Innovation in the US compared with the UK
Having recently returned from a trip to the US, I am always impressed by how much US companies are prepared to innovate.
This time, it was car hire. Having reserved online, me and Jonathan went to pick up the car. The service was fast but the most innovative feature was the ability to just wander outside and pick my car. That’s right, no longer do I have to understand what a Group D car means in relation to Group C or E, I can just rent a car and then pick one that suits at the airport.
I am so used to being given cars that are too large / too small / could move a small army. The idea that one might pick a car to suit was just superb.
We chose a black impala with Texas plates midst a sudden desire to look like the blues brothers. Also we figured no one would mess with Texas plates, and we might just need an extra boost to get us around Washington DC.
This experience was the complete opposite of my experience this summer, where I queued for 90 minutes only to be rented some obnoxious renault thing, though every cloud…… it was big enough to transport my son’s 8 foot inflatable crocodile.
It may be that only traveling now and again to the US gives me a rosy view of US services, but I do think that US companies innovate much more and in a much better way than UK companies.
