“Hurts don’t it?” It was today’s Hertz experience that Hurt. Everything went so smoothly on this trip back home (See Post # 376), until we reached the rental car lot at Chicago’s O’Hare Airport. Every car was gone – not one left to choose from! We knew something was wrong since my name was not listed on the Gold Club board upon arrival. I had the confirmed confirmation on my phone, so I figured Incorrectly that I would just grab one. Instead, we were next misdirected to an upper level office where no one was working. A long line was forming downstairs – all rental customers with reservations, waiting for cars to somehow magically appear. As a Gold member we had priority on first available, but needed a car with easy handicap access, not an SUV. We were sent out to the lot twice with our luggage, only to find another SUV – they were not listening to our needs. The woman behind the counter thought we were trying to finagle an upgrade, but all we really needed was our original request for a compact car that my wife’s 96 year mother could get into from a wheelchair. There were multiple arguments going on in the lobby, and security was standing-by, just in case. One family had gotten an SUV but was turned back at the exit gate because of too many miles on the vehicle. They were told to get back in line.

We asked for the manager, who was cowering in a back office. The lady at the counter had put us over in a corner and continued to ignore her promise to serve us first. The manager agreed to find us a car and after disappearing for far too long came back to report that it would only be a few minutes until our Cadillac was ready. “Counter Lady” was excited for us, “A Cadillac – that should make you really happy,” repeating the manager’s words. My wife was Incensed and replied, “We could care less if it’s a Cadillac, we just want what we originally ordered. The vehicle that was supposed to be waiting in the lot when we arrived over an hour ago.” “But a Cadillac is a huge upgrade and you should be smiling!” Counter Lady kept insisting, as if we just didn’t understand what a tremendous favor they were doing for us. It then turned out that a Nissan Altima was ready first, and we grabbed it. Fortunately I was driving because the car was parked in a direct path to the window separating us from “Counter Lady.” Only a thin layer of glass separated us from deadly revenge.  I’m not certain what would have happened if my wife had been behind the wheel. The next day’s newspaper headline could have read, “Hearse at Hertz. Hundreds more Hurt as Cadillac drives through lobby.” I got out of there as fast as we could. Maybe the next person in line was impressed with driving that Cadillac.