There is a claim made stating that I damaged the roof of a Jeep Patriot. It was originally "inspected" by a female employee, Brittany (sp?) and she did not inspect the roof during our walk-around before we left with the SUV. 1300+ miles and 2 days later when I arrived at my RI destination, I exchanged the Jeep Patriot for something (an extremely clean Jeep Compass) that did not smell of smoke or have copious long dog hair. When I exchanged this vehicle for another at the Narragansett, RI Enterprise branch, a conscientious female employee documented roof damage. She stood up on the rear tires. She asked if we drove through hail. My husband who stands at 6’1” could not see the damage unless he was straining on his toes, and even then, he only noticed damaged to the rear of the roof. He stood on the wheels himself to see the magnitude of the roof damage. My husband explained Brittany’s “inspection” to this employee and she explained it is Enterprise's policy to inspect every inch of the vehicle including the roof. She further explained that the Enterprise employee is to stand on running boards, if present, or the wheels of the vehicles in order to fully inspect the vehicles' roofs. Today, I returned the Jeep Compass and I discussed this with the manager, Mr. Kern, hoping to obtain some resolution at his level. Brittany admit, in the presence of Mr. Kern, that “with those big vehicles, a Jeep Patriot, a full size pick-up or van, I do not get up on the wheel, I just glance at the roof.” She stands at about 5’2”. I requested from Andy that he have Brittany write an addendum regarding her height and how she visually inspected the roof of the vehicle as it would help to demonstrate that an adequate inspection was not performed. Andy stated that he stood behind her inspection, that her height was not a contributing factor and also replied that it was out of his hands.
Grace M. Santa Teresa, M.D.
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