Avis Reservations Cancelled

I wrote on Tuesday about a code that was offering 2 free weekend rental days from Avis. The terms of the coupon when entered into the coupon code field did not say anything about a certificate being required to receive that rate, which it normally would say if there was such a condition. However, Avis must have gotten so swamped that they went ahead and cancelled all of the reservations and said that you needed a coupon certificate for the reservation.

I can understand that they may have gotten inundated with reservations, many of which were for $0, but to cancel all reservations and then state that they stand ready to reinstate the reservation if you have a certificate is just bad business. I also understand that there would be even more mad people if they had informed people upon pickup that it would be cancelled if they couldn’t provide a valid certificate, however, this was all Avis’ fault for not stipulating the need for a certificate on the terms and conditions upon entry. Also, it would have been a nice gesture of some kind if they threw something the way of those who had reservations cancelled – something like $20 off next rental or something like that. Instead, they batch cancelled all of them and put it on the renter to call to get it reactivated if they had a paper certificate.

Does this mean I am done with Avis? Absolutely not! They are still my #1 choice for car rentals and the perks I receive (until April 1) as a President’s Club member have always been very nice. I just think that they could have handled this particular incident a little better. So, if you made a reservation with this code and did not receive a cancellation e-mail, I would still have another rental made as a backup in case you show up and find that your reservation was also cancelled. The good thing about car rentals is that you can make a reservation (and choose to pay at the counter) and not pay anything if you cancel, so make sure you have that backup.