Failing Enterprise Fan Mail #76-100

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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.

Dear Failing Enterprise,

I read the hate mail and I laughed my ass off.  Those were the clowns that made the job sort of humorous.  Taking seriously your college education and applying it to washing cars and picking people up from sunrise to sunset . I couldn't believe that I paid so much for my education from a prestigious University to do what I was doing and literally stealing money from the public.  Unfortunately for them and the way they treated me, I work for a University now and make sure none of my seniors even consider Enterprise as an employment option!

I told my Area Manager that I wanted to go back to school for a Masters and he said to me that he would rather have someone with experience than a masters.  I couldn't believe what I was hearing.  Any place that does not foster leadership and educational growth is a complete joke.

I can go on for days but I won't.  They work recent grads like slaves, 7 to 7, washing cars, picking people up and ripping customers off, with a reward of 7 sick days/ vacation a year.

Enterprise - Rent - A - Car is the worst company to work for and I hope they fail.  Enterprise failed me not the other way around.  That goes out to one of those clones on the hate mail section.  I passed the Grill and was an Assistant Branch Manager and they begged me to stay!

JR

Dear Failing Enterprise,

Got picked up by the Enterprise van at Love Field airport, and was taken to the Enterprise office.  I asked for a mid-sized car.  The employee looked briefly out the front office window where ONE car sat (i.e. not out the side windows and towards the back where there are 200-300 cars) and he stated "Oh, we don't have a mid-sized car.  We'll get you a full-sized." .....and typing away on his keyboard, as if I'm going to be too dumb to pursue this.

I asked "What's the difference in price?" as he typed away on the keyboard to hasten the contract. "uh. $10" as he continued to look down at the keyboard.  To which I said "No, I do not want a full sized car or the $10 extra price.  I want a mid-sized".

He replied "But it's ONLY a $10 difference.  (Smile, Smile).  And we don't have a mid-sized right now" with this scrunched up, 'innocent' look on this face.

"Then I'll go somewhere else", as I reached for my bag.

"Oh, I know what we can do.  We'll strike a bargain.  I'll give you the full-sized for $5.00 off"

"No, I do NOT want the full sized car price, or even the $5.00 off.  I'll go elsewhere for the mid-sized car and price.".... as I again reached down for my bag.

"Oh...you're a hard bargainer.  You're tough.  Gee.  Hmmm.  Uhhh..  I'll tell you what.  I'll give you the full--sized for the mid-sized price."

(In other words, Darn, I'm not able to scam you.) And remember that ONE car out the front window he was looking at?  THAT was the full-sized car for a mid-sized price I ended up renting. i.e. it was sitting there waiting for the scam....that failed.

Enterprise has been struck off my list.

Dear Failing Enterprise,

Hello there!  I would like to take a moment to say that I had “accidentally” came across your website and have been a regular blogger/reader since March 2006.  If only this site were in existence between 2002 and 2004 when I needed it the most!

I wanted to make a suggestion that may help you in reaching out to more current, past, and future ERAC employees.  You should create a MySpace profile, more and more people are using MySpace for social networking and having a Failing Enterprise profile may help you attract more members.  I’m assuming that you are fully aware of MySpace.  Just an idea, keep up the fine work!

Ben P.

Dear Failing Enterprise,

I recently came across your website after my first horrible experience with Enterprise.  I can see where they get the name from.

I rented a car on 5/8 at 5:30 PM and returned the car on 5/10 at 12:30 pm and was charged not 2 but 3 days rental!  This is because they charge you per calendar day! I had the car less than 48 hours and was charged for 3 full days!  I also got conned into having to take a huge SUV when I wanted a compact car that only my insurance company covered.  They only had SUV's and Vans on their lot!

I was forced to pay a higher rate until a compact car could be located, but they never called me, I had to go back there and see them on their lot in order to make the switch.  I will never rent from them again!  They also terrorize people into having to get their expensive insurance when if you reserve with your Gold credit card it automatically covers you anyway.  Then they have the nerve to put a charge on your credit card for half your deductible if you don't take their coverage as a "hold" charge, just in case you have an accident.  This is one big rip-off company!

Dear Failing Enterprise,

Wow, your site pretty much sums up a typical customer experience at Enterprise.

Being a former Enterprise Employee it is sad looking back and realizing you worked for a company like that.  I hated having to tell customers their car wasn't ready or delaying a family's vacation because they wanted a minivan and all we had was a Ford Focus.  I got a Management training position right out of school and was promised that I could make a lot of money and advance quickly.  All I really did though was wash cars, ruin some nice suits, pick people up, get yelled at by customers who didn't have the car they reserved, and make 9 something an hour.

It's funny, out of all the people I met working there only 2 are still currently employed by Enterprise.  To those who say you can make a lot of money working for Enterprise, well you would have to be there for a VERY long time just to come close to making what you could at another company in a REAL SALES position in just one year.

For those of you looking at working for Enterprise in their Management trainee program, I would think twice, unless you are looking for a low paying customer service position.  I am glad though that I did get the experience to know now what I don't want to do, and how I don't want to treat customers..... So thank you Enterprise for that.

Keep up the good site.

AG

Dear Failing Enterprise,

Keep up the good work!

For those of us who have been wronged by ERAC, the Failing Enterprise site provides great encouragement.  It is an inspiration to the little guy (me) taking on the large ERAC corporation over here in the UK and shows that something can be done today with the power of the internet.

The world is really flat!

Very many thanks, and don't let the knockers stop you from providing this great service.

An ex-customer.

Dear Failing Enterprise,

I applaud you on your successes of your site.  I worked at Enterprise a few years ago.  I am not surprised that Enterprise has not changed there philosophy.

You hit it right on the head.  They did teach utilization from the regional manager on down the line.  As a former manager for ERAC, the reservation system was made for the company not the customer.  The more customers you have coming in the better chance you can build your fleet.  If someone with no reservation came in and wanted a vehicle they would get your full size car.  The thinking is that another will return b-4 you get there.

Upgrades are the easiest way to make extra profit. they actually had training and a test on how 1 dollar extra a day can raise your profit.  The insurance isn't quite as a scam as one may think.  Because there is no outside insurance that they had, any damage to the cars came from that branch's earnings.  So if you wrecked a car it is most beneficial to walk away and let the company deal with it instead of your insurance who may not always pay 100%.  Believe me just one accident can prevent a manager from taking home a commission check.  The money put into the pot is not that branches either.

Enterprise is the biggest joke!  Never get a corporate account.  The national corporate account only saves you $2 a day.  If you rent on weekends better to get a week end special.  Talking about weekends, this could be beneficial to your website, your full size car that you needed to fit 4 comfortably to go down south was usually rented for $9.99 instead of the 29.99 you would pay.  Because the weekend special is another tool used to get people in the door.

Again, over booking is a must on weekends because ERAC is set up as replacement vehicles for the insurance and service shops.  On normal circumstances they will get their repairs done on week days getting their personal vehicles back for weekends therefore returning the rentals.  If the Rentals sit over the weekend your utilization number goes down for two days straight.  Saturday and Sunday, not to mention that if on Monday a bigger branch is over booked or a manager is liked better, and they need the cars they will get them.  So what kind of taste does that leave. I had many Saturdays that we had to struggle to find your ready car because someone made a 9.99 special and we didn't have the economy car there. We had to get them out b-4 you got there because then we would have 2 problems not just one. Besides that as an employee it was everyman for themselves. No one wanted to be the one having to explain where the car went so they would get you in and get u out as quick as possible. knowing later there will be a war for cars.

I am writing this because I am embarrassed to have worked there.  I hated it there and that is why I quit. There is a whole lot of factors on why not to work there that I won't get into.  If I can help you with this site and bring something to the table, it makes me feel a little better that I can give back a little something that I put customers through when they came in.  They know exactly what they are doing there and will not change money drives everything Including the top.

Thanks Pete S. Modesto California

Dear Failing Enterprise,

I'd like to first say, I LOVE THIS SITE.  It's an excellent forum.

Second, as a former Enterprise employee (I worked for the company for over seven years) I'd like to offer a word of advice to both prospective customers and prospective employees.

To prospective customers: Please be a smart consumer.  Take your time and do not let them rush you or force you to do anything you are not comfortable or fully knowledgeable about.  This is true not just with Enterprise, but any financial purchasing situation you are in. The CDW is not entirely a complete rip off... if something does actually happen it can be a great benefit.  I'd take it especially during bad weather or if you are renting for travel to an unfamiliar place - just be careful and make sure that everyone driving the car is authorized to drive or the CDW is void.

To prospective employees: Enterprise is actually not a bad place to work for your first job.  You can learn a great deal about what it takes to run a business.  They do provide a pretty decent training program - and with so many different responsibilities as an MT - if you have no clue what you want to do for the rest of your life, it's a good way to get exposure to sales, admin, accounting, vehicle repair, insurance business - you name it the knowledge is there if you are smart enough to grasp hold of the knowledge.

If you are particularly money hungry and are really good at "convincing" people to do things - Enterprise is the place for you and you will probably be very successful . And good luck to you.  Oh yeah, and if you can drink a lot of alcohol that's a big plus also in getting promoted.

If you are not money motivated and don't really drink or want to socialize with everyone but feel you have no other options - you should try to get out of rental and into an admin position ASAP.  There are many opportunities within the company if you keep your eyes open.  However, don't plan to stay with the company long term.  Make sure you have a longer term goal for yourself and use your experience with the company to support that goal.  Don't tell anyone at the company about it.  Just remind yourself - your job there is a means to an end.  You'd be surprised the careers you can transition a job experience at Enterprise into. Just don't lose sight of the bigger picture.  This company will suck you into it's mentality - you don't realize it's happening until it's too late.  Fight to keep your sense of who you are and don't let the company manipulate you.  Keep your eyes open and use the company instead.

Quite honestly I don't think I'd have my current job without my experience gained working for them.  And for that I am grateful.

But I am even more grateful to not work there anymore.

Signed, Free at Last.

Dear Failing Enterprise,

I love this website.  Some friends of mine, also ex-employees, brought this site to my attention and you are so close to the truth that it is funny.

I have worked in so many rental offices in my 1.5 years of "service" to them and have seen first hand the unethical procedures they commit.  I refused to bow to their ways and simply tried my best to provide the best customer service I could and explain to customers why they were in any sort of situation that my managers or area managers had put us (both the customer and myself!) in.  It actually came down to the point that I was not promoted because I would not practice these unethical procedures.

Of course I could operate a branch by myself and did so repeatedly, but because I would have had the most ethical branch and probably not produce the highest profits they would not push me through the ranks.  I have since left and found better employment, thanks to friends that left before me.  Now we can all look back and joke at all the stupid ways of Enterprise and be glad that we are leaving work at a respectable time knowing we put in a hard days work of ethical standards!

Good luck and keep up the fight!

C.H.

Dear Failing Enterprise,

I am not a former employee, but I am a former “Enterprise Widow”.  My husband worked at ERAC for the first 3 ½ years of our marriage.  He was paroled almost 2 years ago, and I’m very happy to actually have a husband again.  That place is freaking evil.

Thank you for making this known!

C. Martin

Recovering Enterprise Widow

Dear Failing Enterprise,

I will try my best to keep this email short and on-point.  I CAN NOT begin to tell you how surprised I was to see a name from my past work experience show up on the internet.  However, knowing what I know about Steve Weidner or as he was affectionately know in my former Enterprise Group, Group 57 (central PA), SJW.  I spent 2 years working directly under this guy.  Upon reading your form letter I was immediately cast back in time, 4 years to the days of good old ERAC and the insanity I heard and saw on a daily basis.

It would be impossible to count the number of times I heard him and other management personnel say the things that you've cited in your letter.  I am dead serious.  "the invisible sell-up", getting "three no's" when trying to sell cdw/pai/slp [personal accident insurance and supplemental liability protection], and booking "every deal".  He used to say just "book everything" and I'll find the cars.  What this means is make up excuses and anything you can think of to keep the customer happy and minimize the financial losses we could see at the end of the rental.  Routinely, you can walk into a branch and see a dry-erase board filled with columns of numbers.  Usually, this is where the employee's sales numbers are recorded and tracked; cdw sales, up-sells, and average rate charged, car sale referrals, and corporate account referrals.

As a branch manager for 2 years in Group 57, I made less money my second year than I did the first!  Fortunately, I was able to change careers and have been very successful in the sales arena.  Now I sell something that people need and has value, not phantom vehicles and extra insurance.  Your website is a very valuable tool and resource for people to consult and use.  I support your efforts and thank you for taking a stand on behalf of all of the other corporate renters who've been shafted by this pathetic company.  Please include the saying "six years, six figures" or "growth, opportunity, promotion" somewhere on your site. These are practically biblical at that place.

If you have an kind of apparel, like t-shirts or hats please put me on the list!!!!

Regards,

Former Prisoner

Dear Failing Enterprise,

I am a current employee of 9 years at ERAC, and am literally "rolling" at the scenarios depicted on your website.  I hate to admit it but you are quite right in a lot of your observations/experiences.  It is a shame what has happened to this company over the past few years.  I used to "bleed green" but have since put on a bandage and stopped the bleeding completely.  Keep it up and maybe they will finally take notice of what is going on right in front of them...

Dear Failing Enterprise,

I'm not sure if I'm supposed to be here, but, let me just say that I am a bright eyed bushy tailed brand new member of the ERAC team.  I was sent to this site by another one of my ERAC newbie pals and to my astonishment he was right!  Every thing I've read here is true.

We are trained to use "positive phrasing".  In the beginning I thought it was just good judgment to speak positively to your customer and you will, in turn, receive a positive result.  By no means did they tell me that I would become a professional bulls***er!

It's so bad I've started doing it at home and with my friends too! Saying things like, "Unfortunately I won't be available to read you that bedtime story tonight sweetheart, but tomorrow I can read you two bedtime stories and you can stay up 15 whole minutes later!".  Not until that exact moment did I realize how bad it was . When I was in training they called it, "Brain washing ERAC style".  I am sorry to say that I am a taker, but not quite a holder.

Thanks for your time! - Unfortunately I can't leave a name, lol :)

Dear Failing Enterprise,

Great website!!  I was researching some ways to overcome our competition down the street, and came across your site.  I've read some of the horror stories, and learned a lot of ways to keep customers happy. appreciate the time you've spent on the site, and any suggestions to steal their business is always welcomed!

Thanks,

Brian

Dear Failing Enterprise,

What a great site.  It is so true about ERAC the rich get rich and the poor get poorer.  I used to work for them and am currently working for the competition.  The more and more they do the easier they make my life.  The managers are so aggressive in making money for the Taylor family.  Why would you fight with a customer for 100 dollars, when all your going to see is 2 cents.  My hat goes off to anyone working for ERAC these days especially with other major rental companies going into the local market.  It was nice when it lasted but now they are starting to shrink in fleet and in revenue.  It's time to sell up and spend a bit more time in that nice house down in West palm beach.

D.C.

Dear Failing Enterprise,

I just wanted to tell you that my roommate works for Enterprise and he thinks your site is awesome! His identity will not be released due to the fact that I'd rather not see him lose his job. He too has developed a pure hatred for this company and can't wait to quit. Unfortunately, because of his lack of another job, he can't do that quite yet.

Sadly, his heart is not made of stone and he cares about people, so management doesn't exactly like his efforts to satisfy customers. And they often clash or management just screws him over. It's funny the stories he tells me. One time he got in trouble (i.e. written up) because some other employee forgot about a customer and my roommate was gracious enough to pick the customer up. They also have interesting business strategies. For example, last night they had a branch meeting that consisted of drinking and smoking various substances. Needless to say, they accomplished a lot.

Anyway, I enjoyed the website. And continue your efforts in taking down the company that has left my roommate empty and possibly impotent. Thanks for your time and again keep up the good work,

B.J.B.

Dear Failing Enterprise,

I work at enterprise. I absolutely hate it. I have worked there for about a year, and the only reason being that I can' t find another job: not because I'm uneducated or because I don't know better, but because the job market where I live is absolutely ridiculous. I love this website because it tells the truth, however, I do think that some of the statements aren't applicable to everyone who works at enterprise. I do a great job, I tell my customers the truth, I don't con them into something they don't want. I am too good to work at enterprise-rent-a-car. if you know of anyone hiring intelligent, hard-working college graduates, PLEASE let me know. I didn't go in debt to work at this kind of job.

thanks,

enterprise employee

Dear Failing Enterprise,

I am a former Enterprise employee (quit just a month ago), and what is said on this site is so true.

Enterprise was not entirely truthful when they discussed employment with me. They were dishonest when they told me the 6 figure income potential. They were dishonest with me when they spoke about the time spent as a Management Trainee. They were dishonest with me when they said, “Your career is in your hands. Its up to you to get promoted,” when in actuality it was up to one of my managers or area managers to let me progress to the next level (take the Manager Assistant Exam).

I did everything I was asked, never complained (until I got fed up with being passed over), and consistently performed in the top half of my fellow employees. To put it in a nut shell I poured my entire self into this job, and they gave nothing in return. Their recruiter still claims that Enterprise was “recently listed, by US News and World Reports, as one of the best companies to work for.” When in fact they have not been listed in several years – I looked. While I was there, the Washington DC Group changed their Management Trainee requirements for promotion twice, and did not grandfather in current M’s – meaning any existing MT, no matter whether they were 90-40% complete in their training, suffered setbacks forcing them to revisit certain sections of training making the MT spend a longer time in a poorly paid position. The Group even changed the Management Assistant Exam requirements and grading structure to make it more difficult pass (once again not grandfathering current MT's who were preparing for the old exam) and made those changes “effective immediately” 24 hours after the Group higher-ups approved the plans.

So thanks for this website. Now I can educate people who are looking into Enterprise for employment.

A.

Dear Failing Enterprise,

Unfortunately for many of the customers and employees, it seems as though there is nobody really running this company with their brains. For the time I found a half cooked chicken in the trunk of my obviously unclean car, that guy behind the counter had the nerve to ask me was I "completely satisfied". Take a moment out of your busy life and think about that before you push that "speak before thinking button" and ask yourself, would this be a good time to ask this question? And as for their "inviting me back for a free rental" what bird would they throw in my trunk this time?

J.R.

Dear Failing Enterprise,

I just quit ERAC and I am happier then I have been in years. I worked at the big E for 6 years and saw a lot.

Everything said on this site is true. You are overworked and underpaid. When you work your way up to assistant manager you realize it is the worst job in the company. I now have a job working 40 hours a week that pays me the same amount of money and I don't have to spend my day under the pressure of trying to sell up and sell coverage all the time.

The matrix is a joke I have seen plenty of people who are at the top of the matrix passed over for political reasons. ESQI is BS because they only call a small portion of your renter. Thank god I got out Enterlies rent a car stinks.

Thrilled Former Employee

Dear Failing Enterprise,

Great web site, well-written and entertaining despite its topics. Enterprise is also close by for me and I use them a lot.

I've experienced everything you write about. I do give them points for their positive, always pleasant attitude (unlike many competitors' sullen representatives), their flexible policies (easy to add another driver) and their pricing, which is considerably cheaper than the competition if you are prepared to "negotiate." Of course I go in expecting to wait for a car with no gas to show up.

D.

Dear Failing Enterprise,

I just want to let you know that everything on your site is absolutely true. I freed myself from ERAC over 3 years ago after nearly 5 years as a Branch Manager and an LCAM.

I left on good terms, was doing well in my career, but could also not stand it one more minute. I just walked out one day and have never, ever, been back even as a customer. I think that says a lot because I have needed to rent cars dozens of times since I have left and not once did I even consider ERAC.

You are trained to bait and switch. In fact, after the first attacks on 9/11, after all airport traffic was shut down and thousands of scared people flocked to my branch desperate to get a car and get back home, I was instructed by my city manager to raise the rental rates of cars by enormous amounts. It is amazing to me that during a time like 9/11 that my company would use that day as an opportunity to inflate prices and take advantage of mass hysteria was sickening to me. Later the corporate office reversed the decision and all customers were refunded the amounts they were over-charged, but that was only because the bad PR the ensued.

This place does teach you a lot, but it is all information on how to never, ever conduct business. It will kill your spirit if you let it.

I am so glad that I left, and I have never looked back.

M.M.

Dear Failing Enterprise,

I am a frequent poster on your site and wanted to tell you a funny story but did not feel it was necessary to make it into a posting. I am having my Acura worked on and the dealership decided to be nice and comp my rental car. They have a contract with ERAC, so that's where I went to get my car. Being that I have been active on your website for a while as the spouse of ERAC employee, I wasn't happy to find myself in their office.

But the guy who did my rental was a doll. He picked me up at the dealership and so we were able to speak alone on the way back to the ERAC office. He told me that he hates the job so I told him about your website. He started laughing and said he goes on the website every night and although he doesn't post, he loves to read through the threads and finds that he can relate to almost everything he reads. I told him to spread the word about the website and he said he does spread the word to employees who he thought would enjoy it.

He didn't tell me how he initially heard about the site, but I wanted to let you know that word is getting around. I love your website and I think you have done a great thing here!!! Yeah for you!!!

S.

Dear Failing Enterprise,

I really have enjoyed reading your website, and the forum, though the posters are very polarized, is a good resource when taken in the proper context. I am in a slightly different situation than 99.9% of your forum posters in that I was a Regional Manager with ERAC until a couple years ago when I left on my own accord, leaving the 6 figure income for the far less certain, daunting task of starting my own company. Yes, the "6-years 6 figures" was my life for about 4 years.

I can say, without a doubt, that there is life after ERAC. For some who feel they are shackled with the "golden handcuffs" of the 6 figure income, the house, the 2 cars, 2 kids, and a dog, the opportunities to walk into another job with a similar pay scale in year 1 are harder to find. However, even making a few sacrifices to your standard of living are well worth it if you are burned out. I was able to parlay my experience with ERAC into a business in which my income tripled from even my best year at ERAC, in year 2! Granted, I was very fortunate to have a business plan that hit the right niche at the right time and just took off. But, it can be done, and it proved to me right away that ERAC was simply one avenue for a driven, sales-oriented person to make money.

I really enjoyed the majority of my time with ERAC, and I truly thought I would miss the camaraderie of the people I had become friends with over the years. However, I still keep in touch with many of them, whether or not they work for the company.

My personal perception of Andy Taylor and most of the corporate VP's is that they are great people, hard workers, and genuinely care about their employees and customers. However, they sheer size and decentralization of the company made it impossible to micromanage and handle many complaints personally. It was also impossible for Andy to visit a branch office without it seeming like a political rally, since he is so far removed from the daily rental operations and those employees. He was basically there to shake a few hands and thank a few people - but can you fault him for that?

The CDW and other protection options that are sold to customers are, in an of themselves, simply another option to keep people from having to worry about deductibles, premium increases, and the hassle of an insurance claim for a vehicle they'll have for a couple days. Anyone who claims this is unnecessary needs to differentiate that from the fact that there are certain times it makes sense to purchase the additional protections offered. Judging an employee's performance on their ability to sell CDW, at the lowest levels of the company, is merely a way to gauge a persons sales ability in a short-term, over-the-counter transaction. However, don't confuse that with whether or not the product is valuable for certain renters or certain situations. The problem with CDW is when it becomes the thing that dominates the promotional process, rather than simply being one cog in the sales wheel, it often causes employees to push a little too hard or even lapse into unethical sales practices, which harm the customer.

Offering a customer a larger, nicer vehicle (up-selling) is a valuable customer service if the vehicles are available in both the reserved size and a larger one. After all, why not offer a customer who normally drives a Chevy Cavalier the chance to drive a Cadillac Escalade for the weekend? Most people would jump at that opportunity.

The one point on your website that I don't believe there is an easy solution for is the "reserved" vehicle. You obviously know by now from all the posts on your forum that for ERAC to consistently make money as a company, the average office needs to be utilizing about 88% of their vehicles at all times, ideally they would like to average 90%. If a branch office has 100 vehicles to rent, this means at any given time there are 12 vehicles available, less 3-4 that cannot be rented due to maintenance/warranty work, etc. This leaves about 8 cars to rent on average. There are a few options for the business: 1) raise all rates so they can afford to have more vehicles available, or 2) don't take the reservation unless you are 100% certain the car will be there, or 3) lose money

None of the aforementioned options are really feasible. Here is why. In scenario 1 the customer ends up paying more money - not good for the customer or the company. Scenario 2 is almost impossible for a rental car company to achieve since the company cannot, with 100% certainty, know if a) the customer driving your car will return on time, b) the car will be damaged or break down, or c) YOU will show up for your car on time (or show up at all for that matter). There is not a single rental car company that can control these variables, even in a well-planned rental branch. This scenario would be great for the customer, but virtually impossible given those variables. Scenario 3 is not a win for the customer or the company, since a company that loses money for a long enough time is no longer viable, and the customer ultimately loses along with the company.

Judging by the fact that, of all large rental car companies, ONLY Enterprise has been profitable month in and month out for the past 5 years - ALL the other large competitors are in the red - it's obvious the costs of operating a rental car company are large enough that there is a very slim profit margin.

The inexcusable things that I saw happen with customers were when they received a dirty vehicle, a vehicle low on gas, or when they had to wait to be picked up for long periods of time - these are all attention to detail and planning issues that got lost in the shuffle too many times.

As far as ex-employee complaints, I see validity in many of them. ERAC is a retail job until you are promoted past the "day-to-day" front line of the rental branch. If you never get that far, not only are you most likely not making the money you want to make, but you are also working 12 hour days, saturdays, cleaning cars, and dealing with stress of customer complaints. The job is NOT easy, and the percentage of people that make it to the "multi-store" capacity is VERY small. There is high turnover, and branches are many times understaffed, adding to the stress.

Minority recruitment was always a fascinating issue to me at ERAC. There "diversity" efforts at the corporate level that spilled over into the groups, but it was mostly lip service. Not that it was difficult for a minority to succeed. It was paradoxical in that ERAC is a company that prides itself on "merit-based promotions", but in the group I came from, racial minorities and women were supported by upper management for promotion almost to a fault. When upper management found a good minority employee, they almost went overboard to keep them happy and moving through the system, even with average performance. It is still, and has always been, a company run by white men. Not that there is anything wrong with that, if they are the top performers. When I first started, there was a dearth of minorities at corporate. However, by 2000, there are minorities in a number of top positions throughout the country - and there was definitely no glass ceiling.

The nature of the business makes it tough to be a parent, but especially those parents that would prefer to see their young children during their waking hours. And, god forbid the children are old enough to participate in after-school activities. Peak customer hours are from 7:30AM-9:30AM and from 4:00PM-6PM every day, so getting out early to see your child's soccer game was virtually impossible for a daily rental employee. Even ERAC's lip service to family values fall on deaf ears when there are customers lined up 3 deep and 3 abreast at 4:30PM on a Monday. It's tough to balance. I was fortunate to be promoted to a regional position before I even had a wife, let alone kids. In management, we always tried to work flex time around employees' family events, but it was tough. I can't imagine having young children that would be asleep when I left for work and asleep when I arrived at home, but I know for some of my employees it was a sad reality for which I really didn't have a solution :(

The benefits package is sometimes looked upon as less than desirable. However, as a person who left the company with over 100K in retirement, I can see where the profit-sharing program would be a very nice nest egg for a person who put in 20 years with the company. In fact, when 401(k) was first introduced back in 1994, I remember the controller of our group showing a profit-sharing comparison after 20 years because some people were inquiring as to why ERAC would not match dollar for dollar like some companies. According to the corporate projections, a person who had maxed his 401(k) for that entire time would have been outpaced by the profit-sharing plan by a 4:1 ratio. That made good sense. The other benefits were all very comprehensive, and while some companies offered better health or better dental, overall, the ERAC plan was a great plan that covered almost every area.

The "drinking" that you hear about is most likely no different than at most companies with a large percentage of employees no more than 3 years out of college. Unless you abhor being in situations where people are drinking (i.e. bars), this is nothing to worry about. I never knew an employee personally to be looked down upon for NOT drinking. Most people were glad to have the designated driver around.

Annual manager meetings. Discussion of these seem to escalate every May with both sides weighing in. Yes, there is MUCH alcohol to be consumed there. Yes, there were amply opportunities to get in trouble from consumption of the aforementioned libations. Yes, the SAME information is discussed EVERY year (I went to 9 of them dating back to Atlanta in 94). Yes, spending an entire weekend either traveling or sitting in seminars and breakouts was tough to fit in between all the drinking. Yes, the more of them you went to, the more you knew you had "been there, done that". BUT... I still look back fondly on each one of them in hindsight. Conclusion: the annual manager's meeting is not as lame as the ex-employees want you to believe, nor is it as fun as current employees make it seem like it will be, and the law of diminishing marginal returns is applicable once you've been to enough of them.

It is difficult to find an ex-employee who is not embittered to some degree, simply because a person either had to lose their passion and quit at some point or they were fired (except for the handful of retirees out there). That, in itself, makes finding balance on the forum difficult. However, if I had to make one overall conclusion I'd say this: ERAC can be great fun, you can make great money, and you can really build a solid business foundation. But...there are only 3 ways to leave - 1) you can be fired, 2) you can quit, or 3) you can retire. Of those, 1 is undesirable because you failed. 2 is undesirable because you could have invested that time in another company or venture, which ultimately would put you that much farther ahead by the time you made the decision to leave. 3 is desirable, but there were only about 10 people that retired from ERAC the entire time I was there - and by retired I mean with enough money to be able to live for the rest of their lives on what they had saved. The most common question I have been asked is this: do you miss it? My answer every time is this: "though I truly enjoyed my time at ERAC (up until about 2 months before I quit), I have not for one second of one day missed it". All that said, though I would not go back and do it all over again, I would also not give up the business experience, the friendships, and the achievements for anything.

Sincerely,

XRM

Thank you for your website.  After hours of frustration trying to contact customer service and district managers who never called back, I was able to leave messages with real people.  They still have not called back yet, but they now know that I will.  We also had a reservation, that was not there when we were, but there were no cars at all, they said, "Well, what do you want us to do, we don't have any cars."  We did not receive an apology, we were also told that we should have called first, even though our reservation was confirmed.  The location of this crappy place was on State St in Fremont, OH.  I didn't want to do business with them in the first place because my last experience I ended up with my card double charged, but being that we live in a small town, its only twenty minutes away versus 45. I have learned my lesson...drive the 45 minutes, Hertz is so much better!

Thanks again, your website was great and after being so pissed off at enterprise, it made me laugh!!!

R.P.

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