Not a very honest location. I hope no one gets billed for damages that occured on their lot because they left the windows down on a rainy weekend. This car was at the Hertz lot in Salem, Va on Valentine's Day weekend. read more

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They canceled my reservation 2 hours before I was set to pick up the car. Don't understand why I can reserve a car when they don't have any to give out. Do not waste your time here, not even attempting to reserve one online from them. read more

I would not recommend here... the car was filthy when I got it and they took my $50 deposit and didn't issue it back and on top of that charged me an additional $80.... so overall $130 for fuel service and other fees??? It's ridiculous because I returned it the way it was given and was not advised the fuel had to be the exact amount and the amount I left did not cost $80 to refill... if anything $20. Very scummy people for doing this and they won't refund my money or return my calls. Do not go to this location they just squeeze every penny out of you and don't care. read more

I rented for a week and a half--the people were nice, the car was decent, no problems at all. Called twice and talked to a real person when necessary. I will definitely use them again--very convenient location without having to go to the airport. read more

This is by far the worse car rental location in on the continent. It's hard to explain how they can so often put me into a dirty car. They do though. Last rental smelled like an old ashtray so bad the smoke smell lingered on me for two days. I wrote to complain and the manager elevated my status with Hertz, but kept me in the trashy car. I had a car here last summer that was filled with mud. Like someone got stuck in the mud with the windows down. read more

Service has definitely improved!! I like how things are now, the agents are caring and acknowledge you to let you know, you've been seen

I can't get anyone to answer the phone, and I've been trying for hours. When we picked up the vehicle, Lisa (manager? sole employee?) did say that she has to shut the office down to pick up cars, etc. Looking at other reviews, this is a common occurrence. It's completely ridiculous for a business to be completely down on a regular basis because there are not enough staff members to (a) man the office; and (b) transport vehicles, simultaneously. There is not even an answering service. The phone just rings and rings. I called the Hertz desk at the airport in desperation for an answer to my question, and they were amazingly helpful, especially considering that they are not directly connected to the Salem Hertz and had no obligation to help me. Even they were not able to reach Salem Hertz. read more

I've used Hertz for years but never this location. They charged us extra fees and a fuel charge despite returning it with the same level of gas. I called to find out why we were charged extra and they weren't any help. I would NOT recommend this Hertz to anyone unless you want to get screwed over. read more

I made a reservation through my Insurance company to pick up a large truck at your Salem Virginia location, address 231 East 4th St, Salem VA 24153. The reservation was scheduled for 12/14/2020 at 12:30 PM. I arrived at about 12:20 PM and spoke with the employee there after he had helped two other customers, one of which got into the only large truck vehicle I observed on the lot. The employee informed me that there were no large trucks available, I asked about the one that left, and he advised that reservation was made about two weeks prior to when I made my reservation. I then asked about the Toyota 4runner and Chevrolet Tahoe on the lot and was told the Toyota had a safety recall out and the Chevrolet needed an oil change. The employee then told me that the only "SUV" available was a Buick Encore, a very small compact SUV. I told the employee this was unacceptable as I requested a large truck and need a vehicle that was at the least a large SUV. I told him I drive a Toyota 4runner and needed something as big or bigger and the Buick Encore would not work for me. The employee told me that there was nothing else that could be done other than switch out the vehicle IF a large SUV or truck was returned. I understand that the other person may have made the large truck reservation before me and can accept that. What is not acceptable, is that I was not notified prior to my arrival that the truck was no longer available. I went to the location after dropping my vehicle off for repairs expecting to rent a large truck and ended up walking away with a compact SUV. I should have been contacted after making the reservation that the vehicle would not be available and asked if a different vehicle would have fit my needs. A large SUV would have worked, and I would have had no issues changing my reservation if I had been notified. This is simple customer service, and yet this Hertz store completely lacks the knowledge of what good customer service is, or they just don't care about meeting customer needs. The point of a reservation is to ensure a product or service at a given time. I do not make dinner reservations and then go to the restaurant to find out my table was given to another person because they made the reservation first. Rather, the restaurant tells me that they have no tables available and offer different times or days to make a reservation when you call to make the initial reservation. The definition of reservation, "is an arrangement whereby something, especially a seat or room, is booked or reserved for a particular person." So, I am confused as to why Hertz uses the term reservation for vehicles when the vehicle is not booked or reserved for the person making the reservation. There is no good reason as to why I was not told at the time of my confirmation call, after making the reservation online, that the truck would not be available at the time I was requesting. When I told the employee that the Buick Encore was unacceptable he advised me that it was all they had at the time and that I would receive a call from Hertz if another vehicle is returned or becomes available, if I was still renting the vehicle. An oil change should only take about an hour and I know there is a maintenance facility for Hertz in the Roanoke area, where I rented the vehicle, so why was I not offered to wait while the Tahoe was serviced so that I could have that vehicle for me rental? I also had to call the other two locations in my area, Floyd VA and Lynchburg VA, to attempt to switch out the unacceptable vehicle. This should have been the responsibility of the two men working behind the counter in the Salem, VA shop. I should not need to go out of my way to try and figure out a solution to a problem created by the employees of Hertz. They should have done whatever they could in order to get me a vehicle that suites my needs. If it were not for my insurance company working with Hertz to assist their customers, I would have cancelled my reservation and used a different company that would have actually assisted me in fulfilling my needs as a customer. This experience has been very frustrating and stressful, I am beyond disappointed with the customer service I have received throughout this process. I will be contacting my insurance company and asking that the rental provider they use no longer be Hertz. read more

Terrible. The more reviews I read the more I'm wondering how they are still in business under the same management. I was confirmed a car. 1/2 an hour before I go drop my car off at Caliber Collision the manager tells me she has no car. Only a Silverado pickup truck and that's it. I drive a Honda Civic. How is that comparable? I have never driven a truck. Ridiculous and almost laughable how awful they are except it was already a stressful situation to begin with. The complete lack of organization on their part is unacceptable. A phone call early in the day would have been nice but this business apparently doesn't know how to do that. I went to Enterprise. They were amazing. read more

Prepaid our rental. Did the online check in. They picked us up at our home for our rental. Four HOURS later (after accusing us of trying to steal a car), they took us around the corner to Enterprise. 15 minutes later, we drove off with a car. (I guess a lot of car thieves prepay and have the car company pick them up at their home address???) The manager was a total case. Everything she did, she had to stop and call someone. She claimed (after picking us in the van we supposed to rent) that the car had not been serviced properly, so they had no car for us to rent. Could they not figure that out before they picked us up to rent the car? Avoid this place, totally. We had already had one bad experience with them, but I am usually willing to give anyone one chance. Do not waste your money or your time. Hertz really needs to fire this person and hire someone with a brain. read more

Worst car rental experience EVER. First, I've never been in a rental location that was so on disorganized. When I got there there was nobody at the counter for a good five or 10 minutes. Finally I was waited on, and when asked what kind of car I wanted, I replied I don't really care about what kind of car as long as it doesn't smell bad. While waiting for them to pull the car around I visited the restroom. Just, wow! I have been to backwoods gas station bathrooms that were cleaner than this. It had not been cleaned for a very very long time. It had ground in dirt over every surface. I felt like I needed a shower when I walked out of there. How does a rental car office get that disgustingly dirty? I can't imagine the corporate office or owners of this business would put up with that for a minute if they ever were to visit this location. Apparently, they don't. Then, to top it all off, the car they gave me smelled like dirty socks or mold and mildew. Gross. I had to spray it down with Febreeze so I could stand it. Oh wait, there's more. Two weeks after I drop the car off at the collision center for their pick up, I get a call from Hertz corporate telling me they're going to charge me for my car rental because it hasn't been turned in yet. I called the body shop, and the car was still there! SMH. So I called the Salem Hertz location and I was told they can't find my paperwork. Surprise surprise. Now I have to make many phone calls and arguments and what not to get this mess straightened out. Very very frustrating. Needless to say, I will be not using any Hertz location in the future after this fiasco. read more