
There are three main categories of rentals: personal (retail), corporate, and insurance, but on every single contract that goes out the agent manually types out how much you pay per day and he has authority to make it pretty much whatever he thinks you should pay. That rate you got when you called in was either the full retail rate, or the first number that popped into the agent’s head. Now, Confessions from the Enterprise rental counter:ġ. I assure you every bit of this is accurate as of February when I left my post, minor details may have changed but I highly doubt it. This list is truly the tip of the iceberg I left the company because I had some misgivings about corporate policies toward customers and employees, but needless to say I picked up a lot of information along the way.

I know every sad angle of the rental car business and I think people should be educated about some of the games that go on behind the counter. In more than six years of employ with ERAC I worked as a grunt (“management trainee”), assistant and branch manager, and finally a manager in the fleet sales division. I sat down wanting to send you a quick list of ways customers can get the upper hand at the Enterprise rental counter, but I know entirely too much about this business to make this brief. They’re just there so you know how the game works.

Despite the commercial with the brown-paper-wrapped car, Enterprise employees hate picking you up and dropping you off.ĭon’t use the tips that require lying. Prices are liquid, and depending on the day of the week and how you butter your agent in certain ways, you can get a good deal.

Car rental insurance is a scam, but you can flip the script and use if to your advantage.

9 tips, 5 pages of insider info about how the car rental game really works. A former manager in the Enterprise fleet sales division has a guilty conscience to unload at your feet.
