Thrifty Loses a Customer for Life When They Could Have Gained One

A couple of months ago I rented a car from Thrifty Car Rental but never again. This week I got a bill from Thrifty, shown below, for $0.70 from a toll road and a $15 administrative fee on top of that.

Apparently, despite my best effort to avoid toll roads during that trip, I must have gone through a toll booth. Now Thrifty is chasing me down to make sure I pay that $0.70 toll, and they’re charging me an additional $15 fee on top of that for their trouble.

At first I was mad at them, but now I just feel sorry for them and their incredibly short-sighted business practices. Just think of Thrifty’s options:

1. They could have paid the $0.70 toll themselves. I would have been none the wiser, and I would have remembered renting a car with them as problem free.
2. They could have sent me a bill for the $0.70 toll. I would have thought it was a little silly to bill me for such a small amount, but I would have understood. Perhaps, regardless of how big or small the toll amount, Thrifty has a process of reaching out to their customers to collect the money for tolls.
3. They could have sent me a letter, letting me know that I incurred a $0.70 charge from a toll booth during my recent trip, but also letting me know that due to the small amount, they would just pay it themselves. The letter could have thanked me for being a loyal customer and encouraged me to use Thrifty again in the future. And I would have been glad to do so.
4. They could have sent me a bill for the $0.70 toll plus an administrative fee on top of that. This would reassure me that Thrifty cares more about their short term bottom line than having me as a loyal customer.

Of course, Thrifty chose the last option, and I’m writing this post to remind myself never to use that car rental company again. It amazes me that for $0.70 and the price of a stamp, Thrifty could have gained a loyal customer. But apparently, they’d rather have $15 now and never have my business again.

I don’t know how much Thrifty spends on marketing. Probably not a lot, since they are a discount car rental company. But they must spend something on occasional TV spots, billboards, or online advertising. They likely spend thousands, perhaps even millions a year, on marketing campaigns that may or may not be effective. Here, though, they had the opportunity to spend $1 on a marketing campaign that would almost be guaranteed to win them new business, and not only did they miss the chance but they used the opportunity to offend and lose a customer.

P.S. I also am amazed, if you notice in the image above, that they have the website, ThriftyRentalFine.com. This both cracks me up with laughter and saddens me. Apparently, chasing down customers to pay fines is something Thrifty does so often that they need their own website dedicated to this purpose.