I am writing to express my deep disappointment and frustration regarding a recent experience with…read moreEnterprise's service. My family and I had a reservation through Priceline for a car rental that was booked nearly 2 months ago. Due to an unforeseen delay of over 2.5 hours on our flight from Rome to Barcelona, we arrived at Barcelona El Prat airport a couple of hours past our reservation time of 4pm on 7/22/24.
Upon our arrival, we were met with extremely rude behavior from the representative at Enterprise's airport location. She informed us that our reservation had been automatically canceled because we were more than an hour late and claimed that she did not have our flight information. She brusquely told us to get out of the line so she could attend to the next customer. Despite showing proof of our delayed flight, no efforts were made to assist us in remaking a new reservation or finding any solution.
With no assistance from Enterprise, we had no choice but to start looking for a last-minute solution that fit our budget. We needed to drive 1.5 hours from the airport to our reserved hotel in Girona, a fact we explained to both the representative and the manager, Juan. We spent nearly 4 hours frantically going from one rental car agency to another, facing exaggerated bids compared to our original reservation. Eventually, at around 11:30pm, we gave up and paid for a car that cost more than double our original price, which was also smaller than the one we had booked.
Traveling with two young children who had not eaten almost the entire day due to the delay, we found this experience particularly distressing. When we asked to speak to a manager, we were directed to the bottom level office to speak with Juan. He was equally rude and unhelpful, even threatening to call the police if we did not leave the premises.
Adding insult to injury, we witnessed another family being told that no automatic cars were available, only for them to miraculously receive an automatic car after they strongly refused a manual one. It's highly likely this car was intended for us.
I later discovered that Enterprise's own policy states, "Reservations are valid for 24 hours from the scheduled time of pick-up for delayed flights and charges will not begin until the time of pick-up." This blatant discrepancy in information and the complete lack of empathy and assistance from your staff have left me deeply upset.
We ended up renting from Europcar, where an angel named Jose Pedro Bravo assisted us. Unlike Enterprise, Europcar informed us that their policy ensures they wait for their reservations to arrive and stay open to accommodate delayed flights, ensuring their customers receive their reserved vehicles. This stark contrast in customer service only highlights how poorly we were treated by Enterprise.