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It Turned Horribly Wrong

Written by: Will Turner

Article Overview: You may drive customers away by what you do or don't do after the sale has been made.

It Turned Horribly Wrong

Have you ever been in a situation where you knew the salesperson was lying to you? Or have you ever lied to a customer? I don’t care if it is a little white one or a bold-faced one, a lie will ruin relationships and reputations.

I was recently at the airport in Houston. Upon arriving, I went to the rental car area to get my car that I had reserved in advance. I stepped up to the counter at Enterprise to what was a pleasant exchange. At the end of transaction, I was told to proceed upstairs and out the doors to the parking deck. There, I would be greeted by name by an Enterprise representative who would be waiting for me.

I thought to myself, “That’s pretty cool. A nice touch to have someone waiting to help me out.” Sure enough, I got to the deck and Jason (not his real name) was there with a warm smile and a handshake. He said, “Hi Mr. Turner, welcome to Houston.”

He offered to help me with my bags. I caught myself reflecting that we’re off to a great start here. I had been familiar with Enterprise’s hiring practices from previous experiences. They tend to recruit young adults right out of college who have that clean-cut, all-American look. Jason fit the profile and his politeness was welcomed after a weary day of travel.

Jason then reminded me that I had registered for an economy car and for just a few dollars more I could upgrade to a mid-size. “Here comes the upsell,” I thought.

Since I was simply driving to the hotel and back over the next 24 hours, I told Jason that I was fine with the economy car, so there was no need to upgrade.

Then it turned horribly wrong…

Jason and I walked down the row of available cars. There were less than a dozen cars parked and waiting; all of which were in an area less than 40 feet long from end-to-end, so the walk was very short. As we got near the far end of the line, Jason feigned surprise.

“It doesn’t seem like we have any economy cars available. I’ll upgrade you to a mid-size for no additional costs,” Jason blurted. Now, at this point, my immediate reaction was, “What a scam!”

With only a few cars on the lot, Jason knew there were no economy cars available before he went into his upsell pitch. Yet, he still did. I can’t totally fault Jason, although he totally blew it for me that day. I have to believe that he had been “trained” to do it that way by a misguided boss, co-worker or company directive.

Regardless, all the goodwill that had been building between Enterprise and me was obliterated with one simple act of lying. And now Enterprise has a permanent black mark next to its name when I consider rental car companies.

It could have been such a positive experience if Enterprise had their staff act with complete integrity and honesty throughout the process. Think how different my experience would have been if Jason had simply told me when I arrived that they were out of economy vehicles.

It may have gone something like this, “Mr. Turner, we’re all out of economy vehicles, so we’re going to upgrade you to a mid-size sedan.” In that scenario, I would have not only driven away as a happy customer, I would have become a repeat customer and possibly a raving fan. But that’s not going to happen now.

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