How I Yelled at Avis SFO

I think this is the only time I've actually yelled at someone I don't personally know. It's not something that I do. You never know the full story of what is going on with the other person so there can be many reasons why someone seems to be doing a poor job. I'm not entirely proud of this but I thought I'd share.

Board the Air Train to rentail car!

This is essentially what we booked and the description clearly says" Lincoln MKX or similar." The "or similar" part is common across all rental car agencies and not just Avis. It makes sense because they might not have the exact car in the photo when you arrive.

A "Luxury" rental. Sample image.

I have rented from numerous Avis locations around the country. It seems to me that Avis SFO is especially expensive. My guess is that it is due to the market. The prices will go up or down but what we paid was significantly less.

So when we got to the Preferred counter we cleared up the paperwork and went out to our assigned space where our car was waiting. Only it wasn't a Lincoln MKX but a Lincoln MKZ, their passenger sedan. We thought it was a mistake because we had reserved in our minds what was an SUV. The Lincoln MKX is even called a "luxury crossover SUV" by Lincoln. Why were we getting a sedan?

The first lady we talked to about our problem really tried to correct the situation. After running around the lot and trying to find a car for 10-15 minutes she profusely apologized and told us to go back to the counter. During this time I was getting a little frustrated. We were hitting the peak of rush hour and we had to be across the Bay for dinner tonight. It also seemed incredulous that they didn't have an SUV available. Again, maybe because of the market.

So we went back to the Avis Preferred counter where we talked to the lady who initially set us up. I'll call her Ms. JustDoingAJob (JDAJ).

"Uhm sorry we think there is a mistake. We reserved an SUV and for some reason we were given a sedan."
She asked for our rental agreement and click-clacked some keys on her keyboard.
"Well, this is what you booked." (buzz. Wrong answer lady.)
"Really? We're pretty sure we booked an SUV."

Ms. JDAJ's response was wrong from a customer service perspective. It seriously didn't help my mood. Sensing some trouble one of her male colleagues had come over to look. He asked to see our reservation email. B showed him the reservation on his phone and it clearly showed a picture of the Lincoln MKX.

The response was, "Well it does say or similar."
Ms JDAJ also chimed in with, "Yes, you booked a Class H vehicle and that is what I am giving you."

This is when I was starting to get mad. None of this was making sense. I think my voice was starting to get louder at this point. One other girl behind the counter started shrinking in her seat and staring intently at her computer.
"So you're telling us we're outta-luck and we just have to accept a sedan when we booked an SUV?"
"There aren't any available in Class H which you booked. And it does say 'or similar,'" retorts Ms. JDAJ.

And that's when I lost it.

"LOOK PEOPLE. WE BOOKED AN SUV. ARE YOU TRYING TO TELL ME THAT A SEDAN IS SIMILAR TO AN SUV?"
"Well it is in the same class and..."
"NO. I AM ASKING YOU A QUESTION. IS A SEDAN SIMILAR TO AN SUV?"
"Well..."
"IS IT?"
"No, but..."
"EXACTLY. COME ON THE LOGIC ISN'T DIFFICULT PEOPLE."

Then Ms. JDAJ picks up the phone, "I'm calling a manager.  You can't blame us for something that isn't our fault."
"Oh. Pity that."
"What did you say?"
"I. said....PITY. THAT."
Then Ms. JDAJ slammed the phone down and stood up from her chair. "That's it. I can't continue to take abuse from people."

I almost laughed in her face when she said that. Did she have run ins with other customers too? Ms. JDAJ literally went to the other side of the floor and hid behind a counter to commiserate with one of her friends. I could see them looking over at us so I made it a point to stand sideways and look right back at them.

Meanwhile, Mr. Colleague and the third girl tried to look for more cars for us while we waited for a manager.

After probably 5 minutes and B trying to play it cool by staring at his phone a manager showed up and keys to a Lincoln MKX magically appeared on the counter. WTF? Did it just come out of the clean up?

We made our introductions to the manager. Explained what happened. I actually even told him that I apologize that I yelled at his employees. It's not something that I do. We did say that Ms. JDAJ's customer service and responses were not good and only escalated the situation. He apologized for the chaos in the booking. Clearly it doesn't make sense. He also thanked me for apologizing because it's not something most people do. He then handed us the keys and said, "This is nicer than what you normally would receive."

What? So when I get exactly what I booked it is nicer than what I booked? Is there some kind of arbitrary nature to rental car reservations that I don't know about? I honestly have never heard of this before and this wasn't a "Chevy Cruze or similar" booking.

Bottom line for me is I definitely did not like this rental experience from Avis SFO. This certainly makes me glad that I don't have to rent a car for most of the times that I go.