Dear Budget Rental Truck Dude in Sparks

[jankyrebar]

OK , I just need to get this off my chest and I hope I don’t piss anyone off by posting it here. And hey- maybe you too have had a similar experience...

Dear Budget Rental Truck Dude in Sparks:

I rented a truck from you this year and took it to Burning Man. I also rented a truck from you two years ago and when I returned it, everything was cool and we didn’t get hassled at all. This year however, you came out to look at the vehicle and things got hostile really REALLY quickly. I mean, Budget Rental Truck Dude, in the light of day, I realized there were some white streaks on the floorboards of the truck cab. I didn’t realize that they were there at first, because they didn’t show up until the floor of the cab was dry. But did you have to rant at me about it for two minutes and ask “DO You ThinK this iS cLean?” I wanted to say ...“Well yeah, pretty much- but I guess the floor boards need a second pass”, But frankly you were getting so unhinged, that I was afraid of escalating the situation. And really -did you really need to threaten me with a $350 cleaning charge? I mean that’s harsh!
Budget Rental Truck Dude- you really didn’t need to rip into me like that. I really love cube trucks! I know how to operate and take care of heavy equipment despite the fact that I am a old woman of 40-mmwhatever. I took good care of your truck when it was with me. I even paid an extra $170 for a damage waiver because I had a feeling some- thing bad might be coming down the road this trip. For instance here’s a list of things I did not do in -or on your truck ...
1. Smoke weed or cigs
2.Grill food
3.Spill paint or petrol inside it
4.Have sex
5.Stand on top of it
6.Abuse or run down the battery
7.Cram too much shit into it and tear up the sides
8.Put tape on the side of it so it say “Booty Rectal”
9.Drive it like a fucked up slob and back it into shit
10.Drive off with the ramp hanging out and the door open

Your truck did however, provide a vital source of shelter that was used by tired doctors and nurses who were in need of an afternoon nap before they began their shift at the med tent. Oh- and I was also sitting in your truck when I found out that my mother had died, so yeah, I guess I was little distracted with other stuff when I should have been focused on detail cleaning the vinyl in the truck cab.
Budget Rental Truck Dude , I’m really glad that my friend who is a professional PR person and excellent negotiator was with me. I’m glad she was able to talk you down to the point that you would allow us to just go a re-wipe the inside of the cab down and make everything OK. I don’t know why we could just go that route to begin with.
I am so bummed out about how you handled this situation. I know I will never be able to do business with you again if only for the fact that you kinda freaked me out. And frankly, if your behavior represents how all Budget truck dealers feel about doing business with Burners like me, then I guess I’m really screwed. And finally, I hope to Hell the rest of the merchants in Reno don’t follow this trend cause it will cost you a lot of potential revenue, and it will make life suck for East Coasters like me who enjoy hanging out in Washoe county and spending money.

Regards
Jennifer “Jankyrebar” Ring

[Shpilkus]

I am very sorry to hear that you didn't have sex in the truck. Maybe 2012 will be the year.

[graidawg]

I am very sorry to hear that you didn't have sex in the truck. Maybe 2012 will be the year.

i am more sorry to hear that your mother died while you were at burning man or jst after. I hope you are ok

[jkisha]

I think you should put a stamp on it and mail it to the rental company and their corporate office.

(oh and leave out all that self-aggrandizing crap about the things you shouldn't have done and actually didn't do because frankly it wouldn't have mattered had you done them and just brought the truck back cleaned to their specifications in the first place.)

[Bay Bridge Sue]

+10. That kind of treatment is BS. When you return a truck better than should be expected (how many people didn't demoop their truck?) and paid their pure-profit LDW on top of it, some self-aggrandizing jerkwad chooses you for his personal verbal punching bag, well, I think their head office should know.

With how much that truck cost... and that it was used by Med people (THAT I would put in the letter!) and yeah... since dickwad finally OKd a second wipedown and gave it a pass (but still watch your credit card statement for a while!) when they shoulda done that the first time...

I think they were trying to fork you out of your deposit (which I have no doubt he would have said he refunded, and pocketed himself a nice little bit of embezzelment). That in itself tells me Budget has gone from Stellar to Cellar. They'll have to do something remarkable to regain my (non-burner-related) business from now on.

[Shambala]

Dropped post from Sic pup so I could delete the double post of the thread.

Jankyrebar, I'm sorry that you had a bad experience with this jockomo.

Whether it has an impact or not, I also do not frequent merchants/vendors that don't treat me like they value my business, bravo.

Sincerest condolences on your lost.

The Budget in Reno on Gentry Way is burner-friendly from what I've read here.

[junglesmacks]

Here's one thing that you didn't do:

Rent your gat' damn truck from Budget on Gentry Way who are 50000% Burner friendly and have been recommended a bajillion times over.



Oh yeah, that. Duh.

[sawdustbear]

I'm surprised that they had such an exorbitant cleaning charge! It's a truck, not an RV.

We had to do a last minute UHaul rental, and it was quite pricey($1 per mile charge), but we returned it uncleaned from the playa and accepted their standard $30 cleaning charge(which they had also warned about).

[lucky420]

Not all budget rental places are bad, as JS said Budget on Gentry is muy burner friendly. I rent mine out here in fallabama but never seem to get the right size because the budget places in reno hog them all...grrrr, but I still get a truck and if its not the right size the price is adjusted down.

Last year I reserved a 15 footer and got a 24 footer. This year reserved a 15 footer got a 12 footer. Never been charged the cleaning charge, I clean it inside and wash the outside down too. The rental place here knows where I take it and are really friendly about it. They even bitch about the fact that they can't get me the right size out of Reno too!

[junglesmacks]

Yeah.. actually re-reading this post, I must have been slightly drunk. Sorry for the aggressive posting

Yes, Budget on Gentry Way is super burner friendly. They will wash the whole thing covered in playa dust for $100, or if you just clean it yourself it's no biggie. We baby-wiped out the whole inside of the cab, followed by vinegar bath and rinse. Sprayed down the outside of the truck all over with a high pressure hose, and same for the inside. That's it. They took it back with no cleaning fee whatsoever, and it took the two of us maybe 45 mins to do the whole thing. Really no biggie.

Just remember for next year that if you are in Reno to A) Only use Budget on Gentry Way, and B) RESERVE YOUR TRUCK EARLY! They will run out of trucks months beforehand. You don't have to pay for the truck until you pick it up.. just use your credit card number to hold it. They only pre-authorize $1 just to check the number. No charge for cancellation I think as long as it's at least 24-48 hours prior.

Also, make sure to rent it online as a "business" rather than "personal" rental. The per mile charge goes from $0.72/mile to $0.19/mile. You don't need a business, you just have to accept the higher insurance coverage on the truck which isn't bad.

My whole bill for a 10 day rental plus mileage to go from Reno to BRC to South Lake Tahoe and back to Reno with ALL taxes and insurance and everything was $588.

[illy dilly]

My whole bill for a 10 day rental plus mileage to go from Reno to BRC to South Lake Tahoe and back to Reno with ALL taxes and insurance and everything was $588.

Dude, thats nuts!
Our entire bill for a 12 day rental, Friday 8/26 to Wednesday 9/7 plus 1200 miles each way (2400 round trip) was under the estimated $706. I didn't see the final price on the credit card, but my camp mate that used his card said it came in under $700 bucks.
We used Penske because the millage charge was only $.10/mile even though the daily cost was $45/day.
The truck even got tagged at a gas station someplace along the way. Why in the world would some douche bag tag a rental truck? Don't they know its just gonna get washed off?
So our camp mates in the rental truck used a "magic eraser sponge" and acetone to get it off. From what they said the acetone faded the yellow a bit, but was hard to see if not in direct day light.

[theCryptofishist]

Why in the world would some douche bag tag a rental truck? Don't they know its just gonna get washed off?

I blame stupidity.

[junglesmacks]

My whole bill for a 10 day rental plus mileage to go from Reno to BRC to South Lake Tahoe and back to Reno with ALL taxes and insurance and everything was $588.

Dude, thats nuts!

Nuts as in expensive or nuts as in cheap? The two prices sound pretty similar give or take a little on the mileage charge.

Penske last year cancelled me via corporate. I stay far away now. Maybe you got through because you were renting in CO and not Reno? I think our rate was around $45/day plus $0.19/mile. When you're renting in Reno, you don't really have any other choices..

[Kinetik V]

Business goes where it's appreciated and stays where it's welcome.

A letter / email to corporate is definitely in order, make sure it emphasizes the medical aspect. The suits will key in on that.

But if that gets you nowhere, the ultimate best way to express one's disapproval is to take your business elsewhere and tell others...like you have here. A hit to the pocketbook is always the best way to get your message across.

By the way the $588 is ridiculous. I've used Penske, U-Haul and Budget to haul crap from Kansas City and Omaha to Las Vegas...max cost was $850 and we're talking 9x the mileage than Lake Tahoe to BRC and back.

[junglesmacks]

By the way the $588 is ridiculous. I've used Penske, U-Haul and Budget to haul crap from Kansas City and Omaha to Las Vegas...max cost was $850 and we're talking 9x the mileage than Lake Tahoe to BRC and back.

Supply and demand. There are no other companies to rent from. Both Penske and U-Haul are very anti-Burner and will cancel your reservations. Budget is the only one.

$45/day with $0.19/mile is much better than a coupon code for a personal rental with $0.76/mile. For the length of time and miles driven, it's not all that ridiculous.. and especially when you are talking 6x that amount for a base level RV. Worth every penny.

[MrMullen]

4.Have sex

I have sex in all of my rental vehicles just to make sure it knows who's boss.

[jankyrebar]

Hey folks-
Didn't realize you would get such a kick out of item #4 on the "Do not" list. And to burner Schpilkas, thanks for your concern, I'll be sure to tell Mr. Janky to get busy in the truck next year.


regards,
the jankster

[junglesmacks]

lol.. I always have the best sex at BM. Ask the girl. Shit's legendary around these parts.

[lucky420]

Quit bragging!

[junglesmacks]

Quit bragging!

HA! It was more of an eye roll. I don't hear the end of it.

"Dammit.. why can't it be like that one time at BM when.. ... ... .."

[lucky420]

well you had me fooled.
See and you could of just carried on the myth or what would eventually become an urban legend of your sexual prowess. We'd all been jealous, none the wiser...

[theCryptofishist]

ah, but then he would have been on a collision course with eplaya stud, graidawg. That wouldn't have ended pretty.

[junglesmacks]

Prowess nothing! I think it may have had something to do with uhh.. umm. Uh. Certain substances interfering with my ability to finish the job.. for the entire frickin' week.. and dammit if we didn't try.. for hours. By Friday I could barely walk I was doubled over with the worst case of blue balls since puberty.

TMI TMI


Back to your regularly scheduled programming..

[FIGJAM]

Junglesmacks cock is sooooooooo big...

That when he ejaculates the EPA has to check to find out if the emmision has affected global warming!

[junglesmacks]

My cock is SO BIG and SO POWERFUL that it eats meteors and spits out Optimus Primes.

[lucky420]

yowzah!

[Shambala]

JS and his titanium testicles! You never know what's going to happen.