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[Erac United]

Originally Posted by Unregistered

If he works at erac, I know he sees his wife about a maximum of 2 hours a day before he collapses, and a whole 1/2 day on Saturday!!!!! She doesnt see him Sunday becuase he is doing dealership drive-by's to see if any cars are dropped for the 50 reservations on Monday morning at 8am, or driving an hour and 1/2 away to pick up cars. Bottom line you poor little rental monkey: His wife hates his husbands job, and resents the company for taking so much time away from her family.

First, I'm out of rental so not doing drive by's anymore...and home most Sat & Sun's. I'm still working some crazy hours from time to time...but so do 3 out of 4 people in my neighborhood....heck, I would bet admin himself works some crazy hours from time to time. If you want to get anywhere in this world it takes a good work ethic. As for my wife being willing to give up the money for a few more hours a night, it's doubtful.....I think it's especially cool when we have friends over who compliment on our house, or backyard, etc....one of her favorite sayings, as corny as it may be, is "Thanks Jack and Andy."

I was happy to see that you responded to my comments from earlier. I just wanted to take some more time and go through some of the things you said earlier in response to my earlier comments.


"I can only conclude that you and I have different definitions of the word "reservation". I'm not asking you to have an unlimited supply of cars, just the one you promised you'd hold for me. And "safety stock" isn't a luxury, it's a promise you volunteered to make. Nobody forced you to offer and confirm the reservation." - Adminsitrator

I dont think that we do. You and I do have the same opinion when it comes to reservations. They should have the vehicle readily available for you when you do come into to pick it up. However, sometimes we may not have that particular vehicle do to some circumstances. Futher more I would like to tell you that I personally do not like the way the internet site is set up. It does not have the capacity to know what is happening at the branch. It has no idea when cars are returning or which vehicles are returning. The internet booking of reservations is somewhat new and some kinks need to be worked out. You are always better off calling the location and speaking with them directly. And yes, "safety stock" is a luxury, it allows a business to continue to supply a product when an unusual amount demanded of a product is requested. However, you are right, the vehicle that you requested and reserved should have been there. And like I mentioned earlier we try to accommodate people the best we can. 99% of the people would love to get a bigger vehicle into an SUV or truck. Sometimes customers need that specific vehicle exclusivly. Similar to an airline they may happen to overbook a flight. They may upgrade people to take a different flight or upgrade them to first class at no charge. Most people would love the free upgrade into first class, some people may hate the upgrade to first class because of whatever reason. Mistakes happen, sometimes we screw up. The point is that when we do we try our best to make up for it the best way that we can.


Except that you include yourselves in the category of people you wish to make happy. You're putting your branch's profit goals ahead of your customer's needs. You dishonor reservations because it increases your operating profit to do so. It's admirable to "do the best you can under tough circumstances", unless you're the one creating the tough circumstances. Don't ask me to make sacrifices because you intentionally overbooked to increase profit. - Administrator


Like I said, we are trying to make everyone happy, the customer and the branch. We are just like any other business in the world, we are infact trying to make money. No one starts a business because they want to break even or lose money. Business are around because they do infact want to make money. If it just so happens that I have a vehicle that is available for rent that I could give to someone as a free upgrade then hell yeah im gonna do it. However, just as I mentioned earlier, the vast majority of people would love a free upgrade, typically people want to rent bigger cars like SUV's but dont because its too expensive, they must rent a compact car instead because its all they can afford. However, there are those rare cases where people rent the compact car because they want to get 30 miles to the gallon and love using the tape deck. As a company we try not to overbook. The best that I can do at a branch is run at 100%, and I do want to rent every single one of my cars. If I continue to book reservations beyond that 100% there is no way that I can satisfy their needs/expectations and it not only will piss them off but I may lose out on future revenues.


"Do you realize what you're admitting to here? Enterprise takes reservations knowing full well that it's making no effort to actually have sufficient cars to meet them? How is this not bait-and-switch, or simply fraud? This is a serious question." - administrator


In response, yes I do know what I am saying here. I am telling you that I personally hate the online reservation system that we have and that the current way the online booking is set up does not take into effect what is going on at the branch. No its not bait and switch, this would require that I book a compact car for you and when you come to pick up the vehicle I let you know that all compact cars are sold out and you must take a truck or SUV AND YOU MUST PAY THE SAME PRICE AS AN SUV OR TRUCK. We on the other hand lock in the rate and give you a free upgrade. Also, if you were going to rebuttle with the Damage Waiver price difference I have you covered, at no time is the damage waiver price quoted to you on the internet. I has a disclaimer stating the the damage waiver price can vary from city to city and for different vehicles. In no way would this be considered fraud, fraud requires that we have purposely misled a customer. The branch tries to put you into the vehicle that you reserved, we want to get you into that full-size car you reserved. Giving you an upgrade into a larger vehicle increases costs to the branch thus lowering operating profit. It doesn't makes sense to give you a free upgrade into a truck for the hell of it when I could have someone calling to rent a truck for $100/day. Like I said earlier, Enterprise is trying to make money. For all you know the car that was scheduled to be yours got into an accident or the renter wanted to keep it for another week. You dont know what goes on behind the scenes. Since you wanted to get legal and techinical you do realize that accusing a business of being fraudulent or of entering into bait-and-switch practices without any proof can be considered slander. What you had read was entirely unreasonably misinterprited. The quote used in your attack simply states that I 1) personally do not like the internet web site when it comes to reserving a car, 2) is solely used to reserve a car (the website does not walk you out to your vehicle, it does not have any other function to it other than reserving cars), and 3) currently, the design of the internet program is not up to date on the current inventory of the vehicles at the locations and cannot anticipate when a vehicle is going to return. You are way off base with your accusations of our business practices.


"So what you're saying is that after I make a confirmed reservation I should call the local branch and ask them to reserve a car for me? Does this in the slightest way seem ridiculous to you?"- administrator

Yes you should and No I dont. If you are so concerned that you have to get a full-sized car and only a full-sized car then yes you should call the branch and let them know that an upgrade will no work in your case that it is absolutely necessary that you get into a full-size car. I think that you and I could agree that non-verbal communication done via a computer is not as effective as personal verbal communication done over the phone. Just calling a branch and letting them know the importance of the situation of getting a full-size car can only be benifical to you and your rental experience. Like I mentioned earlier, you and I should be able to agree that people love to get upgraded for free whether its an upgrade into first-class from coach or getting the pent-house suite of a hotel when they reserved a single room. Car rental agencies are the same. Rarely do people get pissed over a free upgrade. It may happen 1 in a 1000 times.


"If the gas tank were at least half full I wouldn't have a problem. What bothers me is driving six blocks, getting on the ramp for the San Francisco Bay Bridge (ten miles to the next gas station) and then having the warning light come on saying I am completely out of gas.

Enterprise apparently wants it both ways with the gas issue. They want to charge customers for the extremely overpriced "refueling service", because it's profitable, but then they don't want to actually have to provide any "refueling" or any "service". So if you bring back the car without a full tank, you pay extra because Enterprise has to refuel it, and then they just give it to the next customer who is the one to actually do the refueling. You're charging for a refueling service that you don't provide."-Administrator

It sucks when the gas is nearly empty, and your right, they should have put some gas into the vehicle before you left. But the fact remains the same that they told you what the current gas level was at and what level you needed to return the gas at. One of the first things that they teach you when you learn to drive a car is that you should always check the fuel level and determine whether or not you can make it to your destination. Regarding the gas is a result of how life works. Please bring the gas back to the same level, that way we dont need to charge you for gas. However if you do bring it back with less full then hell yeah I need to charge you a higher rate since I need to take an employee from washing cars to pumping gas in the car you just returned. If it was extremely important for you to have a 1/2 tank or full tank of gas then request that your vehicle should be filled accordingly. If you are on a tight schedule then call over to confirm that or make an earlier reservation. To often to people think that the car rental process is done in just 2 seconds. Shit happens and sometimes things may take longer than expected.

"If you really want to pursue this analogy, imagine renewing your car insurance and the insurance company quadruples your rate, explaining you're now covered as if you were driving a Ferrari. You explain you're still only driving your Toyota, and they say "Don't you understand it costs a lot more to insure a Ferrari?". Truthful, but completely missing the point."-administrator

Like I mentioned earlier in my first post, if I had walked you out to your car I would have sold you the protection for the vehicle at the same rate as a compact car. However, we are not obligated to have a set rate for you since it is explicitly written that quotes for the protection can vary depending on the vehicle and which location you are renting the vehicle.

"Actually, I'm not. The current and former employees seem to be doing that just fine by themselves."-administrator

Yes you are. If you weren't then why would you go through the effort of having an anti-enterprise website. It is clearly obvious that the overall design of the website took you hours to construct. The comments that I posted were from just a few days ago, but I can see that you immediately read and responded to my comments thus suggesting that you spend a good amount of time checking your website. You and I both know that when it comes to a large business that 100% of the employees are not going to be as dedicated and enthusiastic about the company as other. Some may down right hate the job. I just told you who was working for the company from the first post I had. You could just as easily put an anti-walmart website up or and anti-bankofamerica website up and current and former employees will bitch and complain about how crappy the company is. I think that your comments are weak based upon not taking into account the number of employees that have worked for enterprise rent-a-car over its existance.

"I've heard this from many people and it always surprises me. This sounds like "So, you figured out we're ripping you off. Well, it's your own fault for coming back." Is this the official Enteprise policy on people who point out unethical and possibly illegal behavior, to explain that the first time they noticed was their fair warning, and subsequent actions aren't Enterprise's fault because the customer should have known?"-administrator

As I mentioned earlier not everyone is going to have the best experience from Enterprise. It is impossible to satisfy everyone that comes through our door. It sounds to me that you are very direct and have certain expectations everytime you rent a vehicle. In a perfect world everyone would get exactly what they want and there would be no problems. But in reality things can go wrong, and in some cases we may not be able to meet your expectations. It does happen. Lets say that I rent you a car and it breaks down, the next time you rent that vehicle breaks down again, and the third vehicle you rent breaks down again. The odds are very slim but this situation could very well happen, I think that you and I could agree on that this has happened at least once in the existance of Enterprise rent-a-car. Do I expect this person to rent from us again a fourth time? No I dont, we have already made the first three rentals miserable enough for the customer that he will end up going to a competitor the next time. We try not to do this, believe me. We want our customers to be happy with our service so we can get repeat business and to continue to stay in business. I just want you to be happy when it comes to renting a car. If we are consistently not meeting your expectations then you may be better off from renting at a competitor. As much as we want to keep you as a customer we understand that we screwed up and you have been unhappy with our service the past couple of times. It almost sounds like you got to the point where you would be very upset over something so insignificant. It seems that you are at the point were you would rent to have something happen so you could piss and moan about it. If thats what you are about then thats cool. For me, if I have a bad experiece or two with a business I simply do use that particular business anymore. Sometimes you should just walk away.

Originally Posted by Erac United

First, I'm out of rental so not doing drive by's anymore...and home most Sat & Sun's. I'm still working some crazy hours from time to time...but so do 3 out of 4 people in my neighborhood....heck, I would bet admin himself works some crazy hours from time to time. If you want to get anywhere in this world it takes a good work ethic. As for my wife being willing to give up the money for a few more hours a night, it's doubtful.....I think it's especially cool when we have friends over who compliment on our house, or backyard, etc....one of her favorite sayings, as corny as it may be, is "Thanks Jack and Andy."

So, let me get this straight, according to you , it is DOUBTFUL that your wife would be willing to give up some money to be able to spend more time with you in the evenings??? Rephrasing, It is more important to you and your wife that your friends compliment your house when they visit, rather than have the ability to spend more than an hour or so with each other daily?

What a MORON!!! I am glad you have your priorities straight. Erac BEFORE Family! ATTA BOY/GIRL goes out to your GM! Erac has done an exceptional job programming you, and you are destined for greatness with "the firm" until your marraige fails, and Erac doesnt like your numbers this week. Jackass, you can have a beautiful home, AND be able to spend quality time with your family. It IS possible, ....just not with ERAC.

[Erac United]

Originally Posted by Unregistered

So, let me get this straight, according to you , it is DOUBTFUL that your wife would be willing to give up some money to be able to spend more time with you in the evenings??? Rephrasing, It is more important to you and your wife that your friends compliment your house when they visit, rather than have the ability to spend more than an hour or so with each other daily?

What a MORON!!! I am glad you have your priorities straight. Erac BEFORE Family! ATTA BOY/GIRL goes out to your GM! Erac has done an exceptional job programming you, and you are destined for greatness with "the firm" until your marraige fails, and Erac doesnt like your numbers this week. Jackass, you can have a beautiful home, AND be able to spend quality time with your family. It IS possible, ....just not with ERAC.

So, let ME get THIS straight. You're ridiculing me because I don't have the same beliefs, values, ideas, priorities, etc....as you? Who exactly is the moron? I'm doing what I'm doing with my personal life and my work life because that's what I....and my wife....want to do. Nobody has brainwashed me into anything. If anything, I feel like I've made them believe I'm something great, when in reality I'm just an average guy. To do what I do, and make what I make....sometimes it's hard to believe come payday. I LOVE spending time with my wife and child...it's the greatest thing in the world. I also love sleeping soundly at night knowing the bills are paid, my wife doesn't have to work and my children will be taken care of....if that is wrong in your eyes, then I'm sorry. I sense a lot of jealousy in your comments???

Your sense is wrong "buddy"...isn't that the term the apes use? Look dude, I am not out to get you. You seem like a nice enough guy. I was once where you are now. All I am saying is that you should re-evaluate your situation often. Erac considers you expendible...there is no doubt about it. Look around this board and your fellow employees that are long gone for God sakes! You have no idea of the dialogue that is occuring in the private offices of level 3 and 4's. I do know, because I was there, and I was one of them years ago! When the gun sites get turned on you, you will kick yourself in the ass for dedicating 65 hours a week to the big green meat-grinding machine! I saw many really good people get pushed out. Here we grow again!

I got out, ... and never looked back. Were there some useful skills learned along the journey?...yep. But I think they could have been learned in other companies as well that didn't treat employees the way this company does. They sell you a bill of goods as the best company ever created for employees, but behind the scenes...a whole different story! My choice to leave by the way so don't give me the "can't hack it" garbage they love to spew around. I had a few good managers that treated me well along the way, and I just kept moving up. BUT>...Every level you move up, you see more and more of the lying and deceit. It got to the point where I realized I really COULDn't make a difference....I was expected to lie and pull the same shit. The culture at RVP level is frightening. I have been in meetings where an RVP talked about "milking a few more months" out of employee A, employee B, before letting them go (they were BURNT) just to manage the retention number until the RVP got promoted. Is this doing the right thing for the right reason? That is what they always preach, isn't it? They talk about employees as "warm bodies", it got to the point where the money I was making was not worth it. I was selling my soul to that company, it effected my health, my relationship with my family, and I felt like I was leading the lambs to slaughter every time I hired an employee...and hire we would do!!! There is a REASON erac is the #1 recruiter of College Grads!!!! They need more meat to survive! With a retention of 50%, damn! One of my lowest days was when I tried to convince an education major to stay with ERAC when he wanted to quit to take a job teaching 5th graders. Is renting cars at ERAC more important than shaping the minds of our youth?? Many of the level threes I worked with felt the EXACT same way about this company...and most I knew are gone now as well. But I guarantee most Area and City Managers would jump ship if they thought they could. The ironic thing is they CAN... the company does a GREAT job molding people's minds over the years to the point where they instill this BELIEF in people they can't make the same money ANYWHERE on the planet. NO other company pays what erac pays. I am going to make over 3 times what I was making at the green machine as a level three (not saying it to brag, but I want people to know there is life after the big E..... and I DO get to spend a lot more time with my family during the week, I can watch my kids play sports, and I don't work weekends, and my marriage is much stronger because I actually spend time with my family now.

I am a current employee of ERAC, and I LOVE it! I have been with the company for 2.5 years and counting. I have done the rental side and now am experiencing Admin. I have worked for some major corporations in the past, (Chase Manhattan for one) and none of those companies ever treated me with the respect and encouragement like Enterprise does. I have always been a hard worker and a dedicated employee, and every manager I have had at ERAC has not only acknowledged that but has has praised me for it. I had a horrible experience at Chase Manhattan, but you don't see me making a website about it. That job and company just wern't for me, so I moved on like any normal person does.
I will never be one of the ex-employees on this site bashing Enterprise. Even if I do part ways with the company (which I don't see happening in the near future) I will never be bitter towards a company that treats me so well. All of you should go work for some other companies then compare that experience with yours from ERAC. I guarantee you will realize you had it pretty good with Enterprise. Obviously, ERAC isn't a company for everyone. Not all the applicants that are hired are going to like the company and its structure. If you are one of those people who didn't find Enterprise as a good fit for yourself, move on and find a company that is a good fit for you. But, don't ruin it for others that may love Enterprise and what it stands for.
As for customer service, well that's a dying concept these days in just about any business. I have never worked for a company that strives to meet and exceed customer's needs like that of Enterprise. We bend over backwards to anticipate the needs of every customer that comes in contact with us. When those needs aren't met, we do just about anything and everything to make that customer happy so they do come back and use us again. Unfortunately, there are people out there who are never happy. Those people are a very small margin of our clientele, but they do exist. With people like that we do whatever we can to make them happy. Sometimes that doesn't work. People like that end up not contacting ERAC directly to let us remedy the situation. Instead they make websites like this to try and bash us. We did make a few mistakes in this case, but it's nothing we couldn't have fixed given the chance. It's a shame you are unhappy with our company, but good luck finding another one that will meet your standards or even exceed them. I don't know what you are trying to prove with this website. I have been unhappy with service establishments before, but never did it cross my mind to make a website about it. Get over it and move on!!! As for the ex-employees...all of you should be ashamed of yourselves. Like I said before, not everyone is a good match for ERAC. That is true for every company out there. Don't be bitter that you didn't make ERAC your career. Learn from it and move on.

[GP51Sux]

Originally Posted by Intern

99% of the people would love to get a bigger vehicle into an SUV or truck.
However, just as I mentioned earlier, the vast majority of people would love a free upgrade, typically people want to rent bigger cars like SUV's but dont because its too expensive, they must rent a compact car instead because its all they can afford. However, there are those rare cases where people rent the compact car because they want to get 30 miles to the gallon and love using the tape deck.

I don't know how you can believe this. Well I do...I was once "bought in" to ERAC's crap they shovel. With gas near $2.50/gal in many parts of the country, do you honestly believe that everyone would rather drive a truck or SUV??? The Dodge 1500s and GMC Envoys barely get 10mpg!!!!

I realize that ERAC does their orders a year in advance, but a year ago it was apparent that gas was going to go way up. Order a few more Rios and Sentras and less F150s and Yukons!!

I also realize that you can't satisfy 30 rezs for compact cars on a given Friday, and the internet is a huge letdown there, but don't pretend that you don't first try to sell up that CCar rez into the SUV before "giving" it to them. Any money that they "save" by the free or small upgrade price will more than be crushed by the increased fuel cost on a longer trip.

[GP51Sux]

Originally Posted by Unregistered

People like that end up not contacting ERAC directly to let us remedy the situation. Instead they make websites like this to try and bash us. We did make a few mistakes in this case, but it's nothing we couldn't have fixed given the chance. It's a shame you are unhappy with our company, but good luck finding another one that will meet your standards or even exceed them. I don't know what you are trying to prove with this website. I have been unhappy with service establishments before, but never did it cross my mind to make a website about it. Get over it and move on!!!

Did you even take time to read Admin's history of consistant let downs and being ignored by the Region's management???

He gave many chances evidenced by still renting from them, however ERAC would not do anything to remedy the problems.

He is trying to bring light to many bad experiences that he had, and give a forum for other customers to do the same. I believe that it is completely unintentional that this many ex and CURRENT employees found this site and contribute thier stories from behind the scenes.

By the way, I'm glad that you are happy with ERAC and wish you success. I hope that when the inevitable day comes that you hit a ceiling and they push you out the door, that this website will provide a space for you to vent....

[EnterpriseWarrior]

80 percent of the customers are completely satisfied...


Nuff said.

[FailingEnterpriseAdmin]

Originally Posted by Unregistered

As for customer service, well that's a dying concept these days in just about any business.

I see you're trying the "everybody does it" defense. The other national agency I rent from provides outstanding customer service. Your assertion is invalid. Your argument is rejected.

Originally Posted by Unregistered

I have never worked for a company that strives to meet and exceed customer's needs like that of Enterprise. We bend over backwards to anticipate the needs of every customer that comes in contact with us.

Except you still offer reservations over the web even when you know you are completely out of cars. You "bend over backwards", except when you don't. Your assertion is false.

Originally Posted by Unregistered

When those needs aren't met, we do just about anything and everything to make that customer happy so they do come back and use us again. Unfortunately, there are people out there who are never happy. Those people are a very small margin of our clientele, but they do exist.

This is the "some people will never be happy" defense. I'm delighted with most every vendor, especially the nationwide chain I'm renting from until Enterprise gets it together. 45 rentals in the past 18 months and I'm very, very happy. Maybe some customers will never be happy, but I'm clearly not one of them. Your assertion is false.

Originally Posted by Unregistered

With people like that we do whatever we can to make them happy. Sometimes that doesn't work. People like that end up not contacting ERAC directly to let us remedy the situation.

Maybe that's because the Customer Service department doesn't take phone calls. But despite this, I talked with my branch ten times and called the regional office. Both of your assertions here are false.

Originally Posted by Unregistered

Instead they make websites like this to try and bash us. We did make a few mistakes in this case, but it's nothing we couldn't have fixed given the chance.

My local branch was given the chance ten times. And I even called the regional office to try to find a way to fix things. Again, your assertion is false. You should have read the web site before writing this.

Originally Posted by Unregistered

It's a shame you are unhappy with our company, but good luck finding another one that will meet your standards or even exceed them.

There's another one just a few blocks away; see above. I did, and they do. Again, faulty logic, and you would have known this if you'd read the web site.

Originally Posted by Unregistered

I don't know what you are trying to prove with this website. I have been unhappy with service establishments before, but never did it cross my mind to make a website about it. Get over it and move on!!! As for the ex-employees...all of you should be ashamed of yourselves. Like I said before, not everyone is a good match for ERAC. That is true for every company out there. Don't be bitter that you didn't make ERAC your career. Learn from it and move on.

Your message to all customers: if you figure out we're doing a bait-and-switch, then we'd rather not have you as a customer!


You're either not very good at arguing or your ethical position is so compromised by working at Enterprise that this is the best you can do.

Or maybe you've confused argument with spin and public relations. Your post makes appealing arguments based on false assumptions and keeps trying to put a happy spin on everything.

I can appreciate how you'd like to defend your employer, but the arguments you make either rely on assumptions that simply aren't true or use logic that doesn't hold water.

Please, please, please, people. If you're going to try to persuade someone of something, please do your homework, get your facts straight, think clearly and then write clearly. This poster's attempted argument would be shredded in any college course on critical thinking.

This poster sounds like they've mastered the Enterprise style of "Customer Service", which is to relentlessly optimize for your own benefit, tell the customer literally anything you think they might want to hear, and then bridge the gap by simply lying.

That's not "Customer Service", that's fraud.

You're a shining example of why consumers need a website like FailingEnterprise.

(yeah, maybe I'm ranting a bit but I'm so tired of posts like this)

Let the flaming begin!

Admin