And that's not all she wrote....
Nov. 25th, 2009 09:19 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
sarea
Happy day-before-U.S.-T-Day!
I am so tired. Up late last night and then had to wake up early, bleh. And why was I up late? Playing WoW. That's right, I've gone back to the dark side. S. is constantly raiding and they were looking for a healer and I still have friends in the guild, so why not? I'm just going to take it far less seriously this time and also accept no positions of responsibility. That's really what ruined it for me last time. Another thing that's kind of fun is that I'm a disc priest now. :D I've never healed with a full disc spec, usually I went holy or holy/disc. It's taking some getting used to, but I actually like it. It's not THAT different from holy, though disc is less useful as a direct raid healer (it's more of a damage mitigator). Very good single target healer though (so good for MT, though possibly not as good as a holy pally, damn their plate-wearing hides). The biggest thing I'll have to get used to is that meters mean exactly squat for me now. So much of my usefulness comes in the form of, as I said, mitigation, so until meters start counting absorption rates I'll always be lowest on the healing meters. I'm fine w/ that as long as the guild realizes that, but it seems unlikely. People are and always will be obsessed with meters. Still, I'm having to think about my gear very differently than I did before. I used to stack spirit like crazy and now I wouldn't spit on it if it were on fire.
When my mom was here visiting she mentioned that she thought my hair was too dry. I was like, really? I mean, it's not brittle or anything, but it certainly isn't all satiny and silky like those models in shampoo commercials. She was like, yes, sometimes what I'll do is put olive oil in my hair, leave it on for 15-20 minutes, then shampoo and rinse like normal. So last night I tried it, thinking my hair was going to be awesome. It wasn't. It was the opposite of awesome. It was greasy and disgusting, even after shampooing. I knew there was something wrong when I was blow drying it and it still looked wet even way after it would normally have been dry... and that's because it WAS dry, it was just greasy! Ugh. Luckily after washing it again this morning my hair's back to normal. Though that could be because I made sure to use Big (by Lush), which is really good about removing oily deposits. I should probably use that less than I do because using it constantly is probably very harsh on my hair, which is probably what made my mom make the remark about my hair being dry in the first place.
My car's still in the shop. With the Thanksgiving break coming up it's probably not going to be done until mid to late next week. Sigh. I really, really miss my car. It's even less now that I miss the luxuries as it is that I miss something that's MINE, that has all my little knick knack stuff in it, that I don't have to think of as temporary, etc. One good piece of news (though, only relatively -- it's not as good as, say, not having been rear ended in the first place)... early on, I insisted that I wanted brand-new OEM parts (as in, genuine Lexus parts. They hit a car that had that, and were not going to get away with replacing with generic parts). Everything was agreed to except the bumper, in which they wanted to use a reconditioned part (but which was a Lexus part) rather than a new one. After the whole nightmare with the rental (oh yeah, I need to share the letter I wrote), I really didn't want to have to fight with Farmers about the stupid bumper, and yet I felt aggrieved. I mean, the accident was their fault, the difference between a new bumper and the reconditioned one was $150, and on a $6,000+ repair you want to quibble about $150?! Screw you. The auto body shop (which has been great) said that what they could do was to order the reconditioned part, try to find something wrong with it, and then say that they couldn't use it because of XYZ reason. Since I was/am sick of dealing with all this crap I said that was fine, because a bumper is a bumper, not an engine. Anyway, apparently the reconditioned part came and there *was* something wrong with it, like the tabs didn't fit my car or something, so the auto body shop ordered a brand-new OEM one for me like I had originally wanted. So HA, stupid insurance company.
I finally had my blood tested again, and while my cholesterol wasn't good, it wasn't as bad as I was expecting, either. Yay for that. I can't remember the specific numbers for each thing, but basically my LDL was a bit elevated, but my HDL was OK so that helped a bit. What's not so good is that apparently my thyroid was up again. This happened last year and when I got retested it was back down to normal... now it's up and I'm going to be tested again in 3 months and if it's still up my doctor's going to refer me to an endocrinologist. :/ Why is my body doing this to me, why. But speaking of my doctor, apparently she was selected by Seattle magazine as one of the 2009 doctors of the year! Coolness. Now I have to give a shout out toromanticalgirl for referring me to her. :D
I've been playing Professor Layton and the Curious Village on my DS. I loves me some puzzles! Some of them drive me inSANE though.
Going to have a very quiet Thanksgiving (as I do every year ... I hate flying so I can't imagine flying home for the holiday when I'm going to be going again in December). It's just going to be me, my cousin, and her 6-month-old baby. She didn't want to travel with him, so her husband/daughters are going to his family gathering w/o them. We're ordering one of those prepared meals from Whole Foods, which was (imho) hideously expensive, but neither of us could face the thought of cooking a big Tday meal just for the two of us.
Finally, I snagged a plane ticket for my December vacation for like, the best price ever. Seriously the best price I've ever paid to travel to SoCal -- $59/one way for a nonstop flight on Alaska. Usually it's more than double that. Of course, I'll have Talis with me so that's not all I'll have to pay. His flight in the cargo hold costs $100/one way, which is seriously highway robbery since it's not like he gets any special treatment and is basically treated like a piece of luggage. Grrrr airlines. Still, it's cheaper than boarding him or shipping him off separately.
Oh -- because I said I'd post this. The letter I wrote to Enterprise/the story of how they wronged me. It's really super long though, so if you're not interested in reading a bunch of ranting/complaining, do not click.
Nov. 20, 2009
To Whom It May Concern:
I am writing to express my dissatisfaction with the extremely poor experience I had with Enterprise in the last week. As this is the second time I’ve had an experience bad enough to actually take my time to put words to paper (though last time I decided not to waste my time), I’ve decided to share my experience in the hopes that you will be able to take this to improve your business. As for me, I doubt I will be renting from Enterprise ever again – or at least not until I hear trustworthy reports that you have improved your business practices.
On Nov. 9 I was rear ended. My car – a Lexus IS250 – was determined to be unsafe to drive. As I’d had several good experiences with Enterprise in the past (last December notwithstanding – will go into detail on that later), and as the other driver’s insurance company, Farmers, worked directly with Enterprise, it seemed the best way to go.
The initial experience was fine. Danny from the [location A] satellite was the one who picked me up and set me up with a car – a 2009 Chevy Cobalt (in blue, which for some reason, seems to be the preferred color for rental cars). Danny was nice, friendly, and professional. I was off with a minimum of fuss. The trouble began a few hours later, when I noticed that the needle on the gas gauge had dipped much faster than I would have expected or hoped. It didn’t take long to realize that the vehicle was extremely gas inefficient. The needle noticeably dipped driving 5 miles. It was ridiculous. On top of that, the car was a base model, with no power doors or windows (which, in this day and age, seems ludicrously chintzy. Those features should be the minimum offered in a vehicle – I don’t consider them “luxury” items whatsoever). The gearshift was sticky with whatever residue had been spilled on it by the last driver and hadn’t been cleaned up well. The driver’s seat cover was coming loose. The windshield wipers were so loud they were like nails on a chalkboard. I’ve had MUCH better cars from Enterprise. This one made me feel that I was driving a Rent-a-Wreck.
I called around to get a replacement. Strangely, every time I mentioned up front that I wanted to trade in a vehicle I was unhappy with, for something with power options, I was told that no cars were available (and yet, cars seem to always be available for any time I book one for). Finally, I smartened up and opened by asking what cars were available, rather than saying that I already had a vehicle that I was unhappy with. Coincidentally, by doing this, a car was found to be available at [Location B].
Unfortunately, the car turned out to be another Chevy Cobalt. Yes, this time with power options, as that was what I had originally been looking for. The trade off, however, was the strong stench of cigarette smoke in this vehicle. Windshield wipers still were extremely loud and screeching. I live in Seattle. It rains 90% of the time. Do the Enterprise rental offices not care that that is one of the car’s features that will be used the most, and should be QUIET? Neither car came with keys that had remote lock/unlock. Being that it was the same make/model of car, it retained its gas guzzling qualities. When I calculated that I was paying more in gas for this hunk of junk than I was my Lexus – which is a high-performance vehicle that uses Premium gasoline – on top of the other undesirable qualities of the car, I decided that I had to get another car, any other car as long as it wasn’t a Chevy Cobalt. I’ve gotten decent cars from Enterprise in the past. But perhaps that’s the key phrase – in the past. Perhaps with the current economic climate, cutting corners and cost-saving measures has reduced what used to be a very decent car rental company into something cheap and bottom of the barrel.
The whole cycle began again. I called around looking for a replacement car, but got the same run around as the first time. I contacted [Location A, B, C, D, E, and F] branches. All of them sang the same tune – no cars available, check back later. Nearly all of them said that they were expecting cars to be turned in later in the afternoon (I was told this the first time around also), but when I asked to be called back when any acceptable car came in, I never received a call. Absolutely no follow through from ANY branch location. I find it difficult to believe in the extreme that not one single car came in at any of those locations later in the day that would have met my request for any car that was not a Chevy Cobalt. I had no doubt that if I didn’t keep calling, I’d never hear from anyone at Enterprise again. Given that my car was going to be stuck in the shop for so long, I could not live with a car I was so unhappy with for that length of time, which I expressed to several Enterprise agents, with little sympathy and no results.
The worst offender in this farce, I have to call out, was the [Location C] branch. When first answering the phone and being asked what cars they had available, I was told that there was a Cobalt and a Honda Fit. I then said that I had a Cobalt that I was extremely unhappy with and wanted to trade it for the Fit. Suddenly I was given the excuse that they preferred to keep the Fit at that location (what, only to renters in the [Location C] area?), that there was a Honda dealership nearby, etc. He was completely unashamed about showing his reluctance to let me drive that vehicle once he found out that I just wanted to trade in my current vehicle and that I would need it for probably a week while my car was being repaired. Completely lame and nonsensical excuses. What I got from that exchange was basically that they operate on a bait and switch. Bait the customer with a good car like the Honda Fit, then when they actually want it – especially if they’re already in an Enterprise vehicle, so it’s not ‘new’ business – switch it out with something less desirable, like the Cobalt. I suppose the Fit is only there for [Location C] residents who need the car for less than a week and can drive it near the Honda dealership? As I said: ridiculous. Really the absolute worst offender of all the branches I talked to – the excuses were bad and frankly didn’t even make sense.
Location C was possibly the worst, but certainly I don’t have anything positive to say about the others with their zero follow through. I felt that basically the general consensus was – “Well, she already has a car with us. Why should we bother giving her a better one?” I was treated as if Enterprise were doing ME a favor by renting me a car, and that I should accept whatever piece of junk I’m handed, because I don’t have any other options.
Well, I do have other options. One option was Hertz, a car rental company that also works directly with Farmers. I also could have gone with any number of other car rental agencies – I just would have had to go through the hassle of getting reimbursement. But after what Enterprise put me through? I would have gone through that ‘hassle’ gladly just to not have to deal with Enterprise anymore. The difference between the Hertz rental I got and the Enterprise rental I was so “fortunate” to get – you know, considering how busy Enterprise is that they never have any cars available when I ask – is like night and day. In the same intermediate category as the Cobalt, they were able to get me into a Corolla S. Superb gas mileage. They didn’t chintz on the features, either. Power doors/locks. Remote locks on the keys. Even an attached navigation system (Garmin like), which I wouldn’t have required in a rental vehicle but was a nice touch. And perhaps most importantly, QUIET WINDSHIELD WIPERS. Given that it’s rainy here and wipers are used all the time, it’s unquestionably an important feature.
I just want to say at this point that I don’t think I’m being overly unreasonable in my desires, both in terms of the type of vehicle I should be able to get nor especially in terms of the customer service I should have received. I realize that no rental car is going to compare to my Lexus. I wasn’t expecting that in the least. If you look at the features I am looking for – power doors/windows, quiet windshield wipers, clean, odorless cars, and decent gas mileage – I would hope you’d agree that those are really base/minimum requirements. They apparently are for Hertz. I am thrilled with the Corolla I got from Hertz and it is NOTHING compared to my Lexus. So this is not a complaint letter coming from someone who went to an Enterprise expecting anything close to a luxury vehicle.
I turned the second Cobalt in to [Location G], which was in walking distance of the Hertz location I went to. I don’t think I ever called this location during my search for a replacement vehicle, and the person who closed out my file was courteous and did ask if there was anything he could do to improve the situation for me. By that point, there absolutely was not. I’d been given the run around far too much, and I was done with the Enterprise and its consistent inability to respond to a customer’s request and expression of dissatisfaction. It shouldn’t have to get to a point where I’m ready to rent from a competitor for Enterprise to finally show some concern and ask if there is anything they can do for me. What you can do for me is respond to my request for assistance the first time I ask for it, without making me jump through hoops to get it.
Earlier, I mentioned that this was the second incident in which I’ve had extreme dissatisfaction with Enterprise. The first time was last December, when I had made a reservation online for a vehicle in [Location H], Calif. No vehicle was available, despite my confirmed reservation. If reservations don’t actually reserve a vehicle, what is their point? I called multiple times and was told each time, just as I was this time, that cars should be turned in and I would be given a call when that happened. You guessed it. No follow through, never got a call. I ended up having to rent from another car rental company. In future I think I’ll just skip the Enterprise middle man and go directly to another rental agency.
As I said in the beginning, I didn’t have a problem with Danny at the [Location A] office who originally responded to my reservation request. He was professional at the beginning and at the end when he called to ask why I had decided to end my reservation with Enterprise and go to Hertz instead. It is the general unwillingness of everyone else I spoke with at various Enterprise locations (both in Washington for this incident, as well as in California for the other, earlier incident) to go out of their way to satisfy a customer they already had on the books, that really bothered me. And because it was so consistent across the board, I can only assume that this sort of mindset and these business practices come from the corporate company. And if that is the case, it is a business I want nothing to do with.
I am so tired. Up late last night and then had to wake up early, bleh. And why was I up late? Playing WoW. That's right, I've gone back to the dark side. S. is constantly raiding and they were looking for a healer and I still have friends in the guild, so why not? I'm just going to take it far less seriously this time and also accept no positions of responsibility. That's really what ruined it for me last time. Another thing that's kind of fun is that I'm a disc priest now. :D I've never healed with a full disc spec, usually I went holy or holy/disc. It's taking some getting used to, but I actually like it. It's not THAT different from holy, though disc is less useful as a direct raid healer (it's more of a damage mitigator). Very good single target healer though (so good for MT, though possibly not as good as a holy pally, damn their plate-wearing hides). The biggest thing I'll have to get used to is that meters mean exactly squat for me now. So much of my usefulness comes in the form of, as I said, mitigation, so until meters start counting absorption rates I'll always be lowest on the healing meters. I'm fine w/ that as long as the guild realizes that, but it seems unlikely. People are and always will be obsessed with meters. Still, I'm having to think about my gear very differently than I did before. I used to stack spirit like crazy and now I wouldn't spit on it if it were on fire.
When my mom was here visiting she mentioned that she thought my hair was too dry. I was like, really? I mean, it's not brittle or anything, but it certainly isn't all satiny and silky like those models in shampoo commercials. She was like, yes, sometimes what I'll do is put olive oil in my hair, leave it on for 15-20 minutes, then shampoo and rinse like normal. So last night I tried it, thinking my hair was going to be awesome. It wasn't. It was the opposite of awesome. It was greasy and disgusting, even after shampooing. I knew there was something wrong when I was blow drying it and it still looked wet even way after it would normally have been dry... and that's because it WAS dry, it was just greasy! Ugh. Luckily after washing it again this morning my hair's back to normal. Though that could be because I made sure to use Big (by Lush), which is really good about removing oily deposits. I should probably use that less than I do because using it constantly is probably very harsh on my hair, which is probably what made my mom make the remark about my hair being dry in the first place.
My car's still in the shop. With the Thanksgiving break coming up it's probably not going to be done until mid to late next week. Sigh. I really, really miss my car. It's even less now that I miss the luxuries as it is that I miss something that's MINE, that has all my little knick knack stuff in it, that I don't have to think of as temporary, etc. One good piece of news (though, only relatively -- it's not as good as, say, not having been rear ended in the first place)... early on, I insisted that I wanted brand-new OEM parts (as in, genuine Lexus parts. They hit a car that had that, and were not going to get away with replacing with generic parts). Everything was agreed to except the bumper, in which they wanted to use a reconditioned part (but which was a Lexus part) rather than a new one. After the whole nightmare with the rental (oh yeah, I need to share the letter I wrote), I really didn't want to have to fight with Farmers about the stupid bumper, and yet I felt aggrieved. I mean, the accident was their fault, the difference between a new bumper and the reconditioned one was $150, and on a $6,000+ repair you want to quibble about $150?! Screw you. The auto body shop (which has been great) said that what they could do was to order the reconditioned part, try to find something wrong with it, and then say that they couldn't use it because of XYZ reason. Since I was/am sick of dealing with all this crap I said that was fine, because a bumper is a bumper, not an engine. Anyway, apparently the reconditioned part came and there *was* something wrong with it, like the tabs didn't fit my car or something, so the auto body shop ordered a brand-new OEM one for me like I had originally wanted. So HA, stupid insurance company.
I finally had my blood tested again, and while my cholesterol wasn't good, it wasn't as bad as I was expecting, either. Yay for that. I can't remember the specific numbers for each thing, but basically my LDL was a bit elevated, but my HDL was OK so that helped a bit. What's not so good is that apparently my thyroid was up again. This happened last year and when I got retested it was back down to normal... now it's up and I'm going to be tested again in 3 months and if it's still up my doctor's going to refer me to an endocrinologist. :/ Why is my body doing this to me, why. But speaking of my doctor, apparently she was selected by Seattle magazine as one of the 2009 doctors of the year! Coolness. Now I have to give a shout out to
romanticalgirl for referring me to her. :DI've been playing Professor Layton and the Curious Village on my DS. I loves me some puzzles! Some of them drive me inSANE though.
Going to have a very quiet Thanksgiving (as I do every year ... I hate flying so I can't imagine flying home for the holiday when I'm going to be going again in December). It's just going to be me, my cousin, and her 6-month-old baby. She didn't want to travel with him, so her husband/daughters are going to his family gathering w/o them. We're ordering one of those prepared meals from Whole Foods, which was (imho) hideously expensive, but neither of us could face the thought of cooking a big Tday meal just for the two of us.
Finally, I snagged a plane ticket for my December vacation for like, the best price ever. Seriously the best price I've ever paid to travel to SoCal -- $59/one way for a nonstop flight on Alaska. Usually it's more than double that. Of course, I'll have Talis with me so that's not all I'll have to pay. His flight in the cargo hold costs $100/one way, which is seriously highway robbery since it's not like he gets any special treatment and is basically treated like a piece of luggage. Grrrr airlines. Still, it's cheaper than boarding him or shipping him off separately.
Oh -- because I said I'd post this. The letter I wrote to Enterprise/the story of how they wronged me. It's really super long though, so if you're not interested in reading a bunch of ranting/complaining, do not click.
Nov. 20, 2009
To Whom It May Concern:
I am writing to express my dissatisfaction with the extremely poor experience I had with Enterprise in the last week. As this is the second time I’ve had an experience bad enough to actually take my time to put words to paper (though last time I decided not to waste my time), I’ve decided to share my experience in the hopes that you will be able to take this to improve your business. As for me, I doubt I will be renting from Enterprise ever again – or at least not until I hear trustworthy reports that you have improved your business practices.
On Nov. 9 I was rear ended. My car – a Lexus IS250 – was determined to be unsafe to drive. As I’d had several good experiences with Enterprise in the past (last December notwithstanding – will go into detail on that later), and as the other driver’s insurance company, Farmers, worked directly with Enterprise, it seemed the best way to go.
The initial experience was fine. Danny from the [location A] satellite was the one who picked me up and set me up with a car – a 2009 Chevy Cobalt (in blue, which for some reason, seems to be the preferred color for rental cars). Danny was nice, friendly, and professional. I was off with a minimum of fuss. The trouble began a few hours later, when I noticed that the needle on the gas gauge had dipped much faster than I would have expected or hoped. It didn’t take long to realize that the vehicle was extremely gas inefficient. The needle noticeably dipped driving 5 miles. It was ridiculous. On top of that, the car was a base model, with no power doors or windows (which, in this day and age, seems ludicrously chintzy. Those features should be the minimum offered in a vehicle – I don’t consider them “luxury” items whatsoever). The gearshift was sticky with whatever residue had been spilled on it by the last driver and hadn’t been cleaned up well. The driver’s seat cover was coming loose. The windshield wipers were so loud they were like nails on a chalkboard. I’ve had MUCH better cars from Enterprise. This one made me feel that I was driving a Rent-a-Wreck.
I called around to get a replacement. Strangely, every time I mentioned up front that I wanted to trade in a vehicle I was unhappy with, for something with power options, I was told that no cars were available (and yet, cars seem to always be available for any time I book one for). Finally, I smartened up and opened by asking what cars were available, rather than saying that I already had a vehicle that I was unhappy with. Coincidentally, by doing this, a car was found to be available at [Location B].
Unfortunately, the car turned out to be another Chevy Cobalt. Yes, this time with power options, as that was what I had originally been looking for. The trade off, however, was the strong stench of cigarette smoke in this vehicle. Windshield wipers still were extremely loud and screeching. I live in Seattle. It rains 90% of the time. Do the Enterprise rental offices not care that that is one of the car’s features that will be used the most, and should be QUIET? Neither car came with keys that had remote lock/unlock. Being that it was the same make/model of car, it retained its gas guzzling qualities. When I calculated that I was paying more in gas for this hunk of junk than I was my Lexus – which is a high-performance vehicle that uses Premium gasoline – on top of the other undesirable qualities of the car, I decided that I had to get another car, any other car as long as it wasn’t a Chevy Cobalt. I’ve gotten decent cars from Enterprise in the past. But perhaps that’s the key phrase – in the past. Perhaps with the current economic climate, cutting corners and cost-saving measures has reduced what used to be a very decent car rental company into something cheap and bottom of the barrel.
The whole cycle began again. I called around looking for a replacement car, but got the same run around as the first time. I contacted [Location A, B, C, D, E, and F] branches. All of them sang the same tune – no cars available, check back later. Nearly all of them said that they were expecting cars to be turned in later in the afternoon (I was told this the first time around also), but when I asked to be called back when any acceptable car came in, I never received a call. Absolutely no follow through from ANY branch location. I find it difficult to believe in the extreme that not one single car came in at any of those locations later in the day that would have met my request for any car that was not a Chevy Cobalt. I had no doubt that if I didn’t keep calling, I’d never hear from anyone at Enterprise again. Given that my car was going to be stuck in the shop for so long, I could not live with a car I was so unhappy with for that length of time, which I expressed to several Enterprise agents, with little sympathy and no results.
The worst offender in this farce, I have to call out, was the [Location C] branch. When first answering the phone and being asked what cars they had available, I was told that there was a Cobalt and a Honda Fit. I then said that I had a Cobalt that I was extremely unhappy with and wanted to trade it for the Fit. Suddenly I was given the excuse that they preferred to keep the Fit at that location (what, only to renters in the [Location C] area?), that there was a Honda dealership nearby, etc. He was completely unashamed about showing his reluctance to let me drive that vehicle once he found out that I just wanted to trade in my current vehicle and that I would need it for probably a week while my car was being repaired. Completely lame and nonsensical excuses. What I got from that exchange was basically that they operate on a bait and switch. Bait the customer with a good car like the Honda Fit, then when they actually want it – especially if they’re already in an Enterprise vehicle, so it’s not ‘new’ business – switch it out with something less desirable, like the Cobalt. I suppose the Fit is only there for [Location C] residents who need the car for less than a week and can drive it near the Honda dealership? As I said: ridiculous. Really the absolute worst offender of all the branches I talked to – the excuses were bad and frankly didn’t even make sense.
Location C was possibly the worst, but certainly I don’t have anything positive to say about the others with their zero follow through. I felt that basically the general consensus was – “Well, she already has a car with us. Why should we bother giving her a better one?” I was treated as if Enterprise were doing ME a favor by renting me a car, and that I should accept whatever piece of junk I’m handed, because I don’t have any other options.
Well, I do have other options. One option was Hertz, a car rental company that also works directly with Farmers. I also could have gone with any number of other car rental agencies – I just would have had to go through the hassle of getting reimbursement. But after what Enterprise put me through? I would have gone through that ‘hassle’ gladly just to not have to deal with Enterprise anymore. The difference between the Hertz rental I got and the Enterprise rental I was so “fortunate” to get – you know, considering how busy Enterprise is that they never have any cars available when I ask – is like night and day. In the same intermediate category as the Cobalt, they were able to get me into a Corolla S. Superb gas mileage. They didn’t chintz on the features, either. Power doors/locks. Remote locks on the keys. Even an attached navigation system (Garmin like), which I wouldn’t have required in a rental vehicle but was a nice touch. And perhaps most importantly, QUIET WINDSHIELD WIPERS. Given that it’s rainy here and wipers are used all the time, it’s unquestionably an important feature.
I just want to say at this point that I don’t think I’m being overly unreasonable in my desires, both in terms of the type of vehicle I should be able to get nor especially in terms of the customer service I should have received. I realize that no rental car is going to compare to my Lexus. I wasn’t expecting that in the least. If you look at the features I am looking for – power doors/windows, quiet windshield wipers, clean, odorless cars, and decent gas mileage – I would hope you’d agree that those are really base/minimum requirements. They apparently are for Hertz. I am thrilled with the Corolla I got from Hertz and it is NOTHING compared to my Lexus. So this is not a complaint letter coming from someone who went to an Enterprise expecting anything close to a luxury vehicle.
I turned the second Cobalt in to [Location G], which was in walking distance of the Hertz location I went to. I don’t think I ever called this location during my search for a replacement vehicle, and the person who closed out my file was courteous and did ask if there was anything he could do to improve the situation for me. By that point, there absolutely was not. I’d been given the run around far too much, and I was done with the Enterprise and its consistent inability to respond to a customer’s request and expression of dissatisfaction. It shouldn’t have to get to a point where I’m ready to rent from a competitor for Enterprise to finally show some concern and ask if there is anything they can do for me. What you can do for me is respond to my request for assistance the first time I ask for it, without making me jump through hoops to get it.
Earlier, I mentioned that this was the second incident in which I’ve had extreme dissatisfaction with Enterprise. The first time was last December, when I had made a reservation online for a vehicle in [Location H], Calif. No vehicle was available, despite my confirmed reservation. If reservations don’t actually reserve a vehicle, what is their point? I called multiple times and was told each time, just as I was this time, that cars should be turned in and I would be given a call when that happened. You guessed it. No follow through, never got a call. I ended up having to rent from another car rental company. In future I think I’ll just skip the Enterprise middle man and go directly to another rental agency.
As I said in the beginning, I didn’t have a problem with Danny at the [Location A] office who originally responded to my reservation request. He was professional at the beginning and at the end when he called to ask why I had decided to end my reservation with Enterprise and go to Hertz instead. It is the general unwillingness of everyone else I spoke with at various Enterprise locations (both in Washington for this incident, as well as in California for the other, earlier incident) to go out of their way to satisfy a customer they already had on the books, that really bothered me. And because it was so consistent across the board, I can only assume that this sort of mindset and these business practices come from the corporate company. And if that is the case, it is a business I want nothing to do with.
