Friendly and convenient

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.

We went to pick up the car at noon, and the receptionist spoke Chinese. She told us that the car we booked was not available and that there were only two Korean cars left in the same class, which were of lower quality. She suggested that we upgrade to a new 2018 Mercedes-Benz GLE350 by paying an extra $25. It was quite frustrating, but we had no choice. We ended up paying an additional $175 for 7 days. It felt somewhat like a scam because it’s unlikely you'll get the car you actually booked.

The service attitude of the sales staff and manager when picking up the car was extremely poor! They probably saw my Chinese face and assumed I wouldn't upgrade my insurance. They deliberately suggested my reserved model was unavailable and offered a downgrade instead of an upgrade. In fact, they had my reserved EDGE ready. After expressing my strong dissatisfaction, they still had an arrogant attitude, saying their store handles thousands of cars daily and can't meet all order requests. If I didn't agree to the downgrade, I would have to wait for a returned vehicle. Another sales representative found an excuse to get the car after seeing my anger. When I picked up the car, I noticed many different models in the parking lot. It felt very much like customer discrimination. It was an infuriating experience, especially since the flight was delayed, making it past 11 PM, and I had to argue at the counter. Although it's rare to see such outbursts abroad, not fighting for your due benefits means you'll get nothing. On a positive note, the vehicle itself was very satisfying, with great power and handling.

The San Francisco airport branch is easy to find, accessible via the blue line shuttle. There are a lot of people in line and the wait time is relatively long, but the prices are comparatively low. The cars provided are new, and the sales agents will try to sell you various insurances. Overall, I'm satisfied.