Hertz - Gold paperwork not ready - would you complain every time?

I frequently rent from the Wilmington (De.) train station location. About 6 months ago, the service level (according to hertz.com) was raised from "Standard Counter Service" to "Gold Counter Service." My expectation with Gold Counter Service is that I show my license, am handed my keys and paperwork, and am out the door in about 30 seconds.

The first couple of times after this change, my paperwork wasn't ready on arrival, and I did not complain. After about the third time, I wrote to Hertz to complain. They sent me a customer service certificate and a nice letter and promised to follow up with local management.

The next time I rented there, the paperwork wasn't ready (about 30 minutes after my scheduled pickup time), so I questioned the clerk about it. I said that I was a gold member and that I'm not supposed to have to wait for paperwork and keys. Her response was "we don't offer gold service here, that's at the airport." I told her that hertz.com said they did, and I got the blank stare.

So, I wrote to Hertz again, told them that the same thing occurred again, that it was the second time that I was writing to them about it, and that I couldn't understand why it happened again, given that I had already given them ample opportunity to correct the situation. Again, I got a nice letter and certificate.

So, if this keeps happening, should I keep complaining to Hertz? My feeling is yes. They have indicated that they offer the gold service at this location, and in doing so set my expectations at a certain level. I think they need to be held accountable.

Has anyone had a similar experience and/or does anyone have any thoughts?

I got my Hertz Gold card when I got the Amex Centurion. I decided start trying Hertz since with the discount the rates were competitive.

These have been my experiences, all at the Atlanta Airport:

April, 2005: Worked perfect. Name on the wall, car in the slot. No Problems.

June, 2005: No name on the wall, waited in line, finally got car, loaded it up with four teenagers and 8 huge suitcases. Get to gate, wrong contract was left in car. Had to go back, wait in line, get new car, unload, reload. No offer of compensation.

July, 2005: Exactly the same as June. Wrong car, etc. Got $50 voucher after using the "F" word several times. (Remember Steve Martin in Planes, Trains, and Automobiles? Similar to that.)

September 2005: Learned about Avis Discount Coupons on FlyerTalk Forum. Cut Hertz card up into little pieces. Cancelled all future Hertz reservations and replaced them with Avis at 30-40% less cost.

In general, if they say the offer Gold Counter service, my contract is ready.

At locations with Gold Canopy, unless I am way early or late, my name is on the board and the car is always waiting for me with contract inside.

By all means, keep complaining. I would also complain to the branch manager, and if nothing changes, complain to the area manager.

This type of thing happened to me at Birmingham,AL a few weeks ago.

NO BOARD (They dont even have one)
Waited in line,Showed ID, negotiated UG etc.
Got to the car, Check Engine light was on.
Notified agent of the check engine light, and was treated poorly for bothering her again since i had to interrupt her personal phone call to tell her.

Left in different car, emailed the area manager and then spoke to him on the phone. Got my UG charges and NL fee's waived for the entire week.

Saved me over $100.

I Was OK with that.

Junkie-

One of the great things about Hertz is their response to customer complaints, especially at the corporate level. You've done your part by notifying them twice about the problems with the Gold service. If they don't want to fix it and would rather send you customer service coupons every time Wilmington isn't ready, then let them.

Well, my experience is that Atlanta is a fiasco. That said, I will never again rent from Avis there. (It took an HOUR to get to the rental car place because the same guy had to drive and get our names in the computer.. So he pulled over to the side of the road stopped and we all set there for half an hour while this guy tries to type our names into the computer. He was incompetent :td: ) At least with Hertz, they weren't that stupid.

My gold counter experience at the local Marriott has been good. The last few times the contract has been waiting. However, they do not give any PC upgrades there... just what you ordered.

The same thing happens to me all the time at the Philadelphia Amtrak station. I'd bet money they're managed by the same station (the downtown Phillly Hertz location).

Yes, keep complaining -- you are doing all of us a favor.

Everytime I've complained to Hertz about their Gold Service - I've received the apology letter and a $50 cert (which then I keep and use for personal trips). I'm a 5-star member, but I didn't think that mattered in getting the certs.

That's been the case for me at Pittsburgh (my local airport, I rent a second car there often). They never seem to have the contract ready even though they have a dedicated Gold counter. I'll follow advice here and just complain every time...

Hm, I'm up to... ah I guess it's only three times renting recently from PIT (in the last couple months, the last two just in the past couple weeks), but they've had my paperwork all set at the Gold counter each time. Just a minute to hand them a license (they still want to see, maybe just for picture ID or something) and say no I don't want the fuel option, then they give me the folder and keys and I'm off. I was worried one time because my name wasn't on the board, but it was still all set.

The very last time I did end up waiting while the agent swapped Corollas for me so I could have a door lock remote. ;) But the original paperwork had been all set when I walked up at 7am. Most of the people I've dealt with there have been friendly so far.

Given that I've gotten used to this, yes, I'd complain if it wasn't ready. It's one of the basic features of the Gold program.

The only two times I got held up that I remember were an HLE in SJC (no Gold line and both agents were busy with other people and I was too worn out to whine) and recently at an airport where I'd changed my credit card and they needed a new signature for the new credit card.

My email was forwarded onto the station manager for Pittsburgh. I wasn't really that upset about not having my contract ready, but was hoping for an easy customer service coupon .. guess they're catching on to us :)

My email was forwarded onto the station manager for Pittsburgh. I wasn't really that upset about not having my contract ready, but was hoping for an easy customer service coupon .. guess they're catching on to us :)

When I complain, I always use the comment card that's usually on the passenger seat, or, better yet, I write a quick letter (with bullet points so the person reading it doesn't have to work too hard to decipher what I'm saying) and send it to the address shown on the comment card. It's my experience that paper always gets a more thorough response than email, and moreover email is so easy to get rid of by just forwarding it on to someone else or sending an un-thoughtful or un-responsive reply.

After one of my PIT rentals I put in a fairly mild comment on the comment card (rating everything else good, because it was fine) about it appearing that the gas in the car I had was not topped off. It read full when I took it out, but it seemed to empty more quickly than it should have, and when I filled it before returning the gauge went up higher than it had indicated when I left. Essentially someone filled up a good 25-30 miles away and returned it. Not a huge deal, we're talking 3 bucks of company money, but I wrote out what happened and suggested that they top off the gas rather than just take the gauge as gospel. And I put the card in the mail.

A few weeks or so later, I got a letter from Hertz with two $10 off coupons. I couldn't figure out why. Did I complain about something? I didn't complain...oh yeah, that, I guess I did, sort of. Heh. I wasn't even expecting anything, just wanted to make a suggestion. The coupons don't really impress me; I'll be more impressed if they actually do what I suggested. I suspect they won't.

I've gotten good response through email in the past. This is the first time they've 'passed the buck.'

I'm going to be renting from Hertz PIT every week for the forseeable future. So far I'm 0/2 in terms of having my car ready before I arrive. However, last time they gave me a Lincoln LS with Sirius/Neverlost for my full size rental, so I call that one even :)

After one of my PIT rentals I put in a fairly mild comment on the comment card (rating everything else good, because it was fine) about it appearing that the gas in the car I had was not topped off. It read full when I took it out, but it seemed to empty more quickly than it should have, and when I filled it before returning the gauge went up higher than it had indicated when I left. Essentially someone filled up a good 25-30 miles away and returned it. Not a huge deal, we're talking 3 bucks of company money, but I wrote out what happened and suggested that they top off the gas rather than just take the gauge as gospel. And I put the card in the mail.




I just rented from PIT for the first time. As they don't have a gate you go through before leaving, I didn't even look at the gas gauge before leaving. When I got to the hotel about 3 miles from the airport I noticed that the tank was just over 3/4 full. I called right away and got transferred to the roadside service area and was told to fill it up and they would reimburse me when I return the car. With gas prices these days it took $7 to get it full.

I have never had anything like this ever happen to me. Interesting that it happened at the same location as you!

My paperwork wasn't ready this morning at the Plainville, CT location. Took few minutes more than I expected as it looked like they were having computer problems. Paying $146 total (with taxes) for 1 week -- reserved compact, received Outback. No complaints from me due to upgrade.

Szymon

After complaining to Hertz twice about the Wilmington Amtrak Station location on two occasions, I had hoped that my experience today would be better. Unfortunately, it was not.

-- Arrived about 30 minutes after my scheduled pickup time. Paperwork not ready.

-- I complain to the guy behind the counter (who I THINK might have been the manager, but I'm not sure - shame on me for not getting his name). I told him that this has happened repeatedly. He tells me that it couldn't have happened very frequently - I told him that I had already written to Hertz about it twice. At that point, he tells me something to the effective of...well, we're short on cars today, and besides, it only takes a minute to print the paperwork, so what's the big deal.

-- I of course told him that if they're not going to follow through, there is no point in having Gold service.

-- After this, you would think that they would give me an upgrade to placate me. Nope. They lived up to their reputation, in my experience, as one of the stingiest locations I've ever dealt with as far as upgrades go. Got the usual Mazda 6 (mid-size rental).

So, where do I go from here? It's great that Hertz sends me coupons every time I complain, but what I really want is for them to DO SOMETHING about the lax attitude at this location. On both occasions, Hertz Corporate has promised to follow up on the issue, but it's evident to me that they obviously don't care. The mere fact that they would have the chutzpah to tell me that it's not a big deal for me to wait for them to print my paperwork is indication of that.

I'm looking forward to my next rental there. After two more rentals, I will make PC, so the next time they hand me keys to a Mazda 6, I'll be able to say, excuse me, but you HAVE to give me an upgrade :D

I would compose a thoughtful email on the subject to hertzexecutives@hertz.com and let your issue roll downhill.

I had rented cars 4 times from Atlanta airport in last 4-6 weeks. My paper work was ready all the time except once.

When I arrived, My name was not on the board and I went inside to find out why. I complained to the person at the counter with a smile and he gave me a double upgrade and NL for free. :D

It took me 5 min to get into my car and off on my way. I believe, they give the upgrades based on the car availability and the time of pick-up[If they are busy they don't care about customers sometimes].

Rented at Wilmington Amtrak again yesterday. Another bad experience. Paperwork was not ready again (I have given up complaining to the folks there). I'll be writing to Hertz asking them why, even though I've already brought this issue to their attention three times in the past, it hasn't been dealt with.

Additionally, I got to the car, and there's no snow brush and scraper. It's December. It snows in the Northeast. Apparently they don't realize that...had to trek back into the train station, and wait while they rummaged around their office looking for a brush... :mad: