Darren
Neenah,#2Consumer Comment
Thu, July 29, 2004
Mary, You told Joy that she needed to, "get her facts straight." May I be so bold as to ask how she is supposed to get the facts? It appears that she did question the counter person/supervisor and somehow that information about fleet customers didn't seem to get across. I would think that anyone could understand that a "fleet" renting would have all the required information and would simply need to verify that name of the person picking up the car. Fair 'nuf. We cannot assume that each person knows something which is "common sense" or "standard operating procedures" in an industry. The perception was there. For fair disclousure, I am 45, white and middle class... but I am not blind that racism is alive and doing well... I have lived too many places and seen to many things. My adopted sister how died recently was black... and whether it was in Alabama or Wisconsin she was treated differently... which is such a shame because she was such a beautiful, loving, and fun person to be around. Too bad for some people they couldn't see that. A customer should feel valued. If I am dealing with a person who feels that I wasn't treating them fairly because of their race, sex, ethnicity, nationality or some other reason, I would feel bad and want to explain to them the reasons behind my actions. That is because I would value that person as a customer... but more importantly, as a human being that has intrinsic value. I have had insurance companies and auto dealerships provide rentals for me... they have even brought the car to the dealership for me... and all I needed was a signature and I was out of there with the $10K to $30K car. I have also rented cars where they wanted everything but blood. I didn't think that it was racism, but I didn't have someone next to me being treated differently. Again, perception. I too am aware of Mr. Crosby's statements... and I have to support him in his assumptions. I do also have to say that there is racism, whether it is instutionalized or simply the attitude that an employee can slip in and get away with it... To reply that someone is playing a "race card" anytime that they are discriminated against is a great with to defend bad behavior and to denigrate a person's complaints. Again, how is a person to "get their facts straight"? I guess this site worked, bucause she found out... with a whole lot of back handed snideness, but she got an answer. Maybe you can benefit from "this perspective."
Mary
New Orleans,#3UPDATE EX-employee responds
Thu, July 29, 2004
I needed to respond to this claim made by you. Believe it or not, when you rent a vehicle that is worth between 10-30 thousand dollars, we do need some information on you- no matter what color your skin may be. As an ex-employee of the company, I must inform you that the person who was just asked for a license could very well have been what is known as a "fleet customer". Those customers have their companies contact Enterprise, and we have a set agreement with them that the renter will not need anything but a license. That is most likely the transaction you saw. So before you pull the racial card on a company, please get your facts straight- any educated person would do so. For more info on my feelings on that subject, please look up some of Bill Cosby's recent comments. Maybe you'll benefit from that perspective.