Hertz Rent A Car

Worst rental experience. Even though we were first ones off the cruise ship, only the fourth «shuttle» stopped. First one just ignored us, next two were full. You want to know why? Because the smart people running this place decided to send the smallest van known to exist. Every single other rental company sent big or huge vans and buses. But not Hertz! They know better! Who needs a big shuttle that fits more people?
Anyway, after an hour of waiting outside of Port of Miami (no AC, smokers outside, hot, very hot), you will wait an hour in line (even though there’s only a couple of people in front of you) and then another 30 – 45 minutes until they «clean the car». And by «cleaning the car» they mean not cleaning it. At all. Literally, the dirtiest car I’ve ever been in. Final kicker — a trash room full of broken car seats that they tell you to pick one out of.
Do yourself a favor and under no conditions book from this place, or even Hertz for that matter.

C-​R-​A-​Z-​Y. When I dropped off my first rental (drove down from Ft. Lauderdale to catch a cruise), this place was empty. They processed my drop off quickly and drove me to the port with no hassle.
On the way back… you practically have to throw your body in front of the van to get the half-​empty van to stop. If you are able to accomplish that, they take you to office so you can wait in line for an hour and a half. It’s wasn’t so bad as I made some BFFs with a few others in line so we passed the time chit chatting. Luckily I had reservations or I would have been redirected to the Thrifty rental down the street. Even with reservations (and being a Gold card member), there really weren’t cars. Being at the right place at the right time (after waiting FOREVER in line and having a clerk who pretty much had given up on Hertz herself) we were given a 4 tier upgrade. It’s what she had and I was just happy to get out of that place. I really felt bad for her. My tip was warning her about the idiot behind me who complaining the whole time and going on and on about how much worse this was for him versus the rest of us. (Flash to an image of me rolling my eyes at him)

We were supposed to be picked up at 9am but no one answered their phone. Called a different Miami office around 10am and she was rude. Finally around 10:30-:45 we got on a shuttle. It was a quick drive to the office. We have been in line since then (almost a half hour) and they have only helped two people. The line isn’t moving and we are pretty sure they are out of cars. It is 11:21am and I am being charged one hundred dollars and have to have the car back by 4pm at the airport. I better not get charged the full amount. This is ridiculous.

Not prepared for cruise ships? Really. Wish I could give them negative stars. Shuttle takes for ever then no cars when you arrive.

Steer clear of this place. Horrible service! Had an appointment and have literally been waiting for one hour and still have not even spoken to an agent. There were only 2 people ahead of me. Lots of guys milling around but only one at the desk meanwhile he chit chats with customer about renting luxury cars. Unbelievable! Worst Hertz Ever!!!

Excellent experience at Hertz downtown. Probably the fastest, easiest, rental ever. Everyone was professional and kind. The car was clean and new. Return took less than 2 minutes.

Worst hertz ever, president circle member and car only had ¹⁄₈ tank of gas. Had to wait 30 minutes for car to be fueled no guaranteed president circle upgrade

This location was hard to find. During the return, I had to wait 10 mins for someone to receive the vehicle in the fifth floor. Clerk asked me if I had any issues with the car. Before I finished, he cut me off to apologize for any inconvenience. I guess he really didn’t want to know. I will avoid this location in the future.

The only Hertz where Gold members wait longer than regular customers. And this dear agent was very friendly but HORRIBLE at efficiency. She talked about everything from Christmas to sink scum. NEWSFLASH!: some people actually have business to attend to and aren’t remotely interested in your 30 minute soliloquy.

I always rent from this Hertz as I live in the area. They always have the best prices when compared to all the other car rental places, taking cars back is easy, and the staff is always helpful, even when there’s a problem. I would say the only draw back would be that people rent from the cruise ships and sometimes the lines can be long.

Arrived via cruise ship this morning. We were permitted off of the ship at 7:00am. We got off right away, collected our luggage and went to the rental car pickup. The shuttles for Dollar, Thrifty, Alamo, and National were all there, but not Hertz.
I called and Pasquellina answered and said that they didn’t open until 8am and the shuttle couldn’t be at the port until around :25 minutes after that. It was 7:25, so I would have to wait another hour before the shuttle might arrive.
We got a taxicab instead ($ 20 with tip) and arrived at Hertz a few minutes before 8am. Pasquellina quickly and efficiently gave us a full sized car and had us on the road just a few minutes after 8am.
So, definitely a big win as far as customer service with Pasquellina, but a big fail with regard to the shuttle service not being timed to coincide with the arrival of a cruise ship. I wish that I didn’t have to get a taxi in order to get to the Hertz facility quickly following the ship’s arrival. But the service was good once we got there.
UPDATE! — When we dropped off the car at the Orlando airport the individual meeting the cars was working alone. We asked if we needed to stay and he said no, that we would have a receipt emailed to us. Here we are over 24 hours later and stil no receipt! We have called the local office and the national customer service line several times and they say the rental is still outstanding. They have no idea where their car is?! (this isn’t a reflection on the Miami location, but still wanted to mention it)

I admit I was somewhat terrified using this Hertz location based on its abysmal prior reviews, but fortunately our experience was pretty good.
We had just gotten off a cruise ship at the Port of Miami. As we were hauling our luggage out of the terminal, I saw a Hertz shuttle drive by but we weren’t close enough to flag it down. Crap, I thought. I figured it’d be ages before we saw another one. I’d read in other reviews that people had to wait two hours for a shuttle and that others were packed full of people causing the wait to be even longer. I dragged my sister’s half asleep ass off of the ship as early as we possibly could, in hopes of beating the crowd. My strategy paid off.
I wasn’t even sure where we were supposed to be waiting. I tried to call the office to inquire and, as others said, it just rang and rang and rang. No answer. Imagine my surprise when just a few minutes later, another Hertz shuttle drove by, or perhaps it was the same one and had just done a circle around the port, who knows. So I immediately began waving my arms frantically. We were the first two people to be picked up, and stopped to pick up two other families that were getting off of a Disney cruise, army of cranky children in tow.
The drive to the office was very short, it was actually just a couple of blocks from the InterContinental Hotel where we stay pre-​cruise.
Anyhoo. So we arrived and bolted into the office. I wanted to be before the families (they always take forever), especially since I’d also read about them completely running out of cars, even for people with reservations. I think there were only two people in line in front of me. When it was my turn, the dude was very nice. He informed me that all they had left (my heart almost skipped a beat at those words) was a Chevy Cruze. Sigh of relief. I thought he was going to tell me it was some giantass pick up truck or something, which has happened to me before. When I lived in Los Angeles and my car broke down, Enterprise had me tooling around in like an F-​350 or something insane like that.
So here’s what I thought to myself. I made a reservation/​paid for for a full size sedan. I ended up loving the Cruze, but I don’t think I would consider that a «full size.» According to the website, I’d be getting a Nissan Altima, Chevy Malibu «or similar.» Maybe I’m crazy, and a Cruze is considered a full size. It’s definitely the size I’m most comfortable with driving and since I did love it, I’m not going to complain.
It took me awhile to figure out how to open the key to get into the damn car, it was like a switchblade. And how to figure out the keyless start but once I figured it out, it was great fun. My Nissan Sentra is very basic. I also couldn’t figure out how to get out of the parking garage. That was a hilarious adventure.
Oh, and the best part. We drove it up to Clearwater, to be dropped off at the PIE airport. On the way, I stopped to fill the gas tank and it took me 30 minutes (no joke) to figure out how to get the gas thing open. I was flipping through the manual like a fiend and scouring the entire interior in search of a switch or button. Spoiler alert — there wasn’t one. You just pressed down on the actual gas door thing itself and it popped open. How easy.
One other inneresting tidbit: we had to pay tolls on our drive up, which we did, in cash. But then my credit card was charged additional money directly from Hertz for tolls — which I already paid! It was only $ 6.25 or something, but I feel like I paid them twice. Boo.

I wish I had read the reviews before booking our rental car thru these guys. I guess our experience was better, we went from the cruise terminal got there at 10:30a, left at noon. Once we finally were helped, after waiting in line for over an hour, they did a nice job helping us. My wife was able to go to the Post Office while I waited in line, so not all is lost. With our cruise package, we could have taken the bus to MIA and rented a car there. I don’t know if it would have been cheaper or easier. I have no idea why they bother having other service desks if they don’t staff them.

Shuttle takes way too long. Staff is glum and not polite. Its a confusing location (inside a parking garage.). If you have another option take it. Avoid this Hertz location.

First of all, I’m decades-​long renter. But this week will mark a bitter taste I have for Hertz. All started with reservation no. G44418916E9 out of Port of Miami location. After our Carnival Splendor ship arrived on Sunday, Jan. 25 around 7:30AM, I tried calling the rental location (229 Southeast 2^nd Street in Miami), but no answer or a voice mail option. As we stepped out of the terminal to the shuttle pickup location around 9AM, we saw a full Hertz van leaving. The driver informed us (about 3 other parties at that point) that a van will arrive 20 in minutes. We just stepped aside and waited. That’s when it started to get interesting. Those 20 minutes turned into 30, 40, 50 and on. By then there were numerous parties waiting for a Hertz shuttle.
All calls to the rental location went unanswered. We were left stranded with our families and luggage with no option. Two hours (yes, TWO hours!!!) went by. People then starting to talk to safety officials, cruise employees, other shuttle drivers… anyone who will listen! One other van driver gave us a number to try. We got a hold of a Hertz driver and he said rental location is closed! WHAT! No one informed any of us, either by voice call or email! This is still an active reservation! There was a marathon going on, but this is YOUR city. How do you miss that? What alternate options you provided to your customers? Who did you call to inform that location is closed? Totally unacceptable by lowest of the low standards!
There were over 20 families left stranded by Hertz Miami Cruse Port location with absolutely no information, apologies, alternate transportations, etc. After about two and half hours, we took a taxi to the airport. A wonderful employee listened to us, made a new reservation and around noon, we were set free with a car.
First of all, your manager at the Miami Cruise Port location should be fired immediately! Call all other reservation holders yesterday and find out their experiences. I am certain that it will be echoed by everyone. I looked at the message boards. I see there have been numerous times when this location provided horrible experiences to renters. You need to take immediate action! Until then, I will continue to share my experiences with travelers and hopefully save 4 – 5 hours from their lives!

horrible service, took an hour to pick us up from dodge island — we had reservations! they have no local number to call. Getting the car was a mess too, no organization at all. They didn’t even know what the stall number was for the car, they just said «yeah, it’s on the fifth floor a red avenger» and let us wander around pressing the unlock button around the whole fifth level. GO SOMEWHERE ELSE!

We travel often and this is by far the worst rental car experience. I’m unsure if I would ever use this company again! Based on looking at other reviews this is NOT an isolated incident! We walked two blocks to Enterprise and rented a car within 5 minutes.

Chaos for the second year in a row in this horrible, scruffy unwelcoming place. The Sunday service here is slow and almost non — existent yet there’s less than 6 customers in the queue. About this time last year I waited five hours for a car and I was determined not to allow a repeat of what was unacceptable treatment this time around. So after about a thirty minute queuing wait, when I got to the customer desk, I told the attendant what had happened the last time and that I expected to get my car quickly (remember I’d booked and paid for the car three months before I got here) so I was assured I’d be sorted out. The few staff are sorta friendly and it only took this guy about 40 more minutes to sort it out and for me to get a Nissan Maxima. Once I got the keys I had to go up 5 floors to pick it up. Mind you a 70 minute wait is just as equally unacceptable — I got a car from Hertz in Barcelona airport 5 weeks ago and it only took 40 minutes from start to finish there. There’s one customer toilet and a water cooler to give customers a drink and there’s a Starbucks around the block with good coffee and free wifi. One good thing is that their cars are fitted with tags to go through the Sunpass road tolls and the bill appears on your credit card about a month later so no queuing or slowing down. Another thing is it’s located very near the freeway to Orlando. I suspect though that that’s me parting company with Hertz, I’ve found that loyalty counts for nothing with them and if that’s the best they can do it’s pretty shoddy and well it’s just simply not good enough; in fact it’s pretty lousy.

If I could give this place zero stars I would. This is my first post on Unilocal and I was so disgusted, that I felt this neeed to be said. We arrived with the reservation and waited in line for over a half hour. After waiting in line, the guy at the counter was not even sure they had cars and left the desk for approximately 10 to 15 minutes to go see if they had anything left. So much for having a reservation! Once we finally got our car, it was full of cigarette ashes and reeked of cigarette smoke. Not wanting to get charged for smoking in the car and stinking it up, I told the lot attendant. She said that they would be glad to give me another car if I was willing to wait around for another 20 minutes. I had to be somewhere and could not wait any longer. I will never, ever go back to this place again and hope nobody else ever does either.

Chris and his team are awesome. Really go out of their way to make your experience as smooth as possible.
One of the reps, Jay went above and beyond recently and took this Hertz to 5 star status. It’s one thing to ask for help and be given the «save the bottom line, sorry we can’t do anything it’s a process or guilt trip, just this time» speech from a rep and be helped. But it’s another to ask for help and without hesitation be taken care of and valued as a customer.
Am both an Avis First club member and Hertz Gold plus member, and rent a lot so I am pretty realistic about my car rental expectations with or without any status or club tier.
This location is really busy at times especially on weekend mornings so expect a little chaos at times due to so many travellers showing up at once. Considering there are so many demanding people in line at times, the team does a great job of balancing customers needs and the business.
Excellent work Chris, Jay, and team. Thank you!!!