Zipcar, the app-based, low-cost car rental service, experienced a major glitch over the weekend that, by all accounts, was a total disaster for affected customers. 404 Media reports that the company’s operating system and website experienced an outage on Friday, which in some cases, severely disrupted users and, in extreme cases, reportedly left them dazed, cold, unable to start or drive their cars.
Zipcar, founded in 2000, technically bills itself as a “car sharing” service and allows users to rent cars at low prices and with minimal leg work. The company’s operating system is the key to many of its successes. It allows users to make reservations and lock and unlock their vehicles and communicate with customer service representatives. It is the key to everything.
On Friday, the website and app experienced an outage that disrupted customer service. The 404 report is based largely on user complaints posted on Zipcar’s social media pages, although Zipcar also confirmed it had encountered technical issues on Friday. In many cases, it appears that the app did not allow users to lock the car they had rented, leading customers to worry that the cars would be stolen if they left them. In some, more severe cases, customers have reported app failures that have left them stunned. One such report goes like this:
“I rented a car and went to buy a quick drink at a shop and suddenly the car was locked. I have been waiting in the cold for 4 hours. No help, different answers and stuck for an hour talking to someone and no help. All my things inside, even my house keys and there is no way to find them. This is crazy and frustrating.”
Another similar report reads:
“I was locked up for 4 hours, I tried [to] log into an account only to be locked out because of a ‘security feature,’” said another. “I called you guys and the people working hung up on me 3 times! Spend 2 hours waiting on the phone for that to happen. Courage!”
Zipcar has been criticized in the past for having poor customer service, although the app’s downgrades add to the inconvenience. When reached for comment by Gizmodo, a A Zipcar representative said: “During part of Friday afternoon, we experienced unusual disruptions related to increased site traffic and SMS requests for login confirmation. SMS requests are delayed due to mobile network congestion, which has worsened as users repeatedly ask for verification. For the small percentage of our members who were not logged into our mobile app, this caused difficulty logging in, which impacted their bookings. Although this issue has been resolved, we are busy preventing it from happening again.”
I have used Zipcar and would like to note that the experience is not good, even if you were not locked out of your car. This is also not the first controversy the company has faced. Last year, the company was fined for allowing users to rent cars that had been recalled for safety reasons. It has also been accused of charging New York customers illegal damage fees for repossessed vehicles.
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