safety first

first off, i must say i'm a big believer in calling people for information... even if they aren't exactly the right people to call, if there's a remote connection by which they might be able to provide assistance to me, i'll call. none of this is really that important to the commentary below, but i thought i'd put it out there.

anyhoot, so the other day i was traveling in a Hertz rental car, trying to return my car to the airport lot so I could catch my flight in time. i was in TX so i clearly had no idea where i was going (although to my credit, i think i faked a sense of direction rather well) but i was about 70% certain we were on the right freeway and within 20 miles of exactly where we were supposed to be. anyhoot, what i didn't know was what exit i was supposed to get off at to return the car and i had little faith in the "Never Lost" system telling me where to go (given previous experiences on the first drive out). Pulling up the rental agreement, the biggest 800# on the front of the packet was the roadside assistance number, so i decide to call.

"Thank you for calling Hertz. Are you calling from a safe and secure location?" What? Huh? Was this the new "hello"? This was a lot to process as I'm speeding along unknown interstate. Safe and secure location? Well, assuming the luxury rental car you're providing to me at the obscene rental rate I'm charging back to my client is safe and secure, then yes i am.

After a good long couple of second of confusion and humor, i finally was able to answer the Hertz representative and then ask my question from my safe and secure location. After hanging up, I couldn't help but laugh over the priorities of the company: 1) good manners (thank you), 2) company identity (Hertz), 3) safety and security, 4) customer service. As bizarre of a way to answer the phone as it was, I appreciated the question. Even if it were totally irrelevant to me, I kinda like Hertz a little bit more.