"Are you sure this is my car" I asked at the counter in Salzburg. I looked at the Citroen C4 sedan and felt confused. I was traveling alone and had quite some luggage. In my mind I was very sure that I booked a Mini Van Citroen C4 Spacetourer on QEEQ because I needed a bigger trunk. The guy at the desk just smiled and spread his hands. He said the system gave this car. I opened the trunk and it was really small. I started to feel nervous and kept thinking if I had to put a suitcase on the back seat. Then he talked about a pegeot 308 estate and said it was bigger, but he also said I had to buy their extra insurance if I wanted that car. I was tired and in a hurry. My German is bad and my English was also a bit messy in that moment. I only caught words like must buy insurance and I felt pushed to say yes. After I signed and paid, when I later saw the 342 euro on the bill, I felt very upset. Back in my room I thought more about it and felt something was wrong. So I contacted their customer service. At the start I was a bit emotional. I kept saying that I did not want to cheat anyone, I just felt I was forced. The person on the other side sounded calm. They asked me step by step what happened, what car, what time, what the counter staff said. While I was talking, my mind went back to that day, around January 30 at noon, when I stood at the counter trying hard to make sure about the car type. During the next days they kept giving me updates. One time I had just gone out to buy something and I got a message saying the rental company refunded part of the money as downgrade difference. When I saw the word downgrade I was shocked. In my head I said wait I was told I got an upgrade and had to buy insurance and now it is a downgrade. I told this to customer service and they also felt it was strange and said they would keep asking the rental company. For a while the rental company kept saying I got an automatic car and that was an upgrade so they would not refund. I did not really care so much about auto or manual. What I cared about was that at the counter I felt like I had only two choices. Pay more or squeeze all my bags into a small car. I told customer service all the details I still remembered. I even told them about the signs I saw at the counter and how I felt I had no real choice. What I remember clearly is that not every update was big news, but every time I asked how is it now someone answered me fast. They told me what the rental company said and what they would try next. Once they sent me the contract with my signature from the rental company. I looked at my own name on the paper and felt very mixed. On one side I knew I really signed it. On the other side I remembered the stress with language and time at the desk. I also asked what if the rental company just refuses everything. They were honest and told me that they were not at the scene so it is hard to fully prove the talk at the counter. But they would try to fight for me with facts about car type and price. I travel alone and when something like this happens it is easy to feel I am fighting against a big system by myself. Because there was always someone explaining things and trying to calm me down, my anger slowly became more calm and I could look at the case more clearly. Later the rental company kept changing their words. Sometimes it was upgrade, sometimes downgrade, but still no refund for the extra insurance. I also said that if there was no clear answer I might talk to my bank about the charge. Every time I shared my thoughts, customer service helped me make the points more clear before sending them to the rental company. Even if the rental company did not give a result I liked, at least I knew someone helped me pass my full message and I was not just shouting alone. This whole thing took quite a long time. From when I picked up the car around January 30 in Salzburg until I returned it around February 8, my mood went up and down. When I look back, what I remember most is not the cold numbers on the counter bill. It is that during these weeks the same team kept following my case and they remembered I was the solo traveler in Salzburg who was confused by upgrade and downgrade. Because I felt someone was always following up for me, I was willing to tell my story clearly instead of giving up. For someone traveling alone like me, this kind of one on one follow up feels more important than a few dozen euros. When I chose to book with QEEQ, my biggest fear was to have no one care if something went wrong. This experience showed me that when there is a problem, there is actually someone staying with the case.
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