I live in Lehi, but I booked a standard vehicle in Draper using my Costco membership, months in advance. I was hoping they'd maybe have deals on convertibles when I got there. Upon arrival, I found the facility to be smaller than expected. The parking lot is tiny.
I walked in with my road trip buddy at pick-up time and was greeted by, I believe a manager, but I cannot remember her name. I told her I was there to pick up for a reservation, and she asked when I made it. I told her, then she said they were low on cars and that I was lucky I had made the reservation so long ago... like I wouldn't have gotten one? Huh.
I asked if they happened to have any convertibles, and she laughed, saying they don't have convertibles. Weird, because they were available to reserve here on Costco.com and at the SLC airport. They were out of standard vehicles and gave me to a brand new VW Tiguan which ended up working out really well.
Unfortunately, I felt this manager was skeptical of me and my friend maybe because we both look pretty young, but we are both in our mid-30s, and I have rented cars many-a-time. She grilled us with questions, some of them I had never been asked. It started with "Where are you going?" I said we're taking a road trip east for a wedding. She asks me, "Like where East?" I say, "East Utah", and she says, "Where in East Utah? Like Vernal?" I say, "Yeah."
She says, "Well, that's pretty far." (Um, yeah, unlimited mileage) Then she starts giving me the spiel about insurance, and I tell her I'm covered under my current State Farm policy. She asks me if I have comp and collision, and I say yes. She asks for a copy of my insurance card to verify my coverage and deductibles. She repeats back to me the deductibles I already know, and asks if I'm sure I want to decline because they're $500 each. I say yes, I know the coverage you're providing is unnecessary as I already have my own coverage. I used to work for Farmers Insurance, so I know how it works. She squints and says your insurance card says State Farm, so you worked at State Farm or Farmers? She seems to be insinuating I'm making this up. I tell her, I am aware my policy is with State Farm, and I indeed worked with Farmers. She reminds how the process will go if I damage the car in any way. Yeah, thanks. I get it. You think I'm going to damage the car.
She says she has to verify information that "every" Enterprise location must confirm. She asks for my occupation, and I tell her I'm self-employed. She asks for the company name I work for, and I tell her I am working as a freelance editor. And she responds, "Okay, but what's the company name?" I tell her I get paid under my name, my SSN -- it's not mandatory to have a company name when working for yourself. Sheesh.
She then asks for my full SSN which I have never provided to any rental location, but I needed to get the vehicle and get on with my trip. After that, she asks what my friend and mine's relationship is to each other for no apparent reason. I tell her he's my friend. She says okay, because if he's going to be driving, he would probably only be free if he was my spouse. I didn't ask to add him as a driver, but she went ahead and confirmed that Costco does allow one free driver. So she added him AFTER asking him for his occupation, place of work, and full SSN.
We walk outside to inspect the vehicle, and she skims over it saying they wouldn't charge for any dents smaller than a quarter, but not feeling like she trusted me made me not trust her. I start taking pictures of anything I see and tell my friend to open the doors so I can inspect the inside. She tells me it's unnecessary and gives me glaring, unapproving looks.
We walk back inside, she gives me the keys (but doesn't look like she wants to), and tells us to have a good trip in a hollow sort of way. We leave, and I feel like she's just watching my every move.
I receive a text from "Kendall" (not the same person) the next morning, thanking me for renting with them and seeing if I have any questions or concerns. If this wasn't automated, I felt like it was a babysitting check-in like, have you wrecked the car yet? I rolled my eyes and didn't respond.
The car and trip worked out really well, and we had a good time. No issues OR DAMAGE whatsoever.
The day I had to turn the car back in, I called the agency to see if I could get a ride back to my house once I dropped the car since my friend was no longer with me. The same chick answered, asked how far away, and I said Lehi. She said it was out of their range, so she told me to get an Uber. I had just spent quite a bit of money on the trip, so I asked if I could get a ride some of the way back home -- however far they could take me. She hesitated and said they could take me 5mins toward home. Thanks.
Kendall drove me to a grocery store 5mins south to the T. I really enjoyed our conversation. He seemed like a cool guy. read more