Hertz Car Rental - San Rafael - Francisco Boulevard East - San Rafael, California

Enes S.

Absolutely appalling experience. I booked and prepaid for a car, arrived on time, only to be told they had no vehicles available—without any prior notice or warning. The middle-aged staff member at the counter (white, wearing glasses) showed no empathy or accountability. Instead of helping, he handed me a customer service number and dismissed my inquiries about nearby branches with availability.

Customer service was equally unhelpful when I called en route to another branch—they couldn’t confirm any car availability. Upon arriving at the second branch, I encountered around 10 people waiting for cars, some for over two hours, with no resolution in sight.

This was a horrific experience from start to finish, marked by a complete lack of professionalism, accountability, and basic customer care. Avoid Hertz at all costs—this kind of service is unacceptable, and I wouldn’t wish it on anyone. Corporate negligence at its worst.

Allie

Absolute worst customer service at any car rental place I’ve ever experienced. Steve was incredibly rude and the least helpful. They didn’t have any cars that day, and I understand that can be a stressful situation, but the way he handled it was awful. He refused to do the bare minimum of calling other Hertz locations to see if they could get me a car for the days I paid for/rented (in advance). I won’t go into every other detail about our interactions, but the interactions ended when he hung up the phone on me, as I told him this was the worst customer service I’ve ever received. I can’t imagine why he is still an employee there with all the negative reviews and terrible customer service. I will never rent from Hertz again.

Natalie L.

I would give this office a zero review if that was an option. I had a car booked at least a month in advance and a rep called me the day before around 2-3pm in the afternoon to let me know they had no cars for me the next morning. He didn't apologize. He didn't offer to contact another rental agency. In fact, he was just blunt and rude about it - no empathy whatsoever. I would give your business to Enterprise on Medway - they saved the day for me at way less price per day and provided excellent service. The person told me there were also 5 other people who were out of luck waiting on cars ahead of me on the list. If Hertz can't manage their bookings and inventory, then they have a serious issue.

Bryn W.

I have rented with Hertz for years, I am surprised they have not replaced the entire staff of this location or shut it down - it gives the company a bad name:
I needed to have my own car in the shop, so I rented a car in the morning for the afternoon of the same day through the Hertz website. When I arrived, the man behind the desk was already in an argument with a customer. When it was finally my turn and gave my name, I was told I didn't have a reservation. I pulled up my confirmation number and email for them, but instead, he looked through several printed papers on the desk, and repeated that I didn't have a reservation. I asked him if he could look it up in his computer system and showed him my phone with all of the information, and, finally, he looked it up in the system. He found the reservation but said he didn't have a car for me. Not only that, but then proceeded to tell me that I was "late for my reservation time."
(What?! - how can you be LATE? The reservation holds a car for you - if you don't show up, they get their money regardless. Things happen all the time in travel: you could have a flight delay, your baggage could get lost and you have to talk to an agent at the airport before you go get your car, etc. etc. etc. There is NO SUCH THING as 'late' for a rental car reservation. Not only that, I had been standing in line for over 15 minutes waiting for him while he argued with another customer).

-There were a number of vehicles in the parking lot, and it was shown that there were vehicles available online, so it seems odd that they would allow rentals of vehicles that don't exist. I indicated that if they had any vehicles that just needed to be cleaned, I would be willing to wait. He said they couldn't do that.
-I asked if they could please then cancel the reservation if they didn't have any vehicles available. I was told that there was nothing they could do.
I didn't want to be charged if I was not actually able to rent a car. They said that I had to call customer service to get a refund of my pre-paid amount. It took forty-five minutes on the phone to explain to several customer service agents and the billing department what had happened in order to cancel the reservation and (thankfully) get my money back.
-My husband kindly took the afternoon off work to drive me to my meetings on the other side of the bay since they could not provide a vehicle. He lost half a day of work due to the incompetence and rudeness of this facility.

REDICULOUS. RUDE. It is completely unprofessional and bad business to blame the customer for your own shortcomings in organization and management.
I will never rent from this location again.

Holt P.

0 stars if I could have the option. Car was not available per contract. Man named, Steve(Hertz employee), said that he’d get me another car and encouraged me to go(walk) to lunch nearby. I came back and had a different CSR. Tha employee said there was a Tesla but with a $50 up charge. Steve never mentioned that at all verbally *before* I walked to lunch. They have cars outside they’re cleaning up now but the company won’t allow them to be rented. 🤷🏼‍♂️ Rent from the Airport. Still cheaper.

Kate

Reserved a car while extending a cross country work trip with my husband and baby to see his 94 year old grandmother for the last time. Had to Uber to this location and once there was told that no cars were available and they had “tried to call me”… no missed calls, no voicemails, no email, no text. I was told they would call me if one came in. The man who worked there was rude and refused to try to find a solution or offer any help to find an alternative option. After continually talking over me and cutting me off I was told he was “done with me” and “he is not here to make everyone happy.” This employee was unbelievably rude and unprofessional. We ended up having to Uber to the airport to rent from Enterprise and wasted $170 on Ubers. Hertz should not confirm reservations if they “show all the cars even when there aren’t any” as we were told. Rude employees and gaslighting the customer to blame me for “not answering” his non existent phone call is beyond the limits for acceptable business practices. Never again.

Alex B.

Booked a car through the San Rafael Hertz, planned my family's travel around the car rental. Received a "courtesy" call from an employee named Jose 30 minutes before I was supposed to pick up my car letting me know that no cars were available and that their website was never accurate. Not apologetic in the slightest that they had blown up my travel plans and rude - their messaging was "not my problem."

Joseph P.

I wish I could give a negative star review for this location. I was sent here to get a rental while my car was being serviced. From the moment I walked in the staff were completely unprofessional. Cracking jokes, breezing over normal rental procedures, and generally not taking anything seriously. When they gave me the car, they didn't ask me to check it for any prior damage or sign off that the car was in good order. I took the car home, and it sat in my driveway for a week while I was away for work, then I drove it back to the dealership to swap for my car. Hertz then called me and tried to claim the car was damaged and told me I needed to come back or pay for the repairs. When I asked for specifics, they just told me it was "damaged" and that they had video evidence from the dealer that I dropped it off in that condition. They tried to pressure me into paying for repairs, but I refused until they could provide proof. Afterwards I called the dealership and they confirmed that their footage showed the car came back in perfect condition, and they would be handling things internally with Hertz. Looking over the other reviews for this location confirms my suspicion that these guys are absolute bullies and scam artists looking to take advantage of people to make a quick buck. Stay away at all costs if you can, and document everything if you cannot.