I am writing on first hand knowledge of an incredibly incompetent handling of a rental transaction with Avis. On August 22, 2021, my colleague rented a Toyota Corolla from the Rapid City Airport Avis kiosk. He purchased all the rental insurance coverages and roadside assistance. On August 23, 2021, while operating the vehicle on the Wyoming highways, on the way to the fabled Devil's Tower, the rear tire blew out. My colleague, a learned mechanic, changed the tire with the provided "donut". As any one worth his salt would know, one cannot drive for extended time on a donut. He contacted roadside assistance, who informed him that they would charge him for the service-- a service that he paid for. He called Avis, who told him to get the tire repaired at a local shop; however, reimbursement was not guaranteed. He attempted to return the vehicle to the Gillette airport as the Rapid City airport was over 2 hours, 155 miles away. As Gillette had no vehicles, my colleague attempted to get assistance from Rapid City and roadside assistance with the same results. Consequently, he left the vehicle parked at his hotel and he had to secure rides from others. On August 24, 2021, he contacted Rapid City Avis, and spoke with "Jeffrey". Not only did he give conflicting information, he was ignorant, rude and belligerent. He actually suggested that the vehicle be taken to a local repair shop the next morning- the morning he had to catch a flight back home from an airport about 2 hours away. He further threatened my colleague with a $1,000 fine if he dared return the vehicle to Gillette. And just so you know, he claimed that Rapid City was independent of any corporate office and that Gillette had nothing to do with them. That statement conflicted with that of the Gillette manager, and still conflicts to this day. Finally, when informed that any attempts to charge the credit card for the $1,000, would be blocked, Jeffrey threatened with litigation and crowed that they could not be beaten in court. The call was terminated by Jeffrey, and after going through several possible resolutions with roadside, they agreed to pick up the vehicle and tow it to Gillette. The rep indicated that she spoke to a manager who represented that she managed both offices. We recorded the conversation for posterity and the vehicle was towed to Gillette. Upon closing out the contract at Rapid City the following morning on the day of the flight, the rep still insisted that Gillette had nothing to do with them and totally undermined the instruction of roadside assistance until he was shown that we had the conversation recorded. The account was closed, and my colleague caught his plane. My closing thoughts? I expected better from such a reputable company. Shame on them. My colleague paid $400+ for an economy rental which he only used for one day. ----And Jeffrey claimed that the blowout was not Avis' fault and suggested the my colleague may have ran over an elk. Really? He even claimed that inspected the tires on each of the vehicles before they were rented. If anything, my colleague traveled slower than speed limit- he was following us and we had to pull over several times before he caught up. My colleague deserves a refund and Jeffrey is an idiot. read more
