Avis Rent A Car

Everyone who made a reservation didn’t get one. We got the last car and it was a pickup truck (for the 5 of us) we had to wait 45 minutes for.
Manager Dan was very helpful and nice while helping us back out of the parking lot (for some reason they pulled the car in front-​end first then parked a car in our blind spot semi-​trapping us in)

Dropping a quick note to offer some praise for the manager present on-​site at this location today (Sunday). He helped resolve a tricky situation when he didn’t need to. He was accommodating, but remained firm in complying with the Avis rules in a way that resolved the problem and addressed a customer’s specific needs.
Customer service at this location isn’t usually very good. Lots of rules + lots of annoying customers trying to break them = a staff that’s always on guard and a little brusque. But this guy won the day, and showed that rules can be followed while being a decent human.

Mixed review. Avis is the only rental car that’s still open after 3:00 p.m. Saturday afternoon. If I didn’t miss my reservation for Budget, I would never choose Avis, b/​c Avis is usually more expensive than the other rental companies. One of the staff in the front desk was very nice to me, giving me discount and didn’t charge me for any unless coverage. He made my day. However, when I returned the car second day later, I noticed I was charged for the all the insurance coverage for my second day! (~$ 58). I already left, but I knew it’s a long hair black lady at the cashier who gave me the final receipt. So Four stars for that awesome guy who gave me discount, and one star for that lady or whoever charged me the insurance without consent…

1 star is even more than this place deserves. The experience I had today was the worst in my life. I had an event in Trenton NJ which is about an hour and 40 min away and I had to be there by 9. I go to pick up my car at 7am and I can’t get my rental because the person who apparently holds the key was not there. A woman named latanya working there very rudely explained the situation and gave us an option to take a cab to the east village location to pick up a car from there. We were on a such time crunch and would only go to east village of the employee coming to drop off the keys was very far away. so, the question for latanya was how far away this other employee was? She said she didn’t know and when asked to call the other employee, she told us she wouldn’t give us that employees number. Well of course we didn’t want to call her ourselves, we expected latanya to do so and explained that much. She was visibly annoyed by this request but called and said the employee was almost there. We asked what almost there meant, she said 5 – 10 min. We waited 10 minutes and at this point are kicking ourselves for not going to the east village. I asked latanya if it was possible to find out exactly where this employee was so we could better weigh our answers and this request was just way too much for latanya to handle. She asked me over and over again, «what do you want me to do?» Even though I had already told her. I also said it wasn’t right how she was treating us like the bad guy when we weren’t able to pick up the car at our reservation time and that someone was supposed to be there already. She yelled at me, saying that the employee coming in was doing this on her day off, as though that solved the problem. Whether or not this employee who is a key holder had to come in on a day off is unfortunate but not my problem, this was avis’ responsibility.
At 7:45, the key holder drops off the key. Of course we are late getting to Trenton. Upon dropping off the car, I explained to the manager what happened in the morning and her reply was, «what did you want her to do? The other girl was coming in on her day off?»
I don’t get why this is a question? We wanted to know realistically how far the key holder was so we could figure out what to do. The 5 – 10 min «almost there» estimate was 45 min off, we wanted better explanations then that lie of an answer! Also, if you begin your shift knowing the keyholder isn’t there and there’s no way to get to the cars, why not call the people who are picking up cars in the morning and give them the alternative option over the phone so they can decide then if it’s worth going to a second rental location? Unbelievable

Stay away from the place at all costs. Total scam! Rudest customer service ever!!!
Do not rent from here– most likely they won’t even have a car for you! Read all the other reviews– they are terrible for a reason.
Next day: You would think after talking to the manager about the poor customer service, this place wouldn’t have been so terrible and rude again, but they decided to continue to show how unprofessional they are! Trying to charge us for scratches that were on the car and documented on their paperwork! I think not! And Lindsey continued to be the absolute worst. Her attitude would bring out the worst in anyone (unfortunately she got the best of me yesterday with her terrible and rude attitude). And then the super professional hooting and hollering when customers leave– yeah, we won’t ever be back to this Avis location. This weekend crew needs fired. Time to start with a fresh team. Terrible!!!

We had a reservation for a full size car to pick up at 08:00 on a Saturday morning. The line at the counter was very long. When it was our turn, another customer came back up to the counter upset about something regarding his rental. It turns out he also had a full size but apparently wasn’t given one. They gave him a Chevy Impala and then when they came back to help us, we were told that was the last Full Size. Normally this is fine because as long as there is something bigger available, the car rental company will provide you with a complimentary upgrade. That did not happen in our case. The options given to us were to cancel the reservation and lose $ 100 of what we had prepaid or to pay to upgrade to a standard SUV. This does not make sense. The employee we spoke to could not be bothered with reason. She said again that those were our options. She then stepped aside to have some personal time for a couple of minutes (again, keeping not only us but everyone else waiting). Then when she came back we asked for a manager but none was available. So to not delay our vacation any longer, we took the standard SUV and explained that we would not be paying the higher charges (nearly $ 40 a day more than the full size) and would need to get those charges dropped.
When we talked with Avis Customer Service, they said that we had to wait until we returned the car to try to get this resolved. When we brought the car back, again there was no manager available. Came back on a Thursday, still no manager. This has been a terrible experience. I’ve never heard of a rental car company forcing you to lose money when they don’t have the car you reserved available. They always give an option to make you whole (although sometimes force you back on the street to look for a car somewhere else).

DO NOT GO HERE. I prepaid for a 12 seater van a week before the rental and they did not have the van when I got there. After waiting 2 hours (because they kept assuring me a van was coming, then either the keys were missing or it’d get stuck in traffic), I accepted their offer of an 8 seater SUV and a discount of 1 day’s rental because clearly a van was never coming and I needed to leave. They basically stole my money because I paid for a very specific vehicle that they never gave me. As of writing this I have yet to receive the discount. Oh and they never answer the phone.

Avis is well reputed company but not this. We walked into this place & seems like the workers are rude & not friendly at all. They seems like they are not in mood for work. They need to have better communication skills. I rented 2 van 12 passenger & 7 passengers van. Both vans were dirty inside. They didn’t even vacuuming the van. Stain marks all over the seats. After we drove the parking we discover, On minivan honk doesn’t work & 12 pass service engine light came on van was shaking. I had to back & swap the van where I lost another hour for my trip. The worker at Avis didn’t care at all.

This is a letter that was emailed to the manager of the Avis regarding my experience on Saturday, May 9^th, 2015. I never received a reply.
Hello Leslie.
I received your call in regards to the issues that I had with my rental on Saturday. I tried to call back three times but the message I got indicated that all representative’s were busy and I wanted to focus more on my wife’s first mother’s day and less on my negative rental experience. I am sure you understand.
First I want to thank you for the apologies you offered on behalf of your company and no charging this rental.
As you were probably made aware I had several issues with my Saturday rental. We were traveling to Cinnaminson, NJ on Saturday for a birthday party for my wife’s uncle who is just recovering from chemotherapy. We stopped off at a strip mall not that far from our final destination. When I went to restart the car it would not start. I called Roadside Assistance. They had the wrong vehicle listed on our rental agreement. We were rented a Hyundai Elantra and the paperwork had us listed in a Ford Wagon. After clearing up the vehicle issue we were informed that a signal was sent to our vehicle killing the ability to start it. After speaking with Roadside Assistance they contacted they appropriate people at Zip car who sent the signal to our vehicle and I was able to start it again. We were late for the birthday luncheon because of the car issue.
Around 4:30pm I went out to start the car as we were ready to leave. Again the car would not start due to the same issue. I contacted Roadside Assistance again and listed the problem. They still had us listed in a Ford Wagon. After again explaining which vehicle we were in we were informed that the Fleet coordinator command that has the ability to send the signal to the car to start closed at 1pm. The solution was to have the car towed to Philadelphia with me riding in the tow truck to pick-​up another vehicle and bring that back to the location to try and get home. After informing Roadside Assistance that I was traveling with my wife and 10 month old son the solution was to have Avis contact a tow company and bring a vehicle to us and pick-​up the non-​functioning vehicle. I received a text indicating that it would be about a 2 hour wait until the new vehicle arrived. The tow truck arrived within the time they estimated, dropped off the new vehicle and we headed home.
I work in customer service as a manager. I rent film equipment to various sized productions all over NY. I understand how difficult customers can be even when you do your best to ensure top service. I rarely, if ever, complain. So first I will focus on the positives. Tanesha at Roadside Assistance tried to be helpful the second time I called. I also had very good feedback from Ayesha and Marquis at your facility. They did their best to make me aware of the situation, alternative drop-​off locations and that the rental would not be charged. I was also pleased with your response time and the apologetic nature of your call.
Now on to the issues. If your company is going to rent cars that need the ability to be remotely activated that needs to be a ²⁴⁄₇ service. Whether that is an on call person or a ²⁴⁄₇ facility it should not be limited to closing early on a weekend or standard business hours during the week. If my wife, son and I had been stranded in any other location that was less favorable I would not like to imagine the potential for very dangerous situations.
When I returned the car Sunday morning there was very little understanding towards my problems from Lindsey at the front desk. The attitude that was portrayed towards me was that it was not her problem and those Zip cars do that sometimes. She also indicated she had no way of contacting you, which I find odd for a direct boss, and my solution was to wait for you since you could not be reached. She asked if I contacted Roadside Assistance and when I indicated that they were not as helpful as can be given my situation she sort of brushed it off. She also stated that I should not «take it out» on the person behind the counter. I informed her that it wasn’t meant to be directed at her but she’s an employee and she represents the company plus she was assisting with check-​in so any issues I would have had she should have been more understanding instead of having the «it’s not my problem» mentality.
I really hope the situations with the cars that require remote start as well as correct paperwork and ensuring that all customers are treating with respect and understanding, especially if they have not had the most pleasant experience, are addressed at your company. Regardless of the unpleasant experience and the fact that I would not rent from Avis in the future, the manner in which unpleasant situations are handled is important.
Thank you for your time.

Had a $ 50 credit card eToll charge and another $ 180 charge come through because I rented from the folks at this Brooklyn location. It was a compact car going one way to NJ, which should’ve been a maximum charge of about $ 15 given the GW bridge and what not (done this trips multiple times already). In addition, I never got a separate receipt come to my e-​mail about these charges. So, I called the Avis eToll customer service to investigate this, and the guy told me that the tags in both instances were lost, transferred or misplaced on my car to a truck, so the charge should’ve not occurred since they don’t truly belong to my activity. The CS rep also said it’s an automated process so there was nothing to prevent that. That seems grossly incorrect given that whatever happened to the tags was human error and that Avis has some MAJOR controls issues that pass off as defrauding customers. Obviously, it isn’t like that in all locations because I’ve never had issues renting from NYC or Newark, but this Brooklyn location must have some really bad apples that should be let go.
Letters sent to the BBB and the NY/​NJ Transportation Authority.

Fast and easy service. Don’t rush these folks. They know what they are doing and they will be right with you.

Had to return a car early because travel plans changed. Although I arrived before closing time, the lights went out and the booth attendant left before the stated close time of 9pm. Instead, the parking attendant scanned the car and the daily rate defaulted to a high daily rate. There was no opportunity to negotiate (it was not even nearly 3 full days, which is what they charged) nor to decide to keep the car the rest of the week we had reserved, and at least receive full value. All Avis or location can say is we broke our contract, by bringing the car back early. No comment on not having the window open until stated closing time. Customer service says I will need to wait at least 48 hours for a manager’s response. There are some very nice employees at this location. But the location should be open when it claims to be. And Hertz is just across the street.

I’ve been renting from this location once a month for about 2 years, and almost every time, I’ve been disappointed with the service I received. More often than not, the employees at this location seem disgruntled and unfriendly. I’ve encountered numerous problems with the vehicles that they’ve given me – including, but not limited to cigarette smells, cigarette burn marks, windshield wipers that don’t work, and disputes regarding fuel levels. Additionally, several trips have been delayed by an hour or more, due to computer-​related issues involving 5.25″ floppy disks! Escalating to the manager doesn’t seem to work. After each incident, the manager emailed me a discount code to use on my next rental, but he totally missed the point. Why would I want to spend more money at his store if he doesn’t fix the systemic problems?!

I rent from here almost once a week. There are a couple folks who work at this location that are so helpful and easy to interact with but there are a few employees who really need to be let go. Manager, please manage?

We waited over an hour to rent a car. Go into Manhattan to rent a car before wasting your time here.

Rented from here two or three times and never had an issue with picking up or dropping off. The employees are friendly. My only suggestion is that they should have more pick up windows. The line is always a bit long and when you’re down there in the summer time like I was, its a bit hot and exhausting.
For those complaining about the debit/​credit card issue, that can be avoided if you reserve your car on line in advance. I did that, and had no troubles. They only ask to see the card to verify that you are the cardholder.

Let me tell you all about this hell hole Avis near downtown Brooklyn. They don’t take Debit Cards, they question every single AWD number, even ones handed out by companies like Wal-​Mart, the employees have a «I don’t give a f**k» attitude and they will leave you stranded if u aren’t careful.
So I got the bomb rate, I get there and since I didn’t bring my ID for this rate, my rate jumps from $ 278 to $ 962. .. huh? I go on the website and the regular rate is $ 315. .. I know they just didn’t try to rip me off.
So after all that is done, I find out they don’t have debit cards and my credit card only has a $ 300 limit. .. there is nothing they can do. I need a one way rental to continue my vacation and nobody will make the rate $ 300 so I can continue my trip. Thank goodness my credit card company allowed me to send them some money to cover the rental. I’m mad because I called the Avis number and they told me they took debit cards and I get there and they don’t. .. claiming «This was NYC». Whatever.
So after all that is settled, I get my rental. .. girl says she gave me the upgrade and I got a Ford Edge with rearview camera and satelite radio. Aight cool. .. 2 days later the subscription for the radio went out LMAO but i did like the camera. These employees sitting up there hopping in and out the rental cause its hot, burning up the gas, talking about «sorry it was hot», just bring it back on ¾’s. Tried me.
The absolute only reason I gave this place 2 stars is because they were light years cheaper for one way rentals than anywhere else in NYC. Atleast $ 200 less, but you get what you pay for. Make sure you have a credit card with the appropriate amount after taxes and any ID’s ready, because you won’t get a car off the lot if you don’t.

I rent from here at least twice a month, and the employees are all great, they remember me and are always pleasant and great to chat with. The shortcomings of this place are due to Avis’ negligent and misinformed business plan…
For example: peak hours (like Friday afternoon) when there are 14 people in line — there are TWO employees working. Seriously? It’s ridiculous how long you have to wait here sometimes, just to get your car (even when you have preferred service in which you check in online ahead of time anyway.) Again, not the local employee’s fault — and to be fair, I’ve seen some just plain nasty customers treat them like crap, I can’t imagine dealing with some of these people. So they are put in this trap of being the victims of their cheap, corner-​cutting company’s policies and having to endure (justifiably angry) but mean customers.
It’s clear that Avis cares as little about their employees as they do about their customers. After years of rentals and thousands spent, and membership in the customer loyalty program, all I ever get are «one free day» coupons from them (like twice) — and guess what?! They aren’t valid in NYC?! So what good is a loyalty program in NYC where you pay a premium for a car already — if you can only use it in f-​ing Florida where cars are like $ 14/​a day anyway? Ridiculous. Avis has a monopoly in this neighborhood and they know it. So while the cars and staff are great, don’t expect any favors or appreciation for your business. If you can trek into the city Dollar is ALWAYS cheaper and Hertz is sometimes cheaper too. Until they fix their rewards program and understaffing problem, I can’t give this otherwise great location any more stars.

I dunno, I’m a frequent renter here and while they don’t exactly roll out the red carpet they do have clean cars and I’ve only shown up once to find the car I booked not available.
To be fair to them, they’re not the ones accepting the reservations. Any fault for not having the car would be with the online central booking.
Overall I’ll stick by my 3 stars. They try hard, I’ve never encountered a rude or unpleasant employee and the cars are always in pretty good shape.
The management could put on more staff during peak hours (7am — 10am) however, I think that would make a huge difference.

Dropping off my rental, I pulled into the garage and noticed all the vehicles in the «Avis» spots were parked facing out. Found an empty spot, and backed in. Attendant came, grabbed the keys and rental agreement, and pulled the car out of the space. He gets out and says in a nasty tone: «Next time, park like her!», pointing to a woman who had arrived to drop off her car shortly after me. Thinking maybe there was a special check-​in area I missed, I check for signs. Seeing none, I say: «Sorry, I don’t understand». He yells: «Park like her! Next time don’t back in! Just park face in!
Next time? Trust me, there won’t be a next time