I am assuming the customer was an idiot.
$25 sounds like what it would have cost to pay before you took the car for the right to return it empty or not fully charged.
It can take hours to charge an electric car, bringing it back empty means some employee has to be paid to take it to a charging station and then wait for hours.
The person renting did not read or understand their contract.
What happened to the “fast charging” charging stations we keep hearing about—Hertz does not have those on site?
So in addition to getting to the airport, checking bags, going through security - now you’re supposed to set aside a few hours to charge your rental car (assuming there is a place to do so)?
why does the employee have to wait while the car charges. The charger I assume is behind a fence on the Hertz lot.
It only takes hours if the battery is cold and the charger is of a lower level (i.e., charging current capacity). A warm battery gets zapped up pretty quickly by a Level 3 supercharger. In other words, a rental company should be better equipped to charge the car quickly than a rando renter searching for hookups at the local supermarket.