I rent cars from Enterprise frequently. In the past, Enterprise was my top choice for car rentals due to the great customer service and good selection of cars. Recently, however, my experience has not been so great. I moved from Kansas City to Chicago and rented cars from the Enterprise in Crystal Lake (Holiday Inn), IL. The manager and assistant manager were super nice and knowledgeable. On my second visit, they knew my name and made me feel like a celebrity. Although they provide great customer service (A+), the cars are HORRIBLE. On one occasion, I reserved a car for an entire month. When I arrived to pick up the car, the manager and I had a great conversation as we walked around the car. He opened the car door for me and continued the conversation briefly before leaving. When he left, I noticed the stains in the interior of the car. Stains were all over every seating area, from top to bottom. Stains were on the floor, as well as the areas where you put your coffee cup. In fact, the stains were so bad, I didn't want to put my purse on the seat next to me. Of course, when I went back inside to report the disgusting nature of this car, they were closed. (I arrived close to closing time.) However, this is not an excuse. These guys usually start the car for you before you walk around to inspect the outside for damages so he must have been well aware of the filthy condition of the interior. Due to my work schedule (6:00 am to 7:00 pm), I had to keep the car for 2 days. After that I returned the car and decided to rent from a different location because the Crystal Lake location always provided cars that were 2014 models with exterior damage and horrible odors inside (cigarette smoke?), not to mention the stains.
After that bad experience, I made reservations at two different locations just in case I didn't like the cars. One location was at another site in Crystal Lake (Rte 31) and the other location was in McHenry, IL. On the day of the reservation, I contacted the Crystal Lake-Rte 31 location to see if they had cars available, as it was late in the day. I was told by Tyler that they did not have an intermediate size car available (which is what I reserved) but they did have a standard size available and it would cost more to rent. I emphasized that I made a reservation. "I know that, ma'am," he replied. "But your reservation was for noon and it is now 4:00 p.m. We had a car for you at noon but not now. If you want a car, you will have to pay extra for the standard size. Otherwise we can have a car ready for you tomorrow." I told him I needed a car that day, not the next day. I asked what he would do if I were standing in front of him instead of speaking with him on the phone. "Would you just refuse to give me a car unless I paid extra for the standard size?" I asked. He reiterated that they had nothing for me that day unless I upgraded to the standard size. I cancelled my reservation there and called the McHenry location. I was told they had cars available, and they did. The car they provided (the last intermediate on the lot) was a 2014 model, had a bad odor, the engine rattled, the brakes were not great and I didn't feel safe in the car. But, at least I had a car at that point. I returned that car two days later and upgraded to a standard size, thinking I would get a better car, which I did. However, the new manager (Jon?) kept looking at me as if I were from another planet. He accidentally overcharged me for prepaid gas from the previous rental (which I pointed out) and charged me for an entire day because I was five hours late returning the car. Okay, he stuck by the book - you can't blame the guy for wanting extra $ to enhance his pocket. He was very cold and definitely didn't display good customer service skills like the other guys who work there (Ryan and Jon) but at least I had a car I could live with for a change. Thank goodness I won't need to rent cars regularly anymore for the coming months and when I do, I will definitely consider renting from other places. Enterprise will be my last choice. read more