“No excuse”

When travel companies screw up, they issue what are euphemistically called “goodwill” vouchers to aggrieved customers — funny money that can be used toward the purchase of even more of an often faulty product. To which customers sometimes say: Thanks for nothing. Why would they ever do business with that company again?

Not Thrifty. The car rental company, which has had its fair share of customer service problems lately, doesn’t call them “make-good” or “goodwill” vouchers. it knows there’s nothing “good” about them.

What does it call the certificates? NO EXCUSE vouchers.

I just learned that while corresponding with Marilyn Nenninger about a series of problems with Thrifty in Hawaii. I should note that Nennigner is a Blue Chip member of Thrifty, which is the equivalent of being an elite-level frequent flier. Here’s just one excerpt from a long letter she wrote to the company:

We got in the Blue Chip line around 9 a.m., and waited probably 15 to 20 minutes. Andy, the agent doing Blue Chip, told us we would have to pay $6/day to add my husband as the additional driver. We pointed out that the agent in Hilo had told us specifically that Blue Chip members did not have to pay for this, and he replied, “Well, that’s our company’s policy, and I don’t make the policy.” (Not the last time we’d hear that phrase, by the way.) He grudgingly backed off and agreed to waive the additional driver charge.

Thrifty’s response to her complaint was a letter apologizing for the long waits (at one point, Nenninger had to wait another hour for a car) refunding part of the rental and issuing $75 in vouchers. “Long waits at our Blue Chip counter does not provide the image we nor our valued customers like yourself expect,” wrote Sue Sargis, a customer relations manager, in a letter to Nenninger.

And then the kicker — she referred to the vouchers as NO EXCUSE vouchers.

This is actually both honest and clever. Calling them NO EXCUSE vouchers gives Thrifty yet another opportunity to apologize. It turns part of the customer service equation on its head.

Now instead of saying: “Gee, look how generous we’re being. We really don’t owe you anything, but we’ll give it to you because we have all this goodwill,” you’re communicating something much simpler and effective: “There’s no excuse for what we did. Please come back.”

That’s something other travel companies — particularly airlines — might want to emulate.

Christopher Elliott is the author of Scammed: How to Save Your Money and Find Better Service in a World of Schemes, Swindles, and Shady Deals. Critics have called it “eye-opening” and “inspiring” — it’ll “grab your attention and won’t let go.” Order your copy now on Amazon, Barnes & Noble or iTunes.

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