Hertz Rent A Car

8/29/2016

This is my fourth experience with this Hertz rental car outlet. Each time my experience has been very helpful, and professional. I would recommend this Hertz location to anyone of my traveling companion or company associates.

The cars are very clean and often brand-new. Each time there has always been complementary beverages for the traveler and a helpful hand with directions, hotels or local restaurants.

I would like to give a special thanks to the counter personnel John and his manager Kinsti for their outstanding service and great attitude! They are both an inspiration and great representatives for HERTZ. I look forward to my next visit.

Mr. VP. Colandrea II
(International Traveler)

8/3/2016

Solid Hertz experience overall, and the SeaTac facility is large and caters to Gold Plus members.

As for downsides, I didn't get the email that I could change my car type until nearly after the fact, so I carried on with my Malibu. The Malibu was something of a letdown. It felt smaller than a typical mid-sized vehicle, so packing our luggage was something of an undertaking. In general, I would have much rather had a Camry, Sonata, Fusion, or Chrysler 200 than a Malibu.

Also, I was never able to get Bluetooth audio streaming to work properly on the vehicle, even after talking to Chevrolet tech support. That was disappointing. Not make or break, mind you, but it certainly detracted from my overall rental experience and left me feeling like I got shortchanged.

Lastly--and this is no real fault of Hertz's--the SeaTac rental experience is a bit of a mess, especially when dropping off a car. There aren't good signs indicating separate entrances for pick up and drop off, and overall, while the facility is nice, it's among the more confusing I've experienced in my years navigating airports and their car rental facilities.

Aside from that, the rental was fine and everything went smoothly.

8/1/2016

BEWARE: These scam artists charged me over $30 for "cashless toll roads." Basically, without telling you a word, they "rent" you a cashless toll tag for $4.95 per day (!!) and that's BEFORE you pay any toll fees. So for example if you rent a car for a 5 days and pass a toll booth ONCE at a charge of $2, they'll quietly charge you $26.75!! This is such scam -- I hate this company, will not use it again.

See more on this scam here: thepointsguy.com/2015/03…

7/23/2016

• 20 check-ins

One of the better Hertz facilities overall.  I'm a Presidents Circle member and they have always given me a nice new car.  Sounds like it should be table stakes, but other Hertz locations do not do that.  

Having your name above the parking stall is a very nice touch and they are pretty efficient getting people in and out.  Again, not all Hertzs are like this.

The facility is a bit offsite from Sea Tac itself, but the rental facility buses are frequent and the drivers are all very helpful and fun.

9/2/2016

Subpar car that we got I was only returning my rental here so there wasn't much for them to do. I still haven't received my receipt by email which concerns me but the attendents were very friendly and competent. To see my review about hertz check out my spokane airport review I'm only.giving the hertz at this location a higher rating because the only thing I had to do was turn in my car and the attendents were friendly.

3/17/2016

• 1 check-in

I am a Hertz Gold Member.

My car retrieval process was very simple. I was able to get into my car without talking to a single Hertz representative. The only human being I had to talk to was the gate exit attendant when I left the rental car facility.

The rental return process took a little longer than usual though. There were not that many representatives to process your car rental return. It took about five minutes until my transaction was processed.

My experience at this Hertz was efficient and painless.

8/4/2016

• 1 check-in

Wow...they had trouble finding a car for our reservation when a mini-van was absolutely necessary.  They should have had the car ready with the car seats next to it to be installed.  It took nearly one hour from start to finish to get our car and be ready to go.

6/17/2016

• 2 check-ins

• Listed in 100 Yelp Challenge 2016

My husband and I had the greatest experience here when renting a car for our trip around Washington.

We came straight from the airport using the shuttle - which we had no wait time at all both coming from and to the airport. We had already made a reservation online, but we talked to a person at the counter who verified if everything was OK and gave us instructions to find our car.

It was very simple and easy to locate the car. Everything was in good conditions and the car was brand new (3-4,000 miles).

The process to return the car was fast and painless. No problems whatsoever. I would definitely recommend renting a car from Hertz anytime. They have the best deals and great service.

7/4/2016

• Listed in Car Talk, Tales of the Emerald City

Note: I've reviewed the SeaTac facility separately.

Hertz sets something of a gold standard for domestic car rentals thanks to a nearly perfected walk in, drive out, drop off method. Convenience and comfortable cars cost more hard-earned lucre than their competitors, but in general I find they give me swishier vehicles without a hassle.

As a Gold member, usually I receive straightforward service. After making an online reservation, I show up, find my name on the illuminated board, and drive right out. Not this time. When time is of the essence due to other travel connections, Hertz failed me.

SeaTac Hertz turned out to be a dried out chocolate coin in a foil wrapper. I still had to wait in line on a holiday weekend with a toddler for my vehicle because a vehicle wasn't assigned to me. I requested a full-size sedan (e.g., Mazda 6, Toyota Camry) with a toddler car seat. The helpful desk agent assigned me a 2016 Chevy Impala. Against my better judgment I accepted it; renters beware, this car is outright awful. By accident I ended up accepting liability insurance I didn't need that doubled the cost of my reservation cost, which I didn't catch immediately and dashed back into line to have immediately removed. Fortunately the process was simple; the line, however, was not as a clueless renter apparently on his first time sailing this route demanded turn-by-turn directions to his destination... San Francisco. Sir, Hertz is not Google Maps and it's not their responsibility to tell you how to get there. Rent a navigation system or use your phone.

Locating vehicles is easy, as they're separated by numbered spaces in a brightly lit facility. When I went down to the third floor and found the car, it lacked the car seat. Remember I'm towing a cranky toddler now. Getting a car seat from the service staff wasn't difficult but installing car seat safely became nigh impossible; it lacked the LATCH system. Also, the Impala lacked detachable headrests or even a USB jack to charge a phone. Seriously, the car looked like the 1986 model. After struggling with the carseat for 40 minutes, I finally returned to ask for a new car because I was about ready to take the Mazda 3 next to me and be damned.

The lady in the secondary office on the third floor immediately offered another Chevy (Malibu) that I refused on basis the two cars are near identical, and found me a 2016 Hyundai Sonata. From there a quick transfer was effortless, though I had receipts long as my arm. So approximately 55 minutes from the time I showed up, I had my vehicle. The car was lovely and tidy, containing even the owner's manual to consult for all the fancy bells and whistles. Loved the Sirius XM and the modern finish that horrible Impala lacked. Return was straightforward with a drive-thru dropoff, though I have no idea if I'm being charged extra until the bill comes through.

The shuttle returns passengers to the airport every 10 minutes and taxis are easy to find on the main deck.

For a Gold member, service was subpar. I expect an easier rental process than I went through, and not having the car seat available/ready defeated the entire purpose of having Gold membership (and a major commercial account) in the first place.

7/30/2016

This review is for the Hertz corporation generally, not just this location, although the events did occur at the Seattle Airport location.

Hertz (and it's third party vendors) are engaged in routine fraud, and customers should be aware of it. They have a kiosk of "virtual agents" who are employed by a different company. You pick up the phone and speak with a person via video chat who completes your reservation.

My video agent, whose name was given as "Janet", attempted to sneak an extra $300 of charges into my one-week rental. I almost fell for it, because I had pre-paid almost exactly $300, and at first didn't recognize my receipt as containing an ADDITIONAL $300 in charges.

Her technique was pretty simple. She said, "Your reservation is for a standard-size car. I recommend the Nissan Altima." I said, "Fine."

In fact, although her statement was designed to make it sound like she was recommending a model of car within the class I had reserved, she was actually offering me an upsell to some higher class of car, for which she then tacked on the maximum possible daily charge (with all the obfuscation of taxes and fees it's hard to say what the rate actually was, but it added up to about $300 for a 6-day rental, so she managed to make it cost almost $50/day.)

My family and I were halfway out the door when I realized this was a fresh charge ON TOP of my pre-paid rental fee, not just a receipt for my original payment. So I went back to the kiosk, but of course they couldn't help me with cancelling those charges, so I had to get in line to talk to one of the agents actually in the room. When I got to him, he said, "Oh, yeah, this is the third time today this has happened." I asked to talk to the manager; the manager didn't feel like coming out from the back room. They eventually cancelled the charges and I went on my way, having wasted about 30 minutes.

So, three times a day per desk agent, with 3 desk agents on duty, all presumably having the same experience, means that statistically a minimum of 9 customers a day are NOTICING that they've been defrauded with this scheme. No telling how many get ripped off without realizing it. The agent who fixed the problem told me that the "virtual agents" are not even employees of Hertz, but are paid by a subcontractor. He didn't know if they were locally based; I presume they're not.

So, every day, we can assume that hundreds, if not thousands, of Hertz customers are being scammed out of extra money by agents attempting to boost their commissions. That the manager at this location didn't care AT ALL suggests that it is partially encouraged by Hertz, because of course they want the upsell fees too, and they are paying commissions on the upsell, creating the incentive for the agents to lie.

But this is not an upsell, it's a scam. It's deceit. Janet also asked me, "Do you want the premium coverage or just the basic?", pretending there is a requirement to buy one of those two products, which there is not. But we're all accustomed to that one from most rental car companies and probably don't fall for it anymore.

But the scam of suggesting a car model that is not in the price class the customer has reserved, without mentioning that it will cost more, and then maxing out the uncharge at the highest rate possible, is pretty pernicious and pretty effective. I bet thousands of people are falling for it every day. It must mean millions in revenue for Hertz.

To cap the story: I sent a letter of complaint to Hertz. They never responded. So this is going everywhere I can think to post it.

Be wary of the positive reviews they're getting. If you don't realize you've been ripped off, you might well be perfectly happy with your service. Janet was certainly cheerful and friendly as she hung up, thinking she'd just pocketed a fat commission by ripping me off.

Service has always been bad at Hertz. Now it's criminal.

4/2/2016

Appropriately, Hertz's background is deep yellow, the colour of urine.

Let me describe my friend's experience when renting a car for our vacation trip. There was a huge line but only two people working at the front desk. All the kiosks that were designed to handle busy-ness were -- you guessed it -- closed!

Good news: Hertz nicely left a bowl of sugar candies for their customers to eat. Bad news: the candy was probably a few years old, and definitely spoiled!

After 30 minutes in line for no good reason, the agent tried to up sell him. "Sorry, you won't be able to fit your toddler in the car seat with everyone else. You need a bigger car." So insulting!

Finally, we got no help in going to our car. To get to our rental, we had to go to a different floor of the garage, look for the name on a board, then search for the spot where our rental car is located. I realise that every rental company has its quirks, and this may be the quality that this branch or franchise  has the least control over. However, even here our experience compares poorly with a good car rental company, such as National.

• 

  Please get rid of your spoiled candy!

  Please get rid of your spoiled candy!

8/16/2016

Renting a car at Hertz, Seattle-Tacoma airport was a great experience. The car was waiting for us at the parking lot, there was no need to stand in line. The car was clean and in very good condition. We didn't have any issues and returning the car was as easy as getting it.

6/26/2016

Just dealt with the rudest rep over the phone. Her name is APRIL. She was extremely rude, raised her voice and gave complete attitude. Once I asked to speak to the manager she said No "they were in a meeting". She mentioned having a customer in front of her so I am sure they heard her as well. Never again thats what I get for finally not going through enterprise.
Never again.
Don't waste your money on places with RUDE customer service.

8/2/2016

Typical great Hertz service and a brand new car. BUT SEATAC Rental Car Facility and SEATAC rental car shuttle service is the WORST in the country bar none. Hundreds of people were in line for the shuttle. It took an hour to get on a shuttle. Worst airport service ever and SEATAC airport fees for rental cars are among the highest in the U.S.  You definitely don't get what you pay for.

8/19/2016

The 1st car we picked up didn't have a GPS b/c we had brought our own & thought it would work on the West coast.  We were wrong.  We went back to the office & instantly got a new rental car with GPS (for an additional charge, of course).  Very prompt & helpful service.

7/6/2016

I have rented from SEA-TAC Hertz multiple times now.  The last time was a complete disaster, even though I am a gold member.  I was shocked.  This time was better. However, as my flight was more than 7 hours delayed, I called to confirm my car would still be available and the woman on the phone (800 number Hertz representative) was a bit rude and less than actually helpful.  The shuttle driver was fantastic (which is also a marked improvement from previous experiences).

When I returned my car in Portland the service was quite good.

7/2/2016

Came in on 4th of July weekend.  There are 14 stations available, and three people working.  We waited one hour for a car. NEVER rent from here, ever.

• 

  14 lanes open and 3 against working on July 4th weekend. #hertz #SEA. Taking about an hour for a car we already rented. #neveragain

  14 lanes open and 3 against working on July 4th weekend. #hertz #SEA. Taking about an hour for a car we already rented. #neveragain

6/7/2016

The SEATAC system is pretty good. There's one shuttle for all the rental companies.
I've only been here once, but my colleagues have often rented from Hertz. It's not cheap, but they seem reliable.
Sign up for the Gold service. It's worth not having to wait on line. You can go straight to the garage, find your name on the board and go straight to your car. (If it's your first time you'll have to go in and sign some papers, but the garage office was empty when I was there.)
I got a Jetta, which was fine. It seemed like someone had smoked in the car previously, but it was otherwise very clean.

7/22/2016

Had a great experience. It was easy, fast, and affordable. Would rent again. Highly recommend becoming a gold member online first. Great to see how my name was on the board, went to my stall, and the keys already in the door.

8/3/2016

Awesome and easy! From the moment we arrived to pick up car the staff at the rental office for Sea-Tac was extremely helpful, kind, and informative. Didn't rush me. Traveling with two young kids 3 years and 16 months with MIL and luggage along with double stroller and diaper bag etc. The office was clean. Line for shuttle to take to off site rental garage was quick moving. The shuttle didn't assist with luggage or stroller. That was a disappointment however Hertz staff was great. They recognized that I used AAA discount and coupon and helped make the check out smooth. I had the two children who started to fuss and they could see that. There was one woman who provided us cold water for free while in line. The line moved quickly. I also rented two car seats. The man helping me called to have them put in the car. When we arrived at the car stall the seats were just placed inside. We had to install them, which I understand, being that I would want to make sure it was correctly installed for safety purposes. Enjoyed the car. I rented an SUV for all our stuff and received  the car that was mentioned as a possibility over the phone. (I have rented from other car rentals in the past and didn't receive the car I had requested.)
The best part of the Hertz experience was Mary Ann at the drop off. We arrived with the full car, babies, bags, double stroller and newly purchased items, etc. and she could see that it would be eventful at the least to unload, load shuttle and then unload again at the terminal. She provided us with another Hertz staff to drive us directly to our terminal without being charged. I didn't expect that! She, and Hertz, won major bonus points for thinking ahead and making things a bit easier for this tired mama traveling for a week for "vacation." I have already shared my positive experience with friends and family and plan to rent from Hertz again in the future due to this most positive recent trip!