National Car Rental

I rented a car at the Memphis Airport last month. Easy in and out and the car was clean and new! I picked a Jeep Grand Cherokee out of the Emerald Aisle. Great doing business with National and I use them and Enterprise as my primary business car rental of choice.

I normally love National and the Emerald Aisle. I just moved away from Memphis and was aware of the «long» walk that some others complain about, but it’s really not bad and they having moving walkways the entire way. It’s definitely better than having to take a shuttle to an offsite location! My three stars for this trip are due to three main things: 1. there were four «cars» on the Emerald Aisle… two Nissan trucks and two Jeep SUVs. I am a shorter person, which is not National’s fault, however, the fact NONE of the limited «cars» left had a seat that would adjust in height was a big issue for me. I ended up taking the best one I could see over the hood of and had to add padding in the seat. If you are going to stock cars with limited seat adjustment, at least offer cushions that elevate the driver if needed. 2. The car console was disgustingly dirty and sticky. Apparently someone had spilled something that wasn’t cleaned up and I only found out after I had put my cell phone down in the cup holder. 3. I dropped off around 5am in the morning. This is where I am used to employees greeting me at the car, doing the return check and providing me a receipt. Well, nobody was available, nobody was in the kiosk, and I finally found the key drop. Instructions near the vehicle return on how to handle «off hours» delivery would be very customer-​friendly.
Just not feeling the usual level of service at this location. I hope it was an outlier.

National offices around the country are generally really helpful. But the folks at Memphis practically did backflips to make sure it was a memorable experience. I hardly had to wait and yet two staff apologized for the wait. They were happy and enthusiastic. The man by the cars was very friendly and a great «host» in helping me getting a car. One of the best (of hundreds) of experiences I’ve had renting a car! And the car had a truly full tank of fuel, was immaculate and check out and check back in were a breeze!

As always, National Car Rental scored an «A»! I would have given them an «A+», but there was NO SHUTTLE SERVICE at the Memphis International Airport! The last time I visited Memphis, my mother-​in-​law, who is disabled, had to take the .25 miles hike to the terminal with me and she suffered. There was no one available to assist at 5:00 a.m. You guys need to fix this ADA issue! But, overall, great service!

I have used this location several times, my most recent visit was flawless. On a previous visit the local team went above and beyond to help me with a lost item issue. Love the Emerald Club option to choose your car.

Came into Memphis on a medical transport with my daughter and needed to get home for work while my husband stayed. So, very last minute decision to get a rental car. Reserving vehicle was so easy, and Emerald Club benefit allowed me to upgrade to a larger vehicle without paying extra.
Definitely not the company’s fault, but the Memphis airport signage is awful for anyone driving in to pick up a car. A fix would be for the web site to provide some detailed instructions because, unless you’ve been there before, there’s no way to know that you should park in the economy garage.
I needed to ask a question once we got there, so waited in line. The line moved quickly and the staff were so nice. We then picked out a car and I was on my way home. Staff in the Knoxville location where I returned the car were just as nice.
Thank you for making one thing during that weekend less stressful than I anticipated. And, beating your competitors in pricing. With insane medical bills, and our travel being funded by others, it was nice to get a really good deal with my state employee contract discount and no crazy drop off charges.

As an Emerald Club member, the transition from airplane to rental car couldn’t be smoother. They have a wide selection and variety of makes and models. Choose your vehicle and drive away. I recently rented a small SUV that was comfortable for me and my passengers. There were broken potato chips in the center console, but other than that, the car was perfect.

The rental car area is like a 2 mile walk from the terminal. National also wanted to charge me $ 6.00 /​day for satellite radio which is outrageous.

Always an easy rental. The car is clean and waiting every time. This time I couldn’t stop for gas. They charged me $ 1.80 which was the average pump price.
So nice not to feel cheated.
I’ll always use National.

The Emerald Club member benefit of going straight to your car is what got me to switch to National my experience last week is what will keep me going back. Normally everything goes so smoothly that it’s hard to find anything to comment on. Last week somehow my reservation didn’t get tagged to my rental (a fun sports car) from the elite aisle so when I went to return it the bill was about a thousand dollars higher than I expected! Now normally a mess like that is a 1 star experience.
But the staff there took ownership of the problem and tried to resolve it. And they seemed to care about the inconvenience caused. They cancelled the charge and tried to reenter the reservation for the correct amount. When they ran into IT problems, they recognized that I was being held up unnecessarily and sent me on my way with the assurance that it would be fixed shortly. Sure enough, when I landed in my connection city I had a corrected bill confirmation waiting in my email.
No system is perfect, but how these team members handled a problem was a sign that they can be trusted even when the system fails. I’d be happy to have them on my team any day.

I love the app & ability to skip the counter & pick my car. No time wasted!

This location is the worst National location I’ve been to. I travel to Memphis about 6 times each year and more often than not when I arrive there are no cars available. Coming from CA I usually arrive mid afternoon and that seems to be the worst time for car availability. I have to use National due to my company’s contract, otherwise, I’d select another company. The people working the front and exit booths are always professional and pleasant, their jobs must be hard dealing with dissatisfied customers everyday.

The best rental car company ever… and I have tried many. You guys are the best. The vehicles are clean and new, the price is good. Thank you National

I started using National because our company switched to them years ago as a «preferred supplier» and I have used them every since for both personal and professional travel. I love the ease of creating a reservation online or by phone; Emerald isle access; and speedy checkout/​checkin. The cars are always newer models, clean, and a huge assortment of vehicles to chose from. I have traveled the US extensively – and for the most part the customer service all locations have been good. No complaints. Will continue to use and spread the good news.
~Happy Customer

No matter how friendly the staff are here — it’s never going to get a better rating from me. I felt like I was walking to my hotel. From plane departure to car rental counter seemed like at least a mile walk — I might be wrong, but seriously it’s close. I was lucky it wasn’t cold as I wasn’t prepared to have such a long walk — the very longest out of any location I have ever been to in North America!
In addition to the extremely long walk — the choice of cars was weak and my car has a funky smell in it. Looked clean, but smelled bad! The only reason I would return is that it’s the company choice — however, Enterprise is also on the approved vendor list and I may consider that!

Absolutely the worst location I’ve ever been to. Jan 11^th 2016.
9:50: Arrived. A couple jeeps and 12 minivans were it for selection. Asked for Emerald Executive upgrade. The guy asked for my name, said to wait.
10pm: Waiting, nothing comes up. Guy asked for my name again. Directed me to an Alamo «midsize» across the lot that was actually a compact. Kept waiting for another car.
10:05. Guy starts a waiting list. Asks for my name. Again.
10:10. A stock Corola pulls up. Fine. Guy asks for my name again. Points at car. As I load the trunk he calls out my name (again!) to crowd as if he’s call me for the first time.
10:12. I pull up to what’s apparently an Alamo checkout. Guy in booth says to get in the National line which is already 12 cars deep. Fine.
10:30. I’m still waiting to check out. Alamo guy finally starts waving cars over to HIS empty lane. Is about to let 3 more cars in before me before I yelled at him and reminded him he already kicked me out of the lane. I told him I wanted him to handle me NOW… and he did.
10:35. I finally leave and there are 20 more cars in line. Mostly either minivans or people who finally got nicer cars than me after waiting 30 min.
Seriously, this is how you treat your executive elite members? People who pay you thousands of dollars every year? If that’s how you treat me, I can’t imagine how hard it must be for everyone else who is trying your brand for the first time. I will never rent from this location again, especially with a Hertz right next door.

Even though there have been several times I have arrived to no cars available and have to wait a bit to have one cleaned and delivered for use, Miss Regina is a delight! She makes the trip pleasurable EVERY time. She greets me with a smile and a sincere concern for my wait and ensures I have the very best of choices when she is able. I adore her and her attitude of helpfulness! In hopes the right folks find this and celebrate her as they should!

Painless, plus I got a cool ride. By joining as an Emerald customer I could bypass the counter & go right to the lineup of available cars & take my choice.
A week in a Jeep was just the ticket to make my explorations a cool adventure.

Good service. Knowledgeable and good staff!
I will recommend them to all !!

I’ve use the National Emerald Club for years, at multiple locations across the country. Mem location has the absolute rudest and laziest employees I’ve ever encountered.
The return bay will be full of cars waiting to be processed while the emerald aisle has one or two available vehicles.
You are such a bother to the lady sitting in the checkout booth; the hassle it is for her to check you out is shocking.
The vehicles 90% of the time stink of smoke and have burn marks on the seat. Also, I would be concerned regarding the maintenance, as most vehicles desperately need an alignment.
After my last experience, I will use a different company while in Memphis.