I flew into Deer Valley (KDVT) AZ today. Two days ago I called Cutter Aviation and arranged a rental through Enterprise. I usually get an economy car at $42.00 a day. My wife and I usually travel alone so that is usually good but our son and dog were with us today. I inquired about a mid size the Cutter staff says its another three bucks $45.00 for a midsize. I'll take it. The Cutter girl never asks for a Credit Card.

I arrive and as usual two Ramp attendants are there singling me into parking. There is a carpet already there when my wife exits the plane. As I exit the plane one of them says "How was your flight Captain." My wife and son already had a bottles of water offered them by the staff when he hands me a bottle. My wife is getting the dogs bowl out when one of them hand her another bottle for our dog.

While I pulled in and shut down one of them had pulled the rental car around. They help me unload the plane and load the car. I pull around to the front and hand the staff my license and Credit Card and I'm out of there in minutes.

I go here four or five times a year and this excellent service is the norm. I'll pay about 70 cents more for gas but getting 35 or so gallons is not a big deal especially since they waive one night ramp fee. No doubt I'll leave with three more bottles of water.

I once called with my normal car rental request and arrived as usual. When I arrive there was no car and they didn't know I was coming. When I checked my call log I had mistakenly called Cutter at Phoenix. Not a problem they had a rental on hand and I'm out of them in minutes.

My wife loves the service and I do too... At Cutter KDVT I'm treated better then I am just about anywhere aviation or non aviation. Sometimes paying a little for convenience and service is worth it. I remember as a kid seeing the servicemen at gas stations filling the
tank and cleaning the windshield.

I know that is a thing of the past but those of you old enough to remember the men in whites with a cap (not a baseball cap) but eight pointer it is a different time. It seems that not to many people are willing to pay for quality in product or service which is to bad in my book.

Times are tough and I try and get the best fuel prices I can but quality service is sure nice.

So I flew into Cutter in my more-than-humble 1947 Ercoupe and parked next to a Lear. Yikes! But you know what? The staff treated me like a king! They literally brought out the red carpet (but then didn't know where to put it because Ercoupes don't have obvious doors if you've never seen one before). It was a hot day, and my teenage son appreciated being handed a bottle of cold water right off the bat. The linemen--and linewoman--were helpful and friendly, as was the front desk staff both in the evening and the following morning. It didn't faze anyone that I only needed a few gallons of gas, and they found hangar space for me for the night, including locating a cord for my pre-heater. The next morning my plane was on the line and ready for me right at the requested time. The facilities are very good, with every thing you could want, with fast Internet and comfy chairs; but I found it was the Cutter people who really made the difference. They were extraordinary.

Had such a nice experience the first time that I came back a week or so later. Rented a car at Cutter (Enterprise I think) and they were fantastic. The linemen drove the car right out to our airplane (Cessna 180), signed the paperwork there and we were on our way in minutes. Great customer service! Upon return we dropped off the keys at the front desk, paid for our $25 worth of 100LL (to avoid the ramp fee), and were on our way. Be advised there's a City of Phoenix landing fee that Cutter cannot waive. I can't recall the exact amount but it was 5 or 10 bucks tops. NOTE - if you're going to fly into PHX VFR you NEED to have the Terminal Chart. The controllers will send you to many of the points referenced on that chart - they're also in your Garmin GPS but you have to have the identifiers from the Terminal Chart to find them (you can pronounce the identifiers). Also pay attention to the transitions over PHX. You'll likely be asked to use one of them direct to a downwind/base.