I am driving up to the SANS conference in Blacksburg, VA in March. To my misfortune, Avis is the only company the university is contracted with and the only company I can use unless I want to foot the bill. Although the price differential is negligible, I can only be reimbursed if I rent a compact or subcompact car unless a dozen people are coming with me for the ride.
Unfortunately, driving 600 miles in a compact car without cruiser control (which none of them have) is insane. I know, I’ve driven 500 miles round trip without cruiser control twice now. So, naturally I want a midsize car. But that’s apparently not feasible. I’m told by someone at UF that if I pay cash for the difference between the two when I pick the car up, I can probably get reimbursed for the cost of the smaller car.
I can’t an answer of any value from Avis, though, other than an irate and rude woman at Avis who had little interest in speaking with me and eventually simply hung up. Given that level of service, I can’t reasonably expect to show up at the local Avis and expect them to play along with this nonsensical pay-the-difference scheme I have to embark upon. Having no transportation on my date of departure would be unfortunate. It’s more likely I’d find a car rental agency with a compact or subcompact available, but that’s precisely the situation I want to avoid experiencing for a third time in a row.
After the fact, my actual experience with Avis was not bad. The local agents at the Gainesville airport were happy to work with me regarding my strange invoice restrictions and allowed me to pay the difference.