Yes, and that’s the irony - my location was inner city and we discontinued after hours dropoff precisely because of thefts, and yet people would complain about the inconvenience. Whether it’s upselling (just like a waitress suggesting cocktails & dessert or a kid asking to supersize your fries) or recovering damages, it’s still a business that is being run to make money.
Rental agents are taught to upsell and get pressured on their numbers just like any sales job, so I would hope that people understand that the next time they are at the counter and give that person a break. To be sure, some can be dicks but others are just working stiffs doing as they’re told and trying to keep positive. Customer service of any stripe can be very stressful.
I have rented a lot of cars-—this is in a small city environment, Pullman Wash., Bozeman Montana, etc.-—and over time I got so I rented virtually exclusively at Enterprise.
Decent cars, best prices, far and away the best personnel.
And those people put up with a lot of crap, from the cheapskate who wants to pay nothing for something to the rich guy who needs to abuse someone to make his own day.
I always understood that the car was my problem (I carried my own insurance) until they shook my hand and gave me my paid copy of the bill.
I also kept the cars reasonably neat and tipped the staff when I could-—and they treated me like gold.
p.s. My only gripe was getting a car with worn tires. After all, the renter has to pay for the tire when there’s a problem....
As a former Budgeteer, and a franchise owner of four small cities in the 90’s, I’ve seen every scam in the book, believe me...