Hertz 3 week reservation = no car, no service, no accountability Ames, Iowa

Today, Friday, March 15, 2013, I arrived at the Ames, IA Hertz office to pick up the Full-Size car that I reserved 3 weeks ago on February 17, 2013. The Hertz representative, Scott, told me that there are not any cars available, in the Ames or Des Moines area. He stated that he is "sorry, and apologizes". This car rental was made over three weeks ago to accommodate my family of four on a road trip and vacation to San Antonio, Texas. With rental-car insurance prepaid, hotel reservations made, bags packed, and maps laid out - - we were ready to get on the road within a few hours. Now, we have already lost the rental-car insurance, and have to decide between driving the old family car with over 190K miles on it or losing the whole trip.Scott explained that there is nothing he can offer me. There is no compensation provided. He cannot offer to get a rental or compensate a rental from another company, as there are none in the area. He also admitted that there were people who made reservations after me and were provided vehicles earlier in the day. I let him know that I would write reviews and post this story on Facebook, Linked In, and Instagram. He said I was welcome to do that. He was in a really bad situation.
 
A job/company that does not respect it's customers or it's reputation and does not provide it's agents with discretionary decision making powers to make a bad situation right.If you do business with Hertz, you will get hurts in return. I suggest finding a company or a program other than Hertz that will honor their reservations - even if there is premium pricing. Hertz not honoring their obligations has cost us more than I know how to account for.Tell your friends, neighbors, family, and company about the lack of respect Hertz has for their customers and their lack of responsibility. Hertz is bad business for everyone.