Review of Hired Maui Campervan (SOZ 409)

2-BERTH SPIRIT 2TS

From Perth to Brisbane:  2 April to 30 June 20

Our Response to Maui

This is our response to Maui's Emails of 4 August 2005:

11 August 2005

Dear Maui

Ref: Maui Campervan Rentals 6138626

Thank you for your email of 4 July  which was a response to our letter of 30 June 2005, resent on 28 July 2005. As promised, your reply has been added to our original letter on our website www.magbaztravels.com.

There remain one or two points that require further clarification.

1. We did not and we are not seeking compensation.

2. We did not take time 'to inform you of our impressions'. We reported facts and wrote in some detail in order to share our experience with readers of a UK motorhome magazine and of our website. Our message was: whatever assurances the hire company may give (in the terms you express below), don't make any assumptions and check the vehicle thoroughly yourself. The company relies on you reporting problems, rather than locating and fixing them themselves.

You reply: 'It is very important that customers contact us immediately if they are unhappy in anyway with the vehicle. If we do not know of their concerns, we cannot rectify the matter.' However, we pointed out the faulty roof light and the absence of internal mirrors on collecting the motorhome at the Perth depot. We were abruptly told to get the light fixed ourselves “when we passed a Mercedes agent” and claim the cost back later! We were also told that it was not Maui's practice to supply any kind of internal mirrors, even a rear-view one for the driver!

In fact, of the 43 points we made in our letter, only 6 could have been fixed on the road and they were of a minor nature. The remaining 37 points concerned the build, management, quality, accessories, etc.

3. Had we had a major problem which required the repair or replacement of the vehicle, we would have contacted your company, obviously. The point of our letter was that the problems were all minor, irritating, unnecessary, emerged slowly as the journey progressed, spoke of slack management, but did not warrant a vehicle recall! You must also note that Australia is a large country: After Perth, the next opportunity to visit a Maui depot was Adelaide, which we didn't go into, then Melbourne, then Hobart, where we did visit the depot.

4. None of the problems, of themselves, were of the kind that needed reporting at once. Few if any could have been rectified by you once we were on the road. You provide a brief questionnaire for hirers to complete and return at the END of the hire period and it was in that spirit that we shared our experiences with you. Again, we emphasise that we were mainly writing for our readers, who are themselves experienced long-term, long-distance motorhomers who might dream of one day making a great journey, such as Perth – Brisbane.

5. As long-term motorhomers (in Europe we own and travel extensively in a 27 ft US-built motorhome), we are very much aware of the expense and complexity of the vehicles. What surprised us about your hire vehicle was simply the number of small but irritating failures of design, equipment and maintenance. Perhaps we were wrong in assuming that our long-term hire (3 months) with a known long journey to be made (Perth – Brisbane) would result in extra care being taken to ensure that the vehicle was fully operational.

7. We have travelled in about 70 countries since early retirement. Some are energetic and pro-active in developing tourism and tourist-related activities and this feeds through into warm and sometimes lasting relationships at a personal level. We think of Slovenia, Croatia, Turkey, rural Fiji, Greece, Thailand, India, the USA. Others are milking tired old cows that once were fat. We fear that the tourist business in Australia and New Zealand falls into the latter category and the cow only remains milkable because visitors continue to be attracted to the scenic splendours of the two countries.

8. On the matter of the banking of a large deposit, we find it a strange logic to argue that something which is advantageous for business reasons also has to be accepted by the customer. This hints at a general malaise where the customer and the customer's needs are put second. Time and again in Australia and New Zealand, with hire companies, in shops, at tourist attractions, on campgrounds, we have been told what the company 'policy' is and shown the fine print, if necessary. It's like having to deal with an unreformed government bureaucracy.

What we are not told is what the customer's rights are, what the independent complaints procedure is, what redress is open to us. Travellers and tourists can become dependent on the people providing the service – the room, car, motorhome, meal, entertainment. When they are forced to pay in advance, sight unseen, they can be left with no rights at all, other than those the company charitably offers.

9. Finally, it is clear to us that some of the sting would have been taken out of these problems if we had found your staff more human, interested, approachable, friendly – words like that. We have described the attitude of the man in Perth. After being dismissed on the matter of the internal light and mirrors, we felt in no mood to approach him 30 more times with the other problems, as they emerged.

When we arrived in Brisbane, with the vehicle in better shape than when it left Perth, we were again met with complete indifference. 'Here we are', we said, 'all the way from Perth via Tasmania and Cairns, a three-month journey, what an amazing country you have'. 'Have you got the keys?' was the reply. No further comment. When we rang the Brisbane depot the day before returning the motorhome, to ask if we could get a lift back to our room in Aspley (as a substitute for the courtesy lift to the airport), we were told sharply 'We don't have the staff to do that!' No attempt at politeness or apology. How about 'Sorry, we can't do that, but we will arrange a taxi for you'? We had got ourselves to the depot in Perth, and not used the free airport transfer there.

If we have helped with your future staff training, if our notes provide you with a 'worst case' study, then at least we will have done something useful for future travellers.

Yours 

Barry and Margaret Williamson