I frequently rent from the Wilmington (De.) train station location. About 6 months ago, the service level (according to hertz.com) was raised from "Standard Counter Service" to "Gold Counter Service." My expectation with Gold Counter Service is that I show my license, am handed my keys and paperwork, and am out the door in about 30 seconds.

The first couple of times after this change, my paperwork wasn't ready on arrival, and I did not complain. After about the third time, I wrote to Hertz to complain. They sent me a customer service certificate and a nice letter and promised to follow up with local management.

The next time I rented there, the paperwork wasn't ready (about 30 minutes after my scheduled pickup time), so I questioned the clerk about it. I said that I was a gold member and that I'm not supposed to have to wait for paperwork and keys. Her response was "we don't offer gold service here, that's at the airport." I told her that hertz.com said they did, and I got the blank stare.

So, I wrote to Hertz again, told them that the same thing occurred again, that it was the second time that I was writing to them about it, and that I couldn't understand why it happened again, given that I had already given them ample opportunity to correct the situation. Again, I got a nice letter and certificate.

So, if this keeps happening, should I keep complaining to Hertz? My feeling is yes. They have indicated that they offer the gold service at this location, and in doing so set my expectations at a certain level. I think they need to be held accountable.

Has anyone had a similar experience and/or does anyone have any thoughts?