How else can private citizens keep businesses honest? Complaining on the internet only works if you have lots of followers.
Yelp reviews, TripAdvisor, Google reviews, yes.
And as honestly never crossed my mind to check with BBB about anything.
But I haven't done any major purchasing like with property, land, or similar.
Don't know how that works. It's Poland, approximately nobody here even used Twitter, nor do they use X - and yet, businesses big and small seem super sensitive to that.
I do think Mindless2112's experience is common with larger businesses, making the BBB potentially more effective in those cases than online review sites like Google or Yelp. Also, do those sites send complaint letters? I don't know.
I know this was a rhetorical question, but in many countries there is some type of Fair Trading Office, meaning a government body with power to adjudicate consumer complaints about businesses and the legal teeth to enforce its judgements.
I think America was basically a different country before the 90s.
IDP is “International Driving Permit”, which is a booklet that certifies that the person has a driving license in <country> for <class of vehicles>. It includes the photo of the person and the date of birth. It includes translation in various languages so that when you’re in another country and rent a vehicle (or drive one) and the police (or enforcers) need to check if you have a valid license, you can show this (as well as your original license, if asked for). Anecdotally, I’ve heard that the process to get it through AAA seems quicker and easier than from the DMV.
You heard right, but that's because you won't get one at all from the any state DMV. The AAA is the only authorized entity allowed to issue IDPs in the USA. I wish I was making it up, because I'd rather go to my (excellent) DMV office than across town.
"The American Automobile Association (AAA) is the official organization authorized by the U.S. Department of State to issue IDPs" from https://www.usa.gov/international-drivers-license
It's easier than going to an AAA office. Slightly more expensive but worth it. They mail it to you quite quickly.
And it has to be the correct flavor of IDP too, meaning proper 1949 Geneva Convention on proper 1940s cardboard, none of that new-fangled 1969 Vienna Convention nonsense. Oh, your country has signed up to 1969 but not 1949? No car in Japan for you then.
I've been a few places where that's the case, and a couple others where the car rental place actually validated the IDP.
When I got my IDP next year they only stamped the english page and I asked them to stamp all the pages, the AAA people pushed back and said it's not necessary. I shared my story about no, it really is, and they pushed back more. I said I really need to get all my stamps or I need my money back, since the IDP is useless to me without all the stamps (this is after I was no longer a AAA number) and the lady finally rolled her eyes and stamped it.
Today, it’s almost the same everywhere I go
(A blatantly obvious silicon valley TV show reference)
Carving overcharges back is a pleasant thing.
Now a lot more people know that they are basically just the first version of Yelp.
Were they just smooth talkers?
vouaobrasil•5h ago
adamtaylor_13•4h ago
So I’ve always taken this as a sign of quality. Clearly though, that’s not always the case.