Privilege, A Different Take on the Trip South

Joyce and I are both quite proud card carrying liberal club members. As such we struggle with the whole concept of privilege and where we fit in. Make no mistake, we both individually and as a couple have used our many privileges to even be doing what we do. And it is an ongoing struggle for each of us.

Last week we rented a car from Enterprise for two days. First, Enterprise is never the cheapest, so if you are operating where price is your first, and perhaps only consideration, you should likely skip this post. However, one of my many privileges has allowed me / us to not make that the highest priority. I will always take value over price every time. We met a wonderful young man that became our “concierge” with Enterprise. It is part of their value differentiator. Jon, an American (the South) by birth, clearly has been in England for some time. He speaks like a local. I like to do things “in person”, so we had walked to Enterprise the week before our first rental. We sat with Jon, let him know what we wanted to do and we reserved a “compact” (yes, I fit) car, automatic (didn’t need that added variable) with in vehicle navigation (the marriage saver!). When we showed up the following Tuesday, Jon had upgraded (several classes) our car and we got a wonderful Lexus crossover (a model unavailable in the US). The whole experience was wonderful. Then, late last week, Joyce and I were in the garden and I suggested we had an open day on the following Tuesday and would she like to head South. She said sure. So, I emailed Jon late Friday afternoon. He made the same booking as previous. I realized this wouldn’t insure a similar class of vehicle, so I emailed Jon back and asked if he would upgrade to the class of the Lexus. Jon said sure AND that it was three times as expensive. Ahhhh, privilege. I said, book it Jon. We arrived yesterday morning to be greeted by a smiling Jon. And he had upgraded us again. This time a Mercedes. This made our drive covering 200 to 250 miles quite enjoyable. So, if you ever find yourself in Canterbury in need of a vehicle please look up Jon. He deserves the right to earn your business. Value over price every time for me!

I wish I had got a selfie with Joyce and Jon and me!