A couple of days ago, I wrote about my awful experience trying to rent from Hertz.
Long story short, the Hertz location at Sonoma County Airport (STS) called me and told me they were “completely sold out” and couldn’t honor my reservation, unless I agreed to being extorted, with a $150 upgrade fee to an SUV that I didn’t want (when most days that SUV goes for an extra $40 over the car type I booked). To make matters even worse, the staff at the location were downright nasty.
There’s an update, as this morning I received a call from a Hertz executive customer service representative, so I wanted to relay what I was told. Let me of course acknowledge that presumably the only reason my situation was taken seriously is because I have a platform. So the best that I can do is try to get some answers, so that others don’t find themselves in a similar situation.
In this post:
Hertz apologizes, clarifies correct policies
I got a call from a very nice lady from Hertz, who works in executive customer service. Let me start by saying that she was professional, empathetic, and kind. In fairness, I find that just about anyone working in a company’s executive customer service department is like that, or else they wouldn’t be in that position. They’re basically typically one step down from the crisis management team at a company, in terms of the work they do.
She explained she has been in the rental car industry for 20 years, and wouldn’t want to be treated the way that I was either. I appreciated her transparency regarding the situation. So, here’s what she explained to me:
- This situation wasn’t handled correctly, and senior leadership is going to “take a deep dive” to determine how to prevent situations like this in the future
- She emphasized that “we do value our customers, and we couldn’t be in business without customers”
- I asked what Hertz’s policy is in situations where your reserved car class isn’t available, and she confirmed that the policy is that you should be upgraded to the next available car class at no extra cost
- I asked how she would recommend people who find themselves in a similar situation handle this in the future, and she recommended calling Hertz in these situations
- She explained that at smaller stations there’s a higher risk of cars not being available when reserving within 24 hours, and Santa Rosa is a smaller station for the company
At the conclusion of the call, she offered to either give me some Hertz free rental days, or reimburse me for the expenses I incurred as a result of not having my rental (I ended up just taking a ride share).
My take on this call with Hertz
I’m happy that Hertz at least acknowledged that the correct policy wasn’t being followed. It’s good to know that if the car class you reserved isn’t available, then you should be upgraded to the next available car class, as I thought.
That being said, do I somehow think that Hertz corporate is actually taking this matter seriously? Do I believe that Hertz actually values its customers, or else it wouldn’t be in business? I mean, this is the same company that paid $168 million for incorrectly arresting its customers, so the poor customer service I experienced is hardly the worst way Hertz has treated its customers.
When you incorrectly file theft reports against thousands of your customers year after year after year, it’s hard to take any claims of caring about customers seriously. That’s of course not the fault of this representative, but the apathy obviously starts at the very top.
Big picture, I think the rental car industry is just fundamentally flawed due to the misalignment of incentives, and it’s also why the industry is incapable of doing business ethically:
- Rental car companies hugely overbook, because their top priority is making sure there are as few cars sitting on the lot as possible, and there are no repercussions to overbooking, unlike with airlines
- In the situation I encountered, it’s clear that Hertz just kept overselling, in hopes of seeing which customer they could most rip off (and if someone didn’t want to be ripped off, they can just cancel their reservation)
- Many rental car locations operate as franchises, and the franchisees care about maximizing their own profits, and not about the overall customer perception of the brand
- I believe rental car employees make a commission on selling upgrades, so in terms of padding their own pockets, their goal is to see who they can rip off the most with an upgrade (which is why I was offered an upgrade that usually costs $40 for $150, with a claim that the upgrade usually costs $250)
What an industry, when you can oversell as much as you want with no repercussions, and then can basically create a bidding war with all the people you overbooked, leaving many without a car?
Like I said, it’s time for government invention… this is one of those industries that won’t act any more ethically unless it’s forced to. As I was standing at the counter being told there were no cars available, I could still book cars for immediate pickup. How unethical to allow people to reserve a product that you know you don’t have.
Bottom line
After my very bad Hertz non-rental, someone reached out to me from executive customer service to apologize. The representative confirmed that this location wasn’t following the standard policy, as I expected. She also claimed that the company is working on ways to improve, but given Hertz’s track record, I won’t be holding my breath.
What do you make of Hertz’s situation?
executivecustomerservice@hertz
Mr. Stephen M. Scherr. Esq
CEO Hertz
This is not only a complain , this is the beginning of a campaign that I will direct against your company.
The abuse of the policies you created to be utilized against your clients and the fees they pay in advance for the services you advertised and market.
I have been a gold meme er for over 20 years and directed the program...
executivecustomerservice@hertz
Mr. Stephen M. Scherr. Esq
CEO Hertz
This is not only a complain , this is the beginning of a campaign that I will direct against your company.
The abuse of the policies you created to be utilized against your clients and the fees they pay in advance for the services you advertised and market.
I have been a gold meme er for over 20 years and directed the program created in 2006 by GE and in 2009 by my own organization, today y regret all I did for your organization as I have personally received a great demonstration of abuse by your company.
I made a reservation and paid for that reservation in full with her American Express card, she arrived at the Monterey Mexico airport only to learn that her reservation and payment was not sufficient and cars were not available.
Nadia Zaide Marroquin and executive at Johnson Controls , learned that a paid reservation in your company has no value, she was ordered to cancel the reservation and her advance payment will be returned in seven to ten days.
As you and I went to law school and have many years of experience, your organization has violated various laws, bridge of contract,
False advertisement and fraud, let’s add wire fraud as the transaction was paid and made over the phone .
I will not waste time by taking you or Hertz to court, I will initiate a campaign over the internet and the television to show the people that use your services of the fraudulent manner that Hertz run the American business all over the world , I will use the same tools you use my motive is cost you not only the business of company but the business of all the companies I associate with every day.
Ivan Frankel
CEO - Global Ops
Daniel Levine. Esq
WLS Corporation Group
+1 518 779 1127
I am dealing with a situation right now where a hertz agent made a $1K mistake and is leaving me to deal with correcting her error. I am in the process of writing Executive CS right now!
This exact scenario happened to us over winter break in Playa del Carmen, Mexico. It was absolutely sickening. We were basically held at ransom for $1000 for an upgraded vehicle when the one we reserved and paid for was unavailable. It cost us half a day of our family vacation and $890 (in the end they negotiated the ransom price). They knew we were desperate and had three young children and no other options. I...
This exact scenario happened to us over winter break in Playa del Carmen, Mexico. It was absolutely sickening. We were basically held at ransom for $1000 for an upgraded vehicle when the one we reserved and paid for was unavailable. It cost us half a day of our family vacation and $890 (in the end they negotiated the ransom price). They knew we were desperate and had three young children and no other options. I reached out to the CEO of Hertz and the GC (I don't play around) and got a pretty fast response from the CEO- I then received an email from Kristen West at Executive Customer Service. Then.. nothing. no contact. I've sent several emails containing our documentation and more details and received no reply. I am not giving up on this and I want our money returned. What a scam!
I understand overbooking is a big issue but I also find it crazy that you can make a reservation, not show up, and face no penalties. I notice Avis now has a lower rate for prepayment - I use that rate often in Mexico but they always seem to have an abundance of cars. I once made a reservation with Budget through Expedia in the same Mexican city and when I showed up they had no cars - they told me to complain to Expedia. Now I always book direct.
Unfortunately this isn't anything new.
As someone who rents from Hertz regularly, I've run into many of these types of issues. Reserving a car and they don't have it, trying to charge me extra fees for no reason, sending me from location to location to find the car I was looking for, and the list goes on.
In most cases I call up Hertz corporate afterwards to complain and obviously they give me...
Unfortunately this isn't anything new.
As someone who rents from Hertz regularly, I've run into many of these types of issues. Reserving a car and they don't have it, trying to charge me extra fees for no reason, sending me from location to location to find the car I was looking for, and the list goes on.
In most cases I call up Hertz corporate afterwards to complain and obviously they give me the "we are so sorry" and all the rest of that stuff, but nothing actually will change.
They did usually offer compensation which is very good of them but lately they've been bad with that as well.
I called them to complain about a certain incident, and they told me that since I was already compensated for a totally different unrelated incident, they won't be able to offer me anything.
I'm short what I know is that the way they let you book a car has nothing to do with their actual inventory and therefore don't be surprised if they don't have what you "reserved" .
A lot of Hertz employees that I've spoken to have actually complained about it because they get the blunt of it having customers scream and shout at them when it's totally not their fault, and they've told me that they tried speaking to people higher up in Hertz to change the system so it can work better, but nobody higher up actually cares.
Hertz sucks. I just got a car from them that smells like cigarettes and on the pictures they took - and emailed to me - the car is so dirty with stained seats
Hello I to rent from hertz and for reason they always charge me for something I did not authorize I was charge for bringing the rental back late. Which was wrong cause they decided to charge me a monthly fee instead of a weekly fee. It's B.S when they change my rental agreement.
At this point I don't care about any company and I surely have no more loyalty I go with whoever gives me the best bang for my buck and make sure that when I choose to spend my money they have to EARN it all these programs are trash anyways. These companies deserve to be out of business and these nasty employees all deserve to be unemployed maybe that first world privilege will balance itself out. You earn your keep and you don't deserve it.
Hertz is a rip off and constantly takes out my account for things their responsible for. Their billing department is the WORST & calling them you’re on the phone for hours. Nobody never knows what their doing.
I can’t wait until there is a class A lawsuit I’m definitely partaking in it. Hertz hires the most unprofessional rude people ever.
Hertz is all about money & not satisfying customers needs.
Loyal Hertz customer for 22 years (Presidents circle for many) but ever since the bankruptcy/reorganization under new ownership, the leadership has clearly made customer experience last and immediate profit top priority, which isn't surprising under private equity "ownership". On top of a few poor rental experiences as the author in 2022, Hertz took all my free days/points this year without a notice as others have complained of, and refused to budge on proving the notice,...
Loyal Hertz customer for 22 years (Presidents circle for many) but ever since the bankruptcy/reorganization under new ownership, the leadership has clearly made customer experience last and immediate profit top priority, which isn't surprising under private equity "ownership". On top of a few poor rental experiences as the author in 2022, Hertz took all my free days/points this year without a notice as others have complained of, and refused to budge on proving the notice, closed the only branches closeby, and no longer is as competitive on price. So, for the next 22 years, I'll remain reversely loyal and only choose a Hertz competitor.
I posted on this a couple days ago. Not sure if anyone is still following this post, but if anyone, Lucky included, can provide any contact information for someone at Hertz headquarters please let me know or post here. I would like to discus my points expiration with someone capable of rational thought.
Thank you.
While every company has its pluses and minuses, I’ve never had an issue like this with National. You might pay a bit more, but worth it. Hertz, Budget, and Avis are about at the bottom of my list.
I'm guessing the "upgrade" SUV has worse gas milage than the reserved vehicle. To me, that's not an upgrade, it's paying for a downgrade
I had a similar issue where they "upgraded" me to a mini van. I told them that if I had wanted a bus, I would have taken one instead of flying.
"How unethical to allow people to reserve a product that you know you don’t have."
Airline overbooking.
College degree.
Student loans.
Subprime loans.
Government debt, debt ceiling, fiscal cliffs.
Politicians.
See through the propaganda machine.
And prepare to pay the price.
Pretty much every experience with Hertz has been awful, from my reserved minivan (months in advance) not being available - more than once - to my ID being thefted about 4 hours after my information was provided at a location outside of Boston. Some franchises are probably better than others, but I've had enough terrible experiences with this company that I'm giving them a lifetime ban. The worst.
After reading your posts as well as comments here, I am seriously considering canceling a reservation with Hertz at LAX I have for Thanksgiving week. I have President's Circle status through the Venture X, although opted to forgo adding it to my reservation as I found that booking on the Irish site I was able to get a $30-$40 cheaper rate as well as a better category of car. I should be clear that I...
After reading your posts as well as comments here, I am seriously considering canceling a reservation with Hertz at LAX I have for Thanksgiving week. I have President's Circle status through the Venture X, although opted to forgo adding it to my reservation as I found that booking on the Irish site I was able to get a $30-$40 cheaper rate as well as a better category of car. I should be clear that I am not trying to "game" anything. I actually have relocated to Ireland recently, I have an Irish address, Irish bank account, Irish phone number, and the rest. However, I cannot be confident that Hertz won't try and argue with me about how I booked and say that I am trying to cheat given I still have a US driver's license, and cancel or upcharge me when I arrive. LAX is obviously a far, far larger station for them, but given Thanksgiving is presumably one of the busiest weeks of the year for them, I still have reservations about whether I can trust my booking will be honored. Anyone have thoughts or input?
LAX isn't bad if you have PC - they rarely run out of cars. You see your name on a board and pick the car. They may try to sell you insurance as you drive off the lot, but that's about it.
The counter-interference is the worst part of Hertz. If you're stuck in a location like that (or the place is completely empty), these shenanigans are gonna be happening.
Trying to 'call' ANY rental car company brings about a life lesson in futility. What a joke! She clearly has never tried to call into the general number. They all employ bottom of the barrel outsourced reps that have little power or motivation to accomplish anything.
Because the rental car industry has become such a commodity with terrible customer service, it probably is time for a government agency to step in. I hate to admit that.
I am done with Hertz. It took two hours to pick up a reserved car at ATL. And besides, who wants to be thanked for doing business with them by being arrested?
I reserved and prepaid for a Hertz Tesla 2 weeks in advance. I got multiple Hertz emails telling me to be ready for a Tesla. When I showed up to pick up my Tesla they told me they have no Teslas left and tried to give me a bolt. So ya Hertz sucks
Thanks for this post. You probably would rather not share the nice ladies contact information but I would really like to speak with the Hertz Executive team regarding points expiration. Hertz had differing information about expiration dates on different web pages. VFTW covered this and I was affected.
Hertz Gold Customer Service was of no help. I tried twice and was connected to outsourced call centers.
Their advice? I should "be more careful and pay...
Thanks for this post. You probably would rather not share the nice ladies contact information but I would really like to speak with the Hertz Executive team regarding points expiration. Hertz had differing information about expiration dates on different web pages. VFTW covered this and I was affected.
Hertz Gold Customer Service was of no help. I tried twice and was connected to outsourced call centers.
Their advice? I should "be more careful and pay better attention." Yes for real. They could not even tell me what exact day my points expired.
Any contact information would be great. I will put my email in the email field.
I found some Hertz executive email addresses but they have not responded. I got an auto reply for one of them so I know they got the email.
Thanks for your blog. I really enjoy it.
You’ve made several thoughtful analyses on this but seem to ignore the main driver of why there’s so much overbooking. All companies maximize profit but there’s free cancellation and many people keep the cars past their return times.
Furthermore the fact that you were able to make a same day reservation at a small local branch was most likely made possible by this policy.
Of course that doesn’t excuse what happened to you, but...
You’ve made several thoughtful analyses on this but seem to ignore the main driver of why there’s so much overbooking. All companies maximize profit but there’s free cancellation and many people keep the cars past their return times.
Furthermore the fact that you were able to make a same day reservation at a small local branch was most likely made possible by this policy.
Of course that doesn’t excuse what happened to you, but your posts seem to omit that obvious fact.
Yep, I have found the smaller the outlet (getting into franchise territory), the greater the chance of issues and headaches.
I have found Hawaii the worse. Bait & Switch tactic on the Big Island for which I passed on. Ended up with the car I requested at the price I requested. In Honolulu, rental car came with a half tank of gas. Took an hour before clerk would give me a credit based on...
Yep, I have found the smaller the outlet (getting into franchise territory), the greater the chance of issues and headaches.
I have found Hawaii the worse. Bait & Switch tactic on the Big Island for which I passed on. Ended up with the car I requested at the price I requested. In Honolulu, rental car came with a half tank of gas. Took an hour before clerk would give me a credit based on 45 miles of us. Most would have blown it off. Yet, the price of gas in Hawaii is sky high.
The above tactics are based on the threshold of aggravation that the customer will endure before pushback.
This threshold is creeping into most any service (rental, hotels, airlines, banks, phone carriers, etc) provided today.
You're very lucky to have a platform. Most would have been railroaded or told to suck it up.
TURO.COM has worked well for me
I appreciate the update on your experience with Hertz, and it's great to hear that a representative from their executive customer service reached out to you. It's certainly a positive step when companies take the time to address customer concerns.
It's reassuring that the Hertz representative was professional and transparent about the situation. The fact that senior leadership plans to investigate and improve their policies to prevent such incidents in the...
I appreciate the update on your experience with Hertz, and it's great to hear that a representative from their executive customer service reached out to you. It's certainly a positive step when companies take the time to address customer concerns.
It's reassuring that the Hertz representative was professional and transparent about the situation. The fact that senior leadership plans to investigate and improve their policies to prevent such incidents in the future is a good sign. Acknowledging that customers are vital to their business is a step in the right direction.
Do you honestly think any kind of real change will come as a result of this interaction? All of these so called execs deliver nothing but lip service and are tone deaf
It's illegal in California, especially the bit of taking reservations with the knowledge that they're sold out, a deceptive business practice. Please copy and paste your blogs (plus reservation number etc.) and send them to the California Attorney General for an investigation. You can find the information at https://oag.ca.gov/contact/consumer-complaint-against-business-or-company
Your readers tha you for.soing so.
That’s great news. I’m genuinely happy for you. Probably helps to have a well known on-line presence like you do. They’re no dummies…they know the reach. As for the rest of us…Well, I wouldn’t hold my breath either. To them, we’re just numbers in the unwashed masses.
Operating a franchise model is no excuse. Other industries do it and usually maintain some type of standard - look at fast food or hotels for example.
Hotels are on slightly better then rental companies and are getting worse in the states.
I had another rental company try to charge me $150 for picking up 2 hours early. Some entitled Little asst manager tried to get all authoritive with me and when that did not work, he threw a fit and canceled my reservation. Went 4 miles down the street and rented same car $30 cheaper
The rest of us might have received a call and if we're lucky enough to it would be someone whose English is barely passable, will never really understand you but will insist they understand everything perfectly and when you ask them to repeat what you said, it's outrageously wrong. Some don't even know their own products. I had a call with a Delta "regional manager" clearly not in the usa who didn't know domestic delta...
The rest of us might have received a call and if we're lucky enough to it would be someone whose English is barely passable, will never really understand you but will insist they understand everything perfectly and when you ask them to repeat what you said, it's outrageously wrong. Some don't even know their own products. I had a call with a Delta "regional manager" clearly not in the usa who didn't know domestic delta one was better than delta first. And kept insisting I would be getting a better experience with 1st class.
If someone like amex offered a paid service where they deal with customer support for me I would happily pay for it. Every time I deal with customer support I feel like l lost 3 years of my life. AND I have to work with knuckleheads like this daily.
Didn’t they fire all the reps in Oklahoma and replace them with Indian and or Philippines call centers? Good luck when you need help
I’d be terrified to book with them as if you arrive at night you can’t see all the pre existing damage to your rental vehicle that you are responsible for
Hard Pass
Hertz is the worst and should be out out of business. Hertz at SFO should be out of business and it's mangers arrested. Had a Nissan Rogue that wouldn't accelerate above 40 on the 101, and then when returning car had the engine malfunction light appear. At the airport had trouble finding and then encountered indifferent staff, and manager accused me of making up trouble story, insisted car was safe to drive, and said I...
Hertz is the worst and should be out out of business. Hertz at SFO should be out of business and it's mangers arrested. Had a Nissan Rogue that wouldn't accelerate above 40 on the 101, and then when returning car had the engine malfunction light appear. At the airport had trouble finding and then encountered indifferent staff, and manager accused me of making up trouble story, insisted car was safe to drive, and said I should not have returned the car among many things. Then proceeded to charge me for the rental period booked despite placing my life and others in danger. Even sent collection notices, after having discussed all of this with corporate.
A few years ago we were traveling in Italy and rented a Hertz car for a week at the airport. We left the airport and proceed to our journey to first nights stay some distance from the airport. We stopped for lunch and when we got back into the car it would not start. We called Hertz and they immediately sent out a tow truck and driver to try and get the car to start....
A few years ago we were traveling in Italy and rented a Hertz car for a week at the airport. We left the airport and proceed to our journey to first nights stay some distance from the airport. We stopped for lunch and when we got back into the car it would not start. We called Hertz and they immediately sent out a tow truck and driver to try and get the car to start. When it did not start they hitched it up and drove off leaving us stranded in the middle of Italy at a nice McDonalds. We called and they said they had no cars and suggested that we find a hotel to stay in locally and they would try to find us a car the next day. We ended up finding a taxi and spend 300 Euro to get driven for several hours to Lake Como. Once we got there late at night we turned in for the night thinking that Hertz would have a car for us. That never happened and we lucked out with a competive rental company finding a large van returning as we arrived that they could rent to us. Fought with Hertz on the phone for a refund to no good until we returned few weeks later to the airport and must have found a very special person who said that should never have happened and promptly issued us a refund for the car that died and never paid us the 300 Euro we paid to get to Lake Como. We have had similar disasters with Hertz in the States charging us a huge upgrade when our car was not available and we no longer rent anything from Hertz.
Glad that you acknowledge that you only got the call because of who you are.
Praise Avis!
Didn’t Hertz used to be the premium rental agency about 20 years ago? What happened to them?
Well they emerged from bankruptcy not too long ago so.....
OJ Simpson
Have not rented from Hertz since they started the arrest your customer business.
Lucky I think your rant about Hertz did more than anything the Government can do about rental cars
I have almost never had good results with Hertz. Unfortunately, next week I have to book with them because they are the only ones around where I am going.
I suffered a double insult in CUN...first a bait and switch costing me an additional $500 for the week and then, refusing the insurance because my card does that, they said fine, but we'll have to hold $3,000 as a security deposit!!! Are you kidding me? I'm just getting off the plane for my vacation and you want to tie up three thousand dollars on my credit card? Who's got 3 grand extra room on...
I suffered a double insult in CUN...first a bait and switch costing me an additional $500 for the week and then, refusing the insurance because my card does that, they said fine, but we'll have to hold $3,000 as a security deposit!!! Are you kidding me? I'm just getting off the plane for my vacation and you want to tie up three thousand dollars on my credit card? Who's got 3 grand extra room on their cc?
I had to end up taking their insurance so we could actually eat!
Who's got 3 grand extra room on their cc?
Umm... Anyone playing "Points and Miles" probably has five cards with loads of available credit.
I just had the rental from hell with Budget. Contacted them online and got a slight 'here's some money back to make you feel better.' Didn't address the concern of an unsafe (documented w/photos) car. So I googled the CEO contact and sent an email. Within 12 hours, the location manager reached out, calmly went through everything with me, gave me his cell phone to send the photos so he could take them to the...
I just had the rental from hell with Budget. Contacted them online and got a slight 'here's some money back to make you feel better.' Didn't address the concern of an unsafe (documented w/photos) car. So I googled the CEO contact and sent an email. Within 12 hours, the location manager reached out, calmly went through everything with me, gave me his cell phone to send the photos so he could take them to the service department, said the car had been pulled, and refunded the whole trip. Also gave me his personal cell in case I'm in the area again. I appreciate the attention to detail, and hope that the car really was pulled and fixed.
Experience with Avis at Tampa - car prepaid through British Airways. Thoroughly unpleasant agent tried aggressive upselling telling us the car we'd reserved wasn't big enough then insisted we pay for a second driver - we had to produce the BA t&cs to prove a second driver was included with their Avis bookings. After much "discussion" and insistence that the car we reserved was right for us she smiled and said "OK then , I'm...
Experience with Avis at Tampa - car prepaid through British Airways. Thoroughly unpleasant agent tried aggressive upselling telling us the car we'd reserved wasn't big enough then insisted we pay for a second driver - we had to produce the BA t&cs to prove a second driver was included with their Avis bookings. After much "discussion" and insistence that the car we reserved was right for us she smiled and said "OK then , I'm going to give you a ***** - not being familiar with American models we took the keys only to discover that the car was two grades below the one reserved. Was quickly sorted the next morning but an unpleasant experience
Better than traveling to New Orleans from Puerto Rico and being denied your Hertz Rent-A-Car reservation because you "don't have a U.S. Passport", then having the cops called on you and escorted out of the Louis Armstrong airport!
I almost rent exclusively with National and have always been very happy. Not only do I get executive status with my VX card, but I get amazing corporate rates. My most recent experience was over the summer in Scotland. I rented a standard SUV. Well, turns out there were no more automatic cars in that class and the only options were either a MB minibus or a MB S class...without any upcharge. I took the...
I almost rent exclusively with National and have always been very happy. Not only do I get executive status with my VX card, but I get amazing corporate rates. My most recent experience was over the summer in Scotland. I rented a standard SUV. Well, turns out there were no more automatic cars in that class and the only options were either a MB minibus or a MB S class...without any upcharge. I took the S Class and was very happy with the change.
I never plan to go to Hertz even with the status I get through my VX card.
The incentive to overbook would be greatly reduced by switching to pre-paid rentals, much like hotel bookings: if you don't show up, you still pay. The problem I foresee is that quite often flights get delayed or canceled. People would have to get used to the idea of taking that risk just as they do with hotels, and/or getting insurance for it.
On the other hand, the problem is really only this bad when demand...
The incentive to overbook would be greatly reduced by switching to pre-paid rentals, much like hotel bookings: if you don't show up, you still pay. The problem I foresee is that quite often flights get delayed or canceled. People would have to get used to the idea of taking that risk just as they do with hotels, and/or getting insurance for it.
On the other hand, the problem is really only this bad when demand far exceeds supply. When supply is high relative to demand, overbooking usually works fine - no one gets stuck with a car they don't want or no car at all. And no one has to take the risk of making nonrefundable deposits.
While I do believe your platform might have an effect, did Hertz know you had a platform?
I have had this issue with Hertz. I politely explained that if they charge me for an upgrade because they overbooked, they are in breach of contract. I have read the rental agreement, and it specifically states Hertz reserves the right to change the vehicle at their discretion if they do not have your vehicle available. However...
While I do believe your platform might have an effect, did Hertz know you had a platform?
I have had this issue with Hertz. I politely explained that if they charge me for an upgrade because they overbooked, they are in breach of contract. I have read the rental agreement, and it specifically states Hertz reserves the right to change the vehicle at their discretion if they do not have your vehicle available. However it does NOT say they have a right to charge you. A manager usually gets involved at that point, and it is worked out. As you note in your article, it is against corporate policy, and corporate wrote the contract, not the franchise
I have yet to have them attempt to charge me an upgrade fee once it has been politely pointed out what their own contract says. Your mileage may vary depending the state you are renting in.
Are these independent franchisees? That may be part of the problem. Franchisors not following corporate policy to feather their own pocketbook.
A possible typo… i guess you ment government intervention on the rental cars market not government invention
About 8 years ago the Fortune 200 company I was working for decided everyone had to use Hertz. It took less than six months to allow us to use National and Enterprise again because of Hertz's lousy cars and worse customer service.
Similar experience at my company about 10 years ago.
On the flip side overbooking allows us to have free cancellation also.
If car rentals are forced to honor reservations as booked,.they will no longer have free cancellation/ later pickup on same day.
I've always thought it odd that car rental companies don't require pre-payment or reservations (or at least a booking fee). There's really no reason customers can't make unnecessary reservations, which I'm sure contributes to the problem of managing inventory.
Good point - imagine if airline reservations were run like that? It would be chaos.
The rental car industry is bad, but that doesn't mean Hertz isn't especially terrible. There is no reason to pick it except as a last recourse. Doesn't seem like Avis and National are getting their customers arrested or kicked off property.
As you state, the only reason you received any consideration is because you are who you are. Its communication with you is self-serving and not to make it right with a customer. Anyone else would have received no consideration.
As a simple initial regulatory requirement which would help the market to do its work:
- require that all businesses display prominently (as large as the main brand) both on bricks and on-line (before booking, indeed on price-comparison sites) who the operators of the location are.
With brand-owners like McDonald's who police their franchisees firmly, customers can generally ignore the operator.
With car-hire and hotels on day 1 it won't help most...
As a simple initial regulatory requirement which would help the market to do its work:
- require that all businesses display prominently (as large as the main brand) both on bricks and on-line (before booking, indeed on price-comparison sites) who the operators of the location are.
With brand-owners like McDonald's who police their franchisees firmly, customers can generally ignore the operator.
With car-hire and hotels on day 1 it won't help most individual consumers, but give it a few months and bloggers/review sites will provide the required discipline.
Indirect effect will probably be brand-owners policing more firmly, and indeed replacing some franchisees with direct management, which is generally much better for the customer.
This is where training as a journalist might have helped. She didn't answer your final question, yet you allowed her non response to be printed as though she were answering your query.
As with airlines, Hertz's customers are its corporate clients, not the individuals who occasionally or even frequently rent cars. They have access to a different booking engine and the outcome would be very different than what you experienced.
Hertz could not...
This is where training as a journalist might have helped. She didn't answer your final question, yet you allowed her non response to be printed as though she were answering your query.
As with airlines, Hertz's customers are its corporate clients, not the individuals who occasionally or even frequently rent cars. They have access to a different booking engine and the outcome would be very different than what you experienced.
Hertz could not care less about non corporate customers if it tried, and it appears that in your case the station manager made a good effort at showing you how little you matter.
Screw Hertz. Unless they're willing to make commitments and back them up with a guarantee, their apologies aren't worth the pixels it takes to print them.
You lost me with your first paragraph…
Even though your other points are valid, you reduced your credibility by smearing Ben.
Patrick wasn't smearing Ben, they were simply stating a fact - that questions went unanswered and were instead responded to with bullshit platitudes. And those platitudes were then published as if some sort of conclusion was reached that closed the circle on the experience Ben had. Patrick also did so in a non-aggressive, non-confrontational manner. Heck, Patrick even said "might have helped". That's hardly smearing.
Perhaps be more concerned about your awkward parasocial relationships with...
Patrick wasn't smearing Ben, they were simply stating a fact - that questions went unanswered and were instead responded to with bullshit platitudes. And those platitudes were then published as if some sort of conclusion was reached that closed the circle on the experience Ben had. Patrick also did so in a non-aggressive, non-confrontational manner. Heck, Patrick even said "might have helped". That's hardly smearing.
Perhaps be more concerned about your awkward parasocial relationships with travel bloggers than attempting to nitpick (wrongly) the verbiage of other posters...especially when they're not even responding to you.
Even most newspapers don't have well trained journalists anymore. We're reduced to as long as the information is presented without alteration and aggressive opinions and more or less understandable we're already ahead. I look at articles that google, msft curates for me and I'm horrified by the awful writing and Enquirer (what happened to them) style journalism.
I had a good one with Hertz in Albany a few weeks ago...
My WN flight was 2 hours late, which put my arrival time after the midnight closing. I was aware well in advance and called the local number to no avail. Just rang and rang. So I called the national Hertz number. I was advised to check in to my reservation on the app, which would lock in my payment and secure the...
I had a good one with Hertz in Albany a few weeks ago...
My WN flight was 2 hours late, which put my arrival time after the midnight closing. I was aware well in advance and called the local number to no avail. Just rang and rang. So I called the national Hertz number. I was advised to check in to my reservation on the app, which would lock in my payment and secure the car. I did so. I was told that as a Presdient's Circle member the car should be held for me for 48 hours.
Upon arriving at ALB the location was closed as expected so I stayed in a nearby hotel and went back in the morning.
Lo and behold there was no car available for me. I was told by the frontline people that they had to "prioritize the people coming today" which meant that even if there had been a car (which they promised me there was not, again) they would not give it to me anyway. When I told them I'd already checked in and paid for the car they said that did not matter. They then proceeded to say that they were further in the right because I had not put my flight information into the app (even though I had told it to the person over the phone the day before that apparently did not matter.) I told them what the phone rep had told me, which was that as I was a President's Circle statusholder the car should be held for 48 hours. The woman literally responded, "Oh big deal, President's Circle" while rolling her eyes.
If none of it (the effort I made, the phone calls, the President's Cicrle) matters, I'm out. I've got a trip next weekend. Trying Turo for the first time.
So which comp did you take?
"Fool me once, shame on you.. Fool me twice, shame on me." -- Scotty, 1966.
So you've now self-published two tomes because you insisted on doing business with a company that clearly doesn't give a hoot. This one is your discussion about how EVEN THOUGH they called to apologize, you can't trust them, because, well, they're Hertz.
Grow a pair. Stop whining. Rent cars from companies that treat you right.
Hertz is treating Ben very well here, across the whole experience. Clickable blog fodder is high-value for him. A completely unremarkable experience would have offered no revenue opportunity.
"A completely unremarkable experience would have offered no revenue opportunity."
Wow, you're a master of the obvious.
Would you prefer Ben write about washing his dog? Emptying the dishwasher? People are here to read about remarkable things, good or bad. That drives pageviews, and that's how Ben makes a living. Kudos to Ben.
The dog, yes. With pics.
Nothing’s better than a condescending know-it-all who can’t even understand the nature of the forum. If Ben needs to grow a pair, you need to grow a brain. Deal?
2 items @BEN
1: the perks of have a big time travel blog (and congratulations for building it )
2: Why did you pick hurtz again? Knowing just how bad they are
"we couldn’t be in business without customers"
Surprised they know this already, their entire operation looks like someone trying to find out if this is indeed the case
Would you of had a call if they if they weren’t aware who you are after you posted ? Apologise if I missed something on the post.
No, as you would need to contact them. The reason here is she or someone at corporate reads the blog and took it upon themselves to contact Ben, which is excellent.
"How unethical to allow people to reserve a product that you know you don’t have."
For a lesson on repercussions for such a thing, look what happened to Allen Joyce at Qantas when it was revealed that Qantas was taking money for reservations it had literally ZERO intentions of honoring.
https://fortune.com/2023/09/05/qantas-ceo-alan-joyce-flying-high-record-profits-covid-bogus-ticket-scandal-early-retirement/
Thanks for the update.
If this ever happens to you, “she recommended calling Hertz.” Has she ever tried reaching a Hertz rep by phone?! Good luck!
The same odds as reaching a live rep at Xfinity.
The only reason you got any resolution and any care at all from Hertz is because of your blog and wide audience. They couldn't have cared less when somebody else drove a car under my name at DFW because the car wasn't checked in from me, and the gate clearly never checked ID again of the next renter. I had to call the police and file a report to get my money back (and initiate an Amex chargeback).
I agree with your points, but the issue with not having a car available is especially tricky. Most places let you cancel with no penalty and since vehicles sitting on the lot aren't earning revenue, I get why their goal is to just book, book, book knowing some number won't show up. I do wonder what their no-show rate is. To combat that, they could say reservations are nonrefundable after a certain point, but I...
I agree with your points, but the issue with not having a car available is especially tricky. Most places let you cancel with no penalty and since vehicles sitting on the lot aren't earning revenue, I get why their goal is to just book, book, book knowing some number won't show up. I do wonder what their no-show rate is. To combat that, they could say reservations are nonrefundable after a certain point, but I could see customers then just deciding to go somewhere that offers more flexibility in booking in case their plans change, flight is delayed, etc. even if that means sometimes the car they reserved isn't actually there.
And sorry to be that guy, but I think you mean "intervention" not "invention" in terms of a government response.
I live in Santa Rosa. It seems that Every time a family member or friend comes to town and has rented from Hertz has had a problem.
You are lucky for having your blog otherwise you would have never been called.
Exactly. Hertz is the worst. What a sh*t show.
Exactly
The worst part is when you have a prepaid reservation that they will neither honour as booked nor refund, so you are basically forced into a paid upgrade or lose the entire prepayment.
This is one of the many reasons I never pre-pay. By not prepaying, I'm not on the hook, plus can cancel any time before pick up.
I always reconfirm my reservation a day or two prior directly with the location, ideally by email, and I've never had any issues (knock on wood).
In that case, surely just file a chargeback with your card issuer? I appreciate this doesn’t help if you needed a car, but they can’t keep your money if they can’t deliver as promised…
Chargebacks (at least successful ones) are a very US phenomenon. Try doing a chargeback on a card issued from many foreign countries even in the most obvious of cases and you will understand the meaning of frustration
I had a similar experience with the same hertz staff at STS a few weeks ago. They were very rude. The car was only 70% full when I got it and they said they expected it full. They charged me 2 extra hours even though I’m Gold President Circle and there is a 4 hour grace period. I had to proactively call Customer Care to get the refund and they gave me 4000 bonus points....
I had a similar experience with the same hertz staff at STS a few weeks ago. They were very rude. The car was only 70% full when I got it and they said they expected it full. They charged me 2 extra hours even though I’m Gold President Circle and there is a 4 hour grace period. I had to proactively call Customer Care to get the refund and they gave me 4000 bonus points. The staff was friendly and assured me as well that they are looking into it. I hope enough complaints at STS that they make changes there. It’s such a small and convenient airport so it’s a shame that they have bad staff there.
It would have been interesting to see what would have happened if you had tried calling Hertz in the moment.
My guess is nothing useful, which is why I can't blame you for not trying. I wouldn't have either.
As another commentor noted, good luck getting a person on the phone. And if you do after a lengthy hold, the most they can do is call the Hertz location on your behalf and... guess what? They don't answer the phone either. You're screwed either way.
And what about regular customers who don't have a major platform to share their grievances. What would Hertz do then? These franchises need to be more controlled by corporate. Huge fines to make it a financial disincentive. But that won't happen since franchisees will then leave and choose another flag or not at all.
It's sad hotels are more consistent with holding their franchises more accountable.
The bar is in basement level 4.