[Loeries] Try harder, Avis
By Tshepiso Seopa in Loeries, Marketing | 2 comments
Almost all former Loeries virgins have a story to tell about their first festival weekend in Margate, KwaZulu-Natal, but to date, I am still to come across one whose story entailed the possibility of going to prison for driving a rented car believed to be stolen. Thanks to Avis Car Rentals, my experience is definitely one that I will never forget.
On Saturday 26 July, two of my industry colleagues and I were driving to a media lunch hosted by Draftfcb in Southbroom a few kilometres from Margate when we were stopped by a police van. Driving in a convoy, we thought we had done something wrong. They told us they had received a call earlier that morning from concerned residents who suspected that my colleague’s car, which had been parked outside one of the houses the evening before, had been stolen.
With nothing to fear, we co-operated with the police, who asked us to follow them to the police station. Thinking we would be in and out of there in no time at all, were we in for a nasty surprise! The rented Avis car’s number plates did not match the model of the vehicle. A white Polo classic, the number plates appeared on the police system as belonging to a 2004 Jetta, while the model my colleague was driving was very new, with 184km to be exact.
Now I’ve always been sceptical about the promises that service providers like Avis make to the public, but after this weekend I know why.
Panicking, we called Avis. The consultant we spoke to was not very helpful as he treated the matter a bit lightly. It was only after our fourth call when we informed him that they were impounding the car and the driver that he also started to panic. You would have thought that they would have sent one of their guys there immediately to sort out the mess but no. The nearest Avis branch, we later found out, had only one person working there that day. The other branch is in Durban, meaning it would have taken the Avis people at least an hour and half to come out to my colleague’s rescue.
After an hour of questions, phone calls and, may I say, prayer, the detective in charge, who was thankfully understanding of our predicament, agreed to let us go on condition that the colleague came back later on.
While I have learnt that the matter was later resolved, one thing’s for sure, I now know that Avis certainly needs to try harder!
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terry | Jul 28, 2008 | Reply
Oh dear, how unfortunate is it when your dissatisfied customer turns out to be a journalist with an online publication…
Glyn Smith | Aug 22, 2008 | Reply
AVIS TAKES CUSTOMER GRIEVANCES SERIOUSLY
Avis Car Rental has taken the case of aggrieved customer, Ms Omar, who was recently apprehended and her vehicle impounded by police in KwaZulu-Natal, very seriously.
Avis managing director, Wayne Duvenage, says police accused Ms Omar of driving a vehicle with the incorrect number plates and licence disc. “The number plates and licence disc, however, were in order and the incident was an unfortunate case of police error.
“Avis and other car rental operators have experienced similar incidents in the past where police falsely apprehend a rental customer based on incorrect information in their systems. It is unacceptable that Ms Omar was apprehended,” says Duvenage.
Police blamed Avis for not being up to date with its paperwork. “In fact, problems such as these are largely due to the re-use of previously stolen vehicle registration numbers being re-issued and not updated in the South African Police Service/Natis records,” says Duvenage.
Avis has challenged the authorities to address these problems. Sadly, says Duvenage, it takes a long time to effect change of this nature with the authorities.
“Fortunately, it is not a common problem,” he says.
Ms Omar’s incident was exacerbated by a sense that the response from the Avis customer care line employee, who handled the situation, was not helpful or fast enough.
Duvenage says Avis prides itself on its high service standards and takes complaints from customers seriously. “While we do slip up from time to time, we learn from each experience and strive to exceed our customer’s expectations at every interface,” he says.
Duvenage personally listened to tapes of the interactions between Ms Omar and the customer care operator. “I agreed with Ms Omar that our Careline operator should have been more astute and faster in handling the situation. As a result of her feedback, Avis is taking the necessary corrective action to ensure that similar situations are handled in a far more efficient manner,” he says.