I travel alot and always rent cars. I appreciate a low discount rate just like every other traveler. I always try to get the best deal when I book the trip.
But something very strange happened last week while returning a car in New York for Dollar Rental Car. When I pulled in the lot, the person that checked my car in said,
“Was everything okay?: (Me: Yes)
“Great. I am giving you a $25 discount off your bill.” (Me: Thank you!)
Now this made no sense to me. I had not complained and did not ask for a discount. Did Dollar think they were charging me too much for a two day rental? I don’t think so. Was the Dollar employee instructed to give out so many discounts in a day? Maybe. Was she just bored? Probably.
The point is that giving me this discount did not improve my opinion or my customer experience with Dollar. If I had complained, and they had compensated me for it, I would feel grateful and spread a positive story. In this case, it’s just a silly one and really accomplished nothing.
In your small business, don’t give out discounts “just because”. I doesn’t mean you will get raves from your customers. They will probably just be left as dumbfounded as me and it will just cuts into your profit margin.
