What is it with Alamo Savetime?

[7SeasSailor]

Originally Posted by fynnon

I have tried and re-tried savetime/olci and still no barcode,only the one on the e-itinery. It looks like we may have to go to desk afterall.

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Why not phone a local UK office and see if they can help.

[Guest]

Originally Posted by louli

Juneandpeter

Thanks for staying on top of all these Alamo SaveTime threads - there are quite a few !

I reserved through eBookers.ie with an Irish debit card and I have managed to do SaveTime and I now have the all important eItinerary Alamo Confirmation Barcode

All though there is also paragraphs telling me variously to go to a kiosk or counter to get rental agreement and keys; I'll be going straight to the garage like you have advised us all to do

I will also have my eBookers voucher showing I have paid for FFAR (Full Size SUV) and will not be fobbed off with less because they have blended the classes and cars in the rows. I will also be careful not to take more than I have booked without a clear understanding that I will not be billed later for the upgrade

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You won't lots of full size SUV's in stock a full row of 20 or more Tahoe's, Yukon's and Ford Expedition's keys not in SUV's any more but pick one and staff in the garage will get you the keys ( loads of staff)

[Guest]

Have used Alamo Savetime many times. Never get a barcode on the email confirmation.

But if you keep on the Alamo Savetime page before you click off the barcode will be showing.
Right click on the barcode. Once you have saved the confirmation from Alamo into a doc format, then can paste the barcode in.

I tend to just have the essentials on the docs I take with me. Confirmation that all is paid for - (the included list) - pick up drop off and contact details plus the bar code. Plus reservation #.

Anything superfluous like instructions telling me to go to the desk etc are deleted as I like to get all the info onto one page.

[Guest]

Thanks again juneandpeter and FamilyGWales 👍👍

We arrive at 6:00 on a Saturday evening so hoping there will be a good selection of Full Size SUVs

I wonder do they have the new model 2015 Tahoes and Yukons - they are in the dealers for the past couple of months and look fabulous Seen a few road tests on YouTube

[fynnon]

Originally Posted by FamilyGWales

Have used Alamo Savetime many times. Never get a barcode on the email confirmation.

But if you keep on the Alamo Savetime page before you click off the barcode will be showing.
Right click on the barcode. Once you have saved the confirmation from Alamo into a doc format, then can paste the barcode in.

I tend to just have the essentials on the docs I take with me. Confirmation that all is paid for - (the included list) - pick up drop off and contact details plus the bar code. Plus reservation #.

Anything superfluous like instructions telling me to go to the desk etc are deleted as I like to get all the info onto one page.

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Have I been missing something? The only barcode you get is on the eItinery? If thats the case I recon we will be fine! I have the barcode that is on the Alamo savetime page and I have printed it off,I am however under the impression that you have to get a confirmation email with the barcode and agreement before you can avoid the desk.

[sbchannel]

I have the same thing. On this booking (where I added extras, my first booking I did not) not only did I have to enter additional drivers again for OLCI (I already filled them out when I did Save Time) but I don't have a barcode and it tells me to go to the desk.
I have booked before and didn't have to enter additional drivers for ONCI and I got a barcode and it told me to go strait to the garage.

[Guest]

Originally Posted by louli

Thanks again juneandpeter and FamilyGWales ����

We arrive at 6:00 on a Saturday evening so hoping there will be a good selection of Full Size SUVs

I wonder do they have the new model 2015 Tahoes and Yukons - they are in the dealers for the past couple of months and look fabulous Seen a few road tests on YouTube

See more...

No they were all 2014 models only a Buick Enclave 2015 which must be classed as a Full size SUV. I have had both the GMC Acadia and Chevrolet Traverse which are really the same car as the Enclave, About the same size as an Audi Q7. Both are really good. This year we had a GMC Yukon but I prefer the Ford Expedition.

Have a fantastic Holiday

[Guest]

Originally Posted by juneandpeter

No they were all 2014 models only a Buick Enclave 2015 which must be classed as a Full size SUV. I have had both the GMC Acadia and Chevrolet Traverse which are really the same car as the Enclave, About the same size as an Audi Q7. Both are really good. This year we had a GMC Yukon but I prefer the Ford Expedition.

Have a fantastic Holiday

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Thanks 👍

I have had the Acadia a few times too so really keen on getting a Tahoe or Expedition or Yukon this year

I reckon the Enclave Traverse and Acadia are more like crossovers with optional four wheel drive - they have 3.6 litre V6 Engines whereas the Yukon And Tahoe have big 5.6 V8s

[Guest]

Originally Posted by fynnon

Have I been missing something? The only barcode you get is on the eItinery? If thats the case I recon we will be fine! I have the barcode that is on the Alamo savetime page and I have printed it off,I am however under the impression that you have to get a confirmation email with the barcode and agreement before you can avoid the desk.

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The ONLY barcode I have ever had is the one that I have saved manually off the the Alamo savetime website after I have completed it and put in all extra drivers etc. it has never been provided to me in any other format. Not on the booking doc if going externally and not on any confirmation email.

For me - as said above, the important bits are the reservation number & the bar code. Confirmation that I have paid and the bit on the confirmation e-mail that says all the other bits and bobs are included.

Pick up and drop off time and contact phone number for Alamo are also useful !

Make sure that credit card is in drivers name (when you go out the gate !).

[fynnon]

I don't know if this has been here before, but it just backs up what Dibbers like juneandpeter are refering to, I found it on an American forum:

"After reading these six confessions of a current Alamo car rental agent, you will learn:

* The commission hungry mindset of a car-rental agent
* How they're always trying to get you to do unnecessary upgrades
* How the cost of these upgrades are discretionary, and therefore, negotiable
* What a "deeker" is

But most of all, you will learn just how much, for at least this Alamo agent, you are his absolute adversary in his battle to get you spring for costly upgrades and beef up his bonuses.

6. IT'S A SALES JOB
First I'd like to let the cat out of the bag. Yes, we car rental agents do work for commissions! If we can get you to pay more for an upgrade, insurance, gasoline, a GPS, even an additional driver, we get a cut of the extra charges.

5. I HATE "DEEKERS"
At Alamo Rent A Car in [redacted], we are handsomely rewarded for good sales and punished if our sales are poor. The pressure this environment produces leads many of us to fine tune our skills to not only offer extras effectively and to have comebacks to all customer rejections, but to also be able to identify the customers in line as to whether they are buyers or decliners, which we call "deekers". When a customer declines everything you've offered, you've been "deeked". Get deeked enough times by a certain type of customer and you begin to feel resentment towards that group. Sometimes a customer can't be identified as a buyer or deeker until you see the state or country of the driver license. Evidently some states and countries produce more deekers than others. Deekers may at times be legitimate but often they are just cheap people.

4. CHEAP PEOPLE CAN'T FULLY ENJOY A VACATION
A typical example of a deeker is the young couple with two kids, a 3-year old and a 10-month old, on-line with strollers and packing their own child safety seats. He produces his license and credit card but she does all the talking. Offer them a more comfortable or fun vehicle than the sub-compact they have reserved and she will cut you off with a "no". She will also cut you off when you offer her the peace of mind that the insurance will give her or the convenience of prepaying for the gasoline at a discounted rate. Of course there's also a "no" to the GPS because she'll raise the stack of MapQuest printouts in her folder. Listening in silence is the helpless husband as he looks on while imagining driving a sporty SUV instead of the tiny economy car reserved. Enough of these deekers and you may find yourself working in the exit booth of the garage the following month. This punishment can cost you thousands of dollars!

3. TO ALL YOU DEEKERS
First of all, you wonder how this family can fully enjoy its vacation. They are staying in a cheap motel far from the theme parks. The couple's freedom to roam the theme parks with the kids and the strollers is limited. The kids are too young to have future memories of this trip anyway. You even wonder how this cheap couple is going to eat while on vacation. Are they going to smuggle peanut butter and jelly sandwiches into the theme parks to avoid paying the high priced foods there or are they just going to go hungry? Here's a suggestion to those of you that fit this customer profile, leave the kids at home! Leave them with grandma or Aunt Betty and enjoy your vacation! Let your husband drive the SUV he'd like or treat yourselves to a convertible! Wander the theme parks freely and enjoy greater intimacy in a nicer hotel located closer to the parks. You'll enjoy your vacation more and you will help me feed my family!

2. I AM ROLLING IN THE SCRIZZLE
I was a manager with Alamo and I quit to become a rental agent. Why? For the money. When I realized that the average rental agent was making far more than I was and agents didn't have to put up with the stress and responsibilities of management, I resigned. As a part-time agent, I am now making more than 3 times what I was making as a full-time manager! Aside from my modest $8 hourly rate, I'm receiving about $4000 a month during the low season in sales commissions alone! I can't wait for the high season to begin to see how much I'll be raking in. I'm not among the best sales agents but believe it or not, the better ones make six figures. Even some part-timers are earning six figures or close to it. So now you can understand how one too many deekers can have us assigned to the exit booth in the garage and cost us thousands.

1. I WILL CHARGE YOU FOR THE UPGRADE FOR WHATEVER PRICE I CAN GET AWAY WITH
AKA I LOVE BRITS
If we make so much money, obviously many customers are paying more for our extras. Thank you very much! In particular, we love our UK customers which we affectionately call "the Brits". When the Virgin and British Airways flights are in, the Alamo counter is full of agents. The Brits are fun folks and love upgrades. We Alamo rental agents have autonomy when it comes to the price of upgrades. There is a minimum which we must adhere to, usually $11 per day, but we can raise it to whatever we believe the customer is willing to pay. If the Brit wants an SUV instead of the midsize sedan reserved, we may charge him $11 more per day or maybe even $99 more per day. Even better, many Brits have long term rentals, 2, 3, 4 weeks or longer. The longer the rental, the better for us if the customer buys something. For instance, an upgrade of $49 per day for a 3-week rental equals a total of $1029. If the agent can average just one or two sales like this per day, he/she will get a 15% cut of the upgrade sales alone. For this one sale, that means $154.35 commission. Add 15% for all the upgrades for the month, plus say 12% of all the insurance sold, plus 4% for all the gasoline sold, plus 10% for all the GPS sold, and more for all the additional driver charges, and you've got yourself a pretty commission payout check for the month. Monthly commission payouts of over 10 and 15 thousand dollars are not uncommon to the top agents. Again, thank you very much to the buying customers, you are good sports."