My wife and I have known for some time that our car is not something to use on long trips, so while we’ve been saving money towards buying a newer car, we’ve been using Enterprise Rent-a-car whenever we needed to travel. In fact, we’ve been a customer of Enterprise longer than we’ve had our current car – going on 10 years, now. But never again.
In 10 years, we’ve never turned in a car late, had an accident, or failed to pay in full. We’ve also never had bad service (except once when I went through the 800-number call center to make a reservation, and they messed it up so the local office didn’t get notified and didn’t have a car when we needed it), so we were happy to continue giving them our business while we saved towards the newer car we hoped to get. That all ended this morning.
Last week, we learned that one of my wife’s cousins – a woman the same age as my wife – had died of cancer. She was cremated, and the family was having a “life celebration” this afternoon. I made a reservation – last week – for a car we’d pick up this morning. When I arrived at our local Enterprise Rent-a-car office, they had a car ready for us, and just a little paperwork to do. It was all very routine – until the clerk doing the paperwork asked me for a 2nd phone number. I told him that I don’t have a second phone number. He pressed me for a cell, or a work number. I told him that I’m disabled and unemployable, so I don’t have a work phone, and since I rarely leave the house I don’t need a cell phone. My landline is all that I need. He kept pressing. I even told him that he had the same information that has been in there for the last 10 years, and nobody had ever refused to rent to us before. He said that the company had asked him to get 2nd phone numbers. I said “asked” does not mean “requires” – he said, “yes, it does.” This went on for over 5 minutes. Finally, I said that if he wouldn’t rent to me with the information he already had, he would loose a sale. He apologized, but stuck to his guns that he wouldn’t complete the contract without the 2nd phone number. I then told him that he’d talked himself out of a sure sale, and that when I had to explain to my wife why she wouldn’t get to go say a final farewell to her cousin, it was a certainty Enterprise Rent-a-car would never get our business again.
Then, to add injury to insult, they wouldn’t give me a ride home. It’s over 1.5 miles from there to our house, and my daily TOTAL walking limit is “no walking more than a mile”. I’m in a LOT of pain right now, because their corporate office decided not to rent to someone who chooses not to be part of the whole “Totally connected and wired in” generations.
Vernon Pope 
Wow, I’m so sorry you had to experience this abuse. There is one thing I would have done in addition, is I would have demanded to speak to his boss and to continue up the chain until I found a person who has some common sense. The “no ride home” is a huge insult and “injury” as it turns out…
It gets even worse. I called their corporate offices to inquire if the clerk was telling the truth, and was assured that this is now corporate policy throughout, and while they would miss my business, the clerk was right to refuse the contract – according to them.
Well…. That is the “straw” (but that is another subject–LOL)… Hard to believe. Wow. What a mistake on their part… That is an idiot running the company–not appreciating or even making an exception to a new policy for a long time loyal customer… This is disgusting. You should be grandfathered! LOL
That’s ridiculous. I only have one phone number – my cell phone. I rent from Enterprise on a regular basis because when I move my RV to another town, I then have to rent a car and go back to get my car, and Enterprise, like you said, will pick me up.
I’m so sorry they did that to you – and your wife. Businesses need to have compassion.
Thank you. I hope you will post here the next time you rent a car and tell them you only have one phone number…
Laura. Yes, please let us know about this. I think if we make enough noise with people complaining, they will drop this.
I wish this site had an “angry” button. I can’t “like” this.
I just now thought of this… Why not lie and give them a friend’s phone number? LOL They are probably never going to use it anyway. You will probably say it’s a cowardly solution but that is probably what I would have done if I had thought of it. LOL
Well, if I don’t want to give them information I don’t think they have a legitimate need for because they are going to monetize it, why would I give them someone else’s information to use? It feels even less honest than I feel the corporation is being.
Well, if I don’t want to give them information I don’t think they have a legitimate need for because they are going to monetize it, why would I give them someone else’s information to use? It feels even less honest than I feel the corporation is being.
I know this was last summer, but FYI, I broke my leg in the middle of August and it still hasn’t healed (argh), so I haven’t been able to test Enterprise’s “more than one phone” policy. Reading this over again just makes me so mad, though. I’m single. All I have is one cell phone. Why would I have another? I should do a poll on Twitter to see how many single people have more than one phone. Grrrr.
Actually, they do use the phone number, at least one of the ones you give them. A few days after the rental is complete, they call and want to survey the customer about the rental. EVERY SINGLE TIME. We even told them it was not necessary to survey us every time. Ugh. It’s a null issue now, as we actually have a real car with working A/C, heat, windows, doors, and no leaks. I am not being sarcastic with this. Our old car was getting really bad and actually completely died the day before we bought the newer one.
It was even worse. I called their corporate offices to ask if employees were telling the truth, and was assured that this was the company’s cross-cutting policy, and while they would miss out on my business. , salespeople have the right to refuse contracts – according to them
Any reason why you didn’t insist to speak with a supervisor and continue up the chain?
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I have a time limit of about 10 minutes on how long I can stand in one place without leg trouble, and by the time I completed that discussion I had been standing at that counter for over a half hour. I was in no condition to drag it out any farther. I did ask for the store manager, only to be told that he wasn’t even in the office that day.
Thank you. Got it… And I understand…
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