"Congratulations Mr King, we've decided to upgrade you from a Hyundai I30 to a Volkswagon Golf!" I was told by the Europcar staff upon my arrival at Brisbane airport. What was I supposed to do, get down on my hands and knees like a supplicant and give thanks to people who had decided it seems on a whim to 'move me up' to a superior vehicle?! Why didn't Europcar just admit to me that they had run out of I30s and had plenty of Golfs in the shed!?
One of the reasons I'd booked an I30 was to go on a two day test drive,with a view to a possible future I30 purchase (as well as holiday recreational use) - golf is a game I want to play as often as a I can, not a type of car I want to buy! What is it about Volkswagon and its cars named after four letter sports? Polo as well!
Getting into a strange car in a strange city is better done in a vehilce you are vaguely familiar with. Not that I'm totally familar with the I30, but I have sat in one previously and I know it has the indicator switch and windscreen switch on the 'normal' sides of the steering wheel, where I am accustomed to finding them. And I'm pretty sure that I can easily find where the headlight switch is in an I30 (unlike the Golf) and I'd hope the I30's brake and accelerator pedal are more separated and suited to size 12 feet like mine than the cramped configuration of a Golf. And the Golf requires premium unleaded 98 ocatane whereas the I30 will run on 91 octane fuel. This move from an I30 to a Golf was more of an upsize than an upgrade!
An idea. If Europcar doesn't have the car you have booked, then they should offer you the car at the level below you have booked, at a reduced cost.
Another idea. To move away from the upgrade theme, why don't rent a car firms tell you on their website what reducing the excess will cost? Is this because it is 'secret rental car business', like the type of vehicle you actually end up with?!
A further suggestion for Europcar and their staff. When you issue someone with a damage detail sheet for the car and invite them to inspect the car before you drive away, how about offering a place where the illumination is more than a 30 watt (non energy saving light bulb), for that inspection to take place!?
So I've got plenty of material for a complaint letter to Europcar. I know I am a whinging consumer, but someone has to keep big business on their toes with constructive feedback and criticism.
Of course I wouldn't have minded being upgraded on the plane I flew to Brisbane, from cattle class to the pointy end, but that never happens nowadays. I remember it happened once early in the 2000s, when Qantas had overbooked economy and I drew the long straw and was shunted forward. Now that was a real upgrade!
Next time I want an I30, I shall book in for the car one level below it, possibly a Getz or a Yaris, and then maybe I'll end up with the car I want.
