Hello, people of $HTZ. I'm on a call for companies that Hertz owes $$ too. Will update if I get anything juicy.

The instructions were to join the call on mute.

The last 5 minutes have been absolute chaos. People screaming "I'm on mute" or "how do I mute my phone." loud introductions. Unprompted questions. Background noise. Shouting. A lot of weird beeps. $HTZ

It's a shitshow. The conference call platform is crap, not allowing the host to mute.

Call is hosted by the U.S. trustee.

"I can't tell if I'm on mute or not, it doesn't tell me" just heard. $HTZ

U.S. Trustee attorney just confirmed that they don't have the ability to mute by default.

They also have a cap at 300 attendees, and apparently a lot of people are locked out.

$HTZ

U.S. Trustee got out an introduction before the Mute Olympics resumed. $HTZ

Now everyone is announcing one-by-one that they are leaving the call since it's not mandatory.

New caller introductions happening as people leaving the call are replaced by people from the queue.

Mute Olympics back on!

$HTZ

U.S. Trustee seems to have given up and is now answering unsolicited questions.

This. Is. A. Shitshow.

$HTZ

Seems a lot of past employees owed wages are on the call. The 300 participant cap seems to lack foresight.

$HTZ

We're nearly 20 minutes in, and have received no information.

It's been all Mute Olympics.

$HTZ

Now a lengthy back and forth about secured and unsecured credit. "Wages are tricky."

Still no statement from the U.S. Trustee, just Lord of the Flies with no conch.

$HTZ

Just a shouting match now. No one can hear anything.

$HTZ

U.S. Trustee introduced herself again. Started spelling email for ex employee contact. Now everyone is shouting letters at each other. "B as in boy!" "No, D as in David!" "G as in Glee!"

$HTZ

Someone random just started telling her life story, and didn't know what Hertz is or why she was on the call.

Angry, angry vendor starts screaming "THIS IS FOR VENDORS. IF YOU'RE NOT A VENDOR GET OFF THE PHONE." Literally screaming.

$HTZ

They claim that vendors with continued business will be getting paid per normal. Now everyone yelling that it's not happening. I know it hasn't been happening.

$HTZ

Lots of crosstalk in the background. Now getting questions about severance pay that was promised, even in bankruptcy.

Lots of crosstalk in background. Mute Olympics starting again.

U.S. Trustee is trying to introduce herself again.

$HTZ

URL being spelled out now. This can only end poorly.

$HTZ

Random customers on the call asking random questions now.

$HTZ

U.S. Trustee says that anyone who rented a car from Hertz was required to receive the letter about the call.

I reiterate that this call had a 300 person limit and no way to mute callers.

$HTZ

40 minutes in. U.S. Trustee just announced that she's "starting again."

$HTZ

The amount of paper wasted in sending letters to every. single. Hertz. customer. must have been astounding. I'm sure their creditors will love that expense.

$HTZ

An attorney with a "short question" just got recognized.

Needless to say, the question was not "short."

She's being told that she's in the wrong forum.

Hertz company rep, U.S. Trustee, and lawyers all talking over each other saying that they will not answer the question.

$HTZ

U.S. Trustee just announced that she wants to take control of the meeting. 45 minutes in, it seems like that horse has left the barn and burned it down.

$HTZ

New attendees now announcing themselves. Lots of cross-talk, and now feedback noise overpowering everything.

$HTZ

Another spelling debacle taking place.

$HTZ

About 50 different "hellos."

I think the analogy of Lord of the Flies without a conch stands.

An alarm of some sort is in the background.

$HTZ

She now wants questions from individuals only. No vendors, no attorneys.

"Females first." "I only want to hear questions from individual females."

Threatening to end the call.

$HTZ

"Hello, hello" followed by a ton of insults.

$HTZ

U.S. Trustee has given into one of the many "hello, hello" callers and wants their question, presumably to get them off the line.

Now everyone is shouting "hello, hello."

$HTZ

We've got some Spanish-English confusion happening at the moment.

$HTZ

U.S. Trustee may have just hung up.

$HTZ

Suggestion before that "hello, hello" may have been from a soundboard. U.S. Trustee liked the idea.

$HTZ

Lots of new meeting entrants. Every one giving an introduction. Hunt for the U.S. Trustee ongoing.

$HTZ

It's now a Trump debate, somehow.

$HTZ

U.S. Trustee asked if it may be more prudent to get a new conference call platform that mutes all callers and can selectively unmute.

Caller told to write to Congress to ask for more money.

$HTZ

Music in background now.

1 hour later, no information. Attorneys and others yelling that the call is over.

$HTZ

Now there's cussing. Shocked it's taken this long.

$HTZ

Everyone is now yelling the date and time of the meeting continuation now.

$HTZ

Vendors' consensus is that this was "sabotage."

Lots of yelling and cussing, even though none of the hosts are still in the meeting.

$HTZ

This meeting is recorded and some sort of official Federal government record. I'm thinking of filing a FOIA request.

$HTZ

It's now a former employee chatroom. I'm about to sign off.

I'm pretty sure that Michael Scott yelled "I DECLARE BANKRUPTCY" several times during the call.

$HTZ

People now pretending to be the hosts and answering questions with ridiculous statements.

$HTZ

A postmortem

How to have an unsuccessful government conference call:

Send invites to thousands and thousands of unrelated parties

Limit call to 300 participants, with hundreds or thousands in the queue getting irate and wanting to scream their questions & intros

No mute

$HTZ

Given in to those who refuse to mute their phones

Also, make sure the call doesn't actually end when all the hosts leave

I think that's it for now.

$HTZ