Won't use EA/National again (also heads up about code coupons, insurance, etc)!!

[leebee]

Flew into MCO Friday 11/30, arrived at 2:30 pm. Picked up luggage and headed for EA. Not a car in sight- not only on EA, but none in either the intermediate OR full-sized aisles, with only 3 cars in economy! Even worse, we were 17th in line to get a vehicle! National employees managing the queue for cars said it's been like this recently since National merged and 9/11. Worst of all, I ended up with an economy car- not the end of the world, as it was only me and dd (but we ended up with ds and her daughter most of the time), but I RESERVED an intermediate car for a reason. It took over an hour of waiting in the National garage area to get a vehicle, not what I needed after getting up at 4:30 am! ALSO- they asked to see my car insurance policy since I wasn't taking their insurance options AND they asked for a copy of the coupon I had used for a discount. I've never had this happen before- fortunately, the discount code I used from the mousesavers.com site had a link for the coupon and I printed it out, so I had this AND the policy with me. They also asked for my EA membership card, which is interesting as EA asks if you want a card or not when you sign up (I did have the print out of the page they send to confirm membership, and that was accepted)> It was just so irritating, having a reservation and having to wait so long for a car! I won't use National again- it's just not worth it!

 

[seashoreCM]

Write to them, saying that your rental experience was not "shining and emerald-like", and ask for a small rebate.

If you plan to use the car rental benefits that come with your credit card you should bring along the finely printed brochure from the credit card company that describes those benefits. You should also have a copy of your own insurance company policy descriptions although I still question any right of the rental company to demand that you buy their coverage if your policy does not show what they are looking for.

Other Disney hints:
http://members.aol.com/ajaynejr/disney.htm

 

[CaliforniaDreaming]

We waited 1.5 hours at Budget in March. Last July we waited 1 hour with them. They didn't have a car for us! July we reserved a Full-Size SUV, and got a Yukon XL (love them!). In March we reserved a Standard SUV, and got a Windstar (hated it! - wanted an Explorer! LOL).

We decided to never use Budget again, and cancelled our reservations for a luxury car and switched to National for our upcoming trip. Did you happen to get a look at the luxury aisle while you were there?

 

[DebbieB]

Wow! You must have arrived at a bad time. We arrived Saturday around 12:30pm on the B side and they had lots of cars. EA Selection was not good, intermediate or smaller, so I went over to the full size aisle (my reservation was for full size). They had 15 or 20 cars in full size. They did not ask for any insurance info (I declined insurance on my EC profile). I gave the booth attendant my EC card, license, Disney Club card, credit card, one free day coupon and off we went. Sorry you had problems, I've used National 7 times with only one problem, one time the total when I returned the car did not match the reservation and I had to go into the counter to straighten it out. A couple of times, including this week, it was actually a little less than my reservation.

 

[cindala]

Oh boy! Sorry you had such a bad experience. I hope this is not a sign of things to come. We have used National several times without any problem. Maybe it is the time of day that you arrive that is the key factor. We usually arrive early morning, and there are plenty of cars available.

 

[DisPadre]

We arrived Thursday 11/29 around 2:00 PM. The selection on EA was pitiful but we got a full size (what we reserved) Toyota Camry. Not the cleanest in the world but it did the trick. We had signed up for Emerald Club online so the only thing I had was the printed paper card. This was good enough. We also had the one day free discount but we were not asked to show a coupon. Nor were we asked for proof of insurance even though we declined everything. It wasn't the best experience I've ever had with National (mostly in CA), but it was better than waiting in line at a counter or trudging off-site.

 

[leebee]

I'm really just cranky about the time we had to wait, and that they gave us a smaller car than reserved. I didn't get charged for the intermediate car, just the economy rate. I know that EA means I'll only get the car size I reserve, and that anything bigger is just a perk, so I'm not cranky about that. It really was the waiting, and their having absolutely no cars in almost three size ranges. Seventeen people in line for cars is alot, when National is supposed to be working on a reservation system, and the line wasn't much shorter when we got our car. We were literally standing in a queue in the National garage (my dsis said "good practice for WDW!"), waiting for a car to be brought up, still wet from being checked in and cleaned! I took the econ size because (1) I didn't realize it was small, and (2) we'd really had enough of waiting, who knew when an intermed would come along? I know it's silly, but every time I had to get in the "smallest car in the lot", it irritated me. In fact, it got to be a standing family joke by the end of the trip!

 

[CarolA]

Did you go back into the counter and discuss this with them. I have had this happen lots of times with lots of rental car companies and I basically make them go get me a car from another company (They have to pay the difference!) They will do this, but you have to be really adamant and stand your ground!

 

[robinb]

Wow CarolA ... you're my hero! I might have also tried to get a bigger car at the Swan or the Car Care Center once I ade it to WDW.

 

[CarolMN]

Count me in with leebee - I will think very carefully about renting from National again. We rented a minivan (used the Emerald Choice option). We arrived close to midnight on 11/28 and had no trouble at all getting the minivan. There were several to choose from. It did seem to take longer than warranted (about 20 minutes) for the agent to check us out, though. I gave him my EC card, my CC, my DC card and my brother's EC card as he was going to share the driving.

First disappointment came when we wanted to return the van at the Dolphin on Monday, 12/3. They do not and will not take cars there. We had to drive to the Car Care Center and then wait for the National van to take us back to the BWV. Not a big deal, but it did take up over an hour and one half of our time (instead of the 20 minutes I was expecting). I think National needs to update their web site and do a better job of letting customers know what to expect. Had I known this in advance, I would have either booked with someone else or booked the Car Care center directly instead of the Dolphin location. I paid extra to go with National because I thought it would be more convenient.

The most disappointing thing was trying to get a minivan for Saturday, 12/8. This was for our return trip. This actually took more than two hours. Went to the desk at the Dolpin where only one person was working. There was only one person at the desk and so I was next. The agent kept taking phone calls, most of which should have been directed elsewhere (IMHO). I think it is very bad service to take phone calls when there are people actually standing in front of you who have been there for some time. ZBy now, there were 5 people behing me. After the person ahead of me was done, the agent said a man standing next to me at the counter was next. Apparently, this was a Disney cast member who had been there earlier and whose reservation was completely messed up. I felt sorry for him as I couldn't help hearing the details. National really messed up! After about 40 minutes, they worked something out and it was my turn. My transaction took about 5 minutes and then I was sent outside to wait for the van to take me to the Car Center to get the van. THe CM was still there and we had a nice chat - he was from Great Britain and talked about how much he hoped to come back after his year was out to work for Disney as a computer consultant (his degree). Said he just loved America. Anyway, the van finally came ( about a 20-25 minute wait) and I got the van. Had to wait a little at the car center also.

The return at the airport went fairly quickly and was hassle free. Service at the airport is good.

But IMHO, National's service at WDW is well below my expectations. It is just plain awful! For the next trip, I will just go with Dollar or L&M and keep the van the entire trip (even though we don't need it the entire trip). By my calculations, it won't cost that much more - National's prices for vans seem higher than its competition. I was willing to pay more for the perceived convenience on WDW property. Since it isn't there, I'm exercising my right to choose someone else.

Hope anyone who is renting with National has better luck than I did.

 

[danacath]

Yikes, you guys are all making me nervous about National! We're renting from them in 6 days for the first time. We kept trying to join the Emerald Club for free (online), but "their computers were down." Time was running out, so we went ahead and made our ressies and about a week later, our Emerald membership finally went through. Now they can't give us the EA perks, etc. unless we cancel our "counter service" reservation and re-book. Trouble is, the good rate isn't available anymore if I re-book. Anyway, we're flying into Tampa, so I'm hoping that maybe the National experience at TPA will be better than at MCO???

 

[Beverly Lynn]

who did National merge with?

 

[pbhunt]

BL, I read that too, but I think the poster is referring to the Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing by the parent company of National and Alamo.

 

[leebee]

Yes, that was me, saying that national merged, but what I really was referring to was the bankruptcy filing by their parent company (with Alamo); sorry, my confusion, hope I didn't confuse anyone too much!

Just read a newer post that says that alot of car companies rented out cars for one-way rental when airports were closed after 9-11. Apparently it costs a heck of alot of money to get these cars returned, so many locations chose to "sell" their vehicles to the locations where they ended up and just operate short-handed (so to speak) till the new model year comes in. Maybe this is the problem with Naitonal at MCO, where they've had so few cars of any size/type lately?