aCavalierInCoach

Something is screwy with the ultimate choice roll-out and it is a sierra show for PCs. I had a W6 (Mustang GT) booked out of PHX today; get carfirmation to "go to gold" section. None of the wandering (seemingly 3rd party?) people on the garage floor can help and they direct me to the desk (great...). Guy at desk tells me I can pick anything from the gold section. I tell him, no, I am PC, and I rented a mustang -- the PC section is full of F cars and infinitis.

End up regretting pressing the issue. He assigns me a mustang that was clearly meant for someone else (different name still on the spot when I got there). 30K+ miles. large dent on the side. oil change warning every 2 minutes. Inop blinker. Guy at the car return could not have cared less.

Bet you ten bucks they write me up for the dent even though I filled out a damage form at the gate before leaving. I'm done, Hertz.

crazyformiles

Rented a Premium at HLE NYC last weekend. Got a 2017 Avalon (yay,) which I was told was an upgrade. It did have over 30,000 miles on it. Unfortunately, half way through the trip, tire warning light lit up. Checked tire pressure at a gas station. All fine but warning light was on entire trip. Told the desk about it and got a $25 coupon.

phltraveler

For anyone complaining about not receiving PC treatment, I had this last year. I was Five Star at the time I made an award reservation, then reached President's Circle. I was told by the local Hertz staff at BNA that status as reflected on reservations is by time of booking.

As in:

1) Book on April 18th
2) Get higher status on April 19th
3) Reservation you booked on point #1 is for April 20th

The reservation will be listed as the lower status from the time of booking at #1 , not the status earned at #2 or held on the day of #3 .
If you do end up status matching or achieving a higher level of status, either call Hertz and see if they can modify the existing reservation, or it might just be easier to cancel the existing reservation & immediately rebook.

Jimgotkp

Downtown AKL: Booked a full size (Mazda 6) but got a Toyota Highlander
ZQN: Booked a full size (Mazda 6) but got a Toyota Rav4. (It's nice how they park the car infront of the airport in the "VIP" spots)
LAS: Booked an Intermediate (Corolla) but got a brand new Honda Pilot which was very nice (Picked this car via UC)

91StealthES

ISP - booked a Full-size and received a Buick Encore. I was surprised the Encore is considered a premium midsize SUV though. How is it a midsize SUV?

TYS - booked intermediate and received an impala premier.

FYI, I saw on another post, but don’t remember which regarding hardtop 5.0 Mustangs and if they are in the fleet. I saw two this week alone, one at each of these locations.

wheatbeer

Hi,

I have PC through a status match and haven't rented since getting it. I have 3 reservations with Hertz at LAX, LAS and SJC during my vacation in the US next week but am a bit worried based on the reports here that I won't get PC. On my reservations it says 'Service Type: Gold Canopy' at the top. Should it say President's Circle on there? Do you think I'll have issues getting using the PC section?

Thanks!

hockeyinsider

Booked a full-size at Hertz, FNT. Assigned a Chrysler 300.

AutoSlash

If your reservation says 'Gold' + anything (Counter, Canopy, etc.) and when you login to your account at Hertz.com it shows Gold Plus Rewards President's Circle when you click My Account at the top of the screen, you're good-to-go. Just grab something from the President's Circle area (assuming you booked at least an intermediate car) and drive to the exit booth. No need to stop at the counter. Your name should be on the board when you arrive and it should just say President's Circle.

tris06

@AutoSlash My last few experiences at London Heathrow Airport was to get a confirmed vehicle after booking on a D/E and I think 1 higher level (X?) last time and yes there were many cars in the gold chioce section. But when inquiring about getting the merc in the area of Gold Choice I was told (that will be an extra 74-100 pounds per day) by the man/woman in the little booth near the gold section parking bays. Is it possible they didn't realize I was a PC gold member even though I was already picking up a car in the gold section? I was given a Kia (though it was quite nice) and a Nissan the last two times. Am I getting fooled by the staff and should I dig my heels in? When hearing it was only 25 dollars per day extra for the premiums (according to you) I can't believe it when they quoted me well above that for a merc.

AutoSlash

The $25 upgrade fee is only at U.S. Ultimate Choice locations. Hertz UK has their own policies which aren't always in line with what the policies are in the U.S.

mnic

LHR - London Heathrow on Saturday morning.
Booked a C (Compact, 4-5 Door, Manual, Aircon). Assigned a T (Standard, People Carrier, Manual, Aircon) which was a 2016 Kia Carens with 30,000 miles.

It was an upgrade in size, but not in quality. A relatively old car with a bland cloth interior, no digital radio, and an uninspiring diesel engine. The lot was pretty full and there were plenty of nice cars around, so a bit disappointed with this one.

manohman

Hertz is a joke when it comes to PC members from my experience but I guess you get what you pay for as Hertz is usually cheaper than Enterprise.

I've had Hertz want to charge me $50/day for an upgrade to a PCAR with a millage limitation from an ICAR reservation. Yet, Enterprise multiple times have offered me PCAR, LCAR or IFAR on an ICAR reservation for free or $5 more per day.

Even now that I rent monthly from Hertz ($$$), they still fail to recognize my PC status or outright don't upgrade me from the original class I booked.

If Hertz wasn't cheaper, I wouldn't touch them with a 50 foot pole.

91StealthES

manohman

Toronto Pearson International Airport. I have found they don't offer upgrades unless you ask and even then they seem reluctant and dismissive of status even though they have a dedicated Gold Service counter. Their employees aren't friendly either. There is no warmth to their customer service.

Only Gold Choice at YYZ but Ultimate Choice is coming this year. Maybe will improve things but I don't know.

jackal

Not to defend Hertz (they're an abysmally-run corporation), but blanket statements like that kind of deserve to be refuted. I don't think I have ever seen Hertz's retail rate be less than Enterprise's (at least certainly not on any regular basis). That said, I can usually get Hertz down below Enterprise after applying discounts and coupons, because Hertz tends to be more generous with promos (and you can stack a discount code and promo code, whereas you can't with Enterprise).

Enterprise employees are not commissioned. Instead, they're brainwashed to adore the company and to sell upgrades in order to maximize their chances for promotions, but they're mostly measured on penetration (% of customers that say yes) rather than actual cash brought in. Their sales program also doesn't really train them to sell the right way, so they think with their own wallets and price their sales accordingly--and they'll do anything to get you to say yes to something, no matter how small, because it makes their numbers look much better (putting them on the fast-track to becoming the next Regional Vice President making a cool million a year, or so they think).

Hertz employees work on commission and they (like most other companies) have adopted their sales training methods from Frontline Performance Group, an industry training consultancy. That said, a $50/day upgrade to a PCAR is, while right in line with what's suggested by FPG and indeed some people are willing to pay (and the agent then makes bank when they do), not anything I would ever pay. $10/day upgrade from a midsize to an Infiniti Q50 is about my cap. The trick is to get the agent to realize that by acting interested in something nicer but appearing to be very concerned about your budget...they'll often say yes once they realize they don't have a chance of getting more out of you--unless they're tight on inventory and think they can do better by holding out for someone willing to pay more.

Maybe it's a Hertz Canada thing, but my experiences up there haven't had me recognized, either. Maybe the Canadian division's computer system doesn't make it obvious or anything. Specific acknowledgment of status even in the US is rare unless it's an Ultimate Choice location, where there are real benefits to having status. (And yes, when YYZ goes UC, I would expect the situation to significantly improve.)

TBH, I think most FTers feel that way about Enterprise and their lack of a real express rental program and stupid hand-holding walk-arounds and treating you like you're an idiot who's never rented a car before. Fortunately, Alamo is usually similarly priced to Enterprise and avoids all of Enterprise's BS, but I will often pay more to avoid Enterprise's horrible rental experience.



Remember what one FTer said long ago in the early days of FT: if we all avoided all of the companies that people complained about on FT, we'd all be walking everywhere.