Horrible experience! I would leave zero stars if I could. This week was my first time using Avis. I have used other rental car companies many times with no issues even worth mentioning. But this experience with Avis is definitely worth mentioning.
Here is a summary of my experience;
My company told me they prefer Avis so I decided to give them a try. I downloaded the app and signed up to be a preferred member. When I got off my plane, I went to their counter but saw a sign to continue to the parking garage if I'm "preferred". So, I went to their counter parking garage. When I arrived there, I saw a sign that said to see the leaderboard to find my assigned car. I looked all around for a leaderboard but couldn't find it. So, I grabbed a car that matched my reservation and drove to the exit kiosk. This is when it really got fun (sarcasm). A lady came out of the kiosk and asked for my rental documents. I told her I'd never used Avis and was unsure of how the process worked and asked for her help. She turned to another woman sitting inside the kiosk and explained my situation. That woman began speaking to me, using a low voice that I could barely hear. She did not get out of her chair to help me. She was very rude and accusatory. She used esoteric verbiage that I did not understand. She told me that someone else had rented the car I was in. I wasn't surprised because I figured I wasn't the first person to drive it. I asked her if that meant I couldn't rent the car to which she responded very rudely, "NO!" She said I should have rental documents, and that I should have gone to the original kiosk inside the airport where I saw the sign that said I should proceed to the garage. I explained to her that I was a preferred member and thought that meant I should proceed onto the garage. She asked me to prove that I was a preferred member and I gave her my preferred member ID number. After sometime, she handed me my drivers license back and asked me if I wanted to keep the second driver option that I had signed up for. I said I did. She then said that that driver would have to be with me at the time of checkout, or I could not sign up for the second driver option. Since the second driver was not with me, I asked her to remove it after some time and some typing on her computer, she told me she could not remove the second driver option, and that I would need to return to the preferred area. However, I did not know what she meant because of the language that she was using that was specific to Avis. I kept explaining that I didn't understand the terminology she was using, but she kept using it anyway. Eventually, I said I can't have the second driver option without the second driver being here so what do I need to do to remove the second driver? She said again you need to return to the preferred area. I asked her where this was she said I will have to open the gate and then you will go through the gate on the left and then make a right. I tried this but the arrows in the parking garage indicated that you have to make left-hand turns only so I ended up back at her kiosk I was apologetic and said I ended up back at her kiosk, and she rolled her eyes, groaned, and said in a very harsh tone," you were supposed to make a right I told you to make a right!" again, I apologized and proceeded back through the gate. I did eventually find the preferred area where I parked my car and walked up to the women behind the glass. I explained that I had just been through a very difficult and poor customer service experience and was very frustrated. The ladies told me that the woman at the kiosk had already called them and explained the issue. I tried to offer my side, but they would not listen. They were both rolling their eyes and making comments like, "we're nothing like national", (no joke), and, "that's not how we do it here". I asked them if they could help me. Eventually, they said they could. I was given a parking spot number and sent on my way. No apologies, no empathy, just there to get a paycheck. I hope they get it. The only other comment I have is the car I was given is terrible. It has about 20,000 miles on it, which isn't bad, but the door locks click constantly at a very fast rate, and the check engine light goes off while you're driving it. Needless to say, I did not like this experience, and will not be using Avis again. In the end, I really didn't see much cost savings and for all the issues I had just not worth it. So much for the customer always being right. read more
