I rented through Budget, but the Avis desk handled the rental setup. Though there were some hiccups in getting an acceptable car, both reps I dealt with handled things in a professional and friendly manner.
My company had reserved a compact car, and I was first offered a Kia Soul. I hate that case - it's like driving a cardboard box, and I said as much to the Avis rep. She laughed and agreed, then checked their inventory and offered me a Ford Fusion Hybrid. Fantastic! I signed the paperwork, too the keys and walked out to the lot to find the car.
When I found it, the rear was dirty, like the car wash had totally missed it, but I want to concerned about that. I loaded luggage into the trunk and then went to get into the car. I opened the door and was hit with a wave stale cigarette smoke mixed with bad sure freshener - like someone had been smoking in the car and sprayed perfume to cover it up. Yuck!
I retrieved my luggage from the trunk and went back into the airport - no way I could drive that car for the week. The nice man who was now at the Avis counter was named Kurt. He was very apologetic about the condition of the car, said he would personally check it out and charge the prior renter a proper cleaning fee to get the car back to condition, stating that was an unacceptable condition for the case to be in. He offered me a Prius as an alternate, and even offered to have it brought up to the terminal door for me.
Despite the poor condition of the Fusion, both reps worked to get me into a car that was suitable for me, and I appreciate their willingness to do so. Overall, a minor frustration that was handled well be reps who seemed to actually care about my experience. read more
