You're asking the agent how it got booked for a year in advance? Honestly, I'd exect the CSR to be as clueless as you were--be it that a date was mistakenly entered or a computer malfunction/data error, the CSR just helps to look up your reservations. As they say, don't shoot the messenger.

That said, do I think they (CSR and managers) could have done better? Yes, they probably could have tried to negotiate with you on the spot--15 a day off the high volvo price maybe, but with limited cars, they couldn't do too much for you.

As a former Hertz employee, I must tell you that 5* pretty much means nothing. The only difference I remember is that they were given a seperate bank of stalls (the next closest after PC). Anyway, my point is that your CSR and IRR usually don't have a clue about your rank in the system (gold reps could tell a little on the daily manifest to some extent).