"By the time I reached the hotel, all I wanted to do was return the vehicle for a standard old run-o

President Barack Obama pauses as he speaks about immigration reform, Monday, Nov. 25, 2013, at the Betty Ann Ong Chinese Recreation Center in San Francisco. princess cruises caribbean Obama is traveling on a three day West Coast swing to Seattle, San Francisco and Los Angeles that will feature a bit of official business but mostly fundraising for the Democratic party. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez princess cruises caribbean Monsivais)
President Barack Obama pauses as he speaks princess cruises caribbean about immigration reform, Monday, Nov. 25, 2013, at the Betty Ann Ong Chinese Recreation Center in San Francisco. Obama is traveling on a three day West Coast swing to Seattle, San Francisco and Los Angeles that will feature a bit of official business but mostly fundraising for the Democratic party. (AP Photo/Pablo princess cruises caribbean Martinez Monsivais)
Frequent traveler Peter Juhren was so flustered by the controls of the Lincoln princess cruises caribbean MKX rental car he picked up in September at the Calgary airport in Canada that he wanted to return the car almost as soon as he got it.
"By the time I reached the hotel, all I wanted to do was return the vehicle for a standard old run-of-the-mill Chevy Impala that I could at least control," says Juhren of Salem, Ore., who works in the tower crane sales and rental business.
Nothing s simple After getting inside the Lincoln he rented from National Car Rental in Calgary, Juhren says it took several minutes to figure out how to turn the radio off. It was "another search princess cruises caribbean and destroy mission" to set the climate control, he says.
Laura Bryant, a spokeswoman for Enterprise Holdings three brands National, Alamo Rent A Car and Enterprise Rent-A-Car princess cruises caribbean says National and Alamo work "to accommodate time-sensitive customers" and don t have employees go over car controls unless questions arise.
Enterprise Holdings car rental customers also can use smartphones to scan QR codes on key tags to launch an OnRamp Concierge site. She says it has information about features for most vehicles in the company s fleets, though it s not as detailed as owners manuals.
Spotty manuals Hertz says it has an owners manual in every vehicle. Hertz spokeswoman Paula Rivera says the company "prides itself princess cruises caribbean on ensuring its customer-service employees have the tools available to address any vehicle operating questions."
"We strongly encourage renters to familiarize themselves with their vehicle before leaving the lot," she said. "This includes adjusting the seat and mirrors; knowing where and how to operate the headlights, windshield wipers, window controls, door locks, gas tank access and climate controls."
"There is no time limit on how long a customer may sit in the car before deciding to leave," says Dollar Thrifty spokeswoman Anna Bootenhoff. "Customers are encouraged to take as much time as needed before driving off to become familiar with the vehicle."
Miller says he asked his wife, Kay, to turn on the air conditioning while he inspected the outside of the car. When he got inside, he says, "the air is going full blast, but now the hazard lights are blinking. Somehow my wife turned them on accidentally."
"We finally asked one of the National employees to help," Miller says. "He couldn t find it either, until he turned his flashlight on. The button was located high up on the panel in between two air vents. Even he was surprised how hard it was to find."
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