Hertz - Thoughts on dealing with a HLE

Last year I rented cars 25-30 times during the year. Nothing major, but a big deal for me. I went with National, mostly because of Emerald Aisle when I was at a location that had it, and they had a local office in a hotel near where I live.

This year, my company cracked down and wants us to use 'approved vendors,' which means Budget or Hertz for car rentals. I selected Hertz and am a #1 Club Gold member (my company has a deal for that). Since they don't do any status match, I have to build up from scratch. Much of my travel is within AZ, but all over the state. I may go to Kingman, Lake Havasu City, Sierra Vista, etc, which are all a distance away, so I'm spending some quality time in the vehicle I rent. Since my company pays for mileage on personal vehicles, it is cheaper for me to rent than drive my own.

In my profile I request nonsmoking and satellite radio. When I went to pickup my last vehicle (HLE-Wild Horse Pass), the agent did ask if I wanted to change anything in my profile, I said No. He handed me the keys to a Pontiac Vibe, told me where the cars are at (this is a hotel/resort type place). The vehicle had about 25k miles on it, no satellite radio, and had definitely been smoked in. I was in a hurry and went on my way (going to Tucson for a few days). On the way back, the windshield got very dirty from all the bug splatter (common here in the desert), so I try to run the wipers and use the washer fluid. Only there was no fluid in it (I would assume they check all fluids between rentals?) The wipers did run, making a mess of the windshield, so I stopped at a gas station near Casa Grande to clean it.

In the past if there was no satellite radio, the agent apologized, would try to offer something (got Neverlost once). I haven't been in a smoking vehicle in years; I don't smoke, I was able to live with it, but I don't think I should have to. I had some co-workers in my vehicle for site visits around Tucson, and both complained about the smoke smell.

I really would like to make this work. The Wild Horse Pass HLE is convenient for me (close to freeways, not far from home), has a gas station close by, and I can leave my own vehicle there with some degree of security. But I really need to get some better service out of this. I'll have about 15 to 20 more rentals this year from this location alone (a few more for personal and work trips when I fly).

Do any of you have ideas for getting better service out of this?

When I was a loyal National customer last year, the agents at their hotel site got to know me, gave me some great upgrades (even before I reached exec, even better after), would wait for me if I was running late, never charged me for late returns, etc. Not that I'd expect this off the bat at Hertz, but I'd like to know what I should expect.

I'd probably go in (or call) and meet with the station manager. Explain your needs, tell him or her how many rentals you expect to do, and see what they can do for you. My guess is that they'll want your business and be accomidating.

Getting a non smoking car shouldn't be too difficult. Sirrius on the other hand, is a little more difficult to predict, so I'd be surprised if the manager can provide that for you on a regular basis. But if you can build a relationship with the manager I think your service will be better in the long run (at that station).

dumb question, but i didn't see it in your post... Did you have a confirmed reservation for a vehicle with Sirius?

The Wild Horse Pass HLE is a satellite location of the Elliott Road (Ahwatukee) HLE (this is where I mostly rent). I recommend calling Jack, the branch manager, at the Elliott office and raise your concerns with him. I am confident he will address the issues.

Wow, thanks for the responses, I was wondering how to figure out who the manager at Wild Horse Pass was. Where is the location at Elliot? It may work out to just use that location, as long as I can leave my own car somewhere there when I rent (I know they can't guarantee anything).

And yes, I did have Sirius confirmed in my reservation. I know it doesn't necessarily mean anything, but at least an apology for not having it would have been nice. Funny thing is, when I first saw the vehicle, I thought I saw a satellite antenna (I have XM) and I played with the radio a while thinking it did.

The Elliott Rd. location is just west of I-10. It's in a busy shopping center with a Gold's Gym, among other things. I think leaving your car there would be safe.

If you reserved Sirius, you should get a car with Sirius. It's that simple, and all the more reason to share your experience with Jack.

Thanks again for the info, curbcrusher, I have some travel coming up in 2 weeks and I reserved from the Elliot Rd location. I'm headed on a long roadtrip, to Kingman, Bullhead City, Havasu, then back. I reserved Sirius, and I hope the vehicle has it, as that is a boring trip.

Last year I did a similar trip, reserved through the Hertz in Gilbert (near the Costco on Country Club, that HLE has since moved) with Sirius. When I got there, they said something like, "You don't really need the satellite radio, do you?" When I told them where I was going, they agreed, and gave me the only thing they had with satellite radio, a Lincoln Towncar, for the price of a midsize.