Work at Enterprise Rent-a-Car?

Question

looking to work at enterprise out of college...will be starting as a management trainee...

have u been there, done that?

if so:

when (what year did u start?)

how long were u in that position before being promoted?

how much did you make?

what did you make after being promoted?

any other info to help me decide if this company will work for me would be great...thanks

Answer 1

Um, just about all of their new employees are management trainees.  And you probably will not be promoted unless you are very good in building up a sale by convincing the customer to buy insurance or a  higher class car or if you outlast your co-workers.

Answer 2

I worked up through the ranks there some years ago. Back then you had to have a degree. Enterprise Rent A Car (ERAC) typically does not pay as well as other companies in the region (about 20 to 40% lower), and because of that they are facing staffing issues. To deal with that they now allow persons to apply without a degree who have "life experience". That means someone usually over 35 years old who might be looking to jump back into the job market, from homemaking, retirement, etc.

They will tell you what you can "expect" to make and you need to realize that is based on a 50 hour work week which means 1.5 times for any hours over the base of 40 hours. The HR dept is very misleading and most people don't realize how bad ERAC's pay is until the have already begun. This leads to high turnover - long hours and terrible pay. You also get to deal with many rude and obnoxious customers who forget that driving/renting cars is a privilege and not a right. The will berate you that they have to qualify to drive your car. The ones who have good credit and a license will be jerks because they are used to the speed of renting at the airports and have a choice of cars that don't smell and aren't junk.

Everyone must start out in a Daily Rental management training program no matter how much education or experience they bring to the table. 6 days a week! Monday through Friday 7:30am to 6:30 pm and Saturdays until noon. Expect little no change in pay for 9 months (training classes and working) - pay differs based on area NYC is higher than West Virgina and so on -  in a BIG city expect with overtime to be at $32K-36K - small cities to all else = $25K - 31K

after that you will be able to take an oral exam and upon passing put you hand up for Asst Manager slots that require more hours and maybe $2500 more a year w/ no overtime pay. You will hear claims and boasts of what you can make but they inflate everyone’s pay to make things sound better and make you want your manager’s job (which you would not want if you found out how little he/she makes)

If you want to move around in departments (like I did) you can do that. This can make you more attractive to other employers who will pay you more to leave enterprise (and work fewer hours). Besides Daily Rental where you will start you can transfer into remarketing - selling the used cars to dealerships or auctions, Used Cars - selling ERAC used cars or cars you picked up at auction to the general public,

Corporate Accounts Manager - sign up or service large companies in the area to use your cars/trucks/vans and set the rates for them, Accounting dept - you MUST have a finance or accounting degree for this one, Vehicle Repair - choose the repair and maintenance shops for your fleet and review the repairs and negotiate rates, Loss Control - almost like an insurance company in recouping losses though customers and their insurance companies, Human Resource Department - few openings here, Operations management - building repairs or upgrades new offices and possible IT work, other job titles specific to different regions of the country.

One BIG problem is that if you make it to one of the corporate office jobs and ask to transfer to another region for personal reasons (ie. not because of an opening or ERAC need) they will most likely put you back into daily rental and make you compete (interview) for the job you want when (and if) it comes open.

You can validate everything I just told you by asking the HR manger who is interviewing you. If they try to tell you anything different ask for it in writing, you will not get it from them.

ERAC is a great company to get some basic business knowledge but if you are going to move you should look at interviewing other companies. Most of the time ERAC employees (like me) find out they are worth DOUBLE what ERAC was paying them so they leave to work fewer hours and make a lot more. ERAC experience is good to have for your own "OTJ" education and for your resume.

If you had better than C+ grades and have had real world experience in sales I don't know why you would waste you time on ERAC. You should interview with companies that will value your experience and pay you more. If you feel you don't have the experience yet and want to learn business from the ground up and don't mind working long hours for low pay then you might be happy at ERAC for a while. After you have worked in the real world long enough no one asks for your college grades (work experience is more important).

FOR THE INTERVIEW: don't be nervous... be yourself

show you are willing to work a c**p job from the bottom up and you don't mind bad hours. Pretend you are excited when they lie to you about how much Area Managers, VP's and GM's make, act like you believe them and want that for yourself......

(after you put some time in and climb the ranks you can double your income and cut your hours by going to work elsewhere)

I started at $32K and left while at $80K (all other offers I had outside ERAC were for DOUBLE my pay!)

Feel free to contact me with any other questions you have about working for them. I was with ERAC in many positions and many different states. Good Luck