I love zipcar. I love the idea of it, I love its simplicity, and its low cost. I love that I can rent a car for an hour in my neighborhood, and pick it up without having to worry about gas and insurance......but, apparently my love of zipcar isn't enough to satisfy my friends.
On a recent rental (Lincoln Park Market, it rocks)...my buddy Jeremy kept up his barrage of questions about zipcar. Here's some of them, and maybe you guys can help me answer them....
1. How do they know the car has been returned on time?
2. What if the person before you had a bad day, and decided to drop a deuce (or a piss) in the backseat...what do you do?
3. How do you impress clients when you need to use a weird card to get into the car? Do you tell them "sorry, i left my keys tethered to the car"
Here's my answers to his questions, and I don't think they are sufficient for him...
1. computers know all....its a digital world, get used to it
2. um, a bit twisted, i don't think zipcar has needed to deal with the 'deuce in the backseat" issue
3. no idea what tools are using zipcar to impress clients. can't answer this one.
what are your thoughts on zipcar? love it or hate it? pissed that they took over flexcar?
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I actually looked into the feasibility of using zipcar and not buying a car in Minneapolis. Unfortunately, they aren't as popular here, yet. However, I looked on Zipcar's website at their FAQs...
ReplyDelete1. Apparently they rely on the next customer to determine if a vehicle is late.
From the website....
What happens if I return a car late?
Please don't. It's likely that someone will be waiting to pick up the car at the end of your reservation. Believe us when we say it's a real drag when your car isn't there on time. Although most members observe that simple rule, sometimes a stronger motivation is needed. Hence, Zipcar has late penalties: $50 per hour with a minimum charge of $50 plus regular hourly charges.
So, when you're making your reservation, book the car for an extra half-hour or hour if you have any doubt about being able to make it back on time. You can also extend your reservation with our automated telephone system (866.4ZIPCAR), but keep in mind that it's not always possible to extend your reservation once you have the car — another member may well have already reserved it!
Apparently they are trusting people not to cause the guy before you to have an extra $50 charge. Can you imagine returning the car on time and the next person having a bad day and wanting to ruin someone elses too...like calling zipcar and saying the car is late...:)
2. Apparently they impose fees and fines...Again from the FAQ:
1.3 General penalty:
Zipcar will charge $50 ($65 CAD) per violation, plus any costs incurred by Zipcar (including all repair and recovery costs, legal fees, including, without limitation, attorneys' fees) anytime a visit to the vehicle is required (including visits due to pets or smoking in the vehicle, which are prohibited as stated in Rules of Vehicle Use).
Zipcar will charge $20 ($30 CAD) per violation, plus any costs incurred by Zipcar, for any other failure by a Member to comply with any provision of the Contract or the Rules, other than for those violations for which a penalty is specifically provided in this schedule. Without limiting the generality of the foregoing, you will be charged a penalty for any oversight, omission, or negligence on your part that inconveniences Zipcar or other Members, such as failing to return or losing the keys to a vehicle, failing to turn off a vehicle's headlights, causing or permitting damage to a vehicle which requires repair or cleaning of such vehicle (internal or external), returning a vehicle to the wrong place or leaving the car in a restricted parking zone, not paying a parking ticket, returning a vehicle with a gas tank that is less than 1/4 full, failing to advise Zipcar immediately of any theft, vandalism or damage relating to the vehicle, etc. Members charged for such costs shall be entitled to an itemized list of charges. Members may be charged for estimated costs pending final repair.
As you pointed out, I don't think their customer base would do something like this.
3. ZipCar for Business.
What type of cars do you have?
There's a Zipcar to fit your every mood or need, with over 20 models to choose from. Cruise to the beach in a MINI, haul stuff in a pickup, be green in a Prius hybrid, visit clients in a BMW or hit the open road in a Jetta. Please note that certain models may not be available in some cities. See the whole array of Zipcars in the city of your choice.
There you go. You can address all of your friend's concerns.