Initially, they gave me a car larger than the one I booked (I reserved a 7-seater SUV). I was about to accept it, but it felt too big to drive comfortably. I went back to explain my concerns, and the staff was very nice and accommodating. They persisted and eventually found the model I wanted.

We picked up the car at San Francisco Airport. They tried to upsell us on a vehicle upgrade but failed, and then kept pushing insurance. I blame myself for not explaining things clearly to my husband, which caused him to be harassed by the Avis clerk for a long time. They even got a Chinese-speaking employee to push the insurance. I finally managed to get away by firmly refusing all insurance options.

I encountered an unethical staff member at Avis who seemed to be a manager—an outright scammer. Here's the story for everyone to understand. Avis requires the tank to be full when returning the car, but due to heavy traffic, a 40-minute drive took two hours. Worried about the time, I decided to refuel near the return location. To my surprise, there was no gas station nearby (which is unreasonable because if you refuel far from the return spot, the tank will not be full by the time you get there). For everyone's information, the return location has a gas station, but the price is $10 per gallon instead of the normal $3 per gallon. So, we were fined $61. Isn't this a deliberate rip-off? That's not all, though. The worst part is yet to come. We tried explaining to the staff to avoid the extra charge, but if it didn’t work, we were ready to pay. The staff introduced us to an American man who seemed to be a manager to resolve the issue. However, this 'scammer' pretended to help us. He printed a receipt, intentionally showing a charge of 61 and then a -61, making us think the fee was waived. He also added a charge of 17, supposedly for the regular gas price. We trusted him without thoroughly checking the contract filled with English and technical terms, and thanked him repeatedly. Later, I found out I was charged on my credit card. Upon inspecting the receipt, it all became clear (I kept the receipt just in case). The $61 was not a big deal; we were ready to pay but just tried our luck. Who knew people in the U.S. could be so unethical? Even when we picked up the car, the front desk staff was unfriendly. Maybe it was due to the cheaper rental rates for Chinese customers through Zuzuche? On a positive note, the customer service at Zuzuche was excellent.

Returning a car with Avis is quite convenient. Sometimes, young staff members will recommend upgrades, which can be worthwhile. For example, I paid an extra $10 per day to upgrade to a GMC Yukon, and it was totally worth it. However, if an older staff member helps you, they often lack the knowledge to offer any useful recommendations. For instance, they might class a Ford Expedition the same as a Chevy Tahoe, but the Expedition has a noticeably smaller cabin. While the Ford might handle better, if I cared about handling, I wouldn't choose a large vehicle. Most in-office staff are nice, but the people at the exit lot, whether Mexican or Chinese, act pretentious. That's a definite negative. You're just a parking lot attendant, there's no need to act superior, especially to Chinese customers. Because of this, I will never rent from Avis again. They are the most expensive and don't offer better service! Avis mostly lacks Chevy Tahoes!

You need to wait in a long queue to pick up the car