I flew into Cork from the U.S. last week, and had reserved a car online from this branch. I was met…read morein person by two agents, Fiona and Kieran, who were stupendously helpful. They got me into a good car, helped cart and load my heavy bags (of which there were many, because I'm staying for a few months), and answered all of my questions thoroughly. I felt very secure getting on the road for my first Ireland driving adventure after talking with them. I rented an economy car that turned out to be rather roomy (4 doors and hatchback), and was nearly new-- only 4000km on it when I drove off. The price for the manual transmission car was very reasonable! Fiona carefully explained my insurance options, and I opted for the additional coverage which lowers the excess (deductible) to 100 euros from the standard 1800 euros. It seemed worth it for the extra peace of mind. I brought a Garmin GPS from home, into which I'd downloaded an Ireland map, and was good to go! Enterprise offers a 24-help line here if you have an accident or the car has mechanical problems. All in all, this has been a stellar car-rental experience, and I hope to deal with Fiona and Kieran again when I renew the rental at the end of the month.
Updated: I went back to turn in my car and get another one (28-day rental limit), and had a different kind of experience.
- Before coming in, I received three emails in the morning from the manager David asking me to switch days because there were no Class B cars on the lot (I had pre-paid for Class B). That was impossible for me because I'm living two hours from Cork City, and my schedule is quite full. He finally offered to let me keep the car I was currently using (a Class C car.) I spent €8 on a car wash and completely topped off the tank shortly before I arrived, thinking I was keeping that car.
- When I arrived, David and Aiden (another employee) told me that did have another car for me after all. They put me into a VW Up, which I realized only later is a Class A car, but I'd prepaid for a Class B. It seems that David had no problem downgrading me to class of car, but for some reason, did not want to honor our prior agreement (which I have saved in email) for me to keep the Ford Focus (Class C.) I've emailed to ask him whether there will be an adjustment for the difference in price since I paid for a larger class car, but he has not replied. To be honest, it's not the downgrade that I mind so much as the fact that they didn't tell me what was happening.
- The VW gas tank was only a quarter full (and took unleaded petrol). This was a bummer, as my drive home is very long. A quarter tank was not sufficient. When I expressed disappointment at this, Aiden said "We only have a diesel tank on site, just return the car with a quarter tank." That was not the point. The point is that it's an extra inconvenience for me, the customer.
- I received an email the day after all of this and replied with the concerns above. I received a reply from a person who did not sign their name, in which they gave an odd defense of David's decision-making (it suggested that since I had been upgraded to a class C car in the past, I shouldn't complain about the downgrade...as if those two things were in any way connected.) I also have reason to suspect that it was David the manager himself who replied to my email (in which he references himself in the third person), and which I suspect is why the email was not signed. That was concerning.
Bottom line: I'm now of two minds on this agency and location. I think your experience here will be reflective of which employees helps you, and whether they are customer-service oriented or more focused on the company's bottom line.
