Tag Archives: car rental

Good Bye Hertz or How to lose a Customer

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Bye Bye HertzGood Bye Hertz

Do you want to know how to lose a customer in less than an hour? Hertz lost me and as I stood at the counter waiting my turn I watched and listened as another customer was left stranded. It did not give me a good feeling. I should have listened to my gut. By now I’d been up and awake for 12 hours. I’d just done a marathon through the Miami Airport and was rapidly melting from the exertion. And now I was standing in line while the Hertz rep turned away the customer in front of me.

So Why Hertz This Time?

Hertz has never been my favorite car rental agency. I usually only use them as a last resort. They always seem to be overpriced. You can get a better deal with another rental agency and I have. I use Enterprise regularly and I’ve used Thrifty and Dollar. I used Payless once. Bad experience and won’t use them again. Hertz has worked deals with my Timeshare so they encourage us owners to use them. It still didn’t save me any money. So why did I reserve a car with them this time? I booked the car when I reserved my flight and Hertz was the only option on the Delta website.

It’s My Turn

The customer service rep motioned me forward and I dragged my wilting , dripping body to the counter. I handed over my reservation form, license and credit card. My experience was totally different from the poor guy ahead of me. My rep was super nice and got me through the verification process in minutes. She passed me my contract and a map and directed me to the 3rd level. Once on level 3 I was told to pick any car in Zone 2. Sounds good. I breathed a sign of relief, boarded the elevator and headed to level 3.

So what went wrong?Bye Bye Hertz

On level 3  I was looking at all those lovely cars in Zone 1 and Zone 3 but Zone 2 only had 2 cars. Big choice. One was a humongous combination of SUV and minivan, certainly not a compact. I didn’t even recognize the make. The other car was a little red number. Cute but written in soap across the windshield was ” no inspection sticker”.  So no cars and no attendant to help. Its all self serve. By now I was very much afraid I was going to have to drag my luggage back to the counter again when I spotted a Hertz employee.

No Speak English

Turns out that the friendly and willing employee had one problem with me. He did not speak English and I did not speak Spanish. What we had here was a failure to communicate. Finally another customer stopped and acted as translator. After much back and forth I was told to wait there. The other customer left, the employee left and I was left to stew. I was just about to give up when Mr. employee returned with a Nissan Sentra.

Bye Bye Hertz

Getting on the road I needed was easier than escaping the Hertz section of the parking garage. Once on the road I breathed a sign of relief. Only 70 miles to my destination. Note to self: Put Hertz on the bottom of the list of  rental car agencies. This rental is costing me close to $900 for a week. That seems a little excessive to me. A nice RAV 4 or Chevy Equinox would be more in line. I’ve rented both from other agencies for less than $500.00 with less aggravation. And that’s how Hertz lost me as a customer in less than 1 hour.

 

MAUI FAQ

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I don’t mean to be going on and on about Maui but it was the last trip I took and I will be going back again in February so it’s on my mind.

In fact it is so much on my mind that it is distracting me from some other things that I should be focusing on.

Like the sleigh ride photos, wolves, a winter harbor cruise. I’ll update you on all that stuff once my mind is back here on the mainland.
Besides, I have all these neat pictures to share.

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 So today I thought I’s make a FAQ list and see if I can share some of the basic of Maui with you.

 What is the time difference from the continental US?

Hawaii has its own time zone, Hawaii Standard time. This is 5 hours behind EST and 2 hours behind Pacific Standard time. Hawaii does not observe Daylight Savings Time so add one extra hour to the time difference between March and November. (Quick tip…if you use your phone  in place of a watch it should automatically update. If it doesn’t turn it off and back on and that should get it to Island Time.)

slowing-time-clock

Where is the main airport on Maui?

The main airport is Kahului Airport (OGG). There are smaller commuter airports in Kapalua (West Maui and Hana (East Maui). It’s about a 45 minute drive from Kahului Airport to Lahaina.

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Do I need a car to get around on Maui?

Maui dose have public transportation, shuttles, tour buses and taxis but I found that to have the most freedom to explore a car really came  in handy.  There are car rentals at both the Kahului and Kapalua airports.

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Do I need my passport to get to Maui?

Hawaii is the 50th state so no, you don’t need a passport as long as you are traveling from the US. If you are coming from another country then you will need one. With all the security restrictions these days, I use my passport anyway for my ID. Something to think about.

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When can I see whales?

Whale watching season begins in December and runs to May. The whales begin arriving in late October and November but things don’t really get “hopping” until December when the ocean starts to get a large number of humpbacks.

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Well I think that sums up the most frequently asked questions for now. If I think of more, I’ll let you know. Feel free to jump in with your own questions. If I can’t answer  them now I’ll be sure to get answers when I visit Maui in February.

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Knoxville

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I think I may have jumped ahead in my trip narrative so I’m going to back up just a tad. I have to mention the Knoxville Airport.

It is beautiful. As you leave the secured area and enter the main concourse there is a water feature with rocks and flowers. The glass windows allow the sunlight to create a natural looking oasis.

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I did something I rarely do in airports. I stopped to take a picture.

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I’m not sure if it was just a coincidence or if they are really that efficient but by the time I made it to the  baggage claim my luggage was already circling on the carousel. I heard other passengers making surprised comments as well. I was off to the car rentals in record time.

I’m using Enterprise this trip. And it was at the Enterprise counter that I realized the first thing I had forgotten to pack… my GPS. Yes I can get one from Enterprise but at the cost of $11.00/ day. Normally I’d say skip it but the directions to the resort seem kind of involved and I don’t have a partner in adventure this trip so I would have to keep stopping to read them myself. I bit the bullet and added the GPS. (It was a good choice if a tad expensive)

garmin-gps

The other unusual decision I made was to add the extra insurance. This essentially doubled the cost of my rental and again deviates from what I usually do. I had coverage on my own insurance and also coverage on my credit card but one thing neither of these insurances cover is the “loss of value” that the rental companies are now pursuing. It’s no longer good enough to cover the cost of the repairs if you have an accident. Now you have to worry that the accident will lower the resale value of the vehicle. (Show me the car fax)

car fax

 

Usually I take my chances that I won’t have any accident so won’t have to be concerned about resale value but for some reason I can’t explain I just wasn’t comfortable with that risk today so I took their insurance. Go ahead, call me stupid but at least I have peace of mind.

GPS set, luggage stowed, seat adjusted and it was time to hit the road. Gatlinburg here I come!

Adventure 2 of 2012

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We’re off to quite a start for this brand new year. First there was that little jaunt up to North Conway for the “Steam in the Snow” train ride and photo shoot. That was an awesome time. Just goes to show an adventure doesn’t have to be far away or for a full week. Sometimes just a day long get-away can make lots of memories.

But this time I am a lot farther away than New Hampshire. I am sitting here in my Timeshare in Sunny Orlando, Florida. It’s a cute little one bedroom this time and I am very anxious to try out that bed. I was up at 5:30 in the  morning to catch an 8:15 flight. The only thing was that I thought the flight was at 8:30. No matter, I planned to be at the parking lot between 7:15 and 7:30 so even though I had the time wrong I should have been at the airport within plenty of time for a domestic flight. I was all checked in online and had my seat assignment. All I had to do was drop off my bags and clear security.

I didn’t count on hitting rush hour traffic in Providence but I did so I arrived at the parking lot at 7:30 on the button. The sign said bring keys to attendant. So I tried the door but it was locked. I walked around to the other side of the building and that time the door opened. A nice man was sitting at the counter and I gave him my credit card and paperwork. Unfortunately his computer wouldn’t boot up. Then once he finally got going by using a lap top, he had problems with his credit card machine. 20 minutes later he finally told me to put my luggage in the van.

I have to confess that I am not used to that. I normally pull in and am greeted by an employee who takes my luggage while I go in and pay. In and out in 5 minutes, onto the shuttle and we’re off. Not this place. I put my own luggage in the van and waited. Another man came in to pay and pick up the shuttle so that delayed us further. Finally with both of us in the van the fellow who processed my paperwork locked up shop and hopped in to drive us to the airport. Looks like a one man operation. Not very efficient.

I don’t wear a watch but I’d guess I arrived at the airport at about 8:00 am. Still time for an 8:30 flight but that’s when I realized that it was an 8:15 flight…when the kiosk flashed the message..you’re too late!

The counter attendant said I could make the flight but that my luggage wouldn’t so without any further discussion she changed all of my arrangements booking me on a later flight.

This flight went through Philadelphia with a 2 hour layover in Washington DC. In Philly I just waited on the plane but in Washington DC it was not only a 2 hour layover but also a change of planes. It gave me time for a nice lunch.

Back in the air the flight to Orlando was pretty uneventful. I was stuck in the middle seat with 2 strangers. Not my favorite arrangement but they were nice. The plane was full. The last passenger on was a large man. He easily made me look thin. He had an aisle seat but the man in the center seat started mouthing off loudly. He made a comment that “I’m stuck sitting next to the biggest man on the plane”. You could have heard a pin drop. Everyone on the plane turned to look and send dirty looks toward the mouthy guy. One of the flight attendants went to that row immediately. I didn’t hear anything but Mr. Mouth shut up after that. I felt so bad for the big guy. My seatmates could have made a comment about me. I’m no frail , little thing, and I would have been devastated. There is no call for that kind of rudeness.

Once on the ground in Orlando I headed to baggage claim. It would have been ironic if after all that my luggage got lost but it didn’t. It was one of the first off the plane. So in no time I was on my way to the rental cars.

I’m renting from Enterprise this time. No more Payless for me after the fiasco in Phoenix. This went off without a hitch. There was no line. The car was ready. The amount due at pick up was the rental + 20%, exactly what I was told when I booked it. Smooth sailing!

I have a little 2011  Kia Rio with about 25,000 miles on it. It proved to be quite “peppy” as I pulled into traffic on RT 4.

Check in at the condo also went smoothly so I think my vacation is back on track.

So to sum up my first day on vacation , a “travel day” , I have to say the parking lot company needs to step up its arrival game a bit. No names yet, I have to get my car back first.

The airline I flew was US Air and I was impressed. They were pleasant and professional. They didn’t charge me to change my flight. The new travel arrangements got me into Orlando by 5:30 instead of 2:30 but with no stress or rush to make connections.

Enterprise rental car. They were absolutely wonderful. They held my car reservation for me, were pleasant and professional and actually charged me what they said they would. No surprises! They walked me through the inspection and answered my questions and even gave me a map and directions to my timeshare. (I’d been to the same one before  but it was in 2010). All in all a very positive experience.

Scout’s Tips~ Car rentals

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Scout

 

Hi Scout Here…

 As we know, Dusty ran into some issues with Payless Car rental when she went on her trip to Arizona. With that in mind we decided to do a little research to find out how widespread the practice is of charging your credit card for the full rental and then adding an additional security deposit charge.

 It seems that some variation of this theme is implemented by every car rental agency we researched and you really have to search.  We used one site that  compared the offers from various rental companies. When you clicked on your choice it calculated the amount you needed to have at the rental counter. It did not include any security fees or holds. I then went directly to the individual car rental web sites such as Payless, Enterprise, Avis, Hertz. There are many more but by this time I was finding a trend. None of the sites come right out and tell you there will be a “hold” or security deposit. If you search you can get lucky and find it.

 In the web site for Payless, Dusty’s Nemesis this  past trip, you can find the information by typing “deposit” into the search box. What you will find is that their charges are ” Total Lease + deposit”. Deposit varies by location.

 Enterprise Car rental was a little more upfront but you still had to search. They charge the rental + 20% when the renter uses a credit card to pay. If you use cash or debit card then the security is an additional $100- $300 again depending on location or , in some cases, the type of car.

A year ago when Dusty went to Florida she rented from Enterprise. They charged her card a security deposit of $150.oo when she made the reservation. Then when she picked up the car they removed that charge or maybe changed it to the total rental. It’s possible they made an error but we verified on her charge slips that there was never a charge and a hold at the same time.

Even the premier car rental service of Hertz has a similar policy. Dusty has never rented from Hertz because they are just too expensive.  To find out exactly how much you will be charged to rent a car, you need to actually call the car rental agency and ask. Be sure to get the name or ID of the representative you speak to and make a note of it on your rental documents.

 In our review of all the fine print we found a number of ways car rental companies hope to put their hands in your pockets.  They range from refueling charges to insurance to sur charges on frequent flyer credits. Of course they all charge about $10.00/ day for a 2nd driver.

 We found a really good article about Car rentals at www.netTrav.com/travelplace.  

When you pull up the home page you’ll see the tool bar. Hover your mouse cursor over the car tab and you will see a drop down. Select Tips and Advice and you will see a lot of eye-opening information.

 I don’t know if this was just  a new policy or if it’s more noticeable because Dusty tries not to use credit cards now and keeps really low limits. I know a lot of her friends have also stopped using credit cards so something like this “hidden” charge can really throw a monkey wrench in your travel plans.

Another thing to be aware of is the return policy. Return the car late and they will get you for another day’s rental. But did you know that if you return it early they may also charge you for the early return? There’s no financial benefit to returning it early.

When Dusty returned her car at Payless they told her she was early and would get a credit. Of course no credit was ever processed and they point to the fact that they didn’t charge her for an early return. What a racket!

 So bottom line…Traveler/ car renter beware.  Call your car rental agency and confirm how much you will need at the counter and what form of payment they accept, unless of course you aren’t on a tight budget and don’t mind having and extra $250- $300 tied up while you’re on vacation. Do your due diligence!

 Oh yes, one more thing….Happy Traveling! 🙂