I wanted to try Hertz rent-a-car as an alternative to Avis mainly because I had begun to wonder whether I was being ripped off by them. Also, my boss was a regular user of Hertz and he always used them as his preferred hiring option, so I figured that if he was a repeat customer, that could mean good things.
What an utter shambles, from start to finish. First of all, I booked the car online and was using a voucher to pay for part of the rental. I'd spoken to the central customer service team to ensure that everything was set up ok, and have them explain the payment procedure to me, and they were very helpful. Unfortunately, when it came to the day of pickup, the staff on the ground were little better than chimps in terms of actually giving me the car keys and letting me get on with it.
I was told that as I was using a voucher and paying in cash, I would have to be treated as having two reservations/contracts, and only the one covered by the voucher would be issued straight away. So, it was down to me to phone them back on Monday morning to ensure the remainder of the week was covered. On pick-up, the primary faff point in terms of time-wasting was when they had to get the car authorization cleared so I could take the vehicle. Because the office phone lines were so jammed up, the assistant couldn't get through. And frankly, most of the time, the assistant didn't have the faintest idea what he was meant to be doing anyway. At the time of pickup only 3 of us were in the branch, and all of us were waiting forever.
In total, having arrived on time to pick up my Ford Focus, I eventually left the location an hour later - AN HOUR. Other than the clutch having been mangled by previous drivers so I was virtually having to start off in second, the car itself was clean and functioning. Bearing in mind I was heading for the Lake District, however, not having a first gear was going to prove to be rather a pain.
When I called on Monday morning to extend the rental, I couldn't get through for over half-an-hour. So, I eventually gave up and called the central customer service line and requested they get a message to the hiring point to call me - which they did (late afternoon), and I covered the remainder of the week. Two days later, I got a call from the hiring point to ask me where the car was, because they'd been expecting it back on the Monday. Incredulously, I regaled the story again, and was told (for a second time) that everything would be ok. At this point I really began wondering how much I was going to be stung for 4 days (and I was stung on the rate applied to the 4 days), because the right-hand really didn't know what the left-hand was doing.
To be honest, if there's only one hiring location staffed with low competency people, these types of problems shouldn't be experienced by anyone else. However, I expect the basics to work, like speed of pick-up being good, location contactability, etc. Given that the price was no better than I could get elsewhere at the time, this is certainly not a firm I'll be using again, if I can avoid it.
How helpful would this review be to a person making a buying decision? Rating guidelines
Too be honest i think they are all as bad as each other, I have used most of them, and always had problems, more so when outside of the UK.
phil2001 05.01.2004 00:53
I use these all the time and have yet to encounter a problem, try contacting their customer relations and 9 times out of ten they will send you a gift certificate.
NH Hotels, the hotel chain leader in Europe, with more than 300 hotels in 20 countries in Europe, Latin America and Africa. Enter into our web site and find the best available tariff at all times
Record Rent a Car is present in the main spanish airports and has a very wide fleet. We offer: exceptional discounts, free additional drivers,
unlimited mileage... subscribe to our Club Record and take advantage of special offers.
Advantages: Excellent prepaid rates, nice car, helpful staff Disadvantages: Confusion over discount rates, high excess if you don't pay the waiver charge
sue.51 30.12.2004 (31.12.2004)
·
Read review
Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful
Review of Hertz
Jan 4th, 2004
very helpful by (31%):
helpful by (69%):
