I have to vent on the horrible experience I had recently with Avis out of Boston Mass. I am a premier member with Avis and had no real complaints prior to this. I rented a car at Boston Aiport. Upon arrival, I had to stand in line for well over 30 minutes just to get my car. There were 2 people working the desk and for some reason, they did not have my name listed on the premier list. I got a disgruntled clerk. The car they set me up with was a stripped down PT Cruiser. I drove from the airport to my hotel, about 35 minutes away. After checking in, I was told that they would be expecting snow in the next few days and asked if I had a scraper for my car (at the hotel, mind you)or if I needed one. I went to the car and decided that I better check the wipers. Well, lo and behold, the wipers were non-functional. The wiper arms moved, but the blades were not wiping anything. I called Avis and was told to either buy a replacement set or bring the car back. I drive back to the airport and stand in another line, to get a replacement car. I waited a total of an hour to get the replacement car because a midsize car, which I rented, was not ready. Fine. After an hour, I complained that I was tired of waiting and the clerk upgraded me to an impala (I dont know what size that was). When I got in the car and started it, the power steering made a grinding noise. I walked back in to the clerk and told them about it. They came to check it out, but of course, the noise was not there. Fine. I figured it was just the cold. I drove back to the hotel. 2 days later, after a snow storm, I go to get in my car after a long meeting offsite. The power steering makes that same noise again and it would not work at all. It was like driving a 1966 car with no power steering. As I go to drive out of the lot, I notice that the tire is making noises. I pull over to check and find a flat tire. Great. It's probably 15 degrees out and I have to change a tire. I go to the trunk and there is no spare tire. The place where it belonged was emtpty! I called the 800 number and was told that all they could do was tow a replacement car to me but it would be 2 to 3 hours from the airport!! WoW!! No repair trucks with tires?? I waited in the car for 2 hours before the replacement car showed up. The driver tells me that he did not have a replacement contract because the computers were down at the Avis place. Ok. Fine. I drive away in my Hyundai beater and prayed that nothing else happened. Well, nothing else happened to car but when I went to return it a week later, they couldnt find the contract on the car because no one ever put one in when they replaced it. Wait another 45 minutes and I am fnally out the door to my flight. I wrote Avis twice with the complaints, via their website and I have yet to receive a response. This was over a week ago. I am so disappointed with their customer service and lack of care about their customers that I am going to start using a different car service. I know that I am just a little fish but I think that renting around 12 weeks a year would at least get me a "We're sorry about your experience, we value our business and here's something to make up for it". Heck, even a free upgrade would have been nice. It's nice that Avis is not suffering financially like the rest of the world and they can afford to alienate loyal customer. It's a good thing my manager runs the travel dept at work too. Maybe if I get the word out to 1500 travelers where I work, it might cause Avis to think twice about their customers' needs.