Enterprise: Update

By Stephen Anthony Campbell

After I posted my blog entry about my experience at Enterprise Rent-A-Car's downtown Atlanta location, I sent an email to the Chairman and CEO of Enterprise, Andrew C. Taylor. I was very surprised and pleased to get very swift response. I received an email from the Enterprise Regional Rental Manager. He wrote:


" Mr. Campbell,

My name is Jason De Lucca; I am the Regional Rental Manager over the West Region of Atlanta. I have been made aware of the situation that happened at our Courtland location this past weekend and I would like you to know that on behalf of the Enterprise Rent-A-Car and the Taylor family I truly apologize for this terrible inconvenience!

I would like the opportunity to discuss this with you if possible; is there a phone number you can be reached at? Enterprise Rent-A-Car is fully committed to your complete satisfaction as well as respecting and serving the needs of any person with disabilities.

Again, I would appreciate the opportunity to discuss this with you if you are available.

Sincerely,

Jason De Lucca"


I spoke with Mr. De Lucca and he assured me that Enterprise is committed to customer satisfaction and in no way encourages the practice. He also told me that he will have a conversation with employees at that location as well as all others within his territory. After our conversation I was satisfied that this was an isolated incident and the company's immediate action to the matter reinforced is apology. Mr. De Lucca at one point asked me what they could do to win me back as a customer. I told him that I was satisfied with them taking action on the matter. He asked me if I would be willing to accept a free weekend rental to make up for the situation. I accepted, however I made it clear that my main concern was for this not to happen to anyone again.

Enterprise Shamefully Advertises Cars In Disabled Parking Spaces

By Stephen Anthony Campbell

Everybody does it right? It's no big deal parking in the handicap space. It's not like someone will actually use it. It's a waste of a prime parking space. I'm sure those are some of the reasons people who are not disabled use when they park in parking spaces assigned for person with disabilities or "handicap." It's shameful when an individual does it knowingly, for the sake of convenience. It takes on a disgraceful and just plain mean tone when a company violates the use of the space.

It’s July 4, 2009, and my uncle and I were looking to rent cars for the weekend. My uncle is a long haul truck driver, his truck is being repaired in Wisconsin, and so he was able to get a ride down to Georgia from another driver heading to Florida. We were going to book a car for Friday July 3, but my uncle was running late and didn't get into town until after midnight. The airport location was sold out, so I looked for locations that would be open on Saturday 7/4 and found the Atlanta, 303 Courtland Street location open and they had available cars.


When we pulled into the parking lot, I couldn't help but notice that someone at Enterprise had parked two of their cars in the disabled parking spaces, with signs that said "Rent Me 404-659-6050." I found this to be really distasteful. Perhaps they thought that because it's the 4th of July, that disabled people would be interested in renting a car there. Perhaps they thought that no one would be offended by this.

I find it amazing that management at Enterprise would allow this kind of behavior. It's practically a slap in the face of people that utilize those parking spaces. I think the most sickening thing is not the fact that they parked a car there, but they are using the space to advertise. Needless to say, I decided to not rent the car. I didn’t need to rent a car that bad that I'd give this company my money. So I only got out of the car to take a picture of what this Enterprise location did. Enterprise really should be ashamed of their actions. I don't know if I will ever deal with this company again. I'll wait to see what Enterprise's corporate management has to say before I make a decision.

Atlanta City Council President Victim Of Home Break-in

Lisa Borders, the current Atlanta City Council President and candidate for mayor was the victim of a home break-in this week. According to news reports she was home at the time of the burglary. The intruders got away before the police arrived. She posted on the twitter that she was "Ok", and thanks everyone for the well wishes. When the local news ran the reports of the break-in you could see several Atlanta Police personnel fingerprinting and investigating the incident.

Exactly how many people were assigned to this burglary? I know people that have had their homes broken into, I've been a victim as well. I've even been in a Subway restaurant when it was robbed. Not once in any of those incidents did Atlanta police send the fingerprinting unit to investigate. If you live in the city of Atlanta, you are probably lucky to get one officer to respond within 45 minutes of calling 911.

Did Lisa Borders get special treatment in the investigation of her break-in because she is the City Council President and candidate for mayor? That is probably a question every Atlantan should be answering themselves. As citizens you pay taxes, and if Shirley Franklin had her way you'd be paying more than you already do. So you deserve and should insist on getting the same level of service from law enforcement as Lisa Borders is apparently getting.

I've lived in Atlanta for much of my life. When my home was burglarized in 2005 Atlanta police sent one officer out to take a report. I was referred to a detective that I spoke to over the phone. Even though I had serial numbers of the items taken and a pretty good idea of who the culprit was, nothing more was done on my case. I had over $2000 worth of items taken. No fingerprints were collected and I had to write it off ass a loss. The response times for police in the city, in my experience is unacceptable.

When I was present at the robbery of the Subway sandwich shop on Piedmont Rd, it took over 30 minutes for police to arrive. The suspect was long gone. A man robbed the store at gun point. He threatened to shoot the employees and customers if the manager on duty didn't give him all the money from the back office. Subway employees called police three times. The dispatched said they had problems locating the subway. It was really ridiculous. When police finally arrived, two officers showed up and took statements. They didn't send out a finger printer or a detective. They didn't even call me to follow up on my statement.

I've heard of people having their car stolen and having to wait for police to call them back to make a report over the phone. What's wrong with that picture?

You drive around the city any weekday during the lunch hour, you can find officers in groups of 5 or more gathered at eateries across midtown and downtown Atlanta, yet they don't have officers to send to investigate serious non-violent crimes.

Atlanta Police is already under fire about incidents involving officers. I think response times are horrible in some areas, they obviously are having problems with integrity after the Kathryn Johnston shooting and this latest shooting incident. The leadership at the police department and city executive level is is less than impressive.

Atlanta and its citizens deserves more than they are getting from the mayor and Atlanta Police.

V-103's "Frank And Wanda Show" Contest Trips

As I reported back in November I won trips to New York City and Las Vegas as part of a prize package courtesy of V-103’s Frank & Wanda Show anniversary contest. The show selected 10 listeners to receive 10 of Frank and Wanda's 10 favorite things.

My adventure started in New York City, where myself and 9 other winners had the opportunity to see the musical “Wicked.” And what a "Wicked" good time we had. The show was amazing. The hotel we stayed at, the Flatotel was fabulous. We also got the chance to check out NYC, see the sights, sounds and sample the best of New York cuisine. Frank Ski was our host for this trip.

Two weeks later our destination was fabulous Las Vegas. Our accommodations for this trip were at TI: Treasure Island Hotel. As New York was cold, with snow on the ground, Vegas was warm, sunny and lots of people. Somehow I always manage to get to Vegas during college spring break. Our host for this trip was Wanda Smith, and her sidekick the wonderful Miss Sophia.

I would never have guessed I would say this, but Cirque du Soleil’s Mystere, was actually pretty good. The show is very interactive with the audience. I have to admit, the show is pretty impressive. I call it a sensory explosion, as there were performers in front of me, behind me, overhead and even below the stage. It was very entertaining.

Being that this was like my fourth or fifth time in Vegas, I stopped counting a while back.... I tried to do some fun off the strip....so

I took a tour of the Ethel M chocolate factory. Ethel M or Ethel Chocolates are the gourmet candy division of M&M's and Mars candy. Ethel was the mother of the company's founder. The factory also has a botanical cactus gardens. All types of cactus species are grown there. What is also interesting about the gardens, the factory uses different techniques to recycle 100% of it wastewater without using harmful chemicals.

Finally I took a trip over to what is called old Vegas. These are the early hotels on and near Fremont street. They are old, but still bustling with life. I’ve been told by some that the odds are much better at these establishments. My luck wasn't so good; I lost $7 on the quarter slots. $10 was my limit; after all we are in a recession.

I have to say thanks to "The Frank and Wanda Show", V-103 and it's staff for the great "recession vacation." In the current economy there would have been no way for me to go to both Las Vegas and New York in the same month. I had a great time. Special thanks to Wanda and her pal George Wallace for inviting us to his "I Be Thinking Show", at the Las Vegas Flamingo.

Oprah Creates Unprecedented Demand For KFC

-Ashville, N.C. Let it be known from this day forward, that the power of Oprah is not to be underestimated. The queen of daytime announced earlier this week that coupons for a free KFC grilled chicken meal would be available on her website. The coupons were available for download until 11:59 p.m. on May 6. The announcement triggered heavy internet traffic which made it difficult to download the coupons. There are reports that it took some viewers three to four hours to get the coupons to print.

In Macon, Georgia, where in 2007 the city was named the location of Oprah’s most loyal viewers, had record turnout for the promotion. It was reported that by noon restaurants in the Macon and Warner Robbins area had all served more than 500 meals per store. A KFC manager that has worked for the chain for 29 years said, “It’s not busy here, it’s a blowout.”

But that’s only half the story, KFC’s across the country were caught off guard by the crowds of people trying to redeem coupons. Some stores called in additional help while some turned customers away after running out of supplies. In New York City there were unconfirmed reports that customers staged a protest over not being able to redeem their coupons. The company has denied those reports, only to say that customers were upset. In Greensboro, N.C., traffic was so congested by motorists trying to get to a KFC that police had to block streets and deny access to the restaurant because the lines of cars created a safety hazard.

A KFC spokeswoman said that there has never been this kind of demand for a KFC promotion in the chain’s 50 year history. Because of the delays and unexpected crowds, the company will be issuing rain checks to people with coupons. KFC wants its customers to have a positive experience eating their new grilled chicken. It’s KFC’s hope that grilled chicken, will attract customers that don’t usually eat at thier restaurant. They have even created an entire campaign with that theme, “Unthink what you know about KFC.” The website they created for the promotion is unthinkfc.com. KFC may indeed benefit more than they ever expected from the enormous turnout for free chicken. The chain has been struggling with sales in recent years amid controversies regarding unhealthy food, cruelty to animals and it’s rebranding to downplay the “fried” in its name. The move to align itself with Oprah means new customers and a success in offering a healthy alternative to its trademark fried chicken.

I’m sure corporations are taking note of the “Oprah Effect.” It’s pretty much a sure thing that anything promoted or endorsed by Oprah, will be an instant hit. From books, music and politicians, Oprah’s word seems to be gold. After all she did pick our nation's President.