Melbourne-Geelong-Great Ocean Road-Twelve Apostles-Phillip Island-Melbourne

Almost all the rental and return staff were Indian. I felt like I was in India. However, the service was efficient and courteous, as expected from Hertz.

No reserved or alternative models were available at the counter. Had to wait for more than an hour for the car to be washed and delivered. The staff at the rental counter forgot to return my driver's license copy and didn't apologize. The service was poor and did not match the HERTS brand image.

The queue time was a bit long, and there were insurance sales pitches, but the vehicle was in great condition. The gas station was very close to the rental office, and returning the car was very quick. You can leave right after dropping off the car.

1. I arrived at the store at 2:50 PM but only managed to get the car at 4:40 PM, even though my appointment was at 3:30 PM. Extremely long wait times. 2. The staff told me that there were no Group F large SUVs available and offered me a Group E smaller SUV instead. I clearly stated that I had prepaid and wouldn’t accept a downgrade. The staff then said they would upgrade me to an 8-seater van. I explained that I had booked an SUV specifically to experience driving an SUV on the Great Ocean Road. She actually blamed the lack of cars on the numerous Chinese tourists visiting during the Lunar New Year, saying it wasn't their fault. It was the first time I heard a rental company staff blame their poor vehicle management on customers. 3. Reluctantly, I agreed to the 8-seater van, but then she told me the vehicle hadn't arrived at the store yet and asked me to keep waiting. I waited another half hour with no sign of the car. I called the overseas hotline of Zuzuche, and after their customer service intervened, the staff member got upset and stressed several times that she was “serving me.” After another 15 minutes, she finally told me where the car was parked. 4. The staff kept pushing me to prepay 100 AUD for tolls and an additional 50 AUD airport tax, a total of 150 AUD. Even after I clearly refused, she entered these charges into the order anyway and printed it out. After repeatedly saying I didn't want to prepay, she finally crossed out the prepayment items on the printed order with a pen but didn’t change it in the computer. This caused issues when returning the car, as the staff there couldn’t finalize the return due to a “system error.” I had to explain the whole situation again, wasting another 30 minutes.

Excellent service.