Hertz - Declining Customer Service

I travel nearly every week, I'm a President's Circle member and in a week, I may rent Hertz cars 3-4 times. While I am reluctant to use a board brush, I have noticed in the last several months a definate decline in customer service. Mostly with staffing. For example: on Friday at 2:00 p.m., there was only one person to check in a very long line of customers in PDX. The line was so long, that it was backed up into the general airport area. There was similar problems at LAX and in Denver in the last several weeks. In SEA, I simply could not find any staff.

I realize their business is down, but for those of us who are actually on the road more, this has started to become and issue.

Yep, those are the results of HIP - The Hertz Improvement Process! Older cars, less people, and longer lines!

When I called my local Hertz branch, I heard the agent say "one minute" to another customer when he picked up the phone. I heard a muffled commotion in the background. I was calling to ask if I could return the car from FL early for a price reduction if I get back ahead of schedule. The guy said that's fine. But the tone of voice was interesting. He seemed very eager to get that car, as if it's getting extremely busy now.

Anyone would get stressed when facing a large workload. The difference is that some people remain friendly and attribute the stress to the work, whereas others snap easily and lash out at people who have nothing to do with the cause of the stress.

By the way, it seemed like the HLE guy was slightly surprised that he'd have the fortune of getting a one-way rental from FL. Do most such cars typically get returned to airports, rather than downtown or suburban branches? I know hpn during the summer tends to have almost entirely FL-plated cars.

if your a hertz #1 club member, or gold #1 club member are there still long lines/wait times to rent/return @ LAX?

By the way, it seemed like the HLE guy was slightly surprised that he'd have the fortune of getting a one-way rental from FL. Do most such cars typically get returned to airports, rather than downtown or suburban branches? I know hpn during the summer tends to have almost entirely FL-plated cars.

Plenty of one-way rentals get returned to HLEs. It just happens to be extremely pleasant when you get a one-way drop early in the week when you need cars the most.

You see plenty of Florida cars in areas besides Florida in the summer because they dump their cars every spring.