Unsafe cars. Offered a $15 up-sell for winter tires.
At pickup I was offered "winter tires" for an additional $15 per day. Without knowledge of the Calgary road conditions I declined. Over the course of my rental I became stuck several times due to minor ice and snow. Driving from Calgary to Baniff I noticed the car was very difficult to handle. After getting stuck in a Calgary parking lot I encountered a Calgary police officer who said I should have never been give a sedan with such inadequate tires. He pointed out that the tires were unsafe for normal driving under even minor icing conditions due to their wear.
Upon returning the car I explained to the Thrifty clerk that the car had been nearly impossible to handle at highway speeds and became stuck under conditions that other sedans were able to negotiate. The Thrifty clerk advised me that other customers complained about the same problem but that local Thrifty management refused to outfit all of the cars with winter tires, instead electing to outfit only a few and to up-charge for the winter tires.
Thrifty's practice of releasing vehicles which are unsafe for operating under local conditions is reckless and irresponsible. Charging tourists who are unfamiliar with local conditions extra for a safe vehicle is ethically reprehensible. Safe tires should NEVER be an up-sell option.
Clearly Thrifty management is more concerned with up-selling and making and extra $15 per day profit than ensuring customer safety and contributing to the safety of others on local roads.
To be clear: This car was not controllable when operated at safe highway speeds due to inadequate tires. When operated in parking lots with less than 10cm of snow the car became stuck. A local police officer stated that the reason the car was stuck was due to inadequate tires for the conditions.