Car hire companies, especially those who operate at airports, are often criticized for poor service and some pretty tacky habits, such as their desire to charge renters for a full tank of fuel when the rental commences even when the renter knows that they will only drive a few hundred kilometers and will not empty the tank. Or indeed the ever-popular allegation that the fuel tank was not full when the car was returned, necessitating an instant retrospective charge for a “fuel service”.

It’s important to recognize good service when you find it and this year we have rented cars three times from Citer/Enterprise at Nice Airport (NCE) and have received excellent service each time. The staff working at Citer have told us that their work practices have changed since Citer became part of the Enterprise Rent-A-Car organization in November 2011, so this might just be an example where an acquisition results in better customer service.

All is not perfect with the Citer experience as we have often experienced queues at their desks in the Nice Airport rental facility. Part of the reason for the delay in dealing with clients seems to be interminable phone calls made by the agents to all and sundry, seemingly a necessary part of the process to secure cars. But part of the delay is also due to the way that Citer staff walk customers to their car to check it out, explain how the car functions if necessary, and make sure that all existing damage is correctly noted. I’m sure that the Citer staff cover a lot of ground between rental desk and garage over the course of a day, but the impression made on customers is much better than the norm delivered by Citer’s competitors such as Avis and Hertz.

Another nice thing about Citer is that they offer many deals that include a second driver. Most of the other car hire firms that operate in Nice delight in

Citer’s current car fleet in Nice features a lot of Hyundais. We have driven a very nice i30 (it was brand new) but on the other hand, the last time out we had a tatty Lancia Delta that had suffered many dents and scratches in its 28,000 km rental career. I owned a Lancia Delta in 1982-83 and had fond memories of that car but its modern counterpart did not make the same impact and I doubt that we will choose a Delta again.

If you need to rent a car in Nice Airport in the near future, consider trying Citer. I usually use AutoEurope to find the best deals and scan down the (often) hundreds of packages to find the best one that’s available. Not that anything especially compelling will be available soon as the Cote d’Azur holiday season swings into full blast and car rental rates escalate.

Follow Tony @12Knocksinna