Enterprise Rent-A-Car once again achieved first place in the J.D. Power 2023 North America Rental Car Satisfaction Study, against a backdrop of the car rental sector finally stabilizing after a long period of post-COVID disruption.
The Clayton, Missouri-based car rental agency has held the title of best in its sector since at least 2021, when it also topped the charts for customer satisfaction.
In the latest round of customer satisfaction research, Enterprise scored 866 points in the overall survey. This put it barely ahead of second place National Car Rental with a ranking of 865 points and Alamo Rent a Car with 862 points.
Notably, all three of the top agencies by customer satisfaction are subsidiaries owned by Enterprise Holdings. Independent car rental agency Hertz – which has 430,000 cars in service versus Enterprise’s 1.1 million – came in fourth at 845 points out of 1,000, though it still registered higher than the industry average of 843 points.
The study providing these satisfaction scores used data collected between August 2022 and August 2023. The results were compiled from opinions provided by 8,632 respondents, all of whom rented cars at airport locations during the study period, whether for purposes of business or leisure travel.
The study also noted that rental car agencies have “gotten their groove back” as the disruptions caused by the pandemic are finally put in the rear view mirror to some extent. Customer satisfaction with rentals has risen 14 points overall on the 1,000-point satisfaction scale to an average score of 843.
Factors leading to the significantly more positive response of the average customer include more stable rental prices, higher levels of staffing leading to better support experience, and improved availability of rental vehicles when customers need them. The study notes that the current UAW strike could disrupt new fleet purchases, thus reducing availability again.
Still, prospects are sunnier for Enterprise and the other car rental companies, leading J.D. Power director Michael Taylor to remark “the post-pandemic period has been tough for North American rental car companies and their customers, but now that things have stabilized, customer satisfaction has started to increase significantly.”
He also added the caveat that continuing UAW strikes could become “a potential supply chain issue that could negatively affect customer satisfaction during the course of the next year.”
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Comments
Opposite here. Enterprise has hired absolute liars. Meanwhile hertz has gone up highly. Weid eh. Hence why national rankings are next to meaningless!
How about spelling correctly the first word of the story title & the company of who the content is focused – Enterprise.
They didn’t ask me. Have an Enterprise right in town. They never have the model you reserve so they want to upgrade and charge more. They never pick me up or drive me home even though they claim to. Like two miles away. Cars are clean, though.
yep. they lie about everything. you cannot reserve popular vehicle classes in the office any more – only online. i know they can book them, they are told not to (keep for special clients).
they also lie they dont have cars. “oh i havent seen that vehicle in 2 years we dont use those any more” little do they know i drive by 3 of them daily and know exactly what they have. so when 3 branches lie to me when i see said vehicles being rented out multiple times a week, i mean… how can you do business with something like that.
and their rates are 2x-3x that of others now. and so on. last time i was quoted 250$ for a camry. hertz gave my in laws the same for 90$. no special discounts. on the same day.
but nice advertisement for enterfail! hope it paid well
they WERE great but now i wouldnt touch them.
If they piss me off it is just the more I will beat their vehicle.
Amen. Drive the hell out of their 💩 boxes.
I use Enterprise when I travel to Florida because I can rent the latest Chevy Malibu, instead of any foreign brand sedans. BTW, the founder of Enterprise was a Nany officer who served on the WW2 U.S.S. Enterprise, known as the “Grey Ghost” because the Japanese could not find it in the Pacific.
National is my preferred, but I rent from all three domestically. Never had any issues, always treated well. Good, clean vehicles. Won’t touch anyone else after some bad experiences.
However, internationally, their presence is lacking or the prices are exorbitant. Really wish they would work on their global network and come in at a more competitive price point.
They are terrible, had my deposit taken when I could not rent a car nearly $500 dollars gone down the drain. I entered my ID and they told me I was fine to, come to airport they said I could not rent car due to age. Was upset bad taste left would never recommend. Hertz is go to now