Never had I ever been so triggered by the sound of violins and symphonies.
“Your call is extremely important to us,” they said.
“We value you as a customer,” they said.
“Your call will be returned in the order that it was received,” they said.
Common problems. I had been on the phone for more than 45 minutes, and I had the violin arrangement memorized. But it was not really the wait that bothered me the most. That’s a whole other consumer issue that needs to be addressed. It was the reason why I was calling.
You see, my family was getting ready to go on a road trip. So, like most families do to protect the family vehicle’s mileage levels, we rented a car. We booked it online through Priceline, got a stellar deal, and went to the Airport to pick up our car that evening. And when we got there, they asked the deadly question:
“So where is your family traveling to this weekend?”
“Atlanta,” my mom said emphatically as she described all the stops and activities she had planned for our family.
“Oh, no. Well we cannot give you the car.”
Long story short, we did not get the car because “Florida residents were not allowed to take rental cars from this company across state borders.” This was a fine-print sentence that we did not notice until we used the “Command F” function on my mom’s phone. There it was, written in the tiniest letters I had ever seen.
Hence, our 45-minute hold with the customer service department of this car rental agency, the additional hour of begging it took for us to convince the agent that we deserved a refund, and the 60 days it took for us to get a refund for our failed rental car experience.
As a pre-law student, I understand that this rental car company was legally not obligated to give us a refund. The information was stated on the Terms and Conditions. But I truly feel that a majority of the consumer population has fallen victim to the inconspicuous terms and conditions that are overwhelming to the eye, but relay key facts.
A major solution to this problem could be creating an additional document that highlights the main points of the Terms and Conditions. Many times, Terms and Conditions sheets have bolded information along with a summary of information written in smaller letters. Companies should publish a diminished form that is no longer than a page, and cite the original Terms and Conditions that consumers can refer to for more details.
This solution would positively impact both consumers and producers as it would eliminate the frustration felt on the side of the buyer, promote customer loyalty, and increase the profitability of companies.
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