I had to give my booking code .. I would mention my name and my envelope with keys would be ready waiting. On this occasion, the staff member was clearly rattled when I did not have my code with me. They could not find me on the system and it made feel that I was in fact not a customer at all. After a long wait leaving me stranded, they asked for my mobile number. Apparently they found my booking, but this was not made known to me. There was a lot of clicking on the keyboard without a word being said, following which I was then shown some handwritten numbers on the back of a s**** of piece of paper that my excess would be R14 000, which is outrageous! I was then told that if I wanted to reduce the excess it would cost me R200! Never have I had to pay such a high amount, especially considering that my one day rental was just over R300. I asked to speak to management, and this chap close by told me quite clearly that without a booking code that they could not assist me. In my opinion there were other obvious methods to find that booking ... mobile number, email address ... even my license number which is on the system. I admit that I did use an expletive or two to express my frustration, and without any hesitation, the manager told me that I would not be getting the car and that I leave the premises immediately. He even continued to chirp me on the way out, which unfortunately prompted another expletive from me in front of other customers. This was without doubt one of the most humiliating experiences which I have had to endure, and I was most disappointed in that I was not regarded as an important customer. I apologise for the language which I used, but it would have taken a very strong person to contain themselves in such a situation. I immediately walked into Europcar, told them that I had literally been kicked out of Hertz and that it left a bitter taste in my mouth. They bent over backwards for me and within 5 minutes I had a car ... unlike the 30 minutes I had wasted at their competitor. Europcar has gained a new client, and Hertz has lost a loyal one.