Rented a car at Alamo at SFO.

The guy asked if I wanted to buy their collision insurance, I said no. The guy asked "isn't this a business trip?" I asked why he wanted to know. He said if it's a business trip that I wasn't paying for, I should buy the insurance, because my personal car insurance wouldn't cover it. I said that's fine, but I don't want it.

He kept pressing and I told him to move on, finally saying how I was taking care of the insurance, and who was paying for the car was none of his business. He then said something incredibly personal, about not liking my manners. I asked if this was a technique to get people to buy their insurance. He said I shouldn't raise my voice. I said he should do his job. I guess I didn't sound too friendly when I told him to mind his business. That's how it goes when you keep pressing a customer who said no, over and over.

The guy's name is Jonas. I think the whole thing is a sales trick. People are confused about insurance, and by saying something that sounds definitive, as he did, he gets people to say WTF give me the extra coverage.

I went to the trouble to check with my insurance company about this specific situation and they said there's absolutely no reason to buy their insurance.

I liked Alamo, because you get to pick out your own car. I think that's neat. But you always have a choice, and the prices are all the same anyway, so I won't be using Alamo anymore. I told Jonas I would write this up, and I meant it.

Cross-posted on Facebook and Yelp.

Postscript: Shortly after I returned the car (Wednesday morning) I got a call from an apologetic Alamo service rep who assured me this is not the way they do business. I said I hope not. Glad that we now have this power to share info about vendors who don't treat customers well. Hopefully they'll train their reps that any customer could be a blogger so they have to treat them all well .