Hertz - YYZ has major issues!!!

I rent from YYZ a lot and I have noticed lots of issues that have started lately.

1) Hertz Reps are not applying PC codes to reservations. I am a President's Circle member and I have to go into the booth every time to get them to apply the PC code even though I used it when I made my reservation.

2) Mileage on the vehicles. All of the cars I have been using lately have at least 25,000 miles on them. Some of the models are even 08 models!

3) No return agent. Half the time I return the car, there is no return agent and I have to go into the booth to get a receipt.

4) Poor selection of vehicles. In the last couple months, all the vehicles I see at YYZ are either compacts or SUVs. I spoke to a rep about this and he admitted that most of the cars Hertz are now buying are compacts (he even estimated 70% of their fleet at YYZ will be compacts).

It looks like Hertz (at least at YYZ) is really starting to go down hill. I may have to switch to another company, but they all seem to be having problems too. :(

ditto..

every one of those points, I have encountered at YYZ hertz.

I have been renting every weekend at YYZ for the last 2 years, and it has gone downhill in the last 6 months...As a PC, upgrades are to Buicks or SUV's when booking full size...and lately, they have been passing off the Impala's as upgrades.

And in the last 2 months, every week the 50% off promotional code was not added to my rental contract, even though its on my reservation. Each week i have to go back to the Gold desk to get it added in. That kinda of defeats the purpose of being in the Gold program.

The creme de la creme was this past thursday when I was picking up my car..again no PC on my contract, so I went to the Gold desk to correct the contract. This is when I met one CSR, a Mr. Ahmed Mohammed, and I use the customer service term very loosly...He should not be anywhere near customer service.....First off, the language he used to greet me, 'Yo', 'hey man'...not very professional....then he was very reluctant to fix my contract..saying they don't have the Promotional code anymore...Even when i showed him my reseveration with the PC and total estimated charge.
Then after calling into Hertz corporate to verify that my reservation has the PC in it....he finally fixed it...then I asked if i can speak to the manager on duty to question why the PC does not appear on the contract every single week. He say the manager is back at the terminal, if you want to talk to him go see him.......? I asked him, can you call your manager to come to the gold desk to talk to a customer...he again reiterated that no...you want to talk to the manager..you walk there...then he just walked off the countered and say 'i am not serving you anymore..'....Another CSR had to complete my contract.

Also, I had a 2007 Camry recently with over 40,000km!!!

I use the customer service term very loosly...He should not be anywhere near customer service.....First off, the language he used to greet me, 'Yo', 'hey man'...not very professional....then he was very reluctant to fix my contract..saying they don't have the Promotional code anymore...Even when i showed him my reseveration with the PC and total estimated charge.
Then after calling into Hertz corporate to verify that my reservation has the PC in it....he finally fixed it...then I asked if i can speak to the manager on duty to question why the PC does not appear on the contract every single week. He say the manager is back at the terminal, if you want to talk to him go see him.......? I asked him, can you call your manager to come to the gold desk to talk to a customer...he again reiterated that no...you want to talk to the manager..you walk there...then he just walked off the countered and say 'i am not serving you anymore..'....Another CSR had to complete my contract.

And yet they wouldn't hire me or my business major friend with a 3.0 in college to become interns and assistant managers... it shows that hertz and many other companies care more about quantity versus quality. I personally refuse to put my name on a shoddy product or service, I guess if they hire inept individuals like Mr. Mohammed you speak of to put his name on hertz service, it kills the company's image.

This story sounds like my Neverlost issue, with a rube CSR who billed me for neverlost on an upgrade. I just hate dealing with people running an establishment and they don't seem to have a clue. I hope Hertz gets a clue and quickly! I write a lot on comment cards when they are good and bad. That is.. when I receive them. I hope the issues in YYZ get solved, and don't spread to the rest of the company.

Oh I wouldn't stress over them not hiring you. I'm in the process of having a complete career change that may require me to go back to school because I couldn't take it any longer.

The entire industry is bleeding right now and they are doing everything they can to stop it. I would never recommend working in car rental. I will say that for the most part Hertz was good to me. I got hired fresh out of college with no experience and I got promoted several times. However, the goals that are in place are absurd and it is definitely a job -- not a career. All of the positions you could be promoted to once you reach location manager have pretty much been eliminated anyway these days so it is really a job now.

Let's put it this way...I worked at Hertz for 25 months. My group of peers usually consisted of about 10 people. I was the 19th person to leave from the moment I got there to the moment I left. That is incredible turnover.

I think some of this issue is a YYZ problem rather than a Hertz problem. There are folks like Mr/ Mohammed at all of the majors. When I rented from Thrifty, they always charged me the underage fee even though my corporate account waives it, and they never seemed to have a clue about that (much like the OP's PC code issue).

Finally I'd had enough of their rudeness and incompetence so I switched to National. There I show up as a top-tier member of their rental prgram (semi-equivalent to Hertz PC) and I get a Grand Prix with 32k on it and having never been serviced near as I could tell. Best part was that I was one of 4-5 FCAR bookings the girl had and the Grand Prix was the only FCAR left (besides a Charger, but it may have been Premium). So when I asked about an upgrade since she'd obviously have to upgrade someone that night, she offered me a Lincoln MKZ.....for an additional $150.

My dad rented from National last summer and got an HHR with Michigan plates that had been puked in. The previous time he went with Avis, who refused to give him an upgrade when he had a coupon for it, and made him wait for the car, while the next 2 people in line behind him got free upgrades.

And we obviously know that Hertz is bad since we have this topic at hand. So the only major left is Budget, and I've not heard anything good or bad about Budget at YYZ. I know that the ARAC folks are beyond incompetent...I wanted to know how much my bill would total with the underage fee included and it took 5 e-mails back and forth with them giving me all sorts of numbers and shuffling me in every direction before I gave up and cancelled the car....

My YYZ car rental advice? Catch the #192 Airport Rocket on the TTC :D

Many of us have documented issues with YYZ over the past six months. Mine have included on multiple locations

complete shut down of the Gold board - ie they were no longer using it at all and required all Gold and PC members to stand in the regular line
no cars available at all; told to return in 6 hours
no return agents
no snowbrush/scraper in the middle of winter


I too met the abovementioned CSR.

Note that as a PC I did not complain about the Cobalt with manual locks and windows that I found in my stall multiple times.

Of course, I was told here that my concerns with Hertz at YYZ and ongoing issues such as those documented above were minor and I should quit whinging.

And yet they wouldn't hire me or my business major friend with a 3.0 in college to become interns and assistant managers...

No offense, a 3.0 in this market is crap...now if you had a 3.75 or higher and had a problem, then I could appreciate it.

No offense, a 3.0 in this market is crap...now if you had a 3.75 or higher and had a problem, then I could appreciate it.

Meh, working in a commercial service sector is like getting a barbed wire enema. But I assume Hertz would hire someone with a fresh inked green card versus some American college graduates. I don't care I have a mediocre job now and am still looking for something better. A 3.75 in business, lol, you go into business because you flunk out of a science or art, or realize ur major stinks not to graduate cum laude. FYI I am a geography major... my friend is the 3.0 business major. Hertz interviewed me... didn't even look at my friend so... in hind sight I would work at Hertz for all the tea in China.

YYZ is getting a ton of new cars over the next 3 weeks. With the exception of a few new trailblazers (leather and non-leather versions) and some compacts, the vast majority of the vehicles in Toronto have high mileage on them.

YYZ is getting a ton of new cars over the next 3 weeks. With the exception of a few new trailblazers (leather and non-leather versions) and some compacts, the vast majority of the vehicles in Toronto have high mileage on them.

YYZ is getting new cars, but as the rep told me, most will be compacts only. I guess it's all Hertz is willing to buy.

Leather or non-leather Trailblazers are crap, very sad that they have decided to purchase these instead of the Ford Explorers.

The Ford Explorer has been in the fleet for many years and has much better reviews than the Chevy.

A 3.75 in business, lol, you go into business because you flunk out of a science or art, or realize ur major stinks not to graduate cum laude. FYI I am a geography major... my friend is the 3.0 business major. Hertz interviewed me... didn't even look at my friend so... in hind sight I would work at Hertz for all the tea in China.

I was an operations management major, graduated cum laude, and none of my friends started as science majors. Either way, your GPA doesn't mean very much. Experience will always speak louder than your GPA.


YYZ is getting new cars, but as the rep told me, most will be compacts only. I guess it's all Hertz is willing to buy.


Hertz does not go out of it's way to not purchase something that customers want so long as customers are willing to pay for it. These vehicle purchases are usually made months in advance if not a full year. As we all know, gas was a lot more expensive a few months ago. People who booked compacts last summer were extremely upset when a compact wasn't there and they were getting upgraded to a larger car. They didn't want a larger car...they wanted the compact for gas mileage.

When an airline orders a new plane it isn't like the manufacturer delivers the plane the next day. It takes years for delivery. Well, it doesn't take years to deliver a car but replenishing a fleet of 300k+ cars isn't an overnight process.

Super news about Hertz at YYZ. New Cars!

I was through there a few days back (the 12th) and briefly chatted with an employee. There are a ton of new subcompact and compact cars around (Yaris, Focus and a few others) and the new SUV's are slowly trickling in. Expect to see Acadias, Enclaves and Escapes in addition to the Leather/Cloth Trailblazers they have on the lot already.

He also mentioned a few dozen 2010 Mustangs (V6 and GT) will be in the Toronto fleet after a lot of demand for convertibles last summer. A whack of 2010 Fusions are on their way as well. New CTS/DTS for the higher end Luxury Cars.

I'm sure there will be the usual mix of Impalas and such but the situation is definitely improving greatly.

Ford Explorers :(

Ford Explorers :(
There was a white one sitting on the ready line. It was Ontario licensed if I remember correctly, maybe they're getting a bunch.

Of these new compacts, any nicely equipped ones? Like Focus SES with leather? I don't mind driving a small car and it's a nice treat to get one fully loaded.

Of these new compacts, any nicely equipped ones? Like Focus SES with leather? I don't mind driving a small car and it's a nice treat to get one fully loaded.
Not that I saw, no.

I looked inside a Focus, a Yaris and a Kia of some sort I believe. All basic cloth interior.

Believe it or not but a Focus with leather usually costs $530 a month. The best chance at getting one is renting a compact one-way. Those things are treated like hot potatoes.

I spoke to another agent last night when I returned a car and I did see a lot of new compacts (mostly Yaris and a couple Focus, all basic models). I also noticed they started putting Neverlost in these cars. I would never rent a Yaris as these vehicles have no cruise control and they are very "basic" cars, in fact I would classify these as economy cars.

Anyways, the agent told me they are no longer buying Hondas or Hyundai cars. Also, it looks like they are no longer buying Corollas or Camrys. It's safe to say Hertz is really struggling (let's face it, all rental companies are). I wouldn't be surprised if one of the big rental companies goes bankrupt soon.

Well I don't know about Canada but that isn't true in the US. Before I left they were already taking deliveries of '10 Camrys & plenty of new Corollas were still on the way. It wouldn't surprise me about Hyundai because those cars depreciate so quickly.

I just rented in YYZ from Hertz last weekend. Did it through Priceline and got a pretty good rate on an intermediate (or mid-size...whichever is smaller). Got a white Impala, with GPS (free), and only 1000K on the odometer.
I've reserved the same class car next month for a weekend and hope I get the same one! (the free GPS was fun)

I rented from Hertz mid-last month, and as only a #1 Gold w/ no status, booked a midsize and found dark blue CTS waiting in my stall. It had 22,000 kms but still was a nice ride. The rest of the lot looked pretty sad ... not sure why I scored the upgrade.