PSA...do not use AVIS rental cars

[Rsanter 152]

I took my daughter to Florida recently for a vacation and to check out a college there that she wants to go to 
I set up a one way rental to drive to LAX and then another one way rental for when I get back . I did his so I would not have to leave my car parked at LAX. It was actually cheaper to do the two one way rentals than to pay for parking plus the risk of leaving your vehicle there...bla bla bla

I prepaid my car rentals, hotels, etc as I though it would be easier and quicker.

Now the problem. They did not have a car for me.
Even though this was a prepaid rental, no car. Their solution....no problem, we will just cancel the reservation and refund your money.
Yea, well that doesn't solve my problem about needing a car.
And of course, two weeks later and four calls to them I still don't have my refund.
I already contested the charge with my bank so I will get my money back. It wasn't even that much, just under $50
It's the fact that they care so little for their customers that they will do this on a prepaid rental.
Apparently they overbook as people don't always show up to get the car they reserved, yea well mine was prepaid.

So just a warning to all of you, don't use AVIS. They are not reliable or IMO ethical.
For me it worked out as a drove my truck down there, but just imagine if this was the rental car I was picking up at my destination.....
I used FOX rental in Florida. Prepaid, they had the car I requested. Took about 30-40 min to get the car and everything. No problem.
Oh and the hotels I prepaid, yup the room was there waiting for me. No problem
Perhaps AVIS needs some training from these other companies

Rant is NOT over.....just on. Hold for now

[MN69Grande 203]

Man that sucks.  I travel every month for work and I can tell you this: Everything has gotten worse in the last 12 years at least.  I've shown up to a Hilton in Milwaukee at 11:30pm and had no room after being up since 3am.  I get delayed by the airlines 80% of the time, actually 100% if I am dealing with Boston, Newark, or Chicago.  I've had car rental companies not realized I returned a car even though they rented it out again (huh/what?).  I personally think a big part of it is that there is really no cost to them for taking our time and in someways there is too much consolidation.  I miss when there were 6 airlines, I don't care what they say there were more routes, at more times, and cheaper.  Some it felt like they were on time more too.

Anyway I can commiserate with you there is nothing worse than having plans and having paid to have some unapologetic clerk say - "whelp there is nothing I can do good luck" 

[JD08 42]

When sales are good, customer service goes down because the marginal gains are minimal. When things start to go downhill, it's a cheap way to differentiate themselves. After the downturn of 2007-2008, customer service was amazing, now it's starting to drop because they don't need to be nice to make sales.

[Ridge Runner 1,112]

Wait a minute ,didnt i see this on a episode of Seinfeld HAHA

[Guillaume69 150]

Another rental story here...

While we were living in NW FL, we decided to spend one Christmas in Key West. We stayed on the Marines Base they have there, just by the Coast Guards facilites. Super nice!

I had rented - and prepaid - a car for the whole week long stay. A little north of $450 had been taken by the rental company on our bank account the day prior our arrival there.

The day we get there, at the counter, the clerk announced rather loudly (lots of people queueing next to us) that my card "failed" the credit check. To which I answered it was a debit card, that I was from abroad, didn't have/needed/required a credit card, therefore had no credit history in the US, but car was paid and enough money on the account to actually buy the car. "No Sir, I can't give you the car because you failed US credit checks." I was stuck there with my wife and two kids (2 and 9). I politely told him that the money had been withdrawn already from our account and that they owed us that car. For the third time, he used the failed credit BS.

To which I finally answered that if he called me a failure in front of my family and the rest of the line of customers one more time, I would make sure his nose kissed his keyboard several times in a rather violent way.

That's when he called security on me...

It is a real shame I had to flash my US military ID card to the deputy sherif to get things back to where I was considered human again.

We loved Key West and the Keys in general!! But hated the dark side of US business and bank credit system...

G

[bryonbush 85]

there are a few rules i always follow when traveling:

1. Never fly into/out of Chicago. 

2. when making reservations make a separate folder with information about everything. this includes names and ID# of people i talk to.

3. If someone in the business im spending money on starts being a dick, i record it and make sure HQ gets a copy. but i also make sure to go out of my way to let HQ know if a member was very helpful.