I travel for business and have been a longtime user of National Car Rental. As an Emerald Club member for many years I have enjoyed the service and the ease of getting out of an airport with my rental car through National Car Rental. My recent trip to Dallas, my flight was canceled due to weather and I had to change my rental car reservations. I contacted National Car Rental by phone and was very surprised to learn that they would not honor my reservation at the original price. In fact, because rental prices in Dallas are extremely high anyway and demand for cars is also high, the rate I was quoted was three times the expense as my original reservation. I asked if they would honor my original rate and they told me that they could not in the price jumped from roughly $300 to almost $900 for a three-day rental. I canceled reservation and looked elsewhere and was able to find a rate any competitor that was cheaper than my original. I wrote to the company to explain my disappointment and asked that they review my complaint and provide me with feedback.\r
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Several days later, I received a phone call from the manager of the Dallas location. She asked me about my experience and I explained the situation as described above. She was very apologetic and explained that I had contacted the National reservation center in St. Louis and she hoped that I would not go away from National for my future car rentals. She provided me with her direct contact number in the event that I ran into future problems with my rentals in the Dallas area and she also, without prompting, told me that she would provide me with several days of free rental as a token of their appreciation for my long-term relationship with National. Regardless of whether I was provided some compensated rental days, I believe that this action showed a strong sense of problem-solving and a desire to maintain solid customer relationships. As a result I will continue to keep National Rental Car at the top of my list for all my car rental needs.
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