I have written about a few bad experiences and the learning from these. Here is an example of a good experience and the learning. Last weekend I was in Sarasota, Florida. I rented a car from Hertz. As I drove to my hotel I stopped to go into a store. I had put my wallet in my jacket which I had placed in the boot (the English word for trunk). I opened the boot\/trunk, collected my wallet and then closed the boot\/trunk with the keys inside! Doh! What an idiot<\/p>\n
So what do I do now? I had images of paying $100\u2019s to get road side assistance. When I rent from Alamo they always try the scare tactics to sell me additional insurance. I looked around and tried to figure out how to open it from inside the car without success. I looked at the contract Hertz gave me. The first phone number is the 24 hour emergency assistant.<\/p>\n
I was feeling reticent to call them as I didn\u2019t want to pay huge amounts of money due to my stupidity, but my plight overcame this and I called them. I was answered by a person immediately. What do you think was the first question they asked? Was it What is your contact number? What is the License plate?<\/p>\n
No. Their first question was \u201care you in a safe place\u201d. Wow! I was surprised! What a great question. I told them I was. I told the agent of my situation and she empathized with me. She asked me for details of my contract number. \u201cI see you have a Mustang\u201d she said. \u201cIf you go into the back seat you will see a cloth tab, which if you pull it will flip down the seat and allow you access to the boot\u201d! Wow! I hadn\u2019t thought about that! I was looking for a button or leaver to flip in the car. \u201cI\u2019ll wait while you try and locate it\u201d. I climb into the back of the car, this is a difficult enough task if you are as large as I am and the Mustang is not renowned for a large back seat area! There it was within minutes I had my keys and I was on my way.<\/p>\n