Hertz - ATL Hertz Rant!

This is just a rant...

I am more convinced then ever that ATL has to be one of the WORST Hertz locations in the US.

I am a PC member. Reserved a Camary. (NOTE: I resevered a Camry because I have rarely gotten a half way decent upgrade at ATL. Last time I reserved a Full Size.. I got a TARUS... Yeah, so much for guranteed upgrades)

So I have an OLD Camary. (Not the new model) Picked it up at 11 last night and was too tired to go ask for something better. On the way home I realized it pulls HARD to the right. Today I realized that that "thump" I heard last night was NOT my luggage in the trunk... car "thumps" periodically and always when you use the brakes! Looked at the car today and realized that there is a note in it saying 'not to rent' due to mechanical issues.

Tomorrow I will take this piece of junk back to Hertz. Unfortunately there is no way to make Hertz pay for the waste of my time!

If this is how ATL continues to treat it's best customers I am moving to National. They treat you the same, but never promise more....

So you were rented a vehicle with mechanical issues then found a "do not rent" note? Why didn't you take it back to them right there and then file a claim with Hertz, they WILL give you a cert or coupon for the inconvience.

Sanosuke!

It is going back to them. I didn't find the issue or note until this afternoon and somehow spending my Sunday evening driving to the airport to deal with the typical Atlanta airport Hertz employee was not appealing! (I think most of thier faces would break if they smiled)

However, it should NEVER have been given to me. This is just typical of the "sevice" I have received there. (And "Service" is not exactly what I call it. It's just run in a horrible fashion and this is just one more problem)

I did email Hertz tonight and ask WHY I should continue to give them my business considering that they don't give any 'benefit's' to me? According to thier website as a PC I get "Guaranteed one-car-class upgrade." Yeah right? When you reserve a Full Size in ATL you get a Tarus. That's an upgrade? (And when I went in to ask for a better car the girl claimed that "we don't give any upgrades here") :rolleyes:

I've never had anything but very pleasant experiences with Hertz in ATL (airport; downtown is a different story).

I have found, though, that Sunday night is a universally bad time to rent anywhere... presumably because the best people don't tend to want to work the Sunday night late shift.

As for your situation, I would just call the Hertz Roadside assistance and have a new car brought to you if that's convenient, rather than driving it back to the airport yourself.

Mike

Well, here's todays update.

Took the car back. The girl at check in was very nice as was the security agent. Unfortunately the inbetween folks were not so nice.

I got sent to the regular line which was very long with folks arguing that "I didn't know I was getting insurance" "I didn't know that if I kept the car for an extra week you could change the rate" etc. (Amatur hour) So I walked over to the Gold desk. They "don't do exchanges" back to the other desk Stood in line for half an hour. Then got a car that was a class level BELOW the Camry I reserved and paid extra for! When I polietly pointed out that I PAID for a Camry, the agent SIGHED (I was being very nice, I had witnessed the prior folks who were clueless and felt sorry for the agents until the SIGH!) I said nothing, but she went off to see "what I can do" After another 10 minutes or so they found me a Camry. It's not exactly a nice Camry. (Older body over 30,000 miles) but it drives straight!

I took the Station Managers card and will be calling tomorrow. I rent either weekly or monthly from the ATL and have been for several months and will be doing that on into March (working in Birmingham and don't want to put the milage on my car) At this point, I am seriously considering moving to National. I have stayed with Hertz due to the nice upgrades and treatment at OTHER locations I rent at a lot (Orlando is always nice to me even if they can't give me good car LOL!) However, at least with National I get to pick the car instead of having to go back in and request something other then the Tarus or a "non smoking car" etc.

Congrats on returning and getting a car(Camry) that does work now. Just hope it doesn't break down on you. Happy Driving, I hope.

Sanosuke!

Just send the email to corporate and wait for the response. Hertz is usually good at sending a voucher and an apology. If you have a good station, the manager may follow-up with you.

This was clearly a mistake on Hertz's part, they shouldn't have let the car out, but they did accidentally.

If this is how ATL continues to treat it's best customers I am moving to National. They treat you the same, but never promise more....
Welcome to National. :)

I never use Hertz at ATL. The three times I tried them they did not have my name on the Gold board so I had to wait in line for a car. The last two times they gave me the wrong car so after 22 hours of flying, packing 8 huge suitcases and three kids into the car, and driving to the gate I had to turn around and repeat the entire procedure. No one at Hertz has ever offered to help repack the new car. The last time I was angrily reprimanded for saying "this place is a f*cking mess". Granted, inappropriate language but I felt like Steve Martin in "Planes, Trains, and Automobiles". :mad:

I have used Avis since with no problems and significant savings using the FT coupon codes.

I too give Hertz ATL the big THUMBS DOWN.

Always end up with either a 30K mile car that had been heavily smoked in or some kind of Korean mid sized SUV.

None of the ATL car rental places are much better. Have had relatively poor experiences with Budget and Avis as well.

I haven't had anything but good experience in ATL. The times I rented from the airport, everyone was is nice enough, though they did give me an SUV instead of a car. The cars were always in a space right by the gate. Maybe it's because I have such low expectations, coming from the NYC area.

The one time I rented from outside of the airport, I got a free upgrade to a Volvo S80 from a F Size - Taurus reservation from the Buckhead location in the JW Marriott.

Just send the email to corporate and wait for the response. Hertz is usually good at sending a voucher and an apology. If you have a good station, the manager may follow-up with you.

This was clearly a mistake on Hertz's part, they shouldn't have let the car out, but they did accidentally.

OH YEAH?

This was the Hertz corporate response

"Since the vehicle is currently on rent to you, we have asked the Hertz City Manager in Atlanta to personally review this matter so your inquiry can be resolved on or before your scheduled return date. Please be assured the City Manager will evaluate your inquiry and get back to you as soon as possible."

I sent them the complaint on Monday morning. Got this response at around 5 this evening. I am not holding my breath on hearing from the City Manager. This station has been badly run by him for a while!

Hertz didn't even read the complaint email where I clearly stated I was taking the car back to them!

I don't expect anything to be done. I really do like using Hertz overall and am really torn about changing as it means giving up the benefits I do have with Hertz. I think if someone would just apologize I would be fine, but that doesn't appear to be forthcoming!

...I think if someone would just apologize I would be fine, but that doesn't appear to be forthcoming!

Words are meaningless, I don't understand why a lot of people get hung up on getting apologies. If it's something important enough to me to complain about, then I expect some type of compensation for my time or trouble.

Well considering how mad they have made me unless they are giving me CASH what good is thier compensation? I don't want an upgrade coupon or a credit for another rental.

However, the fact that the "city manager is evaluating" my complaint instead of RESPONDING says VOLUMES about the decline of Hertz's customer service.

I just cancelled the rest of the December rentals.....

What I really want is management turnover at that location. Apparently Hertz thinks this station is well run. It's not and hasn't been for a few years so....

"Since the vehicle is currently on rent to you, we have asked the Hertz City Manager in Atlanta to personally review this matter so your inquiry can be resolved on or before your scheduled return date. Please be assured the City Manager will evaluate your inquiry and get back to you as soon as possible."



Resend it after the rental is complete if you don't hear. You'll get a voucher of some sort.

And if he doesn't respond, as you expect, append that to your letter. It'll help to increase the voucher amount. ;)

Resend it after the rental is complete if you don't hear. You'll get a voucher of some sort.

And if he doesn't respond, as you expect, append that to your letter. It'll help to increase the voucher amount. ;)

Why do I want a voucher?

So that I can rent another car and experience this same "service"?

Not sure that's going to be much help. As I said, what I want is the ATL station to be properly run. That's not going to happen so I have to decide if the hassle they put me thorugh each week/month is worth the "benefits" I get from being PC.

I too give Hertz ATL the big THUMBS DOWN.

Always end up with either a 30K mile car that had been heavily smoked in or some kind of Korean mid sized SUV.

None of the ATL car rental places are much better. Have had relatively poor experiences with Budget and Avis as well.
I agree the issue with ATL is size. Hertz does a decent job, but turning in a car at 4:30 or so is a mess. Takes forever to get a reciept, even though they have ten people working. They really need 20. The other places are in the same boat, they can not handle the volume.

I agree the issue with ATL is size. Hertz does a decent job, but turning in a car at 4:30 or so is a mess. Takes forever to get a reciept, even though they have ten people working. They really need 20. The other places are in the same boat, they can not handle the volume.


That does not explain thier entire "outflow" problem. Wrong cars, dangerous cars etc. Other big city airport locations do this? Why can't Hertz.

And sorry, but they tend to CHARGE more then Budget and National so I expect that I am getting something for this price increase.

Took the smoke filled Camry back today. Received a $50 credit on my bill which I assume was due to my complaints. Walked out of that lot and over to National where I got a basically brand new Buick SUV as my "midsize" from the Emerald Aisle. I was able to make sure it didn't smell like an ashtray without having to go stand in line AGAIN if it did!