Subtitled: And aren’t social networks wonderful?
Last month I had a customer service experience with Hertz that I believe deserves retelling. It started when I received a form letter signed by one Frank Camacho, title Staff Vice President of Marketing. The letter gleefully informed me that I was eligible for a free upgrade from the “#1 Club” to “#1 Club Gold” with benefits that will get me in my rental car faster.
Sounded good to me (too good?) and I was ready to sign up when I noticed the language said that the $60 fee was waved. It did not say if this was a one-time fee or an annual fee, only that it was “waved.” So I decided to find out if there would be any changes the second year!
Wow, this wasn’t so easy. The only phone number on the letter itself was for a reservation line. Although eager and helpful the operator couldn’t answer my question: knew nothing about the letter. She did, however, give me a different number, supposedly for the #1 club. That, too, turned out to be a reservation line and after being dumped into a queue for 20 minutes I hung up.
At this point I wrote Frank Camacho a hand written letter, scribbled on the back of his original form letter. Reading it over, I realized it was just too ugly to send. In a flash of inspiration, I checked his name on linkedin.com and found he was a member. I sent him an inMail, suggesting that I’d had a less-than-optimal customer service experience and suggested he call if he felt like discussing it. Within three minutes of sending it I had him on the phone.
Now I don’t know what your experience is, but for me, getting a VP from a Fortune 500 company (304 on CNN – money.cnn.com/magazines/fortune/fortune500/2008/companies/H.html) on the phone is a rare event. At best, I would have expected it to take hours to find him.
So, hats off to Mr. Camacho, for reading and responding. Thank you: your sense of service is spot-on.
{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
And was it a one time or annual fee?
What, pray tell, is Hertz #1 at? Besides having the largest fleet size in the world?
Or was the title just a play on their #1 club?