I was one of the twenty-five or so people that had to wait one hour (timed) in line to reach an agent at Hertz' PHX airport location on April 13 at 2 pm. This is the second time in the last two Hertz rentals (the other was SFO) that this has occurred.
Hertz knows the number and time of each rental so the failure to have adequate agents on hand is inexcusable.
I asked for the location manager but was told he was not on duty and was directed to **, the manager in charge. I asked him why the location was so poorly prepared and he told me, "We can't hire any people to work." In today's economy, that is patently absurd!
If Hertz were the low cost provider, then there might be justification for such poor service, but it is not. While three agents tried to deal with the problem, ** remained out of sight and not helping to do check-outs.
More time spent on service and not selling high-profit items like 'insurance" and gas would go a long way towards improving customer service.
I wrote to the CEO of Hertz and the PHX location manager on April 15, with a follow-up a week later. I still haven't gotten a response.