I arrived on Thursday night, around 11 pm. There were two clerks on duty
and 3 (or 4) kiosks for computer based reservation assisted by an agent
at long distance. Only 1 of the kiosks was working. My reservation was
through Hotwire and it was for a Standard car. The agent provided me
with a Chevy Malibu. The Chevy website calls a Malibu a mid-size sedan.
As I understand these designations, a Corolla is a compact, a Camry is a
standard and an Avalon is a full size. So where does Hertz place a
Malibu on this ladder? Apparently it is a full size. Which is obviously a
joke. In their parlance, a 2 door Nissan Altima is a standard size.
What the heck?
So, I picked up the car, exited the parking lot and within a couple of miles became aware that there was something wrong either with the rear wheel alignment or the wheel itself was deformed. A distinct bump-roll-bump motion was evident. I took it back in. The counter was closing, but I managed to find the manager on duty. He drove the car around the parking lot, pronounced it fine and told me to take it or be downgraded to a 2-door Altima. Now I needed the space, so I took it. Big mistake.
I drove 4 hours out of Philly, feeling that bump-roll-bump get steadily worse. Thankfully (and I can't believe I am saying this) construction crews had shut off one lane of significant sections of I476/I81 and reduced the speed to a manageable 55 mph. So while this extended my travel time, it probably prevented the wheel from falling off.
Since I was driving to a small rural town in Central Pennsylvania and would have no spare time once there, I didn't change the car or call Hertz.
I returned the car to Hertz on Wednesday midday. The manager on duty was Rich. I expressed my unhappiness to him - he gave me a couple of coupons for later use and found a driver to get me to the terminal pronto. So, I do appreciate the service from Rich - he seemed like a nice and professional person. But I have to say that the manager on duty the previous Thursday should have been more accommodating.
The problem I had was a safety issue and to not attend to such matters promptly makes for a horrible customer experience. If I do have to rent from Hertz again and such a thing happens, I am going to stand my ground and insist on a suitable change of car.
So, I picked up the car, exited the parking lot and within a couple of miles became aware that there was something wrong either with the rear wheel alignment or the wheel itself was deformed. A distinct bump-roll-bump motion was evident. I took it back in. The counter was closing, but I managed to find the manager on duty. He drove the car around the parking lot, pronounced it fine and told me to take it or be downgraded to a 2-door Altima. Now I needed the space, so I took it. Big mistake.
I drove 4 hours out of Philly, feeling that bump-roll-bump get steadily worse. Thankfully (and I can't believe I am saying this) construction crews had shut off one lane of significant sections of I476/I81 and reduced the speed to a manageable 55 mph. So while this extended my travel time, it probably prevented the wheel from falling off.
Since I was driving to a small rural town in Central Pennsylvania and would have no spare time once there, I didn't change the car or call Hertz.
I returned the car to Hertz on Wednesday midday. The manager on duty was Rich. I expressed my unhappiness to him - he gave me a couple of coupons for later use and found a driver to get me to the terminal pronto. So, I do appreciate the service from Rich - he seemed like a nice and professional person. But I have to say that the manager on duty the previous Thursday should have been more accommodating.
The problem I had was a safety issue and to not attend to such matters promptly makes for a horrible customer experience. If I do have to rent from Hertz again and such a thing happens, I am going to stand my ground and insist on a suitable change of car.
No comments:
Post a Comment