TGIF #4: Ode to Avis

Happy the man - out of town and body

TGIF. The poem below is from my series on the “Customer Lifecycle.” Unlike most of my free-verse poems, this one is written as a tribute to the iambic tetrameters and diameters of Alexander Pope’s Ode on Solitude.

Despite our ability to prospect through screens and convene virtually, there are still many sales in this world that require an on-site pitch or discovery session, a shared meal, or just an old-fashioned handshake. And while Uber, Lyft, and even ZipCar (owned by Avis) have made urban travel much easier, the core promise of the rental car to take a traveling salesperson from point A to B is still very relevant. These companies get a bad rap given what feels like a long-dated digital transformation that sometimes makes for frustrating customer experiences. This was immortalized with the infamous Seinfeld episode about Jerry’s rental car “reservation”. Enjoy.

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What a pity Alexander Pope had neither a microphone nor Substack to amplify his poems. I’m trying my hand at another spoken word this week.

Ode to Avis

Happy the man, leaving bag claim, 
   Reservation in app confirmed,
Outside he spots the red and white bus, 
                        Whisks him QuickPass, 

For him, no lines while others stand 
  At counters, lines longer than cars, 
Unsure about extra coverage, 
                        Ripped off, pre-paid fuel.

New car, a luxury not his 
   At home where budgets come in tight 
But now he breathes in fresh leather, 
                       Pedal to metal. 

Onramped to downtown engine purrs,
   This car dresses him for success,
He is out of town and body, 
                       Sales goal in sight. 


Heather M. Coughlin (2025)

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workLIT Memo: We left on a family vacation yesterday and picked up our rental car after landing in Denver. While I sat comfortably in athleisure, I saw many on the bus ride to the (distant) parking lot "dressed for success." 

Like you, perhaps, I have logged my fair share of corporate car rentals throughout my career. From early days visiting banks up and down the East Coast to sell strategic research, to the electric lime green Kia that I was given on multiple trips to DFW as we scaled our start-up, I experienced feelings of freedom to be driving in a new city, unencumbered by office demands, hunting the next opportunity to bring back as a commercial prize. Of course, there was also the time I ran out of gas in my rental during rush hour...a poem for another day. 

Would love to know if any of this lands with you. Thanks for reading.