brianlanning wrote:
....
...[U-Haul guy] ... mentions quickly under his breath that he can't go
back and change the total now. For the record, I didn't sweep out the
truck. But it was about as clean as it was when I got it, which was
nearly perfect. My knee-jerk reaction is to find another u-haul
dealer. And I've rented from him maybe a dozen times in the last three
years.

....
complained about how u-haul is self- insured, but they have to buy
insurance and that's what it costs to put a trailer on the road. He
can't help it if they're giving them away. While every u-haul dealer
in town sells out of their trailers every weekend, this guy had a lot
devoid of people and full of a couple dozen trailers.

What's happening? I'm I getting old or something? I would never treat
my customers like the u-haul guy did. We're on a first name basis.
And we're only talking $10. And the other place seems like they would
rather take their ball and go home than to engauge in any reasonable
competition with u-haul. Why have the trailers?
....

My impression from the last experience w/ U-Haul (which I intend to be
_THE_ last one ) is that their billing software now is so inflexible
from corporate the local rental places essentially have no freedom for
fixing any billing other than, say, the sweep-out charge which they can
add/not add. It certainly appears true they can't change anything once
billed, even an incorrect billing. I had the local guy charge an extra
day and it took nearly an Act of Congress to get it corrected through
corporate -- at his billing station, once their software thought said
trailer was rented for two days there was literally no way he could
alter the fact.

It may well be that is fairly close to the marginal cost for the local
self-financed guy under his cost model. Quite possibly he has the same
problem as do many other small outfits--not enough volume combined w/
relatively high fixed costs to keep the incremental cost high.
Alternatively, he might just be a grumpy old man and as stodgy in his
ways by now as I...