Don't Rent from Enterprise rent -a-car

• enigmaax

  Scarlet_Buckeye;954999 wrote:Looking to purchase?
  
  I had/have zero problem with National. What I have a problem with is I've rented from them NUMEROUS times before... gave them several thousand dollars worth of business over the years... and now they are doing to "assess" me a $15 "admin fee"?! Really?! In my book, "customer care" means you provide service to your customers. Idk what "service" they provided me that was so great.

  I was mostly kidding with my responses, but in all seriousness, why did you choose National to begin with? Less money? Better perks?
  
  I ask, because I highly doubt any other rental company would have handled the situation differently (i.e., cut you a break on the Admin Fee). If National was "better" in the first place, and they handled the situation the way any other company would, aren't you kind of screwing yourself by going elsewhere?
• LJ

  

  Scarlet_Buckeye;955032 wrote:Well...
  
  Update 2.0
  
  
  [and I am fully aware that I am probably going to receive a bashing on here for this... but....]
  
  
  Since this entire situation was boiling my blood to no end, I decided... what the heck... I will give National another call and see if I can get a different customer care representative and just see if perhaps they would be more inclined to help me than the last representative. So I gave them a call.... a wonderful woman by the name of "Mary" answered the phone... and she assured me that they are not allowed to do this, but for some reason she said she could sympathize with me and, as a result, she would go ahead and cancel out the $15. admin fee.
  
  
  So...
  
  I have successfully reduced this whole debacle from roughly $80 down to approx. $35. Am I happy about the $35? No. Do I feel this is more "respectable." Certainly. Again... I was not looking to get out of the toll ($5.something) at all, so I was willing to pay that. And since I did break a law, I was fine with paying some "administrative costs" or "extra penalty". I was hoping for $20 (so $25 total). I'll take ~$35 and go on with my life.
  
  Boy do I feel better now. Thanks for listening to my rant.
  
  
  Oh... and National won me back now as a customer (thanks to Mary) because they did the right thing and took care of the situation.
  
  [now I'll sit back and listen to all the bashing happily ]

  Well, now poor Mary is going to lose her job because of you. She will have to go on welfare to support her family. Thus you will now hate her.
• enigmaax

  Scarlet_Buckeye;955032 wrote:So I gave them a call.... a wonderful woman by the name of "Mary" answered the phone... and she assured me that they are not allowed to do this, but for some reason she said she could sympathize with me and, as a result, she would go ahead and cancel out the $15. admin fee.

  She' probably a newb who is gonna get fired when QA gets ahold of your call.
  
  Did you ask for a supervisor the first time you spoke with National? Usually that whole, "I spend thousands of dollars" line serves me well once you get past the first couple waves of phone jockeys.
• Scarlet_Buckeye

  

  enigmaax;955037 wrote:why did you choose National to begin with? Less money? Better perks?
  

  National is my company's vendor of choice (i.e., we have a corporate contract with them -- i.e., low price).
• Con_Alma

  Glad you're satisfied.
• Scarlet_Buckeye

  

  LJ;955038 wrote:Well, now poor Mary is going to lose her job because of you. She will have to go on welfare to support her family. Thus you will now hate her.

  Mary will not lose her job. #BookIt
• Scarlet_Buckeye

  

  Con_Alma;955054 wrote:Glad you're satisfied.

  Thank you.
• LJ

  

  Scarlet_Buckeye;955055 wrote:Mary will not lose her job. #BookIt

  You don;t know that. Maybe she has been waiving fees too often and this was the last straw.
• Little Danny

  

  Gblock;954551 wrote:why do you buy the insurance? doesnt your own insurance cover the car?

  Your liability coverage would cover damage to others if it is your fault. If you do not have collision (think car wreck) or comprehensive coverage (vandalism, hitting a deer, theft, etc.) the rental car will not be covered in the event you are at fault for an accident or the car gets vandalized, stolen, etc.
  
  The rental companies will want you to purchase their coverage if you do not have collision and comp on your policy. I would recommend if you do have collision and comp, you do not buy their insurance. The only savings would be they would pay your deductible for the collision loss regardles of fault.
• enigmaax

  Scarlet_Buckeye;955052 wrote:National is my company's vendor of choice (i.e., we have a corporate contract with them -- i.e., low price).

  Is your company aware of your driving indiscretions? This could be cause for disciplinary action, up to and including termination.
• Scarlet_Buckeye

  

  enigmaax;955129 wrote:Is your company aware of your driving indiscretions? This could be cause for disciplinary action, up to and including termination.

  Are you TRYING to be a prick? I'm sure you've been issued a speeding ticket before and did your company terminate you because of it? No. I wasn't driving drunk.
• enigmaax

  Scarlet_Buckeye;955333 wrote:I'm sure you've been issued a speeding ticket before and did your company terminate you because of it? No. I wasn't driving drunk.

  I've never toll jumped. That just seems worse in the grand scheme of things.
• 1_beast

  

  Scarlet_Buckeye;955333 wrote:Are you TRYING to be a prick? I'm sure you've been issued a speeding ticket before and did your company terminate you because of it? No. I wasn't driving drunk.

  
  I see where Enigmax suggested driving indiscretions, however, I do not see mention of driving drunk. Is there some sort of guilty conscience here?
  
  Curious in Ohio
• enigmaax

  1_beast;955385 wrote:I see where Enigmax suggested driving indiscretions, however, I do not see mention of driving drunk. Is there some sort of guilty conscience here?
  
  Curious in Ohio

  Ah, the plot thickens. It is a known fact that toll jumping is a gateway driving offense.
• sleeper

  

  I don't pay tolls.
  
  Hope this helps.
• DeyDurkie5

  

  you should start a thread holding the state laws accountable ya douchebag.
  
  Also, I can't believe I agreed with con alma in this thread.
• Sykotyk

  

  enigmaax;955039 wrote:She' probably a newb who is gonna get fired when QA gets ahold of your call.
  
  Did you ask for a supervisor the first time you spoke with National? Usually that whole, "I spend thousands of dollars" line serves me well once you get past the first couple waves of phone jockeys.

  I worked customer service for three years. More than likely, the first rep you get has no authority to do anything. She probably talked to the supervisor after realizing you've already called in once about this and figured it'd be good to talk to a supervisor and just give you what you want. In call centers, they keep track of 'cost per call', and it's usually a lot higher than you think. By the time you call in a third time, they've lost more money than the $15 admin fee they're charging you.
  
  Besides that, a company as big as National that has as many rentals with as many red light/speed camera/toll violations probably has some sort of clearinghouse that handles every single violation and it's probably a lot more efficient (or almost fully automated) than a stand-alone BMW dealership.
  
  As for someone mentioning 'school zone during normal hours' or something similar. There's some places where there are no flashing lights and no stated times on the sign. It will simply say something along the lines of "During Normal School Hours" or "When Children Present". Well, the first one can be rather easy to guesstimate (7am-4pm), but the second one is damn near impossible. You're driving and suddenly a kid shows up on the sidewalk from between some hedges, the speed limit was 45 but now thanks to them it's 25. What're you to do, lock up your brakes to instantly get below 25 or decelerate at a sane and safe rate? However, doing the sane thing is technically illegal. Because if there's a cruiser sitting on the other edge of the hedge, you're toast.
  
  All because a lot of municipalities found ambiguity in signage is an easy revenue generator for their little backwater community. We're mobile piggy banks to them. And the out-of-towners are more apt to 'mail in a check' than a local who might actually go before a judge to dispute it.
  
  Read up on the Manual For Uniform Traffic Control Devices (MUTCD) that's updated once-a-year and every municipality that posts any roadway signage or control device must be in compliance. This includes 'sign overload' and conspicuity standards (i.e., height of sign off roadway, how far off the road can it be, size of the sign vs. posted speed limit in ability to see and recognize sign, etc).
  
  Especially when you really do have to fight the cast of Hee Haw on a ticket for why hiding a speed limit sign is illegal.
• Go4alOngbOmB

  

  I have also found that Hertz can service me for a car better than Enterprise when my wife or I am in a bind.
  
  We had a similar experience, she drives a Dodge Neon (that got totaled, by a raccoon....no really, 65MPH and a 20 pound Coon can eff up a Neon) , they wanted to give her a Chevy Bulldozer. So I literally had to drive her to work, brink that truck back home, change it out.....and drive back to her work and bring her home. So she could drive the compact car the rest of the week.
  
  PITA....I mean they got the job done, but completely wasted my day off.
• LJ

  

  Sykotyk;955746 wrote: Besides that, a company as big as National that has as many rentals with as many red light/speed camera/toll violations probably has some sort of clearinghouse that handles every single violation and it's probably a lot more efficient (or almost fully automated) than a stand-alone BMW dealership.
  

  When I say BMW, I mean BMW Financial Services... aka handle every company courtesy car, every consumer and business lease and every BMW financed loan in the U.S.
• martyirish

  

  wow
  I never expected this thread to take off like this.
  who would have thought my bad experience would create this.
• enigmaax

  martyirish;955977 wrote:wow
  I never expected this thread to take off like this.
  who would have thought my bad experience would create this.

  Yeah, it was all fun and games 'til someone jumped a toll.
• Sykotyk

  

  LJ;955781 wrote:When I say BMW, I mean BMW Financial Services... aka handle every company courtesy car, every consumer and business lease and every BMW financed loan in the U.S.

  Alright, even then. On an average day, how many cars does BMW loan or let test drive where a non-traffic stop ticket get issued compared to a car rental company whose whole business is letting as many of their cars on the road every day where a lot of them are strictly for long travel and/or by people who aren't regular drivers to possibly fail to comply with such signage as what FasTrak, K-Tag, PikePass, SunPass, EZPass, I-Pass, I-Zoom, etc are and their rules. Especially since a lot of states (CO, UT, CA, etc) have HOT lanes where are high-occupancy/toll lanes. Either 2+ or pay a toll. So, when you see one that's labeled FasTrack and setup just like an HOV/HOT lane not realizing HOV doesn't qualify as it is 'express toll lanes' only.
  
  Besides, the argument about 'you must know the law whether it's signed or not' pales. MUTCD rule is that toll road advance warning signage must be in purple and any guide sign descriptor must now be in black/yellow (i.e., advisory signage, like a curve speed, pedestrian crossing, etc) unless the road is commonly noted as a turnpike or toll road on other signage.
  
  Same reason a town can't fail to post a speed limit sign and simply assume everyone must 'know the law' that it's 35 through town even without signs. MUTCD rules state a speed limit change must be signed and any change of 10 or more MPH must have an advance warning sign (either advising the future speed or simply stating "Reduced Speed Ahead" a safe distance in advance where a driver can see the sign and still safely slow down to match the future speed from the time they cross the threshold of the Reduced Speed Ahead sign until they reach the Speed Limit sign. It also must be posted at an acceptable size to be read at the rate of speed the current zone is, high enough off the road to be conspicuous, close enough to the road to not be mistaken as being outside the right-of-way, etc.
  
  These rules are in place because towns tried to do that speed trap crap for years and the federal government decided that due to interstate travel all traffic rules/signs must be coherent and posted properly and each state must comply and force all jurisdictions to follow the rules.
  
  The reason why all stop signs are red octagons, stop lights are red/yellow/green, regulatory signs are white with black letters, advisory signs are yellow with black letters, informational signs are blue with white letters, park, sport, activity signs are brown with white letters, etc.
  
  One of the biggest gripes with the MUTCD is the rule that all street blades (i.e., the little signs on stop signs signifying the cross-street) must be retroreflective and in a proper font. This will cost a lot of money but the savings in people finding streets in the dark with currently non-reflective signs can cause rear-end collisions, traffic slowing, etc will make up for it. But, it's on hold for now.
  
  Sykotyk
• Sonofanump

  Little Danny;955124 wrote:Your liability coverage would cover damage to others if it is your fault. If you do not have collision (think car wreck) or comprehensive coverage (vandalism, hitting a deer, theft, etc.) the rental car will not be covered in the event you are at fault for an accident or the car gets vandalized, stolen, etc.
  
  The rental companies will want you to purchase their coverage if you do not have collision and comp on your policy. I would recommend if you do have collision and comp, you do not buy their insurance. The only savings would be they would pay your deductible for the collision loss regardles of fault.

  Some auto insurance carrier treat the damage to the rental as property damage, therefore no deductible to you.
• LJ

  

  Sykotyk;956393 wrote:Alright, even then. On an average day, how many cars does BMW loan or let test drive where a non-traffic stop ticket get issued compared to a car rental company whose whole business is letting as many of their cars on the road every day where a lot of them are strictly for long travel and/or by people who aren't regular drivers to possibly fail to comply with such signage as what FasTrak, K-Tag, PikePass, SunPass, EZPass, I-Pass, I-Zoom, etc are and their rules.

  Thousands upon thousands. Seeing as how as the lien holder, they get notified of all non moving violations and leased cars as well as moving violations with their loaner cars. There are over 100 people that process tickets 8 hours a day at BMW's Dublin operations center.
• Scarlet_Buckeye

  

  enigmaax;955345 wrote:I've never toll jumped. That just seems worse in the grand scheme of things.

  You're kidding, right?