January 2017 by Judith Williams
I would give them ZERO STARS if possible!! The absolute WORST AVIS Budget Truck Rental experience I've ever had in my life. I've been a loyal customer for 20+ years and this company was my go to company! This, however, was a nightmare from the get-go. Not only was the truck dolly I ordered incorrect to tow my vehicle, it was not ready when I arrived. It took over two hours to get the thing hooked up to the truck. It was just silly! No one was there except a woman in a dress that worked at the front and washed cars when she wasn't waiting on customers. So sad for her! So there was her, my friend and I - three women who didn't know what they were doing at all - trying to install this thing on the truck so I could get back home, load my belongings, then hook my car up to the truck and move. We got it home hours later than planned, but after loading the truck later that day, we learned that it was not the right Dolly for my car! So, I had to drag the thing back to the rental place THE NEXT DAY. Once we got it there, we learned that they didn't even HAVE the correct Dolly there. So I had my truck loaded, had just driven it back to the rental store just so I could put the correct Dolly on the truck and then return home to pick up my car and leave, and couldn't even do that. I had to drive that truck all the way to Cumming, GA to get the correct one installed onto the truck. I wasn't happy, so I asked who I could speak to in charge. I got on the phone with the franchise owner, Merrick O'Leary. I called via telephone because he never shows up at his franchise - even though he is the self-proclaimed CEO of the rental company. He told me he would NOT reimburse my hotel bill nor adjust my bill in any way for my inconvenience and/or expense and extra gasoline out of my own pocket, even though he knew full well that all of this was because of their error. Not only that, but he laughed at my plight. A recent widow, moving 400 miles alone with a huge problem that his lack of management of his franchise caused, and he LAUGHED AT ME because I was emotional. I asked who he answers to, to hopefully speak with someone more reasonable and get a refund of these costs, and he stated "I answer to GOD." Well, Mr. O'Leary, GOOD LUCK WITH THAT. So, I had to drive 22 more miles to the other rental facility to have the correct car Dolly installed, and thankfully, they actually had someone working on the lot that knew how to install it. I finally arrived one day later than planned at my destination, and thankfully the accepting franchise did NOT charge me for the extra day once I explained what had happened. I did complain to AVIS Customer Service about this franchise owner, Merrick O'Leary, and got a begrudged refund for the cost of the original Dolly that was the wrong one for my car, but no compensation for my personal hardship and motel room costs nor extra, unnecessary gasoline that this error of theirs caused us to suffer. I will never go through AVIS again, due to this experience and will never, ever recommend them again. I caution anyone else to make very sure of EVERYTHING if you do business with them. Don't expect them to know anything. Check for yourself, because if I had used the Dolly they rented me, the front end of my car would have been destroyed.