Enterprise Rent-A-Car

I had reason to rent a car twice recently from them and they took good care of me. First was for local use. The second time I needed to drop the car off in Joplin Mo. No problems no hassles.

As always, to be fair, I will start by highlighting the positive experiences I had with Enterprise in Manhattan. I originally attempted to rent from the branch office at the airport, but apparently nobody works there, so I called the Manhattan branch. After a few minutes I was personally escorted back to my residence to be later picked up again and given a car at their branch. I am grateful for this accommodation, particularly because the employee was under no obligation to do this for me. But I must comment on the off-​putting experience I had following that.
Before divulging the details, I will say that I filed a complaint and was subsequently (within a day) very professionally and respectfully addressed by a manager there. This manager obviously values customers and wishes to retain their business. However, it is a shame that such grandiose efforts and superior management can be undermined by a seemingly unnecessary policy and a less-​than-​desirable presentation of that policy. Though my conversation with the management left me feeling satisfied to say the least, the policy still remains instated, which is why I feel compelled to write about the issue.
And that brings me to my qualm. This branch (and possibly others) stipulates that military service members — a demographic I belong to — attempting to pay with a debit card reveal extensive details of their professional lives to ensure their integrity. I was presented with a form asking for details including my ‘first line supervisor’ along with his/​her name and phone number, my commanding officer’s name and phone number, my work address and two references along with their information. It was almost as if they were threatening to hunt me down and coerce me into delivering payment if I failed to. This is a policy that is obviously a result of poor experiences the branch has had with service members in the past.
But I have several issues with this. The first is that any organization offering such services has no right whatsoever, in my opinion, to demand information pertinent to their customers’ professional lives before providing the service. Even worse, however, is the seemingly stereotypical perspective taken towards service members, wherein the insinuation is that our status automatically makes us less trustworthy customers. I am a customer just like anybody else, and I expect to be treated with the same dignity. Moreover, I am not a representation of the other customers — military or not — who have failed to fulfill their contractual obligations. And to top it all off, since they seem to be unaware of this, commissioned officers — which I also am — do not have ‘first line supervisors’; only junior enlisted Soldiers have these.
This brings me to the presentation portion of it all. Upon inquiring about why I was being required to provide such information, the response was along the lines of the following: «This is in case you decide you like the car too much and that you aren’t going to pay us». When I attempted to turn in the form with the ‘first line supervisor’ left blank, I was again urged to fill it out, which forced me to explain the reasoning behind leaving it blank. In short, I left feeling very disrespected.
But, as I stated earlier, the management was very quick to rectify the issue. I will again express my gratitude for their professionalism and respect. The policy still remains in effect, however, and this is my sole reason for writing about it here. I am certain the average, credit card-​paying customer will have an outstanding experience here. I just hope that treatment will someday extend to every customer regardless of payment method or occupation.

A superior experience. I was very pleased that every one of my requests was easily satisfied, and when my check in and check out occurred it was very easy.
I showed up looking for a specific car for an indefinite period of time during and after one of the busiest renting weekends of the entire year. Boom. It was a VIP experience.
I believe this office is superbly managed. I suggest this office is examined for training curriculum development: whatever they are doing, they are doing it right.
This is an extremely demanding microcosm of the world to achieve a glowing 5-​star review from me but this office earned it.