A French controlled car rental company. Offices everywhere. Went there the other day to rent a car for a few days. Nice car. Competitive price. A few days before the rent started, I received an email reminding me of all the things I should think of before picking up the car. Circumspect, I thought. Then one or two days before I had to return the car, I received another email reminding me of all the things I should think of when returning the car. Nice as well, I thought. Good service and they know their rental contracts.
And then, a few days later, sitting on a terrace enjoying the September sun I thought: no, not nice.
Two emails enumerating things I have to do. What is the company doing for me? Nothing was mentioned. Why didn’t they surprise me? They could have told me, that the car I had wished for is awaiting me – which by the way they did not manage. They could have offered me to bring the car to my office. They could have told me that a complementary water bottle is waiting for me inside the car – no need to bring one. And the list could go on………. . So on a second thought, warmed by the September sun, there was an experience indeed, unfortunately not centred around me, the customer.