On being bitchy

I've had a bit of an altercation with the people at ZipCar.
You see, over Turkey Day, I had rented this car to drive to Pennsylvania and back over the course of 27 hours. ZipCar is a car rental program that uses a fleet of cars, all parked in specific locations all over the city. You pick up the car you reserved for a specific trip, drive it, and return it on time, and you get low low low rates and free gas. It's pretty fantastic all around. As long as you honor the contract you sign when you become a member, it's all good.

Well, on that contract it says that before you get in the car to drive it, you must do a walk-around inspection of the car. If you find any damage, you must call the people at ZipCar to tell them about it so that you won't be billed for it if it wasn't your fault.

When I went to pick up my car the day before Thanksgiving, I was chomping at the bit to get out of the city ASAP. When my friend and I arrived at the parking garage where it was located, we found our vehicle parked in a dimly lit back corner, next a pole on one side and parked in by other cars all around it. I could clearly see the driver's side, but that was all. There didn't seem to be anything wrong it.

Now, according to the contract I signed, where I promised that I would do a complete inspection of the vehicle and call in any damages, I should have driven the car out to a well-lit place and immediately inspected it, then called in all damages. But, this being my first ZipCar experience and myself being so excited about driving, I just kept on going and assumed everything was fine. Big mistake.

Apparently there were some black paint scratches and a dent on the car after I brought it back on Thanksgiving. Thse damages MUST have been there when I picked the car up, since I didn't hit anything, and since I didn't even park the vehicle anywhere I couldn't see it for the entire time that I had it. Nobody hit it, it hit nobody, and nothing happened.

But last week, I got an e-mail from ZipCar saying that they were "investigating" damages to my car that appeared to have occurred while I had it. I e-mailed them back, explaining what had happened - and what had NOT happened. And that was all.

Over the weekend, during which I was in Pennsylvania dealing with a terrible tragedy, attending a funeral, and generally being out of touch with the rest of the world, I had two missed calls from ZipCar and no access to my e-mail. When I returned to new York on Monday I was so exhausted that I hardly remember getting to my apartment, where I slept for the rest of the day.

Yesterday morning, my first day back to work after my horrific weekend, I received an e-mail from Zipcar alerting me that, after an "investigation" that did not include actually speaking to me about what had happened, the Powers That Be decided I had been responsible for the damage. They tried to stick me with the maximum bill allowed on the ZipCar member contract: $500.

So I called the guy at ZipCar and explained to him that I hadn't been able to see the whole car when I picked it up, that I realized I could have given it a look later on, but that I had been so nervous and excited that I'd just taken off. I told him I was sorry for not having done so and called in all damages I saw, but that I had not been responsible for them and that I had two passengers who could back me up on that. I told him where I had gone and where I had parked the car and for how long.

He said that he could lower the amount that I owed since I seemed sincere and since it was my first experience with ZipCar, but that since I had not called in the damages, and since they had been reported after my time with the car, he could draw no other conclusion than that I had caused them. He lowered my bill to $250, I thanked him, and that was the end of it.

Well, after this had all gone down, I got word from the two friends who had been in the car with me on my trip. They both told me that I should have bitched and moaned and made a huge stink about the whole thing. That I should have told the ZipCar guy that it was a breach of their end of the contract for not having the car placed in a well-lit, open area where I could do a walk-around inspection. That I should have denied responsibility for anything and demanded to talk to higher-ups until I got someone on the phone who would take all the charges off my account. That I should have been a bitch, rather than be held responsible.

I thought about it. I really did. After all, I know that I'm not responsible for those scratches or that dent. In all likelihood, the person who had the car directly before me banged it up and didn't report it, and that person is sitting back on his ass laughing right now about the poor sucker who got stuck with the bill. And that really sucks for me. I mean, since when should I have to pay $250 for something I didn't do?

But the truth is that I still cling to an antiquated belief in three things that might make me old-fashioned, but I don't care. Those things are: responsibility for one's actions, accountability for those same actions, and keeping one's word. It might be silly of me, since in this case it's costing me way more than I want to pay. But no matter how firmly I know and believe that I didnt mess up the car, I refuse to ignore the fact that I signed my name to a contract which bound me to do something I just didn't do. I knew at the time that I should have done it. I knew I had promised to do it. And I didn't. I threw caution to the wind and decided that I'd do what I damn well pleased, consequences be damned.

Well, the consequences came knocking, and it turns out that while I might have the power to tell them to go to hell, they have a piece of paper with my name signed on it, which says that I'm responsible. And while I might have it within my grasp to scream and whine and caterwaul until those consequences go away - if I'm bitchy enough - I choose not to do that.

These days I know plenty of people who seem to get out of everything by being intractably rude to customer service people, who refuse to be held responsible for any expenses they have incurred or damages they have caused or problems they have initiated, just because they are able to make a big enough stink. I have been told over and over, and have witnessed the proof, that people who are willing to be total assholes can and do get what they want. And especially in a PC, customer-service focused, poor-me, I-could-sue-you-for-this-and-probably-win climate like the one we're in today in America, it's true. You can get into or out of just about anything you want if you're willing to overlook your own responsibilities in favor of being a rancid bitch.

But I'm not into the idea of suing some just because you can, or revoking promises you made just because it hurts to go through with them. Maybe this makes me stupider than noble, but I'm going to stick by it. And I'll freely admit that I'm a huge wimp when it comes to sticking up for myself. But I do know when I'm being walked on, and this time I wasn't. After all, I knew what I should have done. I signed something saying I'd do it. And I didn't. And now it's landed me in a big old hole. But, next time, I'll damn well do that inspection.