Any other Theme Camps get a nasty Phone call from Ryder?

The Chinese · Post by **The Chinese** » Wed Aug 05, 2009 2:01 pm

They just called and stated they are doubling our rental fees from $1400 to 3K. Anyone else get this treatment?

Chinese

Marscrumbs · Post by **Marscrumbs** » Wed Aug 05, 2009 2:21 pm

Got a written contract?

The Chinese · Post by **The Chinese** » Wed Aug 05, 2009 2:50 pm

unfortunately not. We called 4 days ago to make the reservation, got the quote. This is typical of how we have worked in the past, so no alarm bells were ringing. Then we got a call today wtih that statement.

So legally we don't have any recourse; we understand that. Ethically it's on Ryder. The onoly question remains is wether we accept it or not, and find another means to get our gear out there.

It's not the end of the world, but I'm not happy about it.

Chinito

Oldguy · Post by **Oldguy** » Wed Aug 05, 2009 3:25 pm

I hope you said , "No, that was not our agreement." I personally make no deals over the phone, you never really know you are talking to.

You can buy your own truck for three grand. I hope you didn't give them a deposit or credit card number.

oneeyeddick · Post by **oneeyeddick** » Wed Aug 05, 2009 3:28 pm

Didn't you get a confirmation # when you called for a quote ??

ecweber · Post by **ecweber** » Wed Aug 05, 2009 3:30 pm

Chinese,

Talk about the proverbial "bait-and-switch"...

I hope you find a better deal - along with a contract in writing with a locked-in rate - before you head to BRC.

This would certainly piss me off as well!

Eric

Ugly Dougly · Post by **Ugly Dougly** » Wed Aug 05, 2009 3:39 pm

I have been getting a lot of "Burn Related" junk mail now that I use my regular email for camp.

And I am using Hengehold!

gyre · Post by **gyre** » Wed Aug 05, 2009 4:04 pm

You may not be able to make it stick, but they made an agreement.

Report them to corporate, local media, police- economic crimes, the state you're in, and so on.
Lots of crooks out there.

You may wish to picket them during high traffic times.
Call the media if you do.

bigbluedoggy · Post by **bigbluedoggy** » Wed Aug 05, 2009 4:20 pm

We use Penske in downtown LA. They generally have good trucks and have never said a word about the condition when it returns. We hose it off inside and out pretty well and have never been charged anything extra.

*edit* We used to use Ryder and they sucked.

FWIW

Woof

Token · Post by **Token** » Wed Aug 05, 2009 4:53 pm

Avon Truck Rentals. Burner friendly.

Don't know details of prices and availability but they have been used by many BM camps from The Brewery.

http://www.avonrents.com/

akmojo · Post by **akmojo** » Wed Aug 05, 2009 6:09 pm

Ryder in the Sacto area did something silimlar to me...
when I called and talked about rental trucks and the dates 3 months ago I got a rate of $54 p/day and that there would be no problems getting a rental there for those dates...
when I called back a month ago they basically TRIPPLED the rates and also wanted a $1,000 deposit (and said it would most likely not be refunded due to Playa dust) !!!!!
needless to say.. they have lost a customer (not that they cared...)
I ended up getting a truck thru Avis in Sacto....

The Chinese · Post by **The Chinese** » Thu Aug 06, 2009 8:04 am

Thanks for all the recommendations Guys! Appreciated. We called Budget and got a truck through them, for the same rate at Ryder. Any bad experiences with them?

Tx,

Chinese

gyre · Post by **gyre** » Thu Aug 06, 2009 8:11 am

Lock in the deal.
Confirm length.
One scam is counting the cubby as length.

Bold · Post by **Bold** » Thu Aug 06, 2009 9:43 am

We've had our best luck with Penske.

In general I'd avoid mentioning Burning Man if possible. Us? We're a group performance artists who've got an extended gig in the Reno area. It's not a lie. Many places will hike your rates (or in our case, flat-out refuse to rent) because some Burners trashed one of their trucks and spoiled it for the rest of us.

The farther in advance you reserve the truck, the better. Do it in person, dress appropriately. Get the rental agreement in writing. Be friendly and develop the business relationship for next year. Return the truck clean and in good shape. If necessary, buy a Hose End Insecticide Sprayer and fill the reservoir with lemon juice or vinegar. Spray down the Playafied parts of the truck. Some relatively small expenditures may save you big on cleaning fees from the rental company.

But next year I'd like to avoid the hassle entirely and go with what Oldguy said: get our own truck. We just need to raise the cash. But I'm seeing deals all over the place on box trucks that would normally sell for twice as much...

Ugly Dougly · Post by **Ugly Dougly** » Thu Aug 06, 2009 10:02 am

Hengehold: Oh, you're going to the Burn? Great! How much stuff are you hauling up, when are you coming back? Here's your reservation confirmation!

Can't say till after the burn, but they've been perfect so far.

caliban · Post by **caliban** » Sun Aug 09, 2009 11:26 am

good advice here. and you hardly need to lie, but you also don't need to tell them where you're going. "we're moving to south lake tahoe" is good enough for me, and it covers informing them you're going out of state.

if you're bay area, stop at the 49er truck stop and pay for a truck wash. they do top, bottom and underside. gets rid of all the playa.

but yes - show up, get it in writing, pay in advance. and pass on that ryder pulled a bait & switch, tell everyone. and DON'T PAY IT. tell them to pound sand.

theCryptofishist · Post by **theCryptofishist** » Sun Aug 09, 2009 7:29 pm

No, but they did call and ask if my refrigerator were running.

Any other Theme Camps get a nasty Phone call from Ryder?

Any other Theme Camps get a nasty Phone call from Ryder?

Ryder-Less