UK tourists returning from the USA have welcomed the computer breakdown that nearly crippled car hire giant Alamo two weeks ago.
Tired travellers hoping to pick up their cars at airports and other centres were dismayed to see queues forming when they arrived at Alamo offices.
Sid and Nancy Ludd, of Hinckley, arrived back at Heathrow yesterday. Said Mr Ludd: "Oh bloody hell, we thought! Here we bloody go again!
"Last time we hired a car in the States we spent all morning at Alamo's San Francisco Union Square office waiting for them to get sorted. It was like, we thought, you know, America's supposed to be all about the car. But this was a shambles.
"So when we arrived at Orlando two weeks ago we found the Alamo staff looking bewildered at their computer screens. Then some guy came out and said that the system had crashed all over the country.
"Well, we'd just got off an eight-hour flight and were facing an hour's drive. We were not happy.
"But the guy said they were going to dig out the old paper forms and use them.
"Brilliant! They sorted us in five minutes flat! They even had the records to hand when we returned the car.
"Give me the old ways any day. Who needs all these computers anyway?
"Oh yeah - the girl who took the car back was using a computer... but that's not the point. Yeah, and we booked everything on our Jacey's computer... so what?"
