It is rare I get to take my wife with me on a trip, but with business in her favorite city, Austin, TX, a broken rib, and a need for a break, I lined up her parents to keep our kids and off we went so she could have some fun and rest.We only had a day – Saturday – to do anything. Friday I had meetings, radio, and went to see The Dark Knight Rises with friends while she rested from the flight. Saturday morning after some work at the hotel, then my wife and I set out to go have breakfast with friends. That is when the sheer mind numbing idiocy of Hertz collided with our one day of vacation.At 9:45 a.m. the hotel valet told me our rental was dead after I had called down to retrieve it. Not only was it dead, but it was a keyless entry system with a key fob. The key fob had a key in it that slides out for situations like this, but the key turned out to not actually be to the car. The fob was and key wasn’t.In addition to not being able to open the trunk to get out my laptop bag, we were stuck.I called Hertz and they transferred me to roadside assistance. Roadside assistance asked for the height of the parking garage and summoned AAA.Two hours later AAA had not arrived so I called Hertz back.The one competent person of the day who I spoke to gave me a claim number, her agent number, and said she would send a lock smith, once the car was open and I could get out my computer she’d send a taxi, get me to the airport for a new car, and Hertz would deal with towing the old rental separately.The locksmith showed up 15 minutes later. He unlocked the car, but because it was a dead battery he couldn’t get the trunk open.I called Hertz back, gave my claim number and the agent number of the competent agent and the new agent wouldn’t transfer me, but presumed to help me herself. I told her about the last conversation and she decided to send out AAA again instead of sending me to the airport.An hour later AAA showed up.In a van the same size as the locksmith’s van, but convinced he couldn’t fit in the garage, he did not have a remote battery with him. So he left.Again I called Hertz and supposedly sometime in the next hour someone else from AAA may or may not show up.Maybe we will get an hour or so out and about on our one vacation day.Thanks Hertz for being so customer unfriendly.