E-Z (and Advantage, Fox)
I needed a one day rental in Vegas earlier in the week, and of course went with AutoSlash. Prices were higher than I liked, but they did offer a $19 all in rate with E-Z, mid-size, booked through AutoSlash, not Priceline, no prepayment required. That evening I was feeling feisty, up for the "counter fight", so I went with the E-Z quote and was prepared to do battle, just a one day rental, I could deal with it, right?
I showed up at 8pm and found the E-Z counter closed. There was a hand-written sign, go to the Advantage desk if you have a reservation.
Went over to the Advantage area and found a short line, there were 2 customer reps at the counter. Unfortunately, the short line did not translate into my getting to the counter any time soon. Was probably only 10m, but seemed like forever.
Agent took my DL and credit card, and asked what kind of car I'd like. I replied, whatever is in my reservation. She again asked, and again, I repeated, whatever my reservation reflects. She asked if I wanted full coverage, and I replied with my standard statement that I must have repeated twice a week for years before every rental agency under the sun, "no coverage and I'll bring it back full". She asked who my insurance carrier was, and then asked if I wanted to prepay for fuel. Yep, you guessed it, I replied, "no coverage and I'll bring it back full". She was slightly annoyed.
She then pointed me to the small LCD screen on the counter, 3" x 5" or so, and told me to answer the prompts. One of the prompts was, that I've reviewed the terms and conditions of my rental and fully agree with all provisions. Of course, that was impossible, as up to that point, I was given and showen absolutely nothing. That LCD device, and procedure, is the exact same thing you'll find at Fox.
I was then given the paperwork and instructed to proceed out the door to the Advantage booth, even though it was an E-Z rental. When I got out to the garage and found the Advantage booth, there was a line, with folks who were waiting to get their car assignment, as well as folks who had gotten their car assignment, but were waiting to return the signed defect checklist. It was not a pretty line, even at that time of night. Folks complaining that only diesel cars were available, and folks who given the delay, were complaining that their short vacation time was spent picking up a car. I waited probably 15m until I was given the assigned spot for my vehicle, and the paperwork for defects, which I needed to complete and then return to the line in the garage.
My car was indeed a midsize (and a diesel), it had 55,000 miles. I found nothing to report, but back to the line I went.
I returned the car the next evening, and actually was 1 hr and 15m past the return time. I was met by one person who was "checking in cars" for E-Z, he was casually dressed, wore no E-Z branding whatsoever, he could have been someone off the street. He did not walk around the car, he did not check the fuel, he simply asked me, did I fill it up? He made no remark that I was past the return time, and said I was good to go. I was charged the $19, my $200 deposit was promptly refunded.
I didn't mind the counter interaction, but I have to admit, the waste of time in the garage and a high mileage car really generated the irritation. The use of that small LCD screen which is also used by others, like Fox, is terrible, the renter is never afforded the opportunity to review the terms and conditions. At Fox a few months ago, I wouldn't sign their screen unless they showed me the contract--let me tell ya, the agent was beyond annoyed.
Was it worth the $19 price? Probably not. Payless for good reasons belongs at the bottom of the barrel, not sure I'm inclined to agree w AutoSlash that Advantage, E-Z and Fox deserve anything approaching 3 stars. But if you're up for it at the time you decide to make the reservation, great; you just may not be feeling the love when you actually pick up the car. I'd rate Fox higher than Advantage or E-Z because once you're done at the counter, you're free (although more often not, your class of car is not available, they just shrug, take the next higher class). I'd give E-Z and Advantage 2 stars, I'd give Fox 2 1/2. But in all cases, their use of that small LCD screen in which they get the agreement of the renter to the terms and condition, without the renter seeing those terms and conditions, is reprehensible, so maybe they should all have one star subtracted for that alone.
It was an experience, I could have gone without.
fyi and fwiw.