Enterprise Rent-A-Car

I recently rented a vehicle from Enterprise in Las Cruces, NM, on May 18, 2012. I was heading to Phoenix, Arizona for my daughter's graduation.

I was given a VW Tiguon to drive, a little less than 200 miles down the road the vehicle broke down, I limped off of the highway because I thought it was too dangerous to stay on the shoulder, because of the construction happening in that area. It was about 100 degrees and I had no power whatsoever, so I could not run the air conditioner in order to keep cool. With me were my young daughter and an adult friend. The tow truck took about an hour or so, but in the meantime I had to call my daughter (the one who was graduating) to come pick us up. She had plenty to do (as did I) prior to her party that Friday night (May 18, 2012). Without hesitation she came for us making it a round trip for her about 75 miles.

In our haste to get our personal items out of the car (because by this time the tow truck driver had arrived) we left behind our phone car charger, and also left the vehicle 3/4's full. My daughter took us to the Enterprise rental facility in Sierra Vista, AZ and we were given a Hyundai Santa
Fe. I expressed to the service representative I did not trust these cars; he insisted this was the only available car in our class.

We made it to Phoenix however on Sunday when we got into the car for my daughter's graduation the check engine light came on. I had my companion read the information from the book and the descriptors on this and it said the vehicle should not be driven or it would ruin the engine (I am paraphrasing). Not wanting to be responsible for ruining the vehicle’s engine I called the 1-800 roadside assistance number and they told me they would get a replacement vehicle from Sky Harbor Airport. I thought this would work out perfectly since we were only about 10 minutes from the airport. I was told it would be at the hotel in 90 minutes. After 90 minutes I received an automated phone call asking if service had been completed, I pressed the appropriate option to indicate it had not been completed. I spoke with a representative who called the tow company (Allstate) who in turn I assume told her they were ten minutes from delivering the replacement vehicle to me. After the ten minutes passed I received another automated call, again I went through with selecting the appropriate option. I received no less than four of these phone calls over the next four hours. I finally asked to speak with a manager. Prior to speaking with the supervisor one employee hung up on me, this precipitated my decision to elevate this matter. I spoke with Leslie who told me the reason it was taking so long was because when they were originally towing the vehicle it got a flat and they had to return back to the airport. I was born at night, but not last night. Taking matters into my own hands, I called Enterprise at Sky Harbor Airport and they told me the tow truck had left more than an hour before my phone call (three hours after my initial call). I asked the representative who answered the phone if the vehicle had gotten a flat and he said, “no”. Again, the Hyundai that was returned was equipped with ¾’s of a tank of gas, having just filled it up in Tucson, AZ.

With all phone calls to the roadside assistance facility I was kept on hold for exorbitant amounts of time, so much so that I drained one battery on a cell phone and was halfway through the battery on a second cell phone.

I missed valuable time in preparation for my daughter’s graduation, I missed the first half of her graduation and in seeing her receive her diploma because of the promises I was receiving from the representative at Enterprise. I ended up having to call a taxi in order to get to the graduation ceremonies. These types of events cannot be replaced, or done over. I was told sorry over and over again over a four to five hour period that after a while they were just empty words to me, because of the lack of inaction and incompetence.

On my return to Las Cruces, NM when I returned the vehicle I asked to speak with the manager of the facility. A gentleman approached me and introduced himself to me, I began to tell him (with passion, since I was still upset) of the problems I encountered and he looked at me and smirked and said, “did I do this to you?” I had to explain to this young man it all originated here when I rented the first car that broke down. I further explained since he works for Enterprise he owns the problem. He abruptly left the room with no explanation, after waiting five minutes I asked another employee where he went, they said he went outside to speak with the manager. I said, “the manager?” I thought I was speaking with the manager? They told me he is the assistant manager. I am not sure how you train people, but when I make myself perfectly clear about wanting to speak with a manager, I don’t expect to get an assistant manager (unless of course the manager is out of the office, which in this case he was not) who was clearly not equipped to make a decision since he had to confer with the manager. Again, this was a big waste of more of my time, since when I finally tracked down the manager myself I had to repeat my story again. After speaking with the manager he told me maybe we should have called their local office to intervene in getting the third replacement vehicle more expeditiously. I had to explain to this “manager”, the second vehicle with mechanical problems occurred on a Sunday (May 20, 2012), their office is closed. I also had to explain to him that nowhere on my rental paperwork does it say to call the local office when/if I experienced mechanical problems, it clearly tells the customer to call the 1-800 roadside assistance number. The onus was being placed on me the customer, I was outraged yet again. It does not seem as though anyone wants to take responsibility for two vehicles breaking down and the total inconvenience on me, the customer.

On Tuesday, May 22, 2012, I received a call from a Leila (Area Manager - [protected]), I apologize I could not understand her last name when she left me a message on my phone. I returned her call and we spoke about these issues. It was decided that she would compensate me with a free rental at whatever point I wished to use it, if at all. Here we are on Thursday, May 24, 2012 and I have received no further communication from her.

Customer service is a dying art; I have lived long enough to witness this. Making promises that one cannot keep is a business destroyer. This would be a clear example of either Enterprise overworking their employees that they cannot complete a task as promised or poor training on the part of your company.

In this economy a company cannot risk destroying a customer's faith in their organization. This is a clear case of poor communication, follow through and taking responsibility for one's actions. I can take my business elsewhere, you and I both know this, I am just perplexed as to why you would want to lose a customer. I have given this issue more time and effort in the follow up and in trying to get this issue resolved, more so than Enterprise. I should not have to work this hard for your company, unless of course you are going to put me on your staff, then I would be more than happy to do your job for you. These problems seem to run rampant across the board, from service representatives, to upper management.

I was issued a rental car because I was hit from behind. They gave me a mini van and said that they would trade out for a smaller car. I called them on Wednesday October 24th and they said sure come on down we have a car for you. After work I traveled 20 miles to pick up the car. When I got there no one was there. We are in the middle of a gas shortage here in the southeast. They told me when I called them that they would not have anything for me until the next day. I was already upset bedcause no one was there and they should have called me. AFTER AL WE ARE IN THE MIDDLE OF A GAS SHORTGAGE HERE. Needless to say I was low on gas at this time! I returned the van that Friday without any gas because there was none to get. Now they have charged my CC $60.00 for gas when they know I could not find any. This is unexpectable and I will never do business with these people again and further more they will never get a CC # from me again. This needs to be taken care of. I do not have the money for them to charge my card. Now all of the checks I have out to pay bills will bounce because they took $60.00 that they never should have taken. I am on a fixed income and this is very upsetting becasue I do not have the money to cover my bills and the bounced checks. THANKS TO ENTERPRISE! They should be reported to othe betterbusiness bureau!

Theresa Langlois