Car hires in Mea Shearim, Jerusalem

They went out of their way to help me, from finding a good deal to the return of the car.

Pick up was very smooth … Shireen at the reservation counter was very knowledgeable and accommodating and attentive to details, explaining the contents of the rental contract. The return of the car was equally smooth … Yoram and Raz were friendly and courteous.

Muhammad, the customer service rep who helped me at the pick up place in Jerusalem, was great. He went above and beyond the call of duty to assist me with what I needed and make sure I’d have a good experience.

When I came to pick up the rental car, I entered the Avis office and found none of the staff were wearing masks, violating the local indoor mask mandate. Upon entering, I was completely ignored by the two agents. The first was half-asleep, the other was busy with some paperwork behind the desk. Neither welcomed me or said anything to me so I went up to the second, since she at least seemed to be working. When I told her I was there to pick up my rental I felt like it was a significant inconvenience for her to actually have to do her job. Throughout the transaction, the first agent was hanging her head in an apparent attempt to sleep - she seemed to be either extremely hung over or still drunk from the night before. After picking up the car I discovered the previous renter’s clothes and garbage on the floor of the back seat, so it had clearly not been cleaned. While driving, I needed to clean the windshield, and found that the wiper fluid was completely dry!!! Apparently cleanliness (during a pandemic), fleet maintenance, and driver safety are not relevant to Avis! Upon returning the car, I wanted to complain about my experience. The return agent told me to speak to the man in the office, who called someone else and told me to wait. After 5-10 minutes, a man who later identified himself as “Guy” finally drove up and entered the office. When I started to tell him about my complaints, he continuously interrupted me and insolently rejected what I had to say and clearly didn’t care at all. (Some version of: not my problem; what do you want from me; blame the Jerusalem office; and similar evasions were all he could muster. Not a single word of apology!) I left in disgust, swearing to never rent from Avis again! “We Try Harder” indeed. More like “We Don't Bother!”