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Enterprise receives highest rank for rental car companies. What are the others?
According to J.D. Power and Associates, the company that conducts a survey on customer satisfaction with rental cars, Enterprise-Rent-a-Car came out ahead. Good for Enterprise. This is the fifth consecutive win for this company. They are the only company to receive a 5 out of 5.
Other top rankers-with 4 out of 5, are Hertz and Alamo. Maybe Alamo listened to customer complaints because that company improved its service since 2007.
What makes great car rental service? Car companies were ranked according to "cost and fees, pickup process, rented car, return process, reservation process, and shuttle van/bus" according to this summary at MotorTrend. Cost and fees were what most people were after.
One in ten people report a problem at the rental desk which is a problem in today's economy when less business people are traveling. Keeping customers satisfied is one way to increase their likelihood of returning.
The companies that ranked 2 out of 5 from bad to worse are:
-
Thrifty
- Dollar
- Payless
- Advantage Rent A Car
- Fox Rent A Car
The photo is of Enterprise's hybrid fleet, perhaps another item that makes customers satisfied.
Filed under: Business, Transportation, Budget Travel, News, Travel Deals
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Joe Nov 24th 2008 8:11AM
I rented a car from Enterprise about two weeks ago and the service was really good. But I think they work more with insurance companies than tourists. Everytime they picked up the phone it was to drop off or pick up their car from a body shop. And they knew the locations by heart.
As an expat, be aware of the price. I had to pay an additional $35/day for insurance which I didn't know about beforehand. While the price was still lowering than their competitors it wasn't as sweet as I thought it would be. After I returned the car, my mom told me she could have added me to her auto insurance for the weekend. It would have raised her premium about $5-15 for that month.
Pete Nov 24th 2008 9:35PM
Joe,
They usually do have a low daily rental price, but they get you with the insurance. There are SEVERAL DIFFERENT SPECIFIC insurances you must buy if you want to be fully protected. Even if you were on your mom's insurance or had your own insurance, they still would have charged you for any loss. That's what they do. Unless your insurance company provides complete full coverage for you, you will still be left holding the bag. They will settle with the other driver and then pass the cost on to you, even if it's the other driver's fault!!!
There are better rental companies out there. Avis usually picks me up or drops me off as long as their runner is available at the time that I need him.
Jamie Rhein Nov 24th 2008 8:14AM
Joe,
Thanks for the details. I'm particularly interested in your comment about your mother being able to add you to her insurance. Would this have been for the time you were in the U.S. visiting? Does your mom have the type of insurance where she is listed as the only driver?
Joe Nov 25th 2008 1:57PM
I'm not really sure what type of insurance she has. But a lot of people that came into the kiosk had the type of insurance that did not extend to rentals (it would be printed on the card). She only told me it was possible to add another driver temporarily. I believe the insurance my family has extends to everyone living in the house. I know this because my name comes up at renewal time and their house is listed as the last address on my license. So they have to manually decline coverage for me, every year.
Zach Nov 24th 2008 8:41PM
We've had great luck with Hertz.
michael Nov 24th 2008 8:49PM
I have had both bad and good experience with Enterprise Car Rental. I have to say they were much better than today 3 years ago. I just rented a car 2 weeks ago and got the run around from 3 different locations. They say they have your car then when you get there they like to try and talk you into something more expensive. Then when you say no >>you have to wait for a while >>while they try and dig you up a car and go get it bring it back and clean it up. this could take up to an hour or more ..then I have been given dirty cars with no ww fluid either so you figure it out >>>
jaemom47 Nov 24th 2008 9:17PM
I agree 100%! I have rented with enterprise on at least 10 occasions with a reservation and they have never had a car waiting for me. I have had to wait on someone to go to another location and get a car for me. And they try to force you to get their insurance even if you have full coverage. I have switched to Avis and am very satisfied.
RIchard Nov 24th 2008 9:41PM
I had the same experience when I refused to upgrade they had me wait around an hour and then came out with a clunker which had 40,000 miles on the odometer, but was in the category I rented. Same thing happened to my wife which is why I think they get their cars from Rent-A-Wreck.
Joe Nov 25th 2008 2:14PM
That happened to me. I came in at the appointed time. Had to wait while they cleaned the car. I guess someone just brought it back right before I arrived. I was lucky, some poor woman who arrived after me must have waited a long time. Besides SUVs the only car left was a PT cruiser and it was out getting a brake job. Only in this economy would someone turn down an SUV and wait for a compact. They were the ridiculously huge (to me, at least) SUVs too.
Charles Nov 24th 2008 9:04PM
If you have to come in off the street to rent a car - like a sudden unexpected car repair and you didn't have time to make a reservation, you will get ROYALLY SHAFTED by enterprise. They wanted $ 50 per day for a KIA and they called it a "midsize" - I walked out. With reservations however their rates are very good and their pickup service makes them a good choice.
Belmont Mom Nov 24th 2008 9:05PM
I have rented cars/mini vans almost every weekend for 10 years and until 2 years ago always rented from the same Enterprise location. The company started transferrering employees so rapidly that I hardly ever saw the same people from weekend to weekend. I no longer got the personal treatment that I was accustomed to. Everyone seemed harried, the cars were not clean or ready on time.
I switched to a locally owned Avis company and receive the most reliable and friendly service I have ever had.
They are great!!!
Hawkeye4 Nov 24th 2008 9:16PM
I have rented from Enterprise for the past several years. When they don't have the car class you reserved they will upgrade you to a higher class but hold out for it at no additional charge. Best service at airpots this year was from National and Avis..Both based on cheaper rates then Enterprise.
Pete Nov 24th 2008 9:36PM
I can't agree more with you Hawkeye4. I rented from Avis for 2 years straight and they were great. For the past year, I have been renting from Avis and National. Still great service, great cars.
I would never rent another car from Enterprise.
Pete Nov 24th 2008 9:35PM
Yeah, watch out if you rent from Enterprise. If you don't buy ALL of their insurance (READ THE FINE PRINT BEFORE YOU SIGN AND DRIVE AWAY) and you have an accident, they will settle right away, pay for the other person's car (even if the other driver is at fault) THEN CHARGE YOU FOR WHATEVER THEY DECIDED TO PAY!!! You will wish you paid they extra money.
Choose Enterprise, they'll pick you up...AND TAKE YOU FOR A RIDE!
Ginger Crews Nov 24th 2008 10:07PM
I will never rent from Hertz again. Early spring my family flew to St. Augustine on a friend's plane and I asked the pilot to call and reserve a Chevrolet Tahoe. I gave my credit card to one of my adult children and the card was swiped but the ticket was not signed. No one explained any details about the rental and we returned the car in perfect condition 10 days later. I received the Citi Card bill and Hertz had charged me $2600. for 10 days. I called Hertz in St. Augustine and asked the cost to rent a Chevrolet for 10 days and the reply was $1007. + tax. When I complained about the $2600. bill Hertz was extremely rude and finally offered $250. off the bill. I refused and called my credit card company, Citi Card and after Citi Card sent me the invoice showing I, nor did anyone sign any ticket. Citi Card informed me I was being charged the $2600. I am canceling my Citi Card.
Julie Nov 24th 2008 10:18PM
If you are in the Southeast, try Triangle Rent A Car. Great, friendly service, a huge selection of cars and suvs to choose from. Triangle is in Virginia, North and South Carolina and Georgia. They always have unlimited miles, too!
I would never go to Enterprise, they skin you every way they can.
Jean Nov 24th 2008 10:23PM
I just rented a car from Enterprise. I had reserved on line, designated the time of pick up. When I arrived, I was told the car was being brought from another location and would arrive shortly within 10-15 minutes. In the mean time, I was asked to fill out a form which seemed to me like an application for employment. It even asked for my landlords name and number!...Twenty minutes passed and I was told they still had to wash the car and was going to take longer than expected and they were giving me a car that had just been returned instead! It will be just a few more minutes...one hour later, the car was brought out to the front. Terrible service. Will not use Enterprise again.
Lynda Todd Nov 24th 2008 10:28PM
I had the privilege of renting from Enterprise several times in Leesburg, Florida which was not an impressive experience. I was having repairs on my car so I rented from Enterprise because the Car Dealer I was having the repairs done, were paying for the rental. Well I will tell you, when it is my dime I will never rent a car from Enterprise. I rented a Ford Focus from Enterprise in Leesburg, Florida, after I rented the car, I stopped at a local grocery store and couldn't get the key out of the ignition. When I called the rental car agency, they acted like I was some kind of idiot and they told me to bring the car in and they would exchange the car, which they did. I told them when I turned in the car, they really needed to get the car fixed. Months later I had some work done
on my car and again the dealership rented the car as it was covered under my warranty. Again I was sent to Enterprise in Leesburg, Florida and (can you believe it) I got the same Ford Focus I had rented before. I drove it to work and again I couldn't get the key out of the ignition. When I called Enterprise, in Leesburg, Florida. They got really rude and said that they hadn't had a problem with the car before. When I returned the car, an agent and older man (who I think was the car repairman) came out and immediately jumped into the car like they were waiting to pounce on me to prove me wrong, it was hilarious. I watched the agent work on the car, he tried like everything to get that key out of the car, the mechanic guy got into the car and he struggled with the car also! Needless to say neither one of these guys could get the key out. When I got inside, you could feel the cold chilly reception I got because they had been proven wrong. Actually the male agent who had tried to prove me wrong upgraded my car. However, after the attitudes I received just to get a rental car. I was not impressed with this location. I will never go back there again. This is the all time worst experiene I have had renting a car, which has been many. Never have I been treated so rudely!
Charles Nov 25th 2008 10:12AM
I rented from AVIS four weeks in the row in October. Had a "special" that stated of I paid with my American Card I would receive $25.00 American Express rebate cards for each rental, app 4 weeks after completed rental. Guess what? NOTHING.