I travel quite frequently for work. For the many others that have the same
unfortunate privilege I’m sure you would agree that traveling can be quite
draining. Coordinating the plane,
hotel and car rental alone can be a frustrating and time consuming
experience.
Typically when I travel I am hurried and
become very focused on getting my tasks accomplished, and getting to my
destinations. What I don’t need is
to be hassled or scammed along the way.
Two weeks ago I booked a rental car
through Avis for my trip to Dallas. I was impressed with how quick and easy it was to navigate
the site and secure a reservation.
I ended up with a basic car for a rate of $67.98/day. After taxes and other fees, for a 2 day
rental my “Approximate Total” came to $107.63.
When I arrived in Dallas (hurried and
running late) all I wanted was to sign for my car, get the keys and head out. Instead, I had to have the rep reprint my
contract 3 times. The first time
she put on the prepaid gas option without asking me. When I told her I didn’t want that I had to argue with her
to remove it. The second time she
gave me the full insurance option without my request. Again, I had to argue with her to remove it. Frustrated and feeling hassled, I
finally managed to get my car.
When I returned two days later I was
shocked when I got my final bill for $466. Quite a stretch from the original $107 “approximation.” When I asked about the charge I was
told that I was upgraded and new fees were added on. I argued with the Avis representative and the manager for
several minutes. After insisting
that there be some kind of resolution they reduced the charge to $354.30. This was still far higher than the
$107.63 “Approximation” I received.
IMHO this is a scam. I can assure you, if when I reserved
this car from Avis online I was told the bill would be $466 or even $354 I
would have kept looking for a better deal. I’m sure this business practice does wonders for Avis’s
revenue. However, I can guarantee
it also costs them revenue due to lost customers. Me for one.
What does this have to do with healthcare staffing? Nothing really, other than identifying what Avis is doing as being a terrible business practice that shouldn’t be duplicated by anyone in any industry. Further, for all of you that travel, when looking for a rental car, I’d encourage you to look somewhere other than Avis.
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