I Heart Avis

This is skipping ahead slightly as far as Costa Rica stories are concerned, but I couldn't resist. After returning the car and being told that I wouldn't be charged for the damage to the mirror, Avis went ahead and charged me for the damage once I returned home. So, as per usual, I gathered up my ammo and prepared to go to war.

You know the old expression, "What if they started a war and nobody came?" Yeah, well, that applies here.

So, I called up their customer service line. I had my computer in front of me so I could reference all of my documentation, and amuse myself with the Internet if the waiting time got to be too much. Remarkably, the only question that Avis asked me was where I had rented my car. I punched in the code for "International", and was surprised, nay, OVERWHELMED when my call was transferred to a real human being.

This human being gave her name (first and last, which is a rarity amoung customer service types) and asked how she could help. I explained the situation, and she requested that I fax her the credit card bill showing the additional charge. She was very polite, and was genuinely taken aback that such a thing could happen.

About a week later, I finally got around to faxing her the sheet. I called up a few days later to check the status. Once again, I was forwarded straight through to a real human being. I gave her (all of the customer service representatives at Avis are women, if my experience is any judge) my reference number, and she was able to tell me the exact steps that my paperwork had taken. Remarkably, they kept track of that sort of thing. However, it had not been resolved, and she suggested I call back in a few days.

Fast forward to today. I call up, speak to a very polite person, who tells me that my claim has been processed at that my credit card has been credited the total originally charged.

Thank goodness for the few companies that actually realize the benefit of good service. If you're listening, Compaq and Future Shop, you could learn a lesson from Avis.