THE SUV WAS FINE.
GETTING IT WAS THE PROBLEM.

A good product doesn't automatically create a good customer experience. Our San Diego Enterprise rental proved that before we ever got the keys.

I was already driving an Enterprise rental at home in the Chicago area while a family vehicle was being repaired. That rental had been exactly what I expected from Enterprise: straightforward enough that I kept choosing them.

Separately, I had booked a full-size SUV for an early-September trip to San Diego with my wife.

ONE CUSTOMER. TWO CITIES.

The day before the California pickup, I hit an error and called Enterprise customer service. The agent, Michelle, was pleasant and helpful. She explained that because I already had an Enterprise vehicle out in Chicago, I wouldn't be able to take out the second rental in California under my name.

I told her, “I promise I won't drive the one in Chicago while I'm using the one in California.” She laughed. The policy remained undefeated.

I asked whether we could switch the reservation to my wife's name. Michelle said yes and began collecting her information, but the switch would involve an additional charge. So I asked the obvious question: what stops my wife from simply making a new reservation while I cancel mine?

Technically? Nothing.

THE WORKAROUND WAS CHEAPER.

We hung up, booked the same full-size SUV class under my wife's name and cancelled my reservation. Based on the reservation pricing we saw at the time, the replacement came out approximately $60 cheaper.

We're not assigning a reason for that difference. Rental pricing can vary for many reasons, and without the complete rate mechanics we can't tell you why the second reservation priced lower. We can tell you what happened: changing the customer and rebooking the same vehicle class produced a lower quoted price for us.

11 P.M. AND ONE MORE RULE.

Our flight into San Diego was delayed, and after a long wait for transportation to the rental-car facility, we reached Enterprise around 11 p.m.

At the counter, my credit card couldn't be used because the reservation was in my wife's name. Fortunately, she had a credit card in her own name, even though it wasn't the card we'd planned to use.

That rule wasn't invented by the employee behind the counter. Enterprise's current U.S. airport payment policy says the credit card presented at rental must be in the renter's name, and when the reservation was made online, the name on the card must match the booked renter and identification.

GOOD EMPLOYEE. FRUSTRATING SYSTEM.

Those ideas can coexist. Michelle didn't create the rule. The San Diego counter employee didn't create the payment policy. Both can do their jobs correctly while the customer still experiences a lot of friction.

Once we finally had the SUV, it performed well. Which leaves us with a weird but important verdict: the rental vehicle was good. The rental experience was not.