Subject: Thrifty Car Rental, Jackson, WYLocation: Jackson, WYTitle: WARNING, DO NOT USE THRIFTY CAR RENTAL IN JACKSONID#: 16970584 I booked our car rental with Thrifty on line several months before our trip. Their rate was $30 higher than Dollar but Thrifty was listed as being at the Jackson Hole airport. Using Dollar would mean using a shuttle to go to an offsite office. We arrived at the Jackson Hole airport and found only three car rental offices and none of them Thrifty. I could locate no information about Thrifty so I finally asked the Budget agent about Thrifty. He said ';They lost their lease and they have a shuttle out front';. I was pretty tired and upset as I just wanted to get my car and go. We found a shuttle out front and the driver loaded us and our bags into the running van. He proceeded to talk to his Dollar rental buddies for about 10 minutes. He came back to the van and we asked ';When we were leaving?'; He said ';In 5 minutes';. We finally set out for a suicidal race into town. He drove up to an old motel and proceeded to get out and open our doors. I saw no Thrifty rental sign or lot. We were very confused and he repeatedly pointed to a motel door and told us to go on. Feeling like we were on the set of ';Cops'; we cautiously entered the door he pointed to. Inside was a motel room and Thrifty office. She apologized and said they were at a temporary location while their office was built. I was rather upset that we were not informed of their move because I would have used another agency. We went ahead with the rental because we would not have been able to get a special rate anywhere else. She added another $100 to the bill because of the additional yet only driver. I stated I didn%26#39;t think we should have to pay all of that since we were not informed of the move and could have used someone else. She said she would have a manager speak with me when I returned the car since no one else was there. She did upgrade us to a midsize car however it was all they had anyway. The car was fine except the controls on the Chevy Malibu are ridiculous. I owned a Chevy Truck and it wasn%26#39;t designed like that. When we went to return the car at the motel we discovered it the (office) was gone. I asked the motel office where Thrifty had relocated to and they gave me directions. We found the new Thrifty office (recently closed gas and service station). They had not even finished getting the office together. I was too upset and stressed with luggage and flight schedule to fuss about the additional driver charge or the lousy Thrifty no communication policy. I implore everyone not to waste their time and money with such a poorly run operation. Use an agency at the airport so you won%26#39;t have to drive all the way to town and endure the shuttle service back to the airport.
Avoid Thrifty Car Rental in Jackson, WyomingWe are all sorry to hear about your horror story, but thanks for posting the warning! Unfortunately one franchise in one small location can give the entire company a bad name. If you have since contacted Thrifty,hopefully they have made some effort to rectify the situation.
Dealing with rental car companies can be trying at best. With all the extra add-ons, taxes, fees, and surcharges, you never really know hat you are paying until you get the credit card statement! At any given time and at any given airport it can be a nightmare, especially if you happen to be in a hurry. Sometimes renting can be almost as much ';fun'; as BUYING a car!
Here is a suggestion that migh help people avoid your particular problem in the future. Before booking a rental car, go to the website of the AIRPORT that you will be flying into, and check under their ';Ground Transportaion'; tab. Most airports, including JAC,(www.jacksonholeairport.com) list the rental car companies that do business at their facitities under the headings of either ON AIRPORT, or OFF AIRPORT. Most post links to the various companies as well as local phone numbers, so you can speak with someone right at that airport. Often when dealing with the rental companies we do it on line or we use an ';800'; number that might have you talking to someone thousands of miles from your intended destination.The information they give can either be vague, or intentionally misleading in order to get your business. Airport administrations have enough to do. They have no interest in misleading you about where the rental car companies are located. As a pilot myself, I do this anytime I need to book a rental car at an unfamiliar airport.
One other little ';trick'; to watch out for when renting a car. Watch out for the old, ';bait %26#39;n%26#39; switch'; tactics employed by even some of the the big rental companies. You ';reserve'; a particular vehicle type, and when you go to pick it up, they are ';out of that model';, but for $xxx more we can put you into a ';much better vehicle.'; To me, there%26#39;s something about the term, ';RESERVED'; that gets lost there..............
Avoid Thrifty Car Rental in Jackson, WyomingWe just got back from Jackson and Yellowstone. We also rented from Thrifty. I was irritated about them not being on the airport and checked their prices against the competition out there. For the savings, we stayed with Thrifty.
We really had no issues. Checkin was easy. The car was fine. 6:00AM shuttle to airport after returning the car was fine. They%26#39;re settled into their location now and seem OK.
We%26#39;d rent from them again if they keep the prices down enough to justify the shuttle.
We rented from them in Denver and had great service for our trip to the Black Hills, Cody and YNP. We got a great rate and would rent from them again. Sorry you had problems!!
You cannot compare renting a car in Jackson to anywhere else I%26#39;ve ever been! The airport is tiny and they only have a few rental car companies. If you travel into the town of Jackson you are going out of your way (about 24 miles roundtrip) if you are heading to Yellowstone. We just returned from our trip to the area and rented from Dollar. The price was good but the hassle was not. We went out of our way and we were hassled at the counter to upgrade and pay extra for all kinds of things. Be prepared, stand your ground and you will be fine.
We rented from Dollar. We did the shuttle thing and it was fast and the people were nice. When I rent a car, I always find the direct number to the actual location and ask them about the cars that they have. I hate the car name or similiar notes on the websites. I also asked about horsepower and 4 wheel drive. I ended up booking a Toyota Highlander. When we got there (it was very late due to delays) they had one left, and it smelled of smoke. They then asked it we%26#39;d like to upgrade, and I asked if they could do it for free. He smiled and asked again. We said no thank you, that we were spending enough. He then said we could have the upgrade for free. We had a very nice Toyota 4-Runner. Thank goodness he did that, because I totally overpacked, and after getting a cooler at the local Albertson%26#39;s...we wouldn%26#39;t have had room for our children!
Returning the car was fine. They had asked us to call and tell us when we would need a shuttle to the airport. My DH left his license and National Park card in the visor and they sent another shuttle to the airport with it to us. They were very nice.
We had a similar experience with Thrifty at Jackson, WY. They not only were not located at the airport as advertised they did not have the size of vehicle we had reserved. I told the agent that I was extremely disappointed and he said he hears it all the time. False misleading I recommmend you avoid Thrifty at Jackson, Wyoming.
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