Guilt-Free Driving...

I'm laughing!

I just reserved a car from Enterprise Rent-A-Car; leaving for Chicago next Tuesday, and I'll be there until the following Wednesday. I've gotta have a car when I'm in Chicago.

Just...gotta!

So I booked the car I wanted, arranged for the pick-up time, and just when I was about to click on "confirm"...that's when I saw it.

CARBON OFFSET

I clicked on the link, and here's what popped up:

Enterprise Rent-A-Car is pleased to offer you the opportunity to benefit the environment by offsetting carbon dioxide emissions generated by a rental vehicle.

For just $1.25 you can offset emissions produced by the average rental. The money will go to TerraPass to fund certified offset projects that work to remove carbon from the atmosphere.

What's more, we will match these customer contributions dollar-for-dollar up to $1 million dollars.

I'm REALLY laughing!

You mean to tell me that I can drive around all week, fighting the Chicago traffic, burning maybe fifteen gallons of gas, and that's all offset by $1.25??? It's that easy???

Who knew?

If it's that easy, then why isn't there a 5¢ or 10¢ per gallon carbon offset applied to every gallon of gas? Ummmm...let me clarify that: a 5¢ or 10¢ per gallon carbon offset applied to every gallon of gas...THAT ACTUALLY GOES TOWARD OFFSETTING CARBON!

No more global warming...

No more climate change...

Our f---ing problems are over, Dude!

I added the $1.25 charge to my rental, and I'm going to be driving around Chicagoland - with the windows rolled down and the air conditioner blasting - feeling pretty damn good about myself.

You know what? It IS easy being green!

How Not To Negotiate...

Mrs. TBF and I will be going to Chicago in just over a week, and while we're there, we'll be driving up to Sudbury for my cousin's wedding. Naturally, we'll be needing a car to drive while we're there, so I just booked a rental car through Enterprise.

A brief aside: I always book through Enterprise, and I always pick up the car (close to my sister's house) at their office in Barrington, Illinois. Why? Simply because the guys who work there are the most eager to please, energetic, service-oriented guys I've ever encountered. They always offer to make me a fresh pot of coffee, and I'm pretty much always upgraded at no extra charge to a bigger car just because I'm "a big guy". But, the best thing is when I drop off the car and they ask me: "Was there any part of 'your rental experience' that could have been better, or is there some aspect of our service that we could improve upon." Once, when returning my car, I told them that the inside of the front windshield had been a little dirty, but it was no big deal - I had just cleaned it myself. The guy not only apologized profusely, and told me that it would never happen again, but he also REMEMBERED the incident A FEW MONTHS LATER on a return trip to Chicago and told me that he would PERSONALLY make sure that the inside windshield was thoroughly wiped down. Amazing!

So...back to renting our car for our upcoming trip to Chicago/Sudbury.

First, I tried reserving the car online using Mrs. TBF's company's corporate ID number. I got a rate of something like $310 for the week, including 1050 free miles and then 25 cents per mile for each mile after that. Dollar signs began to flash before my eyes, seeing that the trip to Sudbury and back alone is about 1300 miles. So, I decided to see what happened if I tried reserving the car without the corporate ID number.

You guessed it...

It was cheaper. In fact, quite a bit cheaper - $255 for the week for a "Premium Car" (Mrs. TBF didn't want the "Luxury Car" because it would be a Cadillac or a Lincoln Town Car), and UNLIMITED mileage.

Hey, all you folks in purchasing at Mrs. TBF's company...

Way to go negotiating those corporate contracts!!!