Failing Enterprise Fan Mail #26-50

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(new letters get added at the top)

It's easy to send us fan mail:  just send an e-mail to comments2 ((at)) failingenterprise ((dot)) com.

#50

Dear Failing Enterprise,

This is such a great site. I was told about this site by another ex-ERAC branch manager, who I just hired. I worked in San Diego for nearly 3 years, the final year as a branch manager. Your reasons for not renting from ERAC are dead on and very funny. That brought memories of ducking and dodging your inquiries with a preprogrammed response. We also lied to our accounts too, so you regular customers were not in such an exclusive club.

Most of us employees were too hung over, strung out on drugs or busy trying to hook up behind our significant other's backs not to really care what any customer had to say. It didn't matter if we rented your reserved car because we got more money out of you. You weren't getting a customer service call to complain about the hour everyone ignored you in the lobby when you waited for your rental anyways, we'd change your phone number on the contract so you couldn't affect my customer service score, which is one of the components to promotion along with rate-gauging skills and most importantly the ability to drink beers with your superiors.

I've been out of ERAC for 3 years now, working as a sales manager for the same company who hired me from ERAC. On my team, I have four ex-ERACers, including two former branch managers and one ex area manager. We all shared the same bad experiences. I haven't worked half as hard as I did with ERAC. No weekends or evenings for me now. Oh and I earn more annual income than our Regional VP. I have a life and money now that I am not an ERAC'er.

Thanks for the trip down memory lane and for the many laughs. Sorry about lying to you and ripping you off.

IH8ERAC

Dear Failing Enterprise,

Superb website, and yes as a Former ERAC employee it was great to read up and remember those days with fondness!!! Well maybe fondness of a warped kind!

Having been an employee in a 150+ car rental branch in the UK for 14 months and then later a remarketer for the company for further 2 yrs, I managed to escape!! Screwing customers is indeed a daily occurrence and the company will never cease to amaze me how they can continually Brain-wash employees and customers alike into thinking that:

1) There is no life AFTER ERAC - I can tell you there certainly is. Especially now I actually have a life! 2) There is nothing wrong with a 70+ hour working week - Cleverly getting you to sign disclaimer on your 1st day before you know what you're letting yourself in for! 3) There is nothing wrong with working 6 day weeks and not getting paid any overtime as they work on an average over the course of several months. - Believe me the Basic wage they offer is by no means ANY compensation for the work you do! 4) Promises of Commission once you get to Asst Manager level is unlimited - well only if you can actually make it to a Profit making branch. Even if you can find one you will have to move house countless times as you cant refuse ANY form of promotion otherwise you wont get a 2nd one, EVER! 5) Covering the Out of Hours service is a good idea!! - Well if you want to be on call 24hrs dealing with poor "Breakdown" customers who never have any hope of getting a car (the branch wont give up any cars they may need for the 8am deals the next day so there's no point asking!) 6) Washing cars - well as Graduates (they used to only employee graduates, now they take on whatever they can get!) you really want to be outside in all Temperatures cleaning cars in your suit!?!? 7) Striving to maintain occupancy of the fleet at 90% so that no customer will ever get the car/van/pickup they require as there are only ever a limited number available at any time.

That's enough from me I think, there must be plenty more people out there who want to have their say!!!!

Congratulations to anyone who escaped, and apologies to any customers that I or any of my former colleagues treated so badly - we were just doing as we were told!!

W

Dear Failing Enterprise,

What a wonderful website! I worked for those weasels for 2-1/2 years in San Antonio. The job prospects in that town are mainly geared to the tourism industry you know -low paying hotel, restaurant, Sea World and rental cars. If you were lucky then, you got a job at one of the 5 military bases.

Our city Manager at the time was either chasing the "party girls" in the Admin Office or out playing golf with "the golden boys". He eventually married some office girl named Rachel. Every evening he would look at the waiver count then visit the offending office with the lowest CDW the next morning. After getting bitched out a few times too many, our BM decided to start "slamming" the customers. At the direction of our BM we would just tell the customers to sign here, here and initial there. Usually they were in such a rush it just didn't matter. One girl in our branch got close to 90% a few times (more on her later). She actually won city-wide accolades for this at our city meetings. Our branch was "rewarded" with pizza at the end of the month.

The first branch I worked at covered a vast area south of San Antonio. We had a pickup and tow dolly assigned to our branch so we could take a vehicle to BFE have you heard of Pearsall, Texas?. I was always the one selected to drive to BFE, or to any other customer that had car rental problems in our area-usually the customers ran out of gas cause we never put any in the cars. The other two guys in the office did not know how to back up with a trailer. And you could just forget about miss waiver babe: "a truck is so eewwww dirty" While I was out of the office, miss waiver babe was pre-selling CDW and write her employee # on the reservation with CDW and not put her emp# on the ones with no CDW. When I would return, I would get stuck with the non-waiver reservations. As a result of this, my CDW was usually near the bottom of the city stats.

I was transferred to another office and magically, my CDW shot up to a "respectable" 28%. Our BM at that office was called the "ghost manager". She was always on "sales calls" or in the back of the office writing sales reports (sleeping). An assistant city manager busted her at a shopping mall when she was supposed to be on sales calls and was terminated promptly. After a city-wide reshuffling, I was transferred to our Airport Office.

Welcome to Hell. My first day in mid June San Antonio was like watching a train wreck in slow motion. You want to run away, but you can't change the situation happening all around you. Picture this: The phones are ringing off the hooks. It's 95 sweaty degrees outside, no cars in sight and eight very angry customers who have been waiting for over 90 minutes. When a car is finally dropped off, it's a very tired Grand Am that limps into the lot and you fight the other MTs for the keys. The car is washed and vacuumed in about 10 feverish minutes and presented as a "near-luxury" auto. The customer then asks for the office manager but he is told the manager is "at a meeting" . Everyone knows that he is with the golden boys playing golf with the city manager. The customer very firmly but politely says to take him to his hotel and deliver his car "when ever it comes in" . I brought a Grand Marquis to the guy around 9 that night. I never got overtime for this or any other car delivered way after office hours. This was more the rule than the exception day in and day out. I don't know how many suits I ruined from tire shine, car wash and engine oil ( I was the only one in any of my offices to regularly check the oil)

Six months later, an assistant managership was opened for the airport office and I jumped at the chance. It was the largest office in the city and it was closest in location to the admin office. I figured two years of hard work would now pay off, it would be a quick trip to corporate. Wrong Wrong and Wrong. There were four very competent applicants all with over a year experience and miss waiver babe from before. She got the job after working for the big E for just 6 months. She stayed at the airport game for about 3 months and was magically "promoted" to as an Assistant Human resources rep at the Admin Office. She never once had to change a tire or jump-start a car off the lot. It really made it hard for me to remain motivated when I was the one that trained her.

A few months after that, my wife was transferred to Alaska for the Air Force. I am so glad that ERAC is behind me. I got hired by National Bank of Alaska, got into mortgages and then into mortgage brokering. I work 40 hrs a week, holidays off and NO WEEKENDS. Every time I pass an Enterprise office in the lower 48, I just kinda smile because what goes around comes around. I just wonder when the class action lawsuit is gonna hit-NOT IF BUT WHEN. The employment practices of ERAC towards their MTs is just appalling. I will be more than happy to testify.

Mike Kennedy, former Rent-a-Weasel

Dear Failing Enterprise,

I am another victim of the unethical business practices of Enterprise Rental Car Co.  I reserved a car at the Columbus, Ohio airport.  When I got to the counter, the agent said there were no cars available and could not give any estimate for how long it would be.  She tried to upgrade me to a higher-price car.  There were four other people who had reservations at Enterprise, who were treated the same way.  This is outrageous behavior for a rental car company.

I applaud your website. No one should use Enterprise.

Sincerely,

R. E.

New York

Dear Failing Enterprise,

Congratulations on the site.  I love it!  I left Enterprise in November after almost three years and have a life again.  You're site is right on the money about how shady and cult-like the company is.

B.W.

Dear Failing Enterprise,

I really enjoy your website.  I guess I am far from the first person to have problems with this company.  I was going to write the Corporate Headquarters to complain about my experience, but after reading some of the e-mails, why bother.

I have been living in Puerto Rico for the past 13 years, but retired and moved to NC to be with my children.  I live near Raleigh and started thinking about going on an Amtrak trip so I arranged a round trip fare from Raleigh to West Palm Beach with Enterprise as my rental car company for the week I spent in the WPB area.  Upon arriving in WPB, I called Enterprise to pick me up from the Amtrak Station.  The Rental Company was less than 3 miles away and the manager said someone would pick me up within 10 minutes. I waited and waited and waited with cars coming and going for more than 30 minutes.  After another 10 minutes, I called back and asked the Enterprise manager where my ride was.  He said he had sent someone to get me in an F-150 pickup but came back when he didn't see anyone at the station.  I asked him if there was an Enterprise sign on the Pick-up.  He said "No".  DUH!

I then realized that this pickup was parked almost next to me previously but the driver of the truck never announced that he was from Enterprise and I thought he was waiting for another passenger.  I did see him drive off with a woman passenger and never thought anything about him being from Enterprise.

Well, to make a long story short, this same driver in the F-150 Pickup came back, with no Enterprise sign again, and I got in the truck for the ride back to Enterprise.  I told the driver that I was right next to his truck previously, but he didn't announce that he was from Enterprise and I saw a woman get in the truck with him and then drive off.  He informed me that he got out of the truck and went into the Station House looking for the person who called Enterprise, but he spotted a girl he knew from High School who needed a ride to her house, so since he didn't see ME, he gave this girl a ride to her house before coming back to Enterprise.

When we got to Enterprise I told the Manager about my experience, he feigned apologetic, and then gave me the keys to the car.  When he came out to check to make sure of any dents or damage before I drove off, I noticed that the gas tank was on Empty.  He said that his EMPLOYEE did not fill the gas tank, but I could return the car on empty without filling it up.  Of course, within two blocks of leaving the Rental Car place, the warning light went on for low gas, so being in a new town and getting darker by the minute, I had to sweat driving around until I found a gas station to fill up what should have been done for me.

What a First experience with Enterprise for me.  And to end it all, when I returned the car and asked for a ride back to the Amtrak Station, the Manager told an obvious female trainee to drive me back in the same car I just took my luggage out of, and she got lost back to the Train Station.

In addition, the inside of the Car Rental area was dirty looking, the carpet unswept, and just looked in a disorderly fashion.  Not what you expect from a supposed Top Rental Car Company, and nothing like the commercial.

All in all, a first and only experience with Enterprise.  Thank you for letting me get this off my chest and for giving every and anyone a chance to voice their displeasure with Enterprise.  I am sure the Corporate Office could care less as long as they make THEIR salary.  Next time Hertz, Avis, or anyone who knows about Customer Service.  I may pay more but I know that I am getting satisfaction and respect.

Thanks,

D.D.

Dear Failing Enterprise,

Thank you for making me laugh!!!  This website is one of the greatest things since sliced bread.  As en ex-enterprise employee, you website brought back so many memories that were buried.  It's like when you have a traumatic life experience and you block it out (only now it has surfaced again).. There goes 12 months of my life I will never get back.

I do have to say life Post-Enterprise is quite nice.  Everything you have on your website is so true.  Screwing people over on a daily basis should be the Enterprise motto.  I learned a lot from the company about what not to do to people, and will never again bleed green!!!

To anyone who is thinking about working for Enterprise; if you like working 12+ hour days, washing cars in < 2 minutes in 100F weather, and being yelled at by customers daily.  Not being able to sleep every night for fear that you don't have enough cars returning for the next days reservations, fabulous.  Giving customers who reserve a smoke-free car a car that has just returned from a weekend trip with a bunch of pot head, priceless.  Then, this job is totally for you.  Maybe it is right for some, but definitely not for me.

I hope you keep this site going. It is a daily laugh for me, kudos.

AP

Dear Failing Enterprise,

This is a great website that you have developed.  With all the problems at Enterprise, I am surprised that there are not more sites such as this one.  Hopefully, the powers that be will take action and fix the problems that are displayed on your site.

But as well all know, making money is the bottom line and as long as they are, nothing will change.

Angelo M.

Dear Failing Enterprise,

I spent sixteen months as a management trainee at a 300+ car branch office. Words cannot describe what I would give to have those sixteen months back.

Like many others, I was fresh out of college and didn't know what I wanted to do. Through my interview process, Enterprise promised me to be a fun place to work, service oriented environment, and potential for unlimited opportunity. In the end, I learned that it is really a horrible place to work where great service by employees is ignored and opportunity only exists because everybody quits!

Everyone knows the misery of driving into work on Monday morning. But unless you worked for ERAC, you will never know how bad it really can be. First, you get up an extra half hour early to drive your personal car to the airport so you can pick up a car for your branch that dropped. Next, you arrive to the branch fifteen minutes before it opens. What do you know, there's five customers already waiting for you outside. But instead of helping them, you walk right by them without saying a word. You lock the door behind you, leave the customers outside in the cold until the branch opens, and you enter your dim lit, depressing office. As you log on to your "green screen," you listen to your branch manager chew everyone out on how the branch dropped in income over the weekend. She announces that there will be a mandatory hour long meeting after work today. By now, it's seven o'clock. It's time for you to unlock the door for the pissed off customers and unforward the phones that will never stop ringing until you forward them again twelve hours later.

Most nights, I would go to bed right when I got home. I usually wouldn't even eat dinner, I'd be so tired from the day. On the rare occasions that I did see my girlfriend, she would tell me about how great her day of teaching was and I would tell her how crappy my day was. I mean seriously, when can any of us say we had a great day at ERAC? Is going 14 for 22 on damage waiver really what you would call a great day? You got to be kidding me!!!

I knew the end was getting near and I had to get out. At every branch this becomes not only the most common conversation, but the ONLY conversation. The problem is, ERAC has brainwashed everyone and they don't give anyone time to look for another job. I came to the conclusion that I just had to leave with nothing else lined up.

Luckily enough, I got a job the same day I quit ERAC. A luxury hotel that we delivered cars to offered me a position as a valet that very day. Today, I am still working there and working on my master's degree. It is the best job I have ever had. Our hotel genuinely cares about its employees and its customers. When I used to deliver cars for ERAC to the hotel, I felt that my job was more important than the valets there. I was wrong. On the other side it is so much sweeter. Almost every week, I see a new management trainee deliver a car to the hotel. I laugh as I look at them standing there in their shirt and tie holding their clipboard. I laugh because I make more money in 35 hours than they make in 55.

A couple months after I left ERAC, my girlfriend broke up with me. Even though I had gotten out of ERAC and was happier, I had brought her down too far with me. The depression that I suffered during those sixteen months had taken it's toll on our relationship. Until the day I die, I will always blame ERAC for me losing the girl I was going to marry. As a result, I will give the finger to every single Enterprise office I drive by the rest of my life.

ERAC may have gotten the best of me. But now it is my turn. I try to share my story with as many as I can. Whenever I hear anyone who knows anyone who is considering working for Enterprise, I get involved. Twice I have called friends of co-workers I don't even know to stop them. In fact, I talked one girl out of going to her third and final interview.

I love your website, and have introduced it to so many across the country. The word is spreading, and there are so many of us out there. It's great to read others' stories and I look forward to reading many many more.

Sincerely, Ex ERAC Sun Devil

Dear Failing Enterprise,

First, let me begin this by saying thank you.  I am a former employee of Enterprise Rent-A-Car and I cannot agree with you any more.  Enterprise Rent-A-Car is an extremely large 7.4 billion dollar privately held company.  With the capacity to manipulate and brainwash recent college grads, they are able to make them see the light, so to speak.  Well, the light that never exists.  Dressed in fine suites and shoes, washing by hand dirty cars, and vacuuming on your knees, is not a respected job as a college graduate.  With this said let me introduce myself to you.

My, name is Ryan.  I was recently let go form Enterprise Rent-A-Car after 3 years and 3 months of hard back braking service.  Why was I let go?  I was let go due to a stipulation that Enterprise reserves the right to terminate employment after three on lot or off lot damages.  Unfortunately I was a victim of this process.  Forced to move cars through small car lots, large trucks through compact car washes, and being pressured to be at a location at a set time when your manager forces you to make a 10 minute drive in 5 minutes.  With all of this said I was recently terminated from Enterprise for taking a large p/u truck through a car wash built for Saturns!  Exiting the car wash the truck was scrape along the car wash door.

Is this any way to treat an employee who has grown an office to consistently generate $60,000+ per month in NEW revenue!  An employee has been awarded the regions account growth and operations award multiple months (6x's in career), and who has obtained record ESQI scores? (customer service awards - 6x's in career) with the highest CUSTOMER SATISFACTION reaching 97%! with a 12 month average of 89%? hmm.... sounds like a loyal company to me!

Now just one month after being let go, after three long back braking years of service, accumulating these honors, they have appealed my unemployment and I must attend a hearing regarding my unemployment claim.  Is this not ridiculous?  This company is horrific with its employees while employed, and even more so when they are not, not to mention their customers.

This is just another example of how corporate America cares nothing about their employees or their family.  I have bills, and family.  How am I supposed to support myself with no income while searching for a new position?  With no warning or probation, I was let go from a company that promised me the world for which I was never rewarded.

Please, if there is anything you can provide me or anywhere you can direct me to find a record of terminated employees and their unemployment claims that will be great. I am scheduled to attend a hearing November 5th, 2004.

STAY AWAY FROM ENTERPRISE!

Dear Failing Enterprise,

Oh, what a wonderful gem your web site has been to stumble upon.  Completely (and almost eerily) accurate!  It has been over four years since I left ERAC and your web site brings back some of the most unpleasant memories I have ever had.  It has made me feel better to know I am not alone in how I feel.  If this letter keeps even one person from working for ERAC and having to be subjected to the same horrible experience than this letter was well worth the few minutes it took to write.

I jumped on ERAC right after college and luckily only wasted a few months of my life before I wised up and left.  I worked in Vermont and I can honestly say that I have no complaints about the customers.  It is a customer service job and some bad eggs are to be expected but overall the customers were wonderful.  My problem was with how the company uses manipulation and mind games to get their employees to do what they want and to keep them from leaving.  The mind games that ERAC plays are horrendous!  You truly have to experience it to understand.  That is why this site is so wonderful.  It shows you that I am not alone in how I feel.

The final straw for me and the reason I gave my two week notice was how they push you to sell their worthless insurance.  The more you sell the more they make.  I pushed a poor old lady into taking the whole insurance package even though I knew she didn’t need it and really couldn’t afford it.  She was already completely covered by her own car insurance.  I got high fives from my manager and everyone in the office for that sell.  Then the poor lady returned the car and had a terribly high bill due to the insurance.  She paid all she could afford but had to wait until her Social Security Check came in to pay the rest.  A couple weeks later she handed me a check for her whole Social Security Check asking why she needed the insurance.  I gave her the ERAC B.S.  She looked so sad when she left.  Enterprise stole her money.  No, even worse, I stole her money.  It nagged at me for a couple weeks before I couldn’t take it any more and had to quit.  I couldn’t live with myself.  To this day if I knew where this old lady lived I would write a check for the money plus interest and give it to her.  The look on her face when she gave me her SS check money haunts me to this day.  It’s amazing how four months of hell can still haunt you four years later.

If you are currently employed at ERAC and are not happy - GET OUT!  You are not trapped there.  They make you feel like you are but you are not.  Don’t let them beat you down by saying “you won’t find anything better”, calling you a “quitter” and saying they “can’t believe they wasted their time on you”.  They will say anything to keep you there because it reflects poorly on them if you quit.  I guarantee that they have threatened to quit at one time or another and have had those things said to them.  Sad thing is they believed it and are now trying to make you believe it.  Trust me, you will find a better job that you are happy with!

Now four years later I have a great job that I have been at for over three years. I have a wonderful husband and a beautiful four bedroom home with amazing views of the Vermont Mountains.  My husband and I also have a successful business and are looking forward to having our first child.  None of this would have been possible if I had stayed at ERAC.  They do not like people having a life outside of work.  The only way to be promoted is to move around all the time.  Therefore it is not conducive for a family or a home.

ERAC, I would like to let you know that - I have “done better”, I am not a “quitter” and I “can not believe I wasted my precious time on you”!

Thank you Failing Enterprise.  Wonderful site!  Hopefully together we can let everyone know the evils of ERAC before they get involved and the damage is done!

Sincerely,

Still Haunted

Dear Failing Enterprise,

Wow... I recently received an email from Enterprise asking me to consider working for them as a "management trainee." I considered it (the web site makes the job sound appealing), and mentioned it to a friend of mine. She promptly sent me a link to your site. Thanks for the heads up!

Carri Gillispie

Dear Failing Enterprise,

You are so correct in your assessment of Enterprise Rent-A-Car.  I think anyone that cannot see you are not just being negative just does not want to see it for whatever the reason may be.  The site haters actually sound more hateful of you than you do of them.

I will admit you are so on the money with most of what you said that it does seem as if you worked there before.

I will also admit we are trained to do a lot of what you were speaking of (such as encouraging upgrades at "low cost" when we don't have your vehicle). Many employees, as you noted, hate to step up to the counter because of how uncomfortable it can be. I always feel bad when I have to coach an employee how to sell up or stall a customer when we know we do not have their vehicle.

I guess I can get over because I felt like I had to go through it so I am not a hypocrite.  I have been to Orlando for our yearly branch manager meetings and honestly feel what goes on everyday in the branches is not what the Taylor's would approve of but will also note that I don't know what the answer is.

I personally try to call my customers with the stall tactics before they can make it into the branch and cause a scene.  Or you can tell them that you noticed a mechanical problem as you pulled the car around and would rather delay them than put them in a vehicle that may need maintenance.  There are many ways to make someone more comfortable when you don't have their car on hand so I will say that it sounds like you may be dealing with staff that are not cut out for the rental business.

I wont ramble but I will end by saying I think what you are doing is what this country is all about so don't let anyone discourage you.  You obviously are not wasting your time as even the critics who claim this seem to have enough time to post hate mail on your site.

I see your goal is to help Enterprise step it up and rather than getting defensive I hope the Company will soon do just that.

T.P.

Dear Failing Enterprise,

You are correct - the service reminds me of the old Soviet Union!  The lines are long, the shelves are empty and nobody cares!  My wife, with an injured foot, was forced to load up her car (which had no gas- and no one told her).  They added a surcharge which the reservation agent told us would not apply and they picked us up one hour late - no apology!  We live in Boston and the service here is just as terrible.  I am switching to Hertz.

Richard Kiley

Boston, MA

Dear Failing Enterprise,

Hear hear!  I love your web site.  I had a problem with Enterprise, they rented me a van that broke down in the middle of nowhere when the temperature was -25C, in the middle of a snowstorm.  I'll cut out a long story but the end result is that they REFUSED TO HELP US and we ended up having to hire a cab (we tried for two hours to resolve the problem with Enterprise, but it was simply too dangerous to stay on the side of the road with no lights in the middle of a snowstorm, though Enterprise specifically didn't care).  That cab ride cost over $300.  You can imagine the joy of the resulting complaint to Enterprise.

Chris Thompson

Dear Failing Enterprise,

I am in agreement with you. I had damage to my vehicle due to hurricane charley on August 13th. I phoned my insurance company Geico and had them set me up with a rental from Enterprise (Geico has a national contract). On Saturday, August 14th the nearest Enterprise location was not open so I went to their 24 hour location to rent a vehicle. As you are aware upon arrival I was told they didn’t have any vehicles in the class that Geico reimburses for. I was offered a larger vehicle that I would have to pay for the difference.

The following Monday, August 16th I attempted to call the enterprise location to no effect (phone out of order). I called Geico to have them talk with their national level Enterprise representative about a free upgrade. Can you believe it took Geico till Wednesday, August 25th before I got an answer. The answer was left on my phone at home. Geico didn’t have the guts to call me at work to tell me that Enterprise was not going to waive the difference (3.95 / per day).

So on Friday, August 27th I get a call from Enterprise. They want me to come in and settle my bill. I told them that my vehicle was not fixed and I would still be keeping the vehicle. I told them that Geico had authorized me to keep the vehicle till Tuesday, August 31st. They were not happy that I was not coming in to settle the bill. It is their policy to not keep any outstanding bills which is a lie because you don’t settle the bill till you turn the car back in.

So today, Sunday, August 29th they called a tow truck and came and got the vehicle. They lied upon arrival saying that Geico had approved for them to get the vehicle. I called Geico and they called Enterprise who lied again saying that they were told I was not going to pay the difference. I Of course I never told Enterprise that I was not going to pay the difference. Why would I do that?

So now they are stuck with a bill of over $150.00 which means nothing to them as they could have done the right thing and offered a free upgrade.

Now they will only get their $20.00/ day from Geico.

I hope the company goes bankrupt.

Dwight Meeks

Dear Failing Enterprise,

I saw this web site and kudos to you!!!!  I worked at the big "E" for two years and all of the problems you described happen at every branch I worked at (in Connecticut), the difference is the staff at your branch have their heads up their you know what.)  The reason I say this is we never treated our regular frequent renters the way your were treated.  We always had their cars waiting (at least half a tank of gas ) for them and their contracts pre written.  I hope your site gets Enterprise to change its ways.  Great web site.

Sincerely,

Jean Pierre LeDoux

Dear Failing Enterprise,

Thanks.  I'll steer clear.

Suzi M.

Dear Failing Enterprise,

I never posted at your discussion board or anything but I have to say one thing: I was looking for possibilities to work in the United States for a couple months. Always liked your country - was an au pair before - and when I read about enterprise in a newspaper here I was really excited about applying there. They did invite me to one of their group interviews. I was really thrilled. There we had to introduce ourselves and do little role plays. When I got an email from Enterprise the next day and they told me that they would like to talk to me again and I should call the General Manager of Hesse (German state I live in) I was really happy. So I did and they told me to first visit one of their branches here in my city. So I did again. I was really nervous because I really wanted to do so. Well, the day came - I visited one of their branches and it was really weird. I didn't know how to act or anything. Well after that they emailed me about two or three weeks later that I am out - basically. I was really disappointed. They told me that if i am a team player the branch manager would call the General Manager and I would make it to the final interview - well I guess I am not a team player. I was really disappointed back then. Well my question though was on how they are able to decide if I was a team player or not ... anyway. I did a lot more research on them and found your web site too. AND now after thinking about it I AM SO GLAD I DIDN'T GET THAT JOB!!!!!! I cant sell trash to people or lie to customers. THAT IS JUST SO MUCH NOT ME and after reading about how they treat their customers and their employees this is most definitely not my world and I really don't want to be anything close to what enterprise wants their employees to be. THANK YOU VERY MUCH!!!!! Only good thing about this Interview-Process though was that I met a new friend who is now my best friend. She didn't get that job either because she figured it out earlier. I am really thankful for your web site. And on a side note: your web site is a big subject on German - anti-ERAC-message boards. GOOD JOB!! Just wanted to give you some "international feedback"

Keep up the good work

Thank You

Christine (from Germany)

Dear Failing Enterprise,

I just wanted to let you know that I am a former employee of Enterprise in Albany, NY and the business practices you described on your web site are exactly the practices I witnessed and unwillingly participated in for a few months before I grew so tired of consistently treating customers that way I quit. You are dead on when you say that the company puts such an emphasis on fleet utilization that it ends up being the priority above all else (including customer satisfaction despite what they claim). I was told to ignore warning lights and explain them away to customers so we could immediately get the car back on the road after it was dropped off. Reservations mean little more than a branch will look at their reservations in the morning and try to get that many cars to their location (regardless of size). However if someone walks up without a reservation they are given their choice of any car on the lot regardless of the reservations for the day. I don't know much about how other rental car companies work but I think enterprise is an awful company and I would never rent from them. I hope your web site can help get some changes made and as a former employee I apologize for what you've had to go through with them.

Michael Hartman

Dear Failing Enterprise,

I just wanted to let you know that you are exactly right about Enterprise. My husband starting working there right out of college, making a mere 22 thousand a year. Now, three and a half years later, he was actually on schedule to make over 40 thousand. Well, apparently, he cost them too much so he was fired for bogus reasons. They kept trying to shoo him out, asking him "Don't you think you could make a difference somewhere else"? He refused to quit; he's a hard worker and very loyal, and he wouldn't leave until he was fired. You see, he actually enjoyed working there. Its the upper management who ruins everything. They are all about earning the ever-loving dollar. Anyway, don't want to take up too much of your time, but I thank you for putting up this web site. We were just talking the other day about how things are just "different" now at Enterprise. There needs to be a change.  Thank you for your time.

Courtney Tucker

Dear Failing Enterprise,

I am not sure how I stumbled upon your web site , but it is definitely worth a read from any member of management at enterprise. I actually used some of the info on your site to conduct some customer service training classes with my employees. I just ask that you and your fans remember this simple fact about working in the service industry: For every horror story you hear there are thousands of completely satisfied customers out there. I do know that things go wrong sometimes. The mark of a great service company is the ability to overcome the problems and get the customer what he or she needs. Thanks for the valuable insight and helpful training information. Although I don't intend to change the entire operational plan of my business, I will use your web site as a tool to teach our philosophy or "under promise and over deliver". Thanks again.

Shea Hargett Area Rental Manager Middle Tennessee

Dear Failing Enterprise,

Thank you for putting up this web site.  I live in rural western Kentucky and we have one national rental car agency - Enterprise.  We have lots of car dealers, but they don't offer over-the-road service, so if I break down in BFE, I'm screwed, thus leaving me no other choice.

I've actually called Enterprise, confirmed I'd have a full-size car, gotten there and ended up having to drive over a thousand miles in a Ford Focus with five people. With a "sorry" and no discount.

I hope your web site is making them wake up!

Props to you!

Jen

Dear Failing Enterprise,

Just read your site and think it's great.

Al

Dear Failing Enterprise,

I'm in the same boat as you are. Time and time again Enterprise has screwed me over. In Boston, in Phoenix, and in San Francisco.

You're a more patient, optimistic man than am I: it was only three times through the "yes, we know you have a reservation but we don't have a car" routine before I crossed them off my list.

Best of luck with the web site.

M

More on Enterprise car rental at the Failing Enterprise home page.