Independent Car Rental companies tend to be more flexible than large corporate, international chains in terms of renting a low cost rental vehicle. Independent business people who have a vested interest in making your rental happen make the rules in-house and are generally easier to work with.
There are lots of rules in the car rental industry. With all the big companies, a committee sets the rules. Staff at the service counters that have no real input in the operational policies and are much less flexible with upgrades, etc, and are required to enforce rules to a tee.
There are many reasons why you ought to choose an independent agency over one of the big names in the car rental business. You are more likely to be satisfied with your rental whenever you rent from a locally-owned and operated company than from one of the larger national or multinational corporations. The reason being is that with the smaller companies, you are going to receive better service and better prices; it is their goal to make you happy. They want you to keep coming back. With a major agency, you run the chance of being over-charged, as well as becoming one of their many ‘face-less’ customers.
Top 5 Reasons To Rent From An Independent Agency
- Flexible Rates
- Flexible Regulations
- Cash Deposits (In some instances; this isn’t always the case)
- Better Customer Service
- Better Vehicle Selection
Following is an in-depth look at the reasons to rent a low cost rental car with an independent agency.
Policies and Rules are not necessarily set in stone
Independent car rental agencies are usually more flexible as opposed to large chains considering that the policies and regulations are made by the people you are dealing with, not the ‘head’ of the company, often located on the other side of the country. Since you are dealing directly with people who set the policies, you are very likely to be able to resolve most issues without any hassle. The independent agency cares about making you, the consumer happy so that you will return for future rentals.
The most frequent problem when renting a low priced rental car from a major company is negotiating a ‘deal’ if you are planning to utilize more than the allotted free mileage. With the majors, it will be difficult to get a better deal. However, when renting from an independent agency, you are renting from a business person who is interested in making the rental happen, and will therefore do their best to meet your mileage expectations.
Another extremely important problem is the cash versus credit card phenomenon. Almost all large car rental agencies won’t allow cash rentals, and require you to have a credit card. The reason behind this is because they don’t have the ‘time’ to do a credit check on the customer and instead count on the credit card company to do so. Some independent rental agencies however will rent you a cheap rental car with a cash deposit.
Customer Service: You deserve the best!
With a major company which has countless locations around the globe, suddenly you become a faceless person in a sea of countless customers. With the independent agency, however, you are an extremely important customer since smaller businesses depend upon the word of mouth. So if you are satisfied with your rental experience, and you spread the word, they get more business. It is because of this that the independents strive to make you as happy as they can. A recent survey by the Travel Industry Association of America determined that 43% of travel information was collected from a friend or from family referrals. If you’re happy then the rental company is happy.
When renting from an independent agency, you are more likely to have your concerns addressed. If you rent from a major chain and have a problem or complaint, it is quite common that this will become lost in a huge complaint pile and perhaps never be handeled. Since small business owners, however, have a vested interest in your happiness, they will do their very best to help you personally.
The Car Rentals Business is highly competitive, and sometimes a personal touch could make a big difference. Most large rental corporations do not depend upon individual customers, but instead on big corporations and business travel. Also large chains have a larger clientele, as they have many locations in various areas. On the other side however, the independent agency will try to please you, the consumer since they are not a big corporate chain and rely on repeat business from local customers. They want to make you happy so that you will return.
Why Rent From An Independent Agency?
To sum it all up, Independent agencies are locally owned and operated; they’ve got a superior selection of vehicles, more adaptable policies, better discounts and flexible rates, their own rules, and have a hands-on approach. They want to make you happy, and give you the best for your money.