Thanks for the offer. Here my qeustion:
In the case that I damage a car is it the usual practice to provide the customer with a detailed copy of the actual repair bill?
Also, if the amount to be paid in any case of damage will not be reduced even if the damage is way lower than that "reserve"?
Thank you in adc´vance for any helpful input!
Accidents are handled through the claims department. Once an accident report is filled out by the customer, the CSR no longer handles the situation. If you are worried about getting into an accident with a rental car, I encourage you to purchase the Loss Damage Waiver to relieve you of the financial responsibility of the rental car. Then, you're free.
Could you describe the sort of reservation most likely to be given a free upgrade to the Prestige Collection? Does the reservation length and day/time of pickup make much of a difference? What other factors are at work?
Possibly a Platinum Member or the rental station can just have a bad car situation and you would get a free upgrade. Platinum members are always most important. Gold Members, Five Star Members, and President's Circle Members are always printed out ahead of time. Other than that, it's really first come first serve.
OK - I'll bite...so I've been trying to use some "promotion" codes to get a cheaper price...and guess what...the daily/weekly price increases beyond any possible benefit of the code. So am I missing something or does Hertz consider a "rip-off" code to be a special promotion?
You may get a higher rate but you also get a higher discount.
I'll leave the bigger corporate type questions for another day and hopefully ask stuff that is pertinent to the location day-to-day operations.
(1) How are the 5* and PC levels used at the location? Does the person assigning cars see the levels and take them into account? Is it similar to a hotel, where assignments are done in the morning for arriving members that day, and done in order of status?
(2) How do you determine when there are plentiful enough upgraded cars to give them out to PC's and 5*'s? Sometimes when we don't get upgraded, we drive off wondering if somebody simply forgot to upgrade or if the upgraded cars were all reserved. At a lot of Hertz locations, there are so many cars sitting everywhere that it appears impossible that there's a shortage of cars - even good upgraded ones.
(3) When somebody walks into the Gold booth to negotiate a specialty upgrade - say, a convertible or a Prestige Collection car - how much leeway do you have to haggle and what cut do you get to keep? Are there different scenarios where you're less likely to let an upgrade go at the bottom end of that "range"?
(4) Have either of you guys ever considered transferring to Seattle? It's really quite nice out there - both mountains and sea nearby. Lots of good coffee. And the Hertz station there needs help - badly.
(5) Do you ever recognize and take extra care of your own location's most frequent renters, regardless of their overall status? (Again, sort of like hotels...)
(1)- Five Star and PC members are always taken into consideration. Of course we see the levels. Gold/Five Star/PC/Plat are usually printed up about an hour before arrival.
(2)- I always try to upgrade Five Star members. The car you see in the lot that you may want to upgrade to may already be reserved. If we are short on cars, sometimes its just not possible to give a free upgrade even when you know that you really should.
(3)- Free upgrades are usually subcompact through Full size. Customers are not eligible for free upgrades to Prestige or convertibles unless you are Platinum. Sometimes I can be nice and give you a nice car though. It just depends on what cars are there when you rent. Usually customers have to pay more for convertibles and Prestige.
(4)- No... Isn't Seattle rainy??? Although, I have heard it is a very nice city.
(5)- My frequent renters (if I like them) will always get a nice car. Or, if they don't like the car I assigned them, I will not hesitate to give them something they would rather have.
It really seems like you care about your job and doing it correctly, we frequent renters appreciate that!
Is there any vehicle we shouldn't rent because it is so unreliable, or has more than its fair share of accidents?
In a bad car situation, are you more likely to upgrade Hertz customers who take out Hertz insurance and collision damage waiver?
I know MOST customers hate the Taurus. I save those for the rude renters. Corollas are a small midsize car but they get good gas mileage.
I am more likely to upgrade Gold Service, FiveStar, and PC members. I will also upgrade those who are nice to me. Also, do not ever come up to my counter and ask if there is any chance of a free upgrade because if you do my answer will automatically be NO. I don't like people who think they will try to get stuff for free.
I forgot to mention before... Hertz employees only make commission on regular renters. We make no commission on Gold, Five Star, PC, or Platinum customers.
Programs: AA EXP - CO Plat - SPG Plat - HH Diamond - Hyatt Diamond - MR Silver - Hertz PC - Avis First
Posts: 903
Welcome, and thanks for posting here! A few more questions on upgrades...
1) I've noticed that there are amounts listed on the computer screens for paid upgrades to Prestige, etc. Are those recommended upgrade charges, or is that a "minimum" upgrade amount that an agent cannot charge lower than?
2) Besides the standard 5*/PC guidelines from Hertz, are there actual limits on what agents or dispatch can assign in terms of upgrades? If you wanted to, could you upgrade any reservation to a Prestige or Fun Collection car?
Geez10, thanks again for answering people's questions. I for one find the car rental business mystifying and appreciate your willingness to explain how it really works.
Location: Near Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA, Earth (PIT)
Programs: B6 or WN then UA, some generic hotel room, Hertz 5* (yes really)
Posts: 4,335
Quote:
Originally Posted by gj83
Is that Hertz math?
So $50/day + a 20% discount is better than a $30/day rate?
I'm guessing what happens is the system has decided inventory is high and can give you a discounted rate automatically (with no promo coupon), but when you put in the promo, it will only take the promo off the standard rate or other "qualifying rate". This is a fairly common pricing practice for discounts and promos in a lot of arenas, not just rental cars.
To get the best price, you just have to try combinations. If business is slow, the promo coupon may not yield the best price for a rental car. But, it also depends upon the coupon. Etc, etc. Many variables and very complicated pricing, just like airlines.
BTW, thanks to the OP for giving an inside perspective on some of this stuff.
All additional drivers, including spouses, have a $10/day additional driver fee unless you and the additional driver have AAA (AAA spouses drive for free) or your CDP otherwise states additional drivers are free.
It is my understanding that spouses or domestic partners are automatically authorized drivers for #1 Club Gold Members.
From the #1 Club Gold contract:
2. WHO MAY OPERATE THE CAR
Only You and, with Your permission, the following persons, provided that they meet the qualifications set forth in the following sentence (“Authorized Operators”), may operate the Car: Your spouse, Your domestic partner (if You are not married), Your employer, employees and fellow employees incidental to their business duties, and any other person who meets Hertz’ qualifications and who signs an Additional Authorized Operator form at the time of rental. Except as provided in the following sentence, all Authorized Operators must be at least 25 years old and have a valid driver’s license from a jurisdiction acceptable to Hertz.
In my experience, the Hertz employees I've had discussions with about this are not aware of this rule, so I just don't bother discussing it with them anymore.
Oh, I never noticed this in a rental contract before, but it's good to know we're not violating the contract when we valet park:
Except to the extent necessary for valet parking or in an emergency as permitted by law, no other persons are permitted to operate the Car
Programs: AA Gold 1MM, UA 1K, MR Plat, HH/SPG Gold
Posts: 17,820
Oh...I have another one...
I've frequently had troubles lately (guess where? my favorite Pacific Northwest city...) with my car not being in my stall at my arrival time. I have to walk inside and talk to someone to get my car. The excuse I always get is "We're running behind." The problem is that this has been happening for as long as I've been renting there, and clearly no one is fixing it.
I know the short-term fix: I can delete my flight information from the rental, say I'm not arriving by air, and input a time that's an hour or so earlier than I actually want the car.
So two questions...
(a) Why does a Hertz location have such major problems that they can't assign the cars on time? I have never seen this recurring problem anywhere else. I've been 2-3 hours early to some places - fully expecting to have to go inside and ask for a car - but sure enough, I'm on the board.
(b) If I book a car for 10AM and don't exit the lot until 11AM, what is the official start time of my rental? In this case, the exit guard takes part of my contract but doesn't appear to do an exact timestamp on it.
I have been getting upgraded about 50% of the time in the U.S. and almost 100% of the time in Europe.
I'm not complaining but I am curious as to why. I am Gold # 1 but with no status. Most of my US rentals have been in Florida and my European rentals in Italy and Germany. I always order the least expensive car.
From that description (or anything else) can you guess why I keep getting these upgrades?
Programs: AA 2MM - UA 1P / Hyatt Diamond - SPG Plat / Hertz 5* - Avis 1st
Posts: 1,152
Quote:
Originally Posted by pinniped
(4) Have either of you guys ever considered transferring to Seattle? It's really quite nice out there - both mountains and sea nearby. Lots of good coffee. And the Hertz station there needs help - badly.
Is that Hertz math?
