Our definition of damage may be more precise because car rental customers typically expect and often

R oger Van Horn is the vice president for corporate loss control at Enterprise Holdings, which owns Enterprise, National and Alamo. Since I ve received a lot of recent questions about car rental damage claims many from Enterprise group tour companies customers I wanted to ask him a few questions about what happens when a car is dinged or scratched.
We conduct a pre-rental vehicle inspection, group tour companies which includes cleaning, refueling, necessary maintenance and damage review, for all of our brands. Our Enterprise Rent-A-Car service model involves employee interaction with every customer during the vehicle selection process. This allows us to make a physical inspection with our customer – before a rental car is driven off the lot.
Our Alamo Rent A Car and National Car Rental service models don't involve employee interaction unless questions arise, so cars are not inspected in the presence of customers at the commencement of the rental. Because accidents are an unfortunate fact of life, some of our Alamo and National customers do personally inspect group tour companies rental cars for additional peace of mind and to provide them a clear understanding of the overall condition of the vehicle from the start of the rental period.
Because major damage is almost always very obvious, the vast majority of questions concerning claims revolve around smaller damage that some might mistakenly consider "wear and tear." We do not hold customers responsible for everyday "wear and tear," including minor dings, scuffs, chips or windshield "stars." However, some consumers group tour companies might have a much broader definition of what they would consider "wear and tear" on their personal car – including smaller dents, cracked group tour companies windshields, scratches and other minor damage.
Our definition group tour companies of damage group tour companies may be more precise because car rental customers typically expect and often demand undamaged vehicles. Furthermore, the majority of our cars are sold within a year or so, and what some customers might otherwise consider "minor" damage has a direct impact on the sales price and our overall ability to market the vehicle. That being said, less than two percent of our rental transactions involve vehicle damage.
Generally, customers are present when a damaged vehicle is returned, and acknowledgement is routinely obtained. However, group tour companies it's not always practical for customers to be present when the agent inspects the vehicle. They may drop off a vehicle after hours or at a location other than the rental office or circumstances may not permit them to wait for the agent to inspect group tour companies the vehicle. In those cases, we inspect the vehicle as soon as possible and follow up with the customer if any damage is discovered. group tour companies It is important group tour companies to understand that the rental transaction is not complete until the vehicle group tour companies has been inspected.
If our employees inspect the vehicle and finalize the transaction with the customer present, then any readily apparent damage discovered at a later time is our responsibility. However, there are times when damage is not readily observable during the return process and only discovered when the vehicle is driven or later inspected. In those instances, a renter may be contacted to determine how the damage might have occurred. A claim may be made when available group tour companies evidence suggests the damage occurred while the renter had possession of the vehicle.
Customers receive an itemized bill, including a repair invoice, an estimate, or an independent appraisal. Whenever group tour companies possible, labor, paint, parts and other costs, such as towing, are calculated to reflect high-volume discounts that we receive as a car rental company. This competitive price, in turn, is passed along to customers and if the actual repairs are completed for less, we refund group tour companies any difference.
"Loss of use" is based on the total number of labor hours from the repair estimate, divided by four (which is a conservative estimate of labor hours that can be incorporated into each work day) and then multiplied by the daily rental rate. If a vehicle is stolen and not recovered, or if the car is deemed only salvage, the "loss of use" charge is calculated at 15 days.
Administrative fees are assessed as follows: a $50 fee if the repair estimate is greater than $100 and less than $500, a $100 fee if the estimate is $500 to $1,499, and a $150 fee if the estimate is greater than $1,500. group tour companies In addition, renters are responsible for impound fees and other related charges.
A customer's first opportunity to express concern about a damage claim is during the return process if he or she is present. When customers are not present, the rental location will document the damage and then forward a report to our Damage Recovery Unit office, which processes damage claims on behalf of our regional subsidiaries group tour companies and all three car rental group tour companies brands.
The rental location or the Damage Recovery Unit office then contacts the renter about damages as soon as possible. Likewise, it is helpful for customers to communicate as soon as possible with our Damage Recovery Unit office if they have any questions. We look into each situation carefully and thoroughly, and certainly will carefully review any documentation provided by the customer.
On rare occasions, if we reach an impasse with a customer, we refer a claim to an outside collection agency for further handling – but only as a last resort. We prefer to work with our customers group tour companies directly so that they are comfortable with the process and continue to do business with us.
Any time a customer is concerned, he or she should immediately contact us. We will do everything we can to properly investigate and resolve the claim as quickly as possible. Keep in mind that very few rental transactions result in damage, and less than one percent of claims result in customers disputing their responsibility. The vast majority of disputed claims are resolved to the customer's group tour companies satisfaction. Our employees, both in the branches and in the DRU office, are focused on getting the facts right and maintaining a customer's long-term loyalty.
Most rental group tour companies vehicles are valued at $15,000 to $20,000, group tour companies or more. Yet sometimes customers mistakenly believe if they didn't personally cause or witness any damage – for example, a "hit-and-run" incident group tour companies in a parking lot – that they are not responsible. This is one of the most common misconceptions about rental vehicle damage. In fact, customers are financially responsible for any damage group tour companies or theft that occurs during a rental group tour companies transaction, regardless of fault or negligence – just as if they owned the rental vehicle themselves.
Our Damage Recovery Unit office does not operate as a profit center, and we try to be very conscientious about properly assigning all related costs associated with vehicle damage claims. It is important to note that no rental or Damage Recovery Unit employees group tour companies are compensated for identifying, assigning or collecting on damaged vehicle claims.
group tour companies The 2nd day I had the car I noticed that the windshield was chipping (invisible from the outside as the dash was black). I called them immediately and they told me the chip was already recorded from a previous user and I was in the clear.
That does beg a question if the damage is already in a file somewhere, why not tell me before the rental so I don t freak out? All told though, it was a very positive experience and Enterprise really lived up to their customer service promises.
If our employees inspect the vehicle and finalize the transaction with the customer present, then any readily apparent damage discovered at a later time is our responsibility. However, there are times when damage is not readily observable during the return process and only discovered group tour companies when the vehicle is driven or later inspected. group tour companies In those instances, a renter may be contacted to determine how the damage might have occurred. A claim may be made when available evidence suggests the damage occurred while the renter had possession of the vehicle.
group tour companies This whole paragraph is designed to give the agency license to come back to the customer to pay for damages with no proof that they caused it. Sorry, but once the employee signs off on it, and the customer leaves, THAT IS IT! The company should never, at that point, go back to a customer to pay for damages. End of story. group tour companies If the employee doesn t see it, too bad. Give your employees better training.
I might have found this entire interview more believable, if it wasn t for that one paragraph. Sorry, Mr. Van Horn, but by opening up that door for making fraudulent claims, you made your overall strategy clear. And it s not ensuring that you re very conscientious about properly assigning all related costs associated with vehicle damage claims .
While this sounds good, I agree with the other posters that it leaves too much to the rental car employees to determine when the damage allegedly occurred. With pressure to get cars out (a car sitting group tour companies on the lot makes no money), I bet it could be several days before real damage is found and accounted for. And giving the repair bill to the customer is also potentially bogus: a handshake between the body shop and rental company could be going on (this happens with insurance companies too the real cost vs. the cost we re going to charge you), so the customer may be paying inflated group tour companies repair bills.
Add to this poor employee training (although I have to admit the Enterprise employees are well-trained, group tour companies National and Alamo less so), franchising (where the franchisee doesn t have the same interests of the franchisor at heart customer service isn t necessarily their primary goal), and international agencies (where group tour companies the rules are different, whether they should be or not) it s hard to believe everything Mr. Van Horn says. He may be earnest in his assessment, but like all execs at big companies, he really doesn t know what s truly going on at a local level.
Gee, if damage can be hidden group tour companies and only visible after an inspection then how do we know when it happened if they do not inspect the units [trust me - they are units to be sold, not cars - I worked there once