Have I mentioned that I love Hertz?

[yesthattom]

I can’t imagine renting a car from anyone else. Last Summer I tried renting from Budget and I had all sorts of problems that could have been easily solved, but they made it as difficult as possible.

As a Hertz Gold member (free signup on their web site) picking up my car is easy. I arrive at the pickup place there is a big screen that says, “Tom Limoncelli -- 45”. I go to parking space 45 and drive away. Inside is all the paperwork I need, etc. Someone checks my ID as I leave the parking lot. It’s just that simple.

The hertz.com main page is simple, loads quickly, and is free of bull. (like googe.com).

Even when I have problems they are structured to solve them quickly. I just made a reservation on their web site I didn’t see the warning that the car I had selected doesn’t have NeverLost available. I called their toll-free number to say that I wanted a car that had that. She said, “ok” and what the price would be. I agreed and she was done. Done! That was it! No offers to upsell me to other things, no crazy reconfirmation, etc. It was just “done!”

Comments

[gerardp.livejournal.com]

Okay, you've convinced me. The next time I rent for business I'll try Hertz.

Is this like Amway where the next time I rent I have to make sure that Tom Limoncelli referred me?

[yesthattom.livejournal.com]

Sadly I get no referal bonus (maybe they should set that up!)

[sfo2lhr.livejournal.com]

I'm happy to see long-term brand loyalty (and the level of customer serve that inspires it) in a world where it seems to be ana anachronism.

For the record, I have a similar relationship with Avis that goes back at least to 1996, when I did a lot of renting from Avis, all over the world and the country, and they must have put some little gold-star flag on my account, since I seem to get awesome service. (After a couple of particular bad cars in a row, I spoke with a counter rep, and there is now a note in my customer record, "Mr. Berch is not to be assigned a Pontiac Grand Am under any circumstances.") They issued me a free mobile phone in Israel, and seem to upgrade or sidegrade me regularly. (In Europe you don't usually want to be upgraded, since that means a bigger car which is harder to park and burns more fuel, so you can get sidegraded to something better in your class.)

[ckd]

I've also been generally happy with Avis's Preferred service (similar to Hertz Gold; you get there, your car's ready, you drive off). I also get a discount with them via USAA.

Avis.... really?

[mrrules.livejournal.com]

Conversely, I'm not at all happy with Avis. I'm a preferred member, but your "Preferred rate" is often higher than other deals, and they always give you these shitty american cars (like Grand Ams... I'm going to try that "note on file" trick). (America makes great *big* things, but really shitty small-medium cars.)

I tend to try others at the moment to see if they are any better. Dollar wasn't. National was on par. I haven't tried Hertz in a while.

Re: Avis.... really?

[sfo2lhr.livejournal.com]

The "Preferred" rates are not the best rates. For that you need to cultivate an AWD number from some organization, either an employer or an affinity group (like AAA, AARP, IEEE, etc.). Then plug in different ones (in the online researvation system) to see what generates the best deals.

The AWD attached to my account record seems to be a corporate rate left over from a consulting contract a while back, and yields excellent rates, but has blackouts for luxury and speciality cars (you can't get a convertible) which I don't rent anyway.

The car selection is mostly GM, but usually I can get the better models (Buick Regal, Chevy Impala), or a Toyota, or even a Saab (which is GM, but way better than a Pontiac!). I was stuck with the Dreaded Grand Am last year, though, and the agent was falling all over himself with apologies since he'd seen the customer record, and ended up practically giving it away with discounts, free gas, etc. (And it turned out to be a decent car, actually, being nearly brand new. Heh.)

Realistically I don't think there is much of a difference among the major car rental companies. If you cultivate a relationship with them, you tend to be treated well and get freebies and benefits and get your problems solved more quickly. I believe they all have ways of identifying the highest-yield customers and attempting to retain them, just like airlines, hotels, etc.

[knell.livejournal.com]

I got similiarly awesome service from Hertz at DEN a week or so ago, and I'm not even a Gold member. I'd reserved a convertible with Neverlost, which is a pretty unusual combination so they don't have many of those and surprise, they didn't have any available. However, the guy at the desk not only looked very hard to see if they could find one, maybe find one that was coming in that evening or the next morning and give me another car in the meantime, etc, but that wouldn't really have worked as I was going to be 250 miles away by then.

So instead of giving me a Mustang (where the boot goes "clang" when you slam it and the engine is designed for maximum noise output rather than actual torque) they gave me the Solara, which doesn't have Neverlost but which is a much nicer car than a Mustang (the boot has a proper "thud" when slammed, and the engine is very quiet, *and* the whole ensemble makes you look like much less of a redneck than a Mustang does). Oh, and it was black.

I've had a number of good experiences with Hertz like this - and it's always come down to two things. Firstly, train your staff well and try to keep them. Secondly, give them the power to fix minor problems themselves and encourage initiative rather than having to instantly defer to a manager for anything off the script - and if the manager's needed, it should really just be to give a nod or a rubber stamp to what needs to be done. The depressing thing about that is that those two points should really be blindingly obvious to any employer with half a brain, while in reality it's too often a pleasant surprise when things like that happen.