I was rear-ended in a parking garage almost as soon as we moved to California. Welcome to Palo Alto! So AAA insurance is paying for the repair through Mathew-Carlson and the rental car through Hertz. The gentleman at Mathews-Carlson told me that Hertz would come get me to pick up the rental car. Hertz told me to give them one hour notice before going to the car shop (in a phone message which I have on file). I called this morning when they opened and was told by a gentleman that the car shop would deliver me to Hertz for my rental car. I got to the car shop and they said that Hertz was supposed to come get me. Mixed messages for sure. The car shop called Hertz and they did indeed send someone to come get me. Daniel, the Hertz driver, was very pleasant. He asked me, on the way over, to have my claim number and license ready so that they could help me quickly upon our arrival. He welcomed me to California and excitedly told me about the new cars they had gotten in recently. He is invested in the company and image for sure - a tribute to Hertz. I told him that I had left my temporary license in the van at the shop but that I had my old Illinois license with me. (Getting a license in CA is a whole other horror story.) He said that it might be an issue but that he would go back and get it if needed. We got to Hertz and Jackie, the manager, asked me for my credit card and license. I gave it to her and she immediately handed me my license back and was ready to dismiss me. I tried explaining to her that Daniel had said that he would go back for my license and she talked right over me. She was ready to make me find my way back to the car shop to get my license and then find my way back to Hertz again - with no car. I had to ask her to listen to me, take a deep breath and remind her that customer service is part of her job. (The attitude here in CA Is very different from our Midwest friendly values.) I then slowly explained that Daniel had offered to retrieve my license from the van in the car shop, should it be needed. She was clearly not happy about this but, with a sigh, went to retrieve Daniel. I don't rent cars often - maybe once every ten years. My husband, however, rents them over 25 times per year for business travel purposes. I will insure that he does not use Hertz. There are plenty of other car rental companies out there that we don't have to settle for curt behavior or mixed messages. I am giving them two stars for Daniel's efforts and for the fact that the office is clean and bright and smells good. Update: Jackie apologized for starting off on the wrong foot. This earned another star from me. Odd for two different employees (Jackie and Daniel) to talk about their brand new cars to me and then to be handed a 2017 Camry with 35000 miles on it, but it'll do. read more

Absolutely outstanding service - strongly recommend this location. I needed an SUV on really short notice, and this location had one, albeit larger than I wanted. Akil was the friendliest and most helpful associate you could ever wish for. He worked diligently and patiently with me to resolve every single problem, and his manager was as friendly and helpful. I had several special requests, and Akil worked through every one with me - he really wanted to make sure that I will leave the location happily, and all of that on a Friday afternoon, 30 minutes before closing. I was super impressed and thankful for his great service. read more

I reserved a car and prepaid for it. When I arrived to pick it up they said they didn't have it. I specifically reserved an EV. When I arrived they didn't have any EVs. There was no attempt to help with the issue. The only choice they gave me was a Corolla. read more

I saw all the negative views and was very hesitant about renting a car from this Hertz location. But Sophia was super friendly and very attentive and provided excellent service. I was very happy and satisfied with my experience. read more

Horrible. I was charged $200 for smoking in the car--nobody in my household smokes at all. I tried to dispute it from my credit card company but failed. I'm going to contact my credit company again. Avoid this place. read more

This location is not the best location in the area. The Stanford and Palo Alto Sheraton Hotel locations are far better. The challenges at this location include but are not limited to: 1. limited cars: even with a reservation, a car is not guaranteed. I'd recommend calling before you head to this location but they unfortunately don't pick up the phone much. 2. car class: variable. Meaning, if you booked a mid-size SUV, you may get a small crossover or hatchback. And if all they have available is a car above the class you booked, you'll have to pay for the upgrade. 3. wait time: long. Most recent rental took about 45 minutes. 4. gas: thus far, we have yet to receive a rental with a full tank at this location. Not much of a problem until you return it at the same level and they charge you to fill it all the way. It is impossible to get that additional inflated cost reimbursed. At best, you may get a credit towards your next rental. 5. cleanliness: not only are the cars here not properly cleaned, but you may have to wait for them to clean the car AFTER you've already checked in and paid. 6. customer service: you may be offered water while you wait. They usually greet you when you walk in, which is good. 7. status: Hertz status doesn't mean anything at this location. nothing. It is not acknowledged. 8. payment: they mess it up often. You may get charged for gas, someone else's rental (again, darn near impossible to get that fixed), or something else. Overall, an unreliable location that could benefit from a complete business makeover. Some of the staff there are super nice, but the business itself needs help. read more

This review update drops the stars to 1 and suggests you rent from Toyota down the street or Avis around the corner on Middlefield. Why? 1. Reserved a vehicle from Hertz that was unavailable on the pickup day. Hertz upgraded the car but charged for the upgrade even though the rental agreement says they won't. I asked ... they said no. 2. Needed a different vehicle for a second week. Prepaid for a large sedan "a Chevy Malibu or similar." Was offered a Kia Soul, a Toyota Corolla, and finally accepted a Kia Forte although none of those vehicles is from the large sedan category. No refund or adjusted price. 3. Sent my concerns to Hertz through their website. Heard back that they would forward them to the Palo Alto store. Have heard nothing for several weeks. 4. Filled out the survey sent by Hertz. Reiterated my complaints. Contacted by a Hertz rep that they are concerned. Have heard nothing back. So, despite previous positive experiences several years ago ... cannot recommend that you'll get what you pay for. I've had good experiences at Avis on Middlefield and from the Toyota dealership at San Antonio and Middlefield. Will be going to one of them next time. read more

Zero. Had a reservation from the location in Palo Alto but could not get anyone on the phone for a scheduled pickup for 25 hours. Contacted Enterprise and was done in 30 minutes. read more

Bad service who is responsible for this to happen? Who is hiring these people to be rude and act as if it's okay to treat customers like they don't mean anything? Someone needs to check that girl that was there at 2pm answering phone because she's lucky I wasn't able to pull up at the location in person. read more

I would give negative stars if I could. This establishment is dishonest to their customers. Please maintain all the receipts and make a note of the car. I've dealt with Hertz for the last decade and continued to go to them. They are rude, the cars are in bad shape and they say things like they gave a receipt when they didn't. Please maintain all the documentation and keep everything in writing to avoid last minute charges on a substandard car. read more

Incredibly long wait to get a car, with little to no awareness/urgency on the part of the staff. My insurance booked here while my car was in the body shop and only one person can apparently process reservations done through insurance. read more

False advertisement. I booked my rental online for a specific kind of car car. When I get there, the guy tells me he doesn't have any available, that he'll "upgrade" me for free. It wasn't an upgrade at all but I still accepted. Then he tells me I can't rent the car unless I have a major credit card. Nowhere does it say that. Nowhere. I took an Uber here from another city and now I have to catch one back. Do not use this location. read more

Terrible location. no cars. I called to have a car exchanged and waited all day. They finally called me mid afternoon to tell me to drive to the airport location. Also when i called to check, i was on hold for 10 minutes read more

Made a reservation for a vehicle online beforehand, then had to wait in the decrepit lobby while they cleaned the vehicle. Another couple walked in after us and unfortunately had to wait for the single customer service agent who mysteriously disappeared to be helped. They poked their head in the back to see if there was someone else and they were told curtly that the agent would be with them shortly. Not nice, not clean, not efficient, not worth going to again. read more

Who cancels 2 hours before a reso is supposed to be picked up? On a weekend where not many cars are available. Imagine that. And the lady didn't even really give me any solutions, just canceled and told me to check other locations. If you don't have the car, why tf is it online? All the other locations managed to do that, why not yours? Super unprofessional that's why I only do enterprise lol thanks for the reminder! read more

I came to drop off a car, but they don't have no nobody to take you back home and they just have really bad attitude

The female employee working in the front is extremely rude and has ZERO customer service. The prices are outrageous compared to other rental car companies around. Definitely will not return back. read more

Took the pick up driver over an hour to pick me up 5 miles away. The guys calls and tells me he's lost and his gps gave him the wrong directions. I get in the car and he wants me to give him direction back to the rental place very unprofessional. read more

I am a Hertz Gold Plus member and have rented cars from Hertz in location around the country. I had the worst experience trying to rent a car at the Palo Alto Hertz rental location on San Antonio Rd. I had a reservation for what I thought was the following, according to my reservation. Your Vehicle Intermediate 2/4 Door Group C ICAR (C) Mazda 3 4-door or similar When I got there, I was told by the manager that my car was going to be an electric powered car. Since I was going to be traveling out of the local area, I did not want an electric car, because the range of an electric car would not be convenient for my travel plans. I was told that Hertz does not require that I be told ahead of time, that an electric car would fulfill the "similar" requirement for a rental car. Because I did not want to rent an electric car, I was then offered a gas engine car at a much higher rental rate. I agreed to that and was asked to wait for that car. After waiting around for some time, I was told that the alternative car would not available after all, because it required maintenance. At this point the manager told me they did not have a car available for me. Please be careful with this rental location. Not the best customer service. read more

Oh man. I walked in and the gentleman at the desk who was assisting no one didn't even acknowledge my presence. Then 3 other people came in and they also were not greeted... there was a gentleman in front of me and his facial expressions also showed that the hertz employee also didn't greet him. So now we have 6 people in the lobby, the gentleman has disappeared and we are all staring at each other. A woman seems to be doing all the running around (getting the cars, walking around them and the payment)... not sure exactly what is going on here. read more

Daniel made our day! Best service!!!! We were greeted with a warm smile and solved all needs. Thank you!

So thankful for Patrick! We forgot items in the car and he called us to let us know. Very graetful! He also helped us manuever a hiccup with our bookkng through Travelocity. Management here has great customer service. read more

Jackie the manager has horrible customer service Extremely rude was yelling out my credit score which is a privacy issue and is totally embarrassing do not rent from this place ever read more

Wow what a service Hertz! From the first day of renting out the car to returning it, nothing but trouble and waste of time! One of the most disorganized and careless people working there at the locations. I'm never renting out from them ever again. read more

The man who picked us up from the repair shop could not drive. We really thought that he was gonna get us killed. Reservation people were nice-- only reason why this I gave 2 stars. read more

Service there is terrible. I waited in line, and after they took care of people ahead of me, the old lady just started working on the phone and another staff left the desk. They didn't greet or call me, so I sit on the couch waiting for them. After 10 mins and a person came after me returned his key to the old lady, I can't stand anymore and walked to her desk asking for service. She just said no rental car today without asking me anything. But after I said my car was insured by AAA and was fixed at body shop , she gave me a rental car in a minute. I would never choose this store unless AAA insurance sent me here. read more

Hopeless Hertz center. You don't get what you book. Front desk does not have patience and zero customer service

This location is now Hertz's main Palo Alto office, so it has the largest inventory of vehicles to rent. Its office staff has so far been courteous, professional and nice. The only negative is that it's understaffed on Monday's to handle the morning crush of customers returning and renting vehicles, expect at least a fifteen minute wait until being helped. read more

Hertz - Car Rental Near Me - Palo Alto, California

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My insurance paid for a rental from here. I got a Nissan Maxima and had no problems getting it or returning it. The only downside was picking up the car in the morning had a bit of a wait but otherwise it was a smooth process. read more

Terrible customer service. Weren't able to help or rectify their mistake at all. Don't waste your time here.

They helped me when enterprise was unable to and were super kind. Daniel was really helpful and made everything work last minute and I didn't get a lame car for my replacement rental! Super great people inside and the cars are clean. I got a 2019 corolla which was a surprise. Easy rental for those under 21 in need read more

Definitely recommend renting a car directly with this branch through Jenica vs. a third-party website. Made the process easy, answered all my questions and delivered world-class service! read more

The car they gave me had a tire that busted, probably had a hole patched, so I had to exchange the car for a different one. Then when I went back the next day because I forgot my phone charger, the lazy old lady that works there refused to look for it even though they told me they found it on the phone. I had to go back a third time and make many phone calls to finally get my phone charger back. Also the car I had the gas tank was half empty, even though they are supposed to fill it up. read more

Please avoid going here. They complete your customer service survey for you and try to give themselves 5 stars. Jackie accidentally sent me an email of my summary report, which showed the survey that I didn't even do. Also, be aware that there cars aren't clean even though they say they are. The pictures they have on the pre-inspection photos are not up to date. Please make sure you take accurate photos and videos before driving off with the car. They definitely will rip you off and make you suffer with the damages in the end. AVOID HERTZ! read more

After having a problem with the airport hertz we were so glad to get what we needed from the Hertz in Palo Alto. Thanks to Robert we not only got the changes we needed, but we got them with an "I'm happy to help you" attitude. He was also able to save us some money in doing so. read more

OMG. Avoid this place like the plague. The place was empty yet it took a Good 7 mins before someone helped me out. Once someone did acknowledge me, there was no greeting or a simple 'Hi' -- old lady just went straight to asking for my license and CC. read more

I have used this office twice and each time experienced poor customer service. They are highly disorganized and always late in picking up customers. Also, cars are typically dirty. The office used to be located on Park Ave in Palo Alto. It took over an hour to get a clean car after they needed to drive me to their Embarcadero annex because my car was not ready. Recently, they moved to the new address above. I called Hertz minutes before I arrived at the bodyshop to confirm my pickup. Then the bodyshop called for me again and it took Hertz 35 minutes to return because they had just picked up another customer minutes before I arrived demonstrating a total lack of efficiency. I easily could have walked to their office had I known it would take this long. Needless to say I went to Enterprise rental which my insurance, State Farm, also covers. read more

I needed a car due to a traumatizing wreck. I found this location very helpful. I felt they really cared about getting me in a car that met my needs. Can't recall the name of the woman who helped me out but she was just great. read more

The only reason I came here is our company had some deals with them. I prepaid the rental. But their system just sent me a totally wrong address, ridiculous!! And it wastes me a hour to figure out and came here. And when I came, the vehicle is even not ready and they tried to give me another kind of vehicle I really don't like. This is the second time I used Hertz. And the first time is also frustrating, only one person there and we waited in line for more than 40+ minutes. I will never ever use Hertz again!!!!!! read more

Did a reservation online, got everything set up and my confirmation number. 36 hours after, I get a call notifying me that the car is not available: "This was a online system error. Sorry". That's it, no additional help. What type of customer service is that? If I can't trust Hertz for personal use, I will definitively not use Hertz for business travel either. Maybe the reason my company was offering a discount for Hertz is because they have such a crappy customer service. Sorry Hertz, I will not do business, either personal or corporate, with you ever again. read more