From San Francisco to Los Angeles

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.

Very good

Our flight was delayed, so we picked up the car 2 hours earlier than scheduled. Due to language barriers, we were concerned about being charged for unnecessary insurance, but it turned out to be fine. The car was picked up quickly, but the attitude of the front desk staff could be improved.

The girl at the San Francisco counter was really pushing for insurance, and even called a Chinese staff member to explain it to us. It wasted a lot of our time. Also, both times we chose a two-door car, but they only had four-door cars available at the counter. Quite disappointing.

Service attitude, waiting time, and vehicle condition need to be addressed separately: Our flight arrived at 10 PM local time, and we got to the rental office around 11 PM. Many rental companies are located on the same floor, and some had no staff at their counters. AVIS had the longest line, which we didn’t expect. After waiting for half an hour, it was our turn. The procedure was normal. The clerk asked if we needed an SUV and how many people and luggage we had, then gave us a Jeep Cherokee. I asked if it was the Grand Cherokee, and he said yes. When we went to pick up the car, we realized the model was much smaller than what we booked. We called the rental company several times but they needed time to process it. Eventually, we went back to the counter, by then the male clerk had gone off duty and we were helped by a female clerk. She admitted we were given a downgraded car and offered a full tank of gas as compensation, which didn't matter much as gas is cheap in the US. We asked for the price difference, and she printed out the receipt showing a difference of $220. It was clear we were downgraded without any notice. After confirming the downgraded price, we took the car since they didn't have the same class available. This whole process took us a long time and we got to our hotel very late, making this experience very unpleasant.