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A project to make businesses more aware of their customer experience, and how to fix it. By Mark Hurst. |
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Previous: Rite Aid slogan | Main | Next: Belkin optical mouse
April 19, 2006 12:03 AM
Broken: Rental car keys
A reader named Eugene writes in:
When I rented a car on my last vacation, I got two keys. Great idea - keep one in your pocket and use the other to prevent yourself from getting locked out, right?
Wrong!
I asked the agent, "What is the point is of getting two keys if I can't separate them?" She just shrugged and said, "I don't know."
Then the other agent behind the counter said, "You can try to separate them if you want to, but I'm not sure what will happen if you return keys that are separated or reattached in a different manner."
So much for having a spare key in a separate location...
With my luck I'd figure out how to seperate them, accidently lock one in the car only to find the other isn't even for this car.
Can't tell for sure, but it looks like you can separate the keyless entry thingamabob from the keys. Still broken though, as is anything else that yields a shrug and an "I don't know" from a customer service rep. You don't know? Go find out! That's your job!
What is attaching the keys together (cable, tiewrap, ect...)? I can't tell, the picture is too low res.
Assuming it was a tywrap I would cut or force it open and return them on a (cheap) keychain.
If it was a cable I would remove the remote and keep it seperate from the keys. I would also make a complaint to the manager.
Also the larger picture is broken I get a black window the same size as the small pic.
The only time this would be helpful is when you manage to break one of the keys (not that has ever happened to me).
They do it because it is difficult to keep the two keys together if you drop it off at another location. If they left one in the car permanently, people would know where to look for the keys. Also when the cars hit a certain mileage, it gets taken off the rental cue and sold. All paperwork and keys are right there. It's actually a good solution and not broken ... for the car rental company.
Rosie-
That way the two keys are always together; the spare doesn't need to be stored somewhere else. Can you imagine storing thousands of keys somewhere, then trying to find a specific one and get it to where it's mate is? Yes, it can be done, but this way is much simpler.
The second key isn't for YOU. The rental company is just trying to keep them together. It's for their convenience, not yours. They could just as easily give you only one, but then what would they do with the other?
Master Chef -- no, the other key would not necessarily work in another car of the same model. Try using your car key in someone else's car (if they are the same model). It is highly unlikely your key will work; it might work if the other person bought their car in another part of the country, then moved near you.
Louis and others are right--the second key that can not be easily unattached is for the car rental company's convenience, not their customers.
I think it is broken because I can not put that keychain (with the fob, two keys, and ID tag from the car rental company) in my pocket.
I think it is broken because I can not put that keychain (with the fob, two keys, and ID tag from the car rental company) in my pocket.
LOL ...How tight are your pants?
JAC - my pants are not very tight, but I do carry my wallet in my front pocket as well, so there is not enough room for this keychain too.
And no, I do not want to put the keys in my back pocket, because I am afraid I will sit down and my tush will hit the "panic" button...
Louis is right...definitely for the company's benefit.
Unfortunately, no thought to the customer's convience.
I say broken & poor customer relations.
I mean, come on. There's no point in having an extra, if you can't even separate it! It's just f*****g stupid! Unless that was a mistake by the manufacturer...
the problem with the keep the keys together for safe keeping theory, is that the second set of keys comes with a second keyless entry "thingambob". my chrysler did. and the keys have a chip inside so there are for that vehicle only
Ahh I see...
Car keys come in sets of two. The Company doesn’t want to lose one of the keys because they want to have both keys when they sell the car.
So rather than put one key in the drawer and give the customer one key they fix them together so one wont get lost. Thus making it easier to find both keys.
They wont let us separate them because we could lose one.
Make sense now...just inconvenient for the customer so in a customer service sense its broken.
Bob wrote: "Ahh I see...
Car keys come in sets of two. The Company doesn’t want to lose one of the keys because they want to have both keys when they sell the car.
So rather than put one key in the drawer and give the customer one key they fix them together so one wont get lost. Thus making it easier to find both keys.
They wont let us separate them because we could lose one.
Make sense now..."
EXCEPT, when someone like me loses the keys...now you've got NO KEYS to the car...meaning they've undoubtely have a spare set back at the office, rulling out the theory that they do it to avoid having to store all the execss keys....
Umm... none of this matters.
You only lock the door from the outside using the remote. That way there's zero chance of locking your keys in.
Broken for all the reasons above.
Additionally broken is that the counter person is "not sure what will happen if you return keys that are separated or reattached in a different manner." If the counter person doesn't know, who does?
I'd pull them apart and return them separated just for fun. What's the worst that could happen?
Basically, the rental company just gives renters all the same stuff that they was included when the car was purchased. That includes two sets of keys (and maybe a valet key), the user manuals for the car, etc. The last car I rented even had brochures about the manufacturer's roadside assistance program still in it.
Re. the rental company keeping a key for themselves, clearly it's cheaper for them rental company to pay for a locksmith in the unlikely event you lose the keys. Keeping extra sets of keys for all their cars somewhere and dealing with the logistics of moving them around as needed (like if you do a one-way rental) is doubtlessly not worth it.
Yes, it is smart for them to have an extra set, but why on the same ring? It just doesn't make sense...
WHY why why why WHY are people reading NOTHING but the previous comment before they post?!?
The car company keeps the keys together because they will need them later on to resell the used car. Why don't they separate them? Because trying to match them effectively, when you're talking about a fleet of cars, is quite nearly impossible. If you have a key in the drawer and a key in the customer's tight little pocket, trying to match them up again is difficult to impossible. It would take many hours and no small amount of irritation. So they keep them together.
This makes for a bad customer experience, but good for the company in the long run. And it's a relatively minor annoyance. Broken? Yes, but minor, and mostly the counter staff.
Big broken? Anyone who doesn't read on up the page. Do it now, before you post.
Let's be honest...the counter person doesn't give a sh** about the keys together or not & isn't likely to try & find out.
How about some whine with your keys.
No close to broken. Call me when the keys don't fit the assigned car.
Like Kelley, Pat, David et al said, the counter help is broken. Simple fix: just put everything on a regular ring so people can separate one key off if they want. Charge a replacement fee for losing the spare, refundable if the customer finds it later their briefcase or something. That way everything stays together for resale, and the customer doesn't get stuck calling a locksmith at the end of a hectic business day. Everybody wins!
Has anyone ever rented a car and dropped it off at a different location than the one you rented it from?
That's why the keys are together. I used to work for a rental company. We used to keep the extra keys in a folder with the car info,then the cars would get traded out to other offices and we'd end up with a whole lot of keys for cars in other locations.
There is a logic to it. Not broken.
so jpantis, as long as there's some logic involved, and it benefits the company, it's automatically not broken?
No, it's not broken because there's no harm in having two keys. What's broken are the counter agents, but that's another story.
This is way broken. They don't care if it has one, two or ten keys when they sell it. Most are sold at wholesale auctions and not to general public. If they were worried about losing something you would think the other FOB would be on there too .
Wait, David. Where did you get the info you've posted just above? I've purchased three cars in the last several years, and every single one (Ford, BMW, Toyota) came with TWO fobs. The missing second fob is the thing you "Avis must keep everything together for when they sell it" people must reconcile before I accept that this is in any way unbroken.
So if you lose both keys? The company would undoubtedly have an extra. And I'm sure they have a folder on every car, saying who rented it, how many miles, maintence schedules, ect. How hard would it be to tape a key to the folder? Then when it's one-way'd the key would go with the folder.
You should lock the keys in the car when you take it back. Let them learn from their mistakes. "You told me not to seperate them"
You should lock the keys in the car when you take it back. Let them learn from their mistakes. "You told me not to seperate them"
You don't think they have a locksmith readily accessible if that happens?
Even if you lose both keys, you can always get more keys recut and programmed by the dealer (at your expense, of course).
Remotes are broken.
You drop your keys in a shopping center someone picks them up an wanders through the parking lot pressing the button. Thus making it easy to find your car without trying the key in every car of that make.
I could almost accept the argument that it's simpler for the rental car company to keep the keys together, so that if they ever sell the car, they don't need to find the other key, EXCEPT:
Somewhere -- not in the car -- they are going to have to store the pink slip and other documentation for that car: why not keep the extra key there?
Paper is easier & cheaper to store, organize and ship than even small irregular chunks of metal and plastic. Especially in large quantities.
That's why I go to rent a junker. The screwdriver, uh, ignition key, is permanently installed. Don't need a door key, there's no window.
My guess is that one of those keys is a valet key -- it opens the doors and turns the ignition, but doesn't open the trunk.
Which is actually the opposite of broken -- unless you count the broken customer experience of not having the counter person know what they're talking about -- if you happen to be the sort of person who often takes advantage of valet parking or otherwise need to let someone drive your car to whom you wouldn't want to necessarily give access to all the goodies you keep in your car.
Kent -- didn't you read the whole post? The keys are not *supposed* to be separated. Hence, the broken-ness of the customer experience.
The rental company should just devise some sort of storage/id system where they keep the second key at their site, and give the customer the first key and fob. That way, if the customer loses the key, they can provide the "extra" customer serivce of providing a second key to "rescue" the customer. (Of course, I'm sure they would also devise a nice, tidy fee for such a "service.")
It boils down to laziness. Rather than properly cataloging and storing the extra key, they all just whip-tie them all together.
*sigh*
Sean: then don't drop your keys in the supermarket. There's a point in life where you have to have some awareness of what you are doing and some responsibility to allow some conveniences, like a car remote. In 24 years of driving I have not dropped my car keys anywhere without noticing.
Then there the folks in the supermarket who block the whole aisle, and don't hear the first three "Excuse me"s. Now I give them one, firm excuse me before I just bump their cart out of the way, unless it's some ancient deaf person. They have enough problems, I figure.
You should lock the keys in the car when you take it back. Let them learn from their mistakes. "You told me not to seperate them"
You don't think they have a locksmith readily accessible if that happens?
So, if they do, give em' an excuse to get to work. And it's not too hard to have an extra key stored in a folder. Tape it to the inside and you're set. Because if you're 1,000 mi from where you rented it and lose your keys, then they have to get you out of there somehow.
Broken. Who cares how many keys there are or why they are stored on the one keyring. Simply, if you are going to give the customer more than one key they should be able to seperate them, or why bother? They will either not lose the keys, or lose all of them in this arrangement.
One time I rented a car and I asked why there were 2 keys. I was told that one was for the ignition and one was for the trunk. If I remember correctly, I tried them and that's what it was. I thought that was a bit strange, too and can't remember the logic behind it.
Yes, all cars come with TWO fobs, =David. No, it doesn't make sense to keep both keys together for rental agency convenience because when they sell the car they have to come up with the paperwork and the other fob. No, I never figured out the usefulness of a "Valet" key that won't allow you in the trunk, since most cars have remote trunk openers nowadays.
And, in the end, what the hell difference does it make? I agree with the person that says that at some point you have to accept some responsibility.
And, don't follow the dumb advice of locking the keys in the car: you'll be charged for the unlocking.
Just keep a pair of wirecutters and a metal ring in your suitcase. Then cut the silly metal retainer and keep track of the keys the way it works for you. They can reattach them if they want when you return the car.
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Heaven forbid somebody should separate those keys. It's against government regulation and can be punishable up to 2 years in prison and/or $150,000 in fines
Posted by: nasion at April 19, 2006 08:01 AM