Hertz - I gave Hertz a chance...

I'm a consulting road warrior and for the past two years have been using Avis every week. I finally got tired of the vomit-scented PT Cruisers with stained seats and decided I'd try out Hertz, so I made a reservation for 6 p.m. at the hotel where I'm staying. Conf call went long, so I checked into the hotel at 6:20, went over to the rental desk at 6:38 (no big deal, you can usually pick up +/- 1 hour from your reservation time), and.... The rental agent had already left for the day, locked up shop, didn't leave any notice or keys at the front desk, no phone call, no message, nothing. Just me, stranded, without a way to get to my dinner plans in the city.

So I call customer service, get transferred 4 times, then finally end up in a queue for customer relations at 6:50 p.m., which is fine. Except the hold time was 30 minutes, and the line closes at 7 p.m. 7:05 p.m., and the line mysteriously disconnects me.

I call reservations again, the agents give me the entirely unhelpful news that there are no other locations in my area, and the airport locations (an hour and a $70 cab ride) don't do pickup or dropoff. No offers to help, no nothing other than "Call in the morning. " The better part is that I need to be in the office at 7 tomorrow morning, and what time does the car kiosk open? 7:30. Great. Thanks.

Is there a secret customer relations line that is open extended hours, or is there anyplace else I can call? Or is there a gold club phone number that I'm just not seeing?

no big deal, you can usually pick up +/- 1 hour from your reservation timeAt an airport, sure, no problem. At an off-site location, I wouldn't have relied on that. I know here in New York there are signs in my local Hertz office that your reservation is guaranteed (by state law) for 30 minutes. Not sure where you were or whether those laws exist elsewhere. That said, if I'm running more than 30 minutes late (other than at an airport), I make a habit to call.

The rental agent had already left for the day, locked up shop, didn't leave any notice or keys at the front desk, no phone call, no message, nothing.What time was the normal "scheduled" closure of that Hertz location? Often times hours at hotel satellite locations are very limited. I'm guessing that you were the only reservation for that night and when you didn't show up by 30 minutes after your reservation time the agent may have decided to leave early. I guess it's their right, but it sucks that it was a major inconvenience for you.


So I call customer service, get transferred 4 times, then finally end up in a queue for customer relations at 6:50 p.m., which is fine. Except the hold time was 30 minutes, and the line closes at 7 p.m. 7:05 p.m., and the line mysteriously disconnects me. I usually deal with customer service issues by email. But I guess that doesn't help you. Many companies don't have 24/7 customer service lines, particularly in this economy.

Is there a secret customer relations line that is open extended hours, or is there anyplace else I can call? Or is there a gold club phone number that I'm just not seeing?There is 800-CAR-GOLD for #1 club gold numbers, but those are pretty much just the reservations agents. I'm not sure what else they'll be able to do for you tonight.

It's unfortunate that your first Hertz experience was such a disaster. I always have satisfactory to good experiences with them.

The last time I tried Avis, I got a 2+ year old GPS that sent me through the local streets of Miami around the airport, where I was scared for my life (http://www.nytimes.com/1993/09/10/us/german-travelers-to-florida-asking-tough-questions.html) (ok, I exaggerate), and when I tried to call the MIA location, they wouldn't answer the phone at all.

I'm pretty convinced that all the car rental companies suck, it's just the degree of suckitude that you have to figure out.

As for this experience, oh well, hard lesson learned - I 'spose that's what I get for trying to avoid those nasty Chicago airport taxes.

If the hours at the location were till 6, and you were not there at six, not sure why you expected them to find you.

There are dozens of threads here about booking a backup reservation, so they probably have so many people not show up that they just ignore all the people who book and just don't show.

If they left before their scheduled time that is one thing, but if you arrived after their scheduled closing time, it's really not their fault.

Most off airport locations close at 6:00 PM. There is no policy in place for them to stay past closing time to wait for no shows as they usually account for 10-20% of reservations. They would never get to leave if they waited for every no show. If you're not there on time then I'm sorry but that isn't their problem.

For the person who said they might have left after only 30 minutes of waiting...no one gets to close before closing time regardless of reservations.

Closing time for the location was 6:30, I arrived at 6:38. Oh well, it happens.

I recently tried Hertz for the first time in a long time. I used a city location and it was terrible. The employees were more concerned with each other than renting me the car. There was no line when I got there, and it still took about 1/2 hour. They handed me the keys, and then said, sorry that car needs an oil change. I had reserved a full size, and the next think you know, they are putting me in a compact.

I recently tried Hertz for the first time in a long time. I used a city location and it was terrible. The employees were more concerned with each other than renting me the car. There was no line when I got there, and it still took about 1/2 hour. They handed me the keys, and then said, sorry that car needs an oil change. I had reserved a full size, and the next think you know, they are putting me in a compact.

Was that in Nashville? If so, which location if you don't mind me asking?

[QUOTE=stelmel;11913317 ... so I made a reservation for 6 p.m. at the hotel where I'm staying. Conf call went long, so I checked into the hotel at 6:20, went over to the rental desk at 6:38 (no big deal, you can usually pick up +/- 1 hour from your reservation time), and.... The rental agent had already left for the day, locked up shop, didn't leave any notice or keys at the front desk, no phone call, no message, nothing. Just me, stranded, without a way to get to my dinner plans in the city. [/QUOTE]

If your reservation was at 6, and the location closed at 6:30, and at 6:20 you are checking into the hotel (which couldn't be done AFTER you rented the car?), why are you upset that they left? I am confused ...

A good learning experience, but don't blame Hertz for this!

I'm pretty convinced that all the car rental companies suck, it's just the degree of suckitude that you have to figure out.

As for this experience, oh well, hard lesson learned - I 'spose that's what I get for trying to avoid those nasty Chicago airport taxes.

You've pretty much hit the nail on the head. I've been shafted over the years by Hertz, Alamo, Avis, Enterlies, Thrifty, Budget, and National. Fortunately, Hertz has shafted me the fewest amount of times, and gets my business. Enterlies on the other hand, bah...

Personally, I just deal with the airport taxes as I can bill the rental to my customer, and they are far less expensive than if I lost business due to being cheap.

It's much easier to blame someone else than have a level of personal responsibility

I think customer satisfaction would improve significantly if the industry began to charge cancellation fees or take it a step further like airlines and have most rates be non-refundable except for standard rates (Those are the $100+ rates everyone complains about).

I didn't read the replies yet, but you were nearly 40 minutes late. If I were the (probably low paid) Hertz employee I would leave at exactly my scheduled time too. They probably waited for you, but I think 38 minutes is an unreasonable expectation.

I didn't read the replies yet, but you were nearly 40 minutes late. If I were the (probably low paid) Hertz employee I would leave at exactly my scheduled time too. They probably waited for you, but I think 38 minutes is an unreasonable expectation.
Well, in the original post it sounded like the Hertz location closed early despite the poster having a reservation but being late. Under that scenario, there could be some level of sympathy for the poster, and I tried to reflect that in the tone of my initial response (post #2)

Then the OP clarified that he showed up to the counter after scheduled closing time, but it seemed like at that point the OP accepted responsibility for what happened. (Why should anyone let facts get in the way of a good rant on FT?)