I learned that the car rental desks in a certain airport are split up with the 'good ones' on one side and Hertz, Dollar and friends on the other side.

One fateful evening I land for a work trip and the whole lobby is a zoo with probably 100-150 people waiting in lines, milling about, trying to figure out travel plans because the cars we all reserved with the 'wrong side' rental places had all been rented out to other people.

The companies on the other side had no cars either but at least promised that if I had reserved a car with them, it would actually be reserved for me. So that's where I go every time now