Easily the most horrendous experience I’ve ever had with a car rental company, and I’ve rented cars many times before. We arrived an hour early to pick up our reserved SUV, only to be met by an extremely unprofessional employee at the front desk, sitting back with her legs crossed and idly kicking the counter as if we were interrupting her break (at 9:30 a.m., no less). Despite our confirmed reservation, she claimed we “weren’t on the list”--a wrinkled notebook filled with messy handwritten notes. When we asked her to check the computer directly in front of her, she refused. We had to contact Expedia (where we made the booking) ourselves to confirm it. Only after we relayed the confirmation number did she finally check the system, with an exaggerated sigh, and, unsurprisingly, found our reservation. She then shifted the blame, saying we were “too early,” yet openly admitted there were no vehicles available anyway because she was planning to call and cancel our reservation--and several others--later that day. No apology, no explanation, and no effort to resolve the issue. While we were on the phone with Expedia, another customer entered, appeared immediately frustrated, and left shaking her head. Clearly, this was not an isolated incident. Expedia representatives were audibly shocked by the situation and rebooked us with another company, covering the price difference and even upgrading the vehicle. If this is the standard of professionalism Hertz considers acceptable, it speaks volumes about the company’s current operations. I will not rent from this Hertz location again, and likely won’t rent from Hertz anywhere in the future. Strongly advise others to do the same.

Booked a Tesla back in July 2024, Kevin was amazing making sure car I booked after seeing him a few days earlier to make sure I got the car booked. He made sure car was clean, fully charged, and parked ready to go. Took 5 minutes to get fully checked in and when I dropped it off a few days later, he was there to ask how the rental went. Excellent customer service, 2nd time booking at this location and both times Kevin made sure I left happy with choosing Hertz.

I want to share that had it not been for the Branch Manager, Francesca Cuevas, this review would have been zero stars. In summary, I rented a car from the Peabody location that ended being an EV but the headlights weren't working. The Customer Service team wanted me to go to Logan Airport from Beverly (30 miles) to exchange. I spend days on the phone saying that was not an acceptable option. Eventually, I went into the Salem location hoping to plead my case with a sympathetic ear, and lucky for me, I found one in Francesca. She listened, apologized (even though it had nothing to do with her) and quickly got me an exchange and sent me on my way. Francesca is a true professional and I'm so glad we have people like her in business. I hope Hertz does anything in their power to keep her employed because she's the best thing that happened during my rental period. Five stars Francesca!

A mixed bag: One trip was 4 stars and all good, the other 1 star and a disaster. EDIT: Though it doesn't alter what happened, the local manager did reach out and sought to make things right by covering my costs for dealing with the bad vehicle. Hopefully some better inspection procedures will also be put in place. So add a provisional "star." If the next experience is positive I'll probably edit down the negatives of the review. ORIGINAL REVIEW: From my perspective, their problems could easily be remedied by just staffing up even by a little! Anytime I've rented from them there will be exactly ONE office staff available; one less than the minimum they need. On a "good" day this means waiting longer than you planned to pick up your vehicle. It also means that those who are there are overworked and can get easily stressed if they are fielding calls plus 2-3 customers in the waiting area. But then there is the "not" good day, when the rushed person behind the desk doesn't check that your car is working properly. In my case this meant that all the exterior lights were non-functioning! Of course, if you start out driving in the morning it's fine, but I drove out to an event in rural RI, had dinner late into the evening, and then when I started to head home? I went a quarter mile and hit some roads with no street lights and it was pitch black. I ended up leaving the car at a convenience store over night and took a $70 Uber home to where I was staying. The next day when I called the Bridge St. office? Once again they were too busy to help and I had to get assistance from the corporate offices, who informed me that the vehicle had a history of electrical problems. Again, the simplest of things to check beforehand, but when I picked up the car they handed me the keys and sent me on my way. I won't say I'll "never" go again after this, but... They really need to take a look at how easily this type of thing could still happen in the future if they remain understaffed.

This seems to be a reoccurring theme here this hertz where you book reservations and never have enough cars. Also where you charge people no show fees even though they show up. In rental agreement it says I will be charged a no show fee if I don’t show up on the date not time. Well I showed up and Ms. Cheska Fuentes was extremely rude and said they gave my car away to another reservation before my “two hour window” was up. It also seems to be a theme in these reviews that she is nasty and unprofessional. She is stealing from your customers and hindering your business. Lying to corporate and telling them people didn’t show up at all. In the notes hertz cooperate it shows that I never showed up. That is not true, I will be taking further action if this situation isn’t rectified.