Driven crazy as mistaken identity nearly costs ride
Rental client almost stranded at Cape Town airport
IT is a lesson I learnt very early on in journalism: don’t ever get someone’s name wrong. To this day, I assume nothing. Every name I use, even the seemingly obvious ones, is double-checked for correct spelling, just in case.
And for good reason. Some names sound identical but aren’t. Think Brown and Browne, Kumalo and Khumalo, Sheila and Shelagh, Naidoo and Naidu, Hadebe and Radebe.
And although we tend to believe our names are unique and mark us out as individuals, a quick Google search can quickly burst that bubble.
I share my first name and surname with a kindergarten teacher in California, an aspiring actress in Arizona, a physiotherapist in Australia, a costume designer, an estate agent and, wait for it, a newspaper columnist in Canada.
My husband fares no better. There are 15 men in the UK and 26 in the US with the same name. To add to the mix, he also shares his name with a Bollywood star.
With stats like these, I’m surprised companies don’t have rigorous systems in place to ensure they don’t get clients mixed up.
Hertz Rent A Car didn’t— and it nearly cost Roodepoort reader Brett Wilson his ride from Cape Town International Airport on Christmas Day.
Despite having booked his car online almost two months in advance, paid for it, and received written confirmation, Wilson discovered in early December that the booking had mysteriously been cancelled.
“I was reconciling my credit card online when I noticed a deposit of R836 had been made by Hertz, the exact amount paid for the rental.
“I tried to access the booking online and was told by the system that my booking did not exist — and so began the shambles,” said the 50-year-old.
He was unsuccessful in his attempts to rebook online, and other service providers he con- tacted were either sold out on the dates required or had only high-end cars available — at 10 times the price.
“Hertz had effectively left me stranded at Cape Town airport on my arrival.”
Wilson then called reservations at the airport, but was put on hold for close on 40 minutes before he gave up. After e-mailing customer service, he was told he couldn’t be assisted over the weekend.
He took his problem to Hertz’s head of operations, Deon Ragunath, who responded by saying Hertz had a recording of Wilson, dated December 7, in which he had cancelled one of two bookings made for Christmas Day. Ragunath said the remaining Christmas booking was valid, along with two other separate and unrelated reservations for cars that Wilson had allegedly made.
An irate Wilson denied that he’d ever made telephonic contact with Hertz and demanded a copy of the alleged voice recording, saying he suspected fraud. He then e-mailed me for help.
After I had contacted Ragunath, Wilson’s original booking was reinstated and he was re- charged. This was followed by an apology, copied to me, from Ragunath, stating that Hertz had indeed cancelled the booking in error due to there being two Brett Wilsons with identical bookings.
“It is a very rare coincidence that we have reservations for two different customers with the same name, surname, pickup date and location.”
I wanted more detail. This time, Margie Gawith, marketing consultant to Hertz, responded, with a voice recording attached.
“While the Brett Wilson booking was quite an extraordinary incident, you will hear for yourself from the call-centre soundtrack attached that it was an honest mistake,” said Gawith.
Indeed. A Brett Wilson is heard on the recording, requesting confirmation of three rental reservations he’d made. These included the Christmas Day booking. Provided with a reference number for one of the bookings, the call-centre agent used Wilson’s name to search for the other bookings, finding the second Wilson’s booking for the same day.
The first Wilson had made his booking telephonically, the second online.
The agent, after seeing two bookings for the same person on the same day and assuming it was an error, asked the caller which one he should cancel. The agent was told to cancel the online one.
“Clearly, our representative was in the wrong for not checking further and therefore not picking up the fact that while the name and booking details were the same, other details were not,” said Gawith.
“For this, we sincerely apologise and, to safeguard against a similar situation going forward, our internal administrative processes are under review.”
She said it was “unfortunate” that Wilson had been sent from pillar to post. “I can only apologise that this was not better and more promptly handled.”
Thankfully, Wilson collected his car as planned, and was given an upgrade.
Wilson, who owns a specialist leak-detection and plumbing company, said: “About nine years ago I was called out to replace a burst geyser . . . and the client’s name was Brett Wilson!”
Best not to rely on suppliers to ensure accuracy. Double-check car hire reservations before heading for the airport. Unique we all may be, but our names clearly aren’t.
Tune in to Power FM 98.7’s “Power Breakfast” at 8.50am tomorrow to hear more from Megan
I tried to access the booking online and was told by the system that my booking did not exist